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The Vizsla…field dog, show dog, obedience dog, companion par excellence, and more. Marion Coffman shares insights gleaned from thirty years of experience. Read the intriguing story of how the breed was rescued from Hungary during the Second World War. Learn how to select a correct Vizsla, train him, and care for him. Most of all, share the author’s love and appreciation for this versatile, unique breed.
AUTHOR’S BIO
Marion Coffman began her career with dogs in 1963 with a Golden Retriever that she trained in obedience and tracking. A year later, she began instructing obedience classes and went on to judge at match shows.
Coffman obtained her first Vizsla in 1967, training him for both obedience and the conformation ring. This dog, Glen Cottage Loki Barat, soon gained his championship title and several years later was accepted into the Vizsla Club of America’s Hall of Fame for his outstanding contribution to the breed. He was the sire of thirty-four champions, including the first Triple champion in AKC history and also the first Vizsla to gain seven Best in Shows.
Coffman began breeding Vizslas in 1969, in limited numbers, but always linebred in order to establish a head type that is predominant in the breed even today, and always with the betterment of the breed foremost in mind. Since then she has bred over ninety champion Vizslas under the Cariad name. Cariad has provided foundation stock for numerous successful Vizsla breeders and exhibitors in the United States and Canada.
Coffman has personally owned over twenty Vizslas through the years, finished championship titles on over forty dogs, and also put more than twenty-five different obedience titles on Vizslas. She is still active in obedience training, presently with a young bitch in Utility.
She has been active in a number of all-breed and Vizsla clubs, serving as a board member, treasurer, secretary, and breed and obedience instructor. A member of the Vizsla Club of America since 1968, she has served as their historian for the past seven years. She has authored pamphlets on whelping, puppy rearing, showing, canine diseases, and early history of the Vizsla breed. She resides in Ocala, Florida, with her husband and four Vizslas and a Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen.
REVIEWS
(Mary-Lois McGuinness, Dogs in Canada, October 1992)
“On the whole, this book should be considered a mandatory part of a Vizsla breeder's library.”
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREFACE
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
MEET THE VIZSLA 1EARLY HISTORY OF THE VIZSLA
The Vizsla in America · Magyar Vizsla Club of America · Early Vizslas in Competition
THE VIZSLA STANDARD
Hungarian Short-Haired Pointer(Vizsla) Standard · Vizsla Club of America Standard · Analysis of the VCA Standard
SELECTING A VIZSLA PUPPY
Where to Find Your Puppy · Male or Female? · Picking a Field Puppy
· Picking a Show Puppy · Picking an Obedience or Agility Puppy · Registration and Guarantee
YOUR VIZSLA’S FIRST YEAR: CARE AND DEVELOPMENT
Homecoming · Children and Puppies · Older Pets and Puppies · Feeding Program · Safe Toys · Sleeping Arrangements · Immunizations · Growth and Development · Grooming
· Identification
YOUR VIZSLA’S FIRST YEAR: BEHAVIOR AND TRAINING
Socialization · Critical Periods in Your Puppy’s First Year · Exercise
· Early Training · Basic Lessons · Behavior Problems
THE YOUNG ADULT VIZSLA
Growth and Development · Temperament and Behavior · Feeding Program
· Coprophagy and Pica · Travel
THE VIZSLA IN OBEDIENCE
AKC Obedience Trials
THE VIZSLA IN THE SHOW RING
Early Training · Match Shows · AKC Conformation Shows · The Show Ring · Records in the Show Ring · Junior Showmanship
THE VIZSLA IN THE FIELD
Early Training · Continued Training · Field Trials · Hunting Tests · Dual Champions
THE VIZSLA IN AGILITY
Agility Trials · AKC Classes and Titles · MACH · United Kennel Club Agility
THE VERSATILE VIZSLA
Quintuple Champion · Search and Rescue · Canine Good Citizen · Therapy Dogs
· Service Dogs · Rally · Flyball · NAVHDA · VCA Versatility Tests
PREVENTATIVE HEALTH CARE
Normal Vital Signs · Ear Problems · Eye Problems · Tooth Care and Gum Disease · Anal Glands · Foot Problems · Gastric Torsion (Bloat) · Canine Hip Dysplasia · Viruses and Vaccinations · Internal Parasites · External Parasites · Puppy-Proofing Your Yard and Home
BREEDING AND REPRODUCTION
Mendel’s Theory of Inheritance · Hereditary Problems in Vizslas · The Brood Bitch
· Picking a Stud Dog · Responsibilities of the Stud Dog Owner · Reproductive Organs
· The Mating · The Pregnant Bitch
WHELPING
Labor and Delivery · Problem Deliveries
CARE OF THE NEWBORN PUPPY
The Healthy Newborn Vizsla · Dewclaw Removal and Tail Docking · Orphan Puppies
· Illness in Newborns
THE GROWING VIZSLA PUPPY
Socialization and Care · Problems with Growing Puppies
CARE OF THE VIZSLA DAM
Problems After Whelping · Feeding and Care of the Dam
THE AGING PROCESS
Care for the Aging Dog · Changes with Age · Activities and Exercise · Problems of Older Dogs
APPENDIX ONE—VCA HALL OF FAME
APPENDIX TWO—DUAL CHAMPIONS
APPENDIX THREE—REGIONAL VIZSLA CLUBS
APPENDIX FOUR—SOURCES OF INFORMATION
Organizations · Show Superintendents
APPENDIX FIVE—RECOMMENDED READING
Vizsla Breed Books · Medical and Nutritional Reference · Breeding and Genetics
· Canine Behavior · Field Training · Obedience Training · Show Ring Training · Agility Training · Structure and Movement · Search and Rescue · Therapy Dogs · Tracking
· Magazines
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
INDEX
EXCERPT
Meet the Vizsla
Owning a Vizsla will change your life forever. The Vizsla standard calls for the breed to be “demonstratively affectionate,” and whether he is jumping up to lick your face, grabbing your wrist in his mouth, sharing your bed, dinner, chair, or lap, or just bringing a favorite toy, he is impossible to ignore.
The Hungarian Vizsla represents the best in both sporting dog and loving, loyal companion. He is the smallest of the all-round pointer-retriever breeds and size is undoubtedly one of his most attractive characteristics.
A Vizsla holds a unique position for a sporting dog—that of both house companion and family dog, and a close-working personal gundog in the field. He does not make a good kennel dog and only reaches full capacity as an enjoyable companion when he is a member of the family. Bred and owned originally by wealthy Hungarian landowners, Vizslas were always very privileged canines, holding a high place in the Hungarian sporting circles but not expected to sleep outside at the end of a day in the fields. The Vizsla always lived and traveled with his family and was as much a family member as a child.
A Vizsla is striking in appearance. His beautiful golden-rust color never fails to attract attention. He is a joy to watch in motion and he is just as enthusiastic about chasing a ball as a butterfly, leaf, or squirrel. Still, he can freeze to a perfect pointing statue when he has quartered a birdfield and found game.
A Vizsla is highly intelligent—do not ever underestimate the learning potential of a ten-week-old puppy. He is obedient and ever strives to please, but he gets bored without a challenge and something active to do. Because of his highly developed sense of humor and intelligence he not only can be taught easily, but can think up things to do on his own. A Vizsla can use his front feet or mouth to figure out how to turn a doorknob or open a refrigerator, or even get out of his crate. He has been known to climb a ladder and sit on a roof. He can ring bells, collect shoes, empty wastebaskets, and be an official greeter and a guardian.
A comfort seeker, a Vizsla would rather sleep on your bed than on the floor. He thinks sofas were made especially for him and, if allowed, will remain a lap dog for life. He will follow you around the house from room to room rather than be left alone for even a minute. If you put your Vizsla outside, he will sit on the doorstep begging for you to come out with him.
In the field, a Vizsla combines all the attributes of the Pointer, Setter, and Retriever. He points by instinct, and is a very close-working dog, making him an ideal weekend companion gundog. He is fast, extremely birdy, enthusiastic, with a good nose. He has a soft mouth, retrieving game without damage or marring, and is a diligent worker on upland game, with discriminating bird sense. His striking color in the field and quick, graceful movement make for an enjoyable combination.
The Vizsla has become more popular in the show ring as his aristocratic appearance, dignified and balanced bearing, intelligence, animation, graceful carriage, and love of attention has attracted new enthusiasts. Once you own a Vizsla, you are hooked for life. Each new owner finds a new and different way to incorporate his dog into his own life.
A Vizsla can cheerfully go backpacking, hiking, and camping and can accompany his owner to the office. He enjoys tobogganing in the snow and he loves water. A perfect companion on a boat trip or in a swimming pool at home, a Vizsla will be happy to swim or retrieve balls all day. He will even be content just to stand for hours in a shallow stream and silently watch small fish swim around him. As long as he is with his owner, he is a happy dog.
As a trained obedience dog, a Vizsla can be used to educate and entertain at civic centers, county fairs, schools and nursing and retirement homes. He has been employed as a drug sniffer, a guide dog for the blind, and a hearing-impaired service dog. His easy care and willingness makes him an ideal choice for these tasks.
Obedience and agility competition enthusiasts will tell you that these are where the Vizsla excels. He is a natural showman, and is never happier than when he has been given something to do. He is easily bored with the repetition of the beginning classes and training but will find his element in jumping and retrieving exercises. It comes as no surprise to Vizsla owners that the first dog in American Kennel Club history to earn a Triple Championship title for completing field, show, and obedience championships was a Vizsla. History repeated itself when the Vizsla was the first dog of any breed to earn a Quintuple Championship. The breed is truly versatile.
For an emotionally disturbed or handicapped child, a Vizsla can be sensitive and loving. In many cases a child has been able to relate closely to a dog when every other contact has failed. A Vizsla will bond easily to someone who needs him in a special way.
A Vizsla teaches so much about love because he has so much to give, His affection is always there. He is a joy to know and happiness to own. He is full of strength, vitality, elegance, and beauty. A Vizsla is a 365-days-a-year companion, accepting the role of protector, friend, and hunter. A Vizsla is truly a dog to be proud of owning, and he is forgiving in case, in a moment of forgetfulness, you call him a dog—he is a Vizsla.
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