Monday, October 31, 2011

Vizsla facts

A vet friend left a book about Hungarian dogs on my desk at work, so I of course took a look at the Vizsla section.
Here's some information on the breed, for those interested (from Hungarian Dog Breeds, Sarkanay & Ocsag, 2nd edition, 1986).

"Vizslas are not only highly valued as gun dogs, but also, because of their beauty, 
clean coats, and pleasant temperament, they are good dogs to have in the house.  
They are grateful, loyal animals that heap affection 
on their master and bring joy to their surroundings."


Vizslas are noted as an indigenous Hungarian breed, though the breed origin may have been an eastern hound that came with Hungarians from Asia. According to the book, Vizslas- or at least some version of similar hunting dogs- were noted in Hungarian writings as early as the 11-14th Century. Scent hounds used for falconry also popped up in writings during the 15-16th Century. It seems that during the Turkish occupation of Hungary, these hunting dogs were crossed with yellow Turkish quail-hunting dogs. Over the course of the 18th-19th Century (the book seems to forget about the 17th Century-?), the breed developed and was crossed with English pointers, German short-haired pointers, and blood hounds, resulting ultimately in the present-day Vizsla. Apparently, the Vizsla's ability to point comes from the indigenous Pannonian hound, and their color from the Turkish yellow (?) quail hound.

My husband says the book seems to have left out that Vizslas are mooches (as we sit here on the couch and Captain gives us the Jedi stare for more food).


I have read elsewhere that Vizslas are related to Weimaramers, but that appears not to be the case; at least not directly. Weimaramers originate from Germany; however, both Weims and V's do have bloodhounds and pointers in their ancestry line. 


In any case, I thought I'd share! Feel free to leave more breed facts in the comments. I'm also planning some posts on what exactly that Vizsla thing is... coming soon to a blog near you :-)

And Happy Halloween! 

2 comments:

  1. Wiems are definitely NOT related to Vizslas. Totally different breeds developed by different cultures/countries/people.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Got it! Thanks for the info!

    ReplyDelete