Imagine getting home and having someone greet you at the door with pure excitement. That’s what dogs can do for you. Most of us have experience with pets in some way, but you can only own so many pets in your life. How do you know which ones to get? The truth is, it all depends on your purr-eferences. I’m going to help narrow it down for you, by reviewing some dogs. The breed I’m going to start with is the breed that I have, a vizsla. Vizslas are hunting dogs, so if you hunt, this is a great dog already. I’m going to strip away the bark of the tree, to help you understand this breed better. 

The Vizla is breed that has been described as “lively, gentle, and affectionate” — it’s a well-liked breed amongst dog lovers. I’m going to cover the different personalities of this breed, by separating them into cat-egories. The categorization will be energy levels, intelligence, size, and extra things to know. 

Energy Levels

The vizsla is a high-energy dog. They need a lot of playtimes and walks. In my experience, this breed likes to play at random times of the day, and will sleep at all other times. This dog tends to build up energy and burn it fast, so when it’s awake, make sure you distract it. They’ll literally hound you until you play. Playing outside is usually best, since they tend to zoom*. The dog will sleep through the night, though, which is a good thing. 

When it comes to walks, like most dogs, they need them. Make sure they get at least one walk a day, or even two. They always enjoy walks. However, they tend to get out of control on these and will need to be controlled. You can either get a choke collar, which stops them from running around, or you can get a full-body vest, which doesn’t choke them, making them easier to walk. Although the full-body vest will not help them become better walkers. 

*Zoom: When a dog runs full speed for no reason.

Intelligence

According to Pet Net ID, the vizsla ranked 25 compared to other breeds in an intelligence test against a bunch of other breeds. However, their smarts are found in their hunting ability. As I will describe later, they enjoy hunting and often try to hunt birds. 

Size of the Dog

The vizsla is a medium-sized dog breed. Healthy vizslas can be anywhere from 30-45 pounds, and 23-27 inches. Size of course will depend on whether it is male or female, with the latter being the smaller. The dog is also muscular. This breed also doesn’t typically get its tail cut, like it’s cousin breed, the Weimaraner. 

Extra Things to Know

• The vizsla dog breed originates in Hungary
• Ranked 31st out of 193rd in popularity according to the American Kennel Club
• Social with other dogs
• Social with humans
• Very intelligent
• Doesn’t listen to instructions super well (stories below)
• Likes to RUN
• Some have a slim chance of experiencing seizures( Something happened with breeding after WWII)
• Killed to near extinction in WWII
• *Is a good dog breed if you have the energy*

Life With a Vizsla

Vizslas are nice dogs who will greet you at the door when you get home, and lay on the couch with you. However, they can have their fair share of personality issues. 

My vizsla will do things like jump up to the counter, and try to grab something from it. But when I’ll tell her to get down she will. Next thing you know she jumps back up. I tell her to get down, she complies. You see where this is going. 

Something funny that she does is try to hunt birds. In the summer when robins land in our yard, she will slowly walk towards them, trying to be stealthy, and then she’ll run full speed at them to try and catch them. She’s come close, but so far she hasn’t caught one- as far as we know. 

She also tends to find snow fun. She actually likes playing outside in the winter, but only if it’s above a certain temperature.  She prefers the summer though because she gets to bite at the hose water.

Whether your vizsla will have these quirks or not depends on the individual dog, but I assume they’ll share their love of hunting, and affection.

Overall, a fun and energetic dog breed that I would recommend.