SZIZLIN VIZSLAS, REG.
LITTERS
We are expecting puppies in November 2008. Please contact us for information.
Frequently Asked Questions About Adding A Vizsla Puppy
Is the vizsla the right breed for me?
Vizslas are very active and energetic and require daily exercise. Vizslas also tend to be very needy and want to be with you all the time. These same qualities that make Vizslas so endearing to those who are devoted to them can drive some people crazy. This breed is not right for you if you want a low-key dog who is content to lie down in the back yard and not demand much from you. Vizslas who do not receive sufficient exercise or attention can develop severe separation anxiety and become very destructive. There are creative ways to make sure a Vizsla’s needs are met, even if you work – day care, pet walkers, play groups – but it takes planning and involves a serious commitment.
Especially in homes that are not dog experienced, we generally recommend that the youngest child in the household be four years of age or older before you add a puppy. Adding a vizsla puppy with a toddler is extremely difficult, and the joy of raising and enjoying a vizsla puppy frequently turns into a burden when trying to juggle a toddler and puppy – which is not good for anyone. Vizslas are usually very accepting of newborn humans added to their existing families.
Should I get a boy or a girl?
There is no simple answer to this question, and it makes more sense to focus on the personality and conformation of each individual puppy, rather than its sex. That said, we are willing to make a few generalizations, noting that there are exceptions to every statement. We think boys are just a bit more devoted and needy; girls are a little bit more self-reliant and independent. Boys tend to be larger (50 to 60 pounds) than girls (40 to 50 pounds). Boys in our experience have been easier to housebreak than girls, but boys can also destroy shrubs and mark in the house if not trained. For a variety of health and development reasons, we feel very strongly that no puppy should be neutered or spayed prior to reaching its maturity (i. e., a female will have had at least one heat; a male will be lifting his leg).
How do I get on your list for a puppy?
The process starts with a questionnaire (we also send you a sample contract). Your answers will enable us to help you decide if the breed is right for you, and will help us in matching the right puppy to your family. After completion of the questionnaire, we ask that you come meet us and our Vizslas to further determine if the breed is right for you. Families are welcome to visit the puppies as frequently as they want after the puppies reach three weeks of age. We are always willing to assist you in locating a breeder whether or not we are breeding at the time.
Do you require me to co-own my pup with you?
No. We urge you to beware of co-ownerships. We are disturbed by a trend toward so many breeders insisting upon a co-ownership arrangement for their puppies. Instead of conveying full legal interest in a puppy to a prospective family, some breeders require that they retain an ownership (and control) interest in the puppy. In our opinion, except in certain arrangements between experienced breeders, most co-ownership arrangements provide no benefit to you; they simply give breeders a way to control you and can cause a myriad of legal problems. We personally know two vizsla families that recently ended up in litigation due to problems stemming from co-ownership arrangements. As stated by the American Kennel Club, “It has been our experience that all too frequently, severe and complicated problems result from disputes over conditional sale, conditional stud and co-ownership contracts or any contract or agreement relating to restrictions or limitations people try to place on the sale or breeding of a dog.” http://www.akc.org/contact/answer_center/faq_resolveconflict.cfm
What does it mean if you give me a limited registration?
A limited registration means that your vizsla will be registered with the AKC, but no litters produced by your vizsla are eligible for AKC registration. This type of registration is appropriate for companion vizslas who are not going to be shown and bred. It is like an AKC-sanctioned non-breeding agreement, without the problems noted in the preceding section. A vizsla placed on a limited registration is not eligible to compete in dog shows, but is eligible to be entered in other AKC events (such as hunt tests, field trials, agility, obedience and tracking events). If we give you a limited registration, we can change that limited to a full registration if the breeder believes such a change is warranted.. http://www.akc.org/reg/limitedreg.cfm
What health clearances on breeding animals are required?
You will note a disparity in health clearances amongst breeders. Many elective clearances can be seen at www.offa.org and http://www.vmdb.org. At this point, the national parent club for the vizsla breed, the Vizsla Club of America, Inc. requires OFA hip clearances. However, elective clearances are sometimes obtained by breeders – some common clearances include eye clearances (CERF), cardiac clearances (OFA), thyroid clearances (OFA), sebaceous adenitis evaluations, elbow clearances (OFA), Von Willebrand clearances, and Penn Hip evaluations. We have historically done OFA clearances as required by the VCA; we had not done other clearances because we had not had problems in those areas. However, we have recently done some CERF clearances because of a couple of problems - the difficulty with meaningful CERF clearances is that they are only valid for one year.
Please note that the fact that a breeder is doing more than the required OFA hip clearance does not necessarily mean that the breeder has had problems. AKC has recently developed a CHIC program for each breed encouraging breeders to do certain breed specific tests on their breeding animals (for Vizslas, this now involves testing hips (after age 2), eyes (annually), and thyroid (once a year until age eight years), but once the first of each of these tests is done a CHIC number is issued when test results are entered into the database satisfying each breed specific requirement (i.e., OFA database) and when the owner of the dog has released the results into the public domain.
“The CHIC number itself does not imply normal test results, only that all the required breed specific tests were done and the results made publically available.” It is important to note that the CHIC number is not revoked even if the recommended subsequent annual CERF and thyroid exams are not done. Also, if the vizsla specific requirements are modified, existing CHIC numbers are not revoked. Again, a CHIC number is issued to a vizsla who has completed all the required tests at a given point in time. See CHF Link http://www.caninehealthinfo.org/chicinfo.html http://www.caninehealthinfo.org/brdreqs.html?breed=VZ vizsla specific/optional tests
For tips on raising your new puppy, go to our home page and click on the “Puppy Raising” button.
Any other questions, feel free to contact us!
Click Here to see the pups out of Manda & Bodi born September 10, 2007.
Click here to See the Vela & Boo puppies born September 8, 2007
VIZSLA PUPPIES RULE! SOME PAST LITTERS
