Vizsla

AKC Group: Sporting

Club: Vizsla Club of America, Inc.

Corresponding Secretary : Kim Himmelfarb
Address: 16 Deer Run Road, Canton, CT , 06019
Website: clubs.akc.org/vizsla
Email: pekogait@comcast.net
Club Type: Specialty

General Apperance:

That of a medium-sized short-coated hunting dog of distinguished appearance and bearing. Robust but rather lightly built; the coat is an attractive solid golden rust. This is a dog of power and drive in the field yet a tractable and affectionate companion in the home.

Size:

The ideal male is 22 to 24 inches at the highest point over the shoulder blades. The ideal female is 21 to 23 inches.

Coat:

Short, smooth, dense and close-lying, without woolly undercoat.

Temperament:

A natural hunter endowed with a good nose and above-average ability to take training. Lively, gentle-mannered, demonstrably affectionate and sensitive though fearless with a well developed protective instinct.

History:

The ancestors of the Vizsla are assumed to have been hunters and companions of the Magyar hordes which swarmed over Central Europe more than a thousand years ago and settled into what is now Hungary. The breed is depicted in various etchings that date back to the 10th century and manuscripts tracing to the 14th century. Apparently, the breed was a favorite of early barons and warlords who, either deliberately or by accident, preserved its purity through the years.

The breed's innate hunting instinct was fostered by the terrain of Hungary, which was almost entirely agricultural and pastoral. The breed evolved into one suited to the climatic conditions and available game, resulting in a swift and cautious dog of superior nose and generally high-class hunting ability, combining the best assets of pointer and retriever. Although the Great Wars interrupted normal breed progress, a small amount of Vizslas existed that continued the breed's growth. Importation into the US began in the 1950s, and the breed was admitted to the AKC registry in 1960.

Fun Facts:

• The Vizsla is also called a Hungarian Pointer.
  
  
• At the end of World War I, the Vizsla was all but extinct.
  
  
• The importation of the breed into the United States began in the 1950s.
  
  
• The Vizsla was admitted into the American Kennel Club in 1960.
  
  
• The Vizsla is a multi-purpose dog that is suitable for work on upland game, on rabbits, and for waterfowl retrieving.
  
  
• The Vizsla is essentially Pointer in type with characteristics of Pointer and Retriever.