Vizsla
Overview
The Hungarian Vizsla is a breed originating in Hungary. Vizslas are known as excellent hunting dogs, with a level personality making them well-suited for families. The Hungarian Wirehaired Vizsla was created by cross-breeding the Hungarian Shorthaired Vizsla with the German Wirehaired Pointer during the 1930s.
Vizsla - Quick Facts
- Weight: 45-60 lbs
- Height: 20-26 inches
- Coat: Short, abundant, and tight to the whole body
- Temperment: Loving, distractible, energetic
- Life span: 12-15 years
Appearance
The Vizsla is a medium-sized hunting dog of distinguished appearance and bearing. Robust but lightly built, they are lean dogs, have defined muscles, and are similar to a Weimaraner but smaller in size. The breed standard calls for the tail to be docked to two-thirds of its original length in smooth Vizslas and to three-fourths in Wirehaired Vizslas.
Smooth-haired history
The origin of the Vizsla can be traced back early in Hungarian history. Ancestors of today's Vizsla were toy dogs used by the Magyar tribes living in the Carpathian Basin from the ninth century on. They were widely used for hunting rats. The first written reference to the Vizsla breed was recorded in theIllustrated Vienna Chronicle, prepared by order of King Lajos the Great (Louis the Great) by the Carmelite Friars in 1357.
Vizslas faced and survived several near-extinctions in their history; they were overrun by English Pointers and German Short hair Pointers in the 1800s and World War II left few surviving members of the breed.
The Vizsla was used in development of other breeds, most notably the Weimaraner and German Short hair Pointer breeds. There is much conjecture about those same breeds, along with other pointer breeds, being used to reestablish the Vizsla breed at the end of 19th century. In either case the striking resemblance between the three breeds is indisputable.
Wirehaired history
The rare Wirehaired Vizsla is a completely separate breed from its more commonly seen smooth-coated cousin. The Hungarian Wirehaired Vizsla was developed in the 1930s by the interbreeding of the Vizsla and the German Wirehaired Pointer to get a dog with a heavier coat, suitable for working in colder weather and a more substantial frame. Anecdotal history suggests the added infusion of Pudelpointer, Griffon and a red setter in the early development of the breed. The Wirehaired Vizsla was recognized in Europe by the Federation Cynologique Internationale (FCI, World Canine Federation) and Kennel Club of the United Kingdom in 1966. It is also recognized.
Introduced to North America in the 1970s, the Wirehaired Vizsla was first recognized by the North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association in 1983. The breed is also currently recognized by Canadian Kennel Club and Field Dog Stud Book. It was recognized by the Australian National Kennel Council in 2007. Currently there are between 300 to 400 Wirehaired Vizslas in North America.
Source: All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.
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