houtsdg

I feel like a lucky guy tonight. I found a pure bred Vizla at the humane society today -- no papers and the tail hadn't been docked, but pure bred none the less. He is about 4mos old and a sweetheart.

So, anything special I need to know about this breed -- positive or challenging.

How soon and how should I start training him?

Thanks!

theo (MOOSE)

I would personally talk to jackson_q! This guy seems like he knows much about training. He advised myself on some key things to train my pointer pup.

CHEERS!

AlaskaMagnum

I have heard that vizslas are a little softer than other pointers and require gentle handling and moving slower than say an english pointer or an english setter.

Jackson_q

Vizslas are nice dogs.Their temperment can varry as indivudals like any breed,some soft and easy going,some hard headed and a bit stubborn.

I'd first start by building a strong bond with your new pup,make it your best buddy.Then comes basic obedience.The upmost important command is HERE.Your dog must learn this well or you'll have problems from the start.Before you even think about heading to the field for advanced training the basics must be completed first.

Socialazation is key at a young age also.Take it everywhere you can and let it get accumstomed to the great outdoors,people,other dogs and different surroundings and noises also take it for rides in the vehicle,thats very important unless you have it handy and can hunt out your back door,your dog will need to learn to travel so starting with short rides to get it used to the vehicle is the way to start then gradual lengthen the time of the ride.

As far as commands I only use Here,Stay,Whoa and Fetch.As your ready I'd be happy to go over with you the way I train for each command.Its key to remember to keep training sessions short and fun 10-15 min a day once or twice a day is what a puppy needs.Pups have a very short attention span at young ages so its again important not to over do your length in training sessions and always end on a positive note with the pup eager for its next lesson.Rule #1 I live by is if your having a bad day,short on temper or patientence,DONT TRAIN that day,wait till your having a better day.Dogs can easily sense tensions and respond accordingly,so its important to keep training fun and upbeat and not send bad vibes to the pup.

Start off bonding and Socialazation and taking it for walks and short rides and when your ready let me know,I'll be more then happy to go threw command lessons and field training.There are also many good books on the market for training,all have good advice with similar methods,one book I highly recommend is "The Complete Guide to Training Your Birddog" by John R. Falk.I found this book in my local Library and its excellent.It starts very basic on how to pick a pup all the way through basic commands and general field introduction to advanced training and trouble shoots many common problems encountered along the way and ways to correct those problems.Best of luck with your new companion and let me know if I can help farther.Remember also dogs learn through association so when your training do the same thing the same way.Repetition,Consistency and Praise and Patience.Take care,Jackson...

Jackson_q

I forgot to add you want to start right now with the bonding and Socialazation.Also I want to thank Moose for the kind words.I believe Moose and I met in the chatroom and I'm sorry I dont recall your user name.

houtsdg.I'm in the chattoom quite often and if you'd like to log in there sometime I'll be happy to discuss things in further detail with you one on one.The times I stop in the chattoom can vary but if you'd like to leave a post here with a date and time convient for you I'll do my best to meet you in the chatroom to talk dogs.Either way in the chatroom or on the message boards I'll be happy to help you anyway I can.Take care,Jackson..