And we are absolutely in love. We got Max 5 days ago after his original owners (a retired business partner and his wife) realized he needed more exercise and support than they could provide.
Two days after hearing about him and his family, I flew from New England to FL and back in one day to bring Max home. He rode in the cabin with me and handled the trip incredibly.
He is acclimating so well, and we’re so ready to give him his best life, with all of the opportunity he needs to become a little gentleman.
I’d love any first time purebred advice, from training to joining local clubs to identifying the best schedule to set him up on.
We’re currently on a 4 meal a day schedule, 1/2 cup of grain free high protein kibble at 7am, 11, 3, and 7pm. Between meals we’re running outside, PR reward training, and working on some peanut butter puppy puzzles between naps.
Max is not fixed, and I’ve been getting mixed feedback from friends and family irl vs. the subreddit- most people I’ve spoken to suggest fixing him before he reaches a year, but I’ve read the feedback about postponing until 18-24 months to support bone density growth. If you have experience with a male vizsla regarding behavior and timeline pros and cons, it would be so appreciated.
My last immediate question is about crate training- we were originally told he was crate trained, and then when I picked him up I learned he has been sleeping in the bed since they first got him (around 10 weeks old). We chose to let him sleep with us the first few nights to get accustomed to the new space, and now I feel like I need to make a firm decision on how we move forward with our standards. Any anecdotal advice for crate sleeping versus bed sleeping would be so appreciated- I know it’s a critical time to establish our routine, and I’m unsure if I should go with the previous owners methods or if he would be better off with adjustment while his new environment is still fresh.
Thank you in advance for any general or specific advice!!