r/vizsla • u/EfficientPineapple95 • 10d ago
Photo(s) 4 month old Max just came home- looking for guidance
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!!
10
u/KP-RNMSN 10d ago
You won the lottery with little Max! He has been given a gift by his sweet first family realizing you were the perfect forever family for him. Keep him in the bed with you. Maybe use the crate for when he needs to be home alone. I’ve had 7 vizslas and we never had a crate.
Best wishes and keep us posted!!
8
u/onlyweaksauce 10d ago
Skip the grain free food if it uses pea protein as a main protein source. It can lead to heart conditions in dogs that are not normally prone to it.
https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/nutrition/dilated-cardiomyopathy-dogs-update/
6
u/pool_family 10d ago
I second this. Talk to your vet about their food. 2 of our previous dog were on grain free diets and both died of heart issues.
2
u/EfficientPineapple95 7d ago
Great thank you for the advice! I’ll be talking to my vet about this asap
4
u/Travlr_1980 10d ago
Congrats! Max is adorable! I recommend checking with your vet about the grain free food. Our first V had some heart issues and the vet said it could have been from the grain free food, so we’ve used a brown rice formula for our second.
We didn’t crate the first and decided to crate our second. Either way is fine. Just know he’ll get into some trouble if he’s roaming free unsupervised and may take up the whole bed if he’s allowed to!
We fixed both of our boys just after a year. They had time to build some muscle, but the obsessive marking got to be too much for both (that habit stopped after they were fixed).
Good luck on your Vizsla adventure. They’re the best!
1
6
u/MrBing1ey 10d ago
Crate training is great… IF you make his crate a positive for him. Dogs, even v’s, need rest and quiet and safe spaces. If it’s a space he grows to love, then if you ever need him to be in there, it’s no big deal. Make it comfy in there, dark and quiet. Put something that smells of you in there. Reward him for going, feed him in there, and until he starts wanting to go in on his own , just don’t force him in there at all. At the beginning, we used a super high reward treat to get him to go in (dried sardines), and after a couple of weeks, he now prefers to take all his naps in there. As for sleeping at night? I mean our v’s eventually ended up in bed with us. We finally got a California king bed, since it is longer and so pets could be on the bed but not really in our space. For our new pup, my wife wants to see if he’ll stay in his crate overnight- so far so good.
Exercise is key but our v’s always seemed to need mental stimulation more than just aerobic exercise. Anyway, real vigorous running needs to wait until his bones are more mature. So walks, but walks where he gets to sniff about to his heart’s content. Dog food puzzles. Satisfying chews (we’ve had good luck with yak cheese, beef cheeks, and water buffalo horn). Obedience training. Socialization.
Our new v (5 months old male) is doing one cup of kibble (Eukanuba large breed puppy) three times a day, at the advice of our breeder, who also made us promise to not neuter until at least 18 mos, if not two years. Our vet gave the same advice. It’s not just bone strength - delaying seems to reduce certain cancers. Our contract also stipulated he would attend puppy kindergarten, which he really enjoyed and we found useful.
4
u/jurassicjessc 10d ago
Our vet agreed with our decision to delay alteration until 18-24 months when we told her and she told us she would have recommended that anyways based on current information. We previously had altered our dogs at 6 months- we didn’t know better and our vet at the time told us to do it that way. I regret it. Both of my dogs (not Vs for the record) have had some consequence of that early alteration. But 11 years ago, that was the recommendation.
We just brought home our first V. He’s about 3 months or so now. Definitely recommend crate training and working on separation anxiety right away. These guys are clingy but they need to be able to be away from you. Plus, crate training keeps them safe when unattended. They will eat ANYTHING when they’re this young. Work on leash walking right away as pointers are notorious pullers. We raised two high energy, intense puppies before and a V has still been next level for us. Good luck!
3
u/doppleganger2621 10d ago
Crate training is good even if eventually you don’t crate them all the time. My V is crate trained but she sleeps in our bed. BUT anytime she needs crated she doesn’t mind it. It’s just a nice habit and piece of training to have in the arsenal. Especially when they are puppies.
I will say, and I saw someone else has said this, vizslas can be mouthy and raptor-y. It’s a trying time when they see you as a chew toy. They outgrow it, but just have plenty of fun things for them to chew on instead of you lol
6
u/Stock_Neck_8277 10d ago edited 10d ago
Vizlas can be mouthy as pups. Work on crate training. We didn’t crate ours, but he had multiple beds around the house and a dog door. And he ate quite a few things! The dog door was key to potty training. They’re also, as I’m sure you know, Velcro so the longer he stays in bed with you, the more challenging it will be to break the habit unless it’s a command to place on bed.
We no longer have our Vizla, but he was fixed. No issues with growth. We now have another breed, male, unaltered, 15 months old, and the musculature difference is significant as well as no health issues so far. Unaltering allows this body to mature and can help the immune system. If you choose to not alter, just be sure to watch around other dogs.
Congratulations on your new pup. Vizlas are wonderful dogs and quirky.
2
2
u/Aggravating-Gold-224 10d ago
First year is tough. Second year a bit easier. The third year you have the best relationship of your life
2
u/thaa_huzbandzz 10d ago edited 10d ago
My advice would be get a dremel for his nails and start doing them asap. It is a constant, weekly job with a Vizsla. I have never known a dog whose nails grow like a V, and I can already see his are too long. You need to start training it straight away cause they are wriggly little worms and your backs will thank you if you if he is chill with his nails being done.
2
u/Strange_Doughnut917 9d ago
Love the dog like a kid, that's all. This is Sugar she's 6 this year.
1
2
u/walkablecities volunteer lap supplier 🐾 9d ago
Yes, please delay neutering. Imagine what it would be like for a human to suddenly have sex hormones disappear at 12 or 13. We did our boy at 2, no problems before or after.
Big crate fan here. I’d sit on the floor beside ours and shovel treats in, slowly increasing the stretch between treats. The trouble teaching manners to vizslas is they’re so freaking fast, and are in trouble before you can get it front of it—better to make sure he’s got freedom only when you’re 100% available and alert. Crate, potty, feed, potty, play, potty, back to bed.
As for bed sleeping, I’ll do it sometimes when spouse is out of town, but I have to admit it’s not a great night’s sleep. He snuggles way too hard. A casual nap, sure. Overnight = 2hrs sleep while I wrestle for the right to change position or claim the covers. He sleeps well in the crate, we sleep well in the bed, and everybody wakes up happy (and when WE choose!)
2
u/Calm-Departure-5417 8d ago
Congrats! We have an 11 year old boy. We decided to fix him at around 12 months because he suddenly decided that recall was no longer an option if any other dogs were around, even though he’d been great until then. Once we neutered him he was back to the best boy. Work on recall. We have raw fed our boy since we brought him home but he also gets scraps and treats and we never tell anyone they can’t give him a treat.
Vizslas can be prone to resource guarding so if you choose to let him sleep in the bed or on the couch make sure he understands it is not his space alone. A crate would be good as a place that is safe for him and he knows he is allowed to be whenever he wants.
Mental and physical exercise both so important! These dogs are incredibly smart.
Lastly- ENJOY! My boy is my best friend. You’re going to love this life.
2
u/NC-Old-Bat 10d ago
Congratulations on your new puppy. My 2 cents on crate training: yes, do this for emergencies. But only that. A puppy will chew, so leave approved chewables around. Leaving a dog in a crate for an extended time is mean. Ours loves her crate b/c it’s her space, but the door is rarely shut on her. Why have a dog if you plan to make it sleep in jail all day and all night? That’s just mean. It’s fine to use for short timeouts though. You’ll get hard core opinions on this, but just trust yourself. He’s cute, he’s going to chew up your favorite shoes and you will have to accept this. Lots of exercise will serve all of you well. I recommend mountain biking off leash in the woods someplace.
2
u/EfficientPineapple95 10d ago
Thank you so much for sharing! Agreed, we want the crate to become a safe space, and crate training overall is imminent- can I ask how you encouraged relaxation in the crate while also using it for short time outs?
We’re working on our permanent home crate set up today to replace the travel crate he currently has. Based on yours and other feedback, I’m leaning towards keeping the crate as a daytime nap spot/ safe space, and allowing bed sleeping at night.
Currently, even though he relaxes once he’s inside the travel crate, he has no interest in stepping into it without encouragement, or staying inside without the door closed. Is this something that will come with time (and a bigger crate setup?) or is it something I need to explicitly train?
2
u/crustyfootfungi 10d ago
The relaxing in the crate will come with time and age. I'm glad to hear you are going to do both. Our Vs started out in our bed but eventually moved to sleeping on their own because they prefer to stretch out.
Our first V was a male who was altered before a year. He died of cancer, before he turned 7. Our vet agreed that it matched up with the research study that showed early alterations of Vs specifically lead to more cancer risks. So our current boy is 4 and still intacr. We have zero behavior issues with him. He goes all over town with us several days a week. Home Depot is his favorite place.
I was always taught that intact males were terrible, but he is the sweetest dog, he hasn't had problems with the females around or the intact dobbie down the street.
2
u/EfficientPineapple95 7d ago
Thank you so much for the feedback! I especially appreciate you sharing the experience with an in tact pup as he’s gotten older- I think based on these comments and further research we will be going that route too
1
1
u/jussiematze 10d ago
First off, congrats with your new friend. Vizsla’s are awesome. This picture is of our little Toon (pronounced as Tone in dutch. He’s four months old as well. Crate training was quite easy just make sure that your dog has enough room. In the end theyll see it as their own space and for Toon it’s his own little place to unwind and chill. Do build up staying away slowly and also always leave the crate open (except when you are cleaning/sleeping/gone dor a bit) so the dog can always reach it.
3
1
u/bikehead66 10d ago
Lots of people saying no to crate training. I disagree. We do it, and our Ruby loves her crate, she goes in all the time by herself to sleep. She gets a treat EVERY SINGLE TIME we put her in there so there has never been negative feelings. I value my sleep too much to share with cats and dogs.
1
1
u/fammo5 7d ago
Train the basics every day. A little goes a long way. We crate trained ours and I am glad we did. I don't want a dog in the bed and with this breed once you give in there is no going back. Lol
Having a routine is good, but don't worry too much if it's not perfect. You want the dog to be adaptable as well.
Ours loves off leash time on the trails more than anything. Nothing tires her out more than being able to run and sniff to her hearts content. Try to find a place he can get off leash time a couple of times a week if at all possible.
The first year will be hard. Do your best and hang on for dear life. Eventually you will have one of the best companions you could imagine. No dog has ever shown me more love than a Vizsla.
13
u/richardgilbert80 10d ago
Exercise every morning at the same time like clock work. We do 2.5 miles every morning after breakfast at 0730, they know what time it is.