What type of dog is a Vizsla?

The "Magyar Vizsla" or "Hungarian Pointer", as he is called officially, is a middlesized, elegantly build shorthaired or wirehaired pointer.
Pointers have to be able to do the following during the hunt:
- Search methodicaly
- Point steadily (pointers should not scare the game, but need to stay steady in front of it to show the hunter    where he can find his prey)
- Retrieve winged prey from water or land
- Track down winged prey and retrieve it

Pointers stay steady in front of their prey after searching the field from left to right with their head held high against the wind to catch the scent of the game.
They only flush out the game after getting the command to do so from the hunter.

Does this mean that the vizsla is only suited for people who can take him out hunting? No.
The vizsla is also a fine companion in and around the house. But owners who only keep him as a pet don't do him right.

Being a non-hunter you can let him fully develop by taking courses, examinations and tests. This is something that anyone can accomplish.
Do realise that a vizsla is a very energetic dog, with a great need to move! Don't let him lie around the house with just a walk around the block three times a day. You can't and may not do this to this wonderfull breed!

History of the breed

Although there are several theories, experts mean that the "Pannonic Theory" is the most likely (Pannonia was the Roman name for Hungary).
The ancestors of the vizsla already existed in Roman times. The "Pannonic Dog", a "yellow pointer type of dog", was above all suited to fit the needs they had for hunting in that time: search and point the game.

Later on the Turks, who invaded Hungary in 1526, brought some other ancestors into the breed (vizsla means "search" in Turkish and "point" in Hungarian), namely the "Tartese Yellow Dog", a birddog and the Sloughi (a hound).
The "Tartese Yellow Dog" had an influence on the colour of the coat and the improved instinct for poultry; the Sloughi contributed to the speed of the vizsla.

There is a picture from 1357, and several from the 16th century from dogs that could be identified as vizslas.

During the Habsburgian Monarchy, Hungary came under the influence of Austria. For the vizsla this meant that the breed was influenced by the German pointers.
On this subject, opinions tend to differ. Some say that the allround character of the vizsla comes from breeding the German Pointer into the breed. Others claim that the Weimaraner had an influence because of the uniform colour of the coat.

By the end of the 19th century we can also notice the influence of the English Pointer in the vizsla (as in all continental European pointers).

The demands for the vizsla were very severe:
- Considerable speed
- Searching methodicaly
- Pointing
- Retrieving from water and land

Comparing the qualities of the vizsla to those of the German and English pointer, you could say that he got the best of both breeds.

In the 30's the breed was officially recognised by the F.C.I. (Fédération Cynologique Internationale).

In those days hunters brought the German Wirehaired Pointer into the breed for improving their huntingskills under difficult circumstances. This is how the "Drótszörü Magyar Vizsla" (Wirehaired Hungarian Pointer) came to be.

Character

The vizsla is a quiet, gentle, sometimes even sensitive dog. He is not resistant to rough treatment, but with a sensitive master he can achieve great things and can definitively be an appreciated member of the family.

Typical character traits of the vizsla are:
- Quickly and easy to train
- Can't stand to be treated roughly
- Very good memory
- Exquisite capability to combine
- Unmistakable passion for hunting
- Very much at ease inside the house
- Loving character
- Lively character and very affectionate