German Shorthaired Vizsla Dog Breed

There may be no books about this hybrid dog, but there is no doubt about it: she is a hunting dog that is best trained as a gun dog. If you have the right kind of home, the Hungarian Vizsla german Shorthaired cross can also be a good family pet. Still, these dogs are not recommended for first-time owners or people who have had only a dog or two. Experienced trainers and large amounts of patience and spacer best for this hybrid. Homes with small children are not recommended either, as these dogs can have sudden and frequent focus on small furry animals can cause accidental havoc.

Here are some aspects that may or may not be present in any given German Shorthaired Vizsla:

As most breeders tend to prevent Vizslas from breeding with German Shorthaired Pointers (GSP), there is little collectively known about these. It's not too difficult to understand how these two fine hunting dogs might behave when crossbreed to produce German Shorthaired Vizslas.

This hybrid dog's intelligence is sure to be remarkable. Both parent breeds are found toward the top of most "smartest dogs in the world" lists, and the Vizsla is known for being the best dog to take to work. Anyone who has happened to adopt a German Shorthaired Vizsla will say the same.

Both parent breeds are top-rated hunting and gun dogs. They can be good house dogs but they require patience, activity, and lots of space. If your German Shorthaired Vizsla has more Viz in her, she will be extremely loyal and owner-attached. If she inherits more of the GSP parent, however, she may have less loyalty than the desire to hunt and be active. In any case, this mixed breed needs to be properly trained.

These dogs can go all day several days a week. They are bred to have seemingly endless stamina and to be highly athletic. They are sleek but strong, and if they are relaxed at night and get a good rest, that means they have had a productive day and will be ready for more tomorrow.

As the German Shorthaired Pointer cross Hungarian Vizsla comes from two superb gun dogs yet is somewhat rare, there are no formally acknowledged varieties. The two parent breeds look very different in coat colors and markings but have the same basic shape (save for the top of the head). As such, it is easy for most people to confuse one of these hybrid dogs with one of the pure breeds used to produce them. The Vizsla, which has a few subtle shades of one basic color (reddish-brown/gold), might be dominant. On the other hand, the German Shorthaired Pointer (GSP), which has a small variety of colors that always include either liver, roan, or brown yet always white, might be how your Vizsla German Shorthair mix ends up looking like.

There is also variation size that can happen with the German Shorthaired Vizsla mix. The Viz is a much larger dog than the GSP. When two such differently sized dogs are crossed, they tend to have puppies that are between the two sizes of the parent breeds. This doesn't mean that all Vizsla German Shorthaired Pointer mixes are not small like a GSP or not huge like a Viz. It all depends on how much any given puppy inherits from the parents. Even in a single litter, each of these mixed breed puppies might grow up to be different in size from each other.

Just as with nearly everything else about the German Shorthaired Vizsla mix, there is little known about this hybrid's health profile. Because there is so much known about the parent breeds, however, it is not difficult to figure out the possible issues.

Some of the concerns are found significantly in both parent breeds:

• Bloat
• Cancers
• Epilepsy
• Hip dysplasia
• Eye disorders
• Hypothyroidism
• Von Willebrand's disease

Other issues are found more prominently in one or the other breed:

• Pannus
• Hemophilia
• Hemivertebrae
• Aortic Stenosis
• Osteochondrosis Dissecans (OCD)
• Progressive retinal atrophy (PRA)
• Serious skin diseases such as sebaceous adenitis and demodectic mange

Kept healthy, happy, and active, your German Shorthaired Hungarian Vizsla cross should live to be about 12 to 15 years old.