Vizslas are an athletic and energetic type of dog breed. They originated in Hungary. Vizslas were born to be hunters and pointers. Vizslas are usually mistaken for other breeds, like a hound. Learn more about these two and also learn how to identify a Vizsla.
Characteristics of a Vizsla
Vizslas have a medium-sized and short-coated appearance. They are robust but have a light built. It’s interesting to know that they are playful yet affectionate as pets. They have lean and muscular heads. Vizslas’ necks and bodies are smooth, firm, and long. Their shoulders are broad and laid-back.
Characteristics of a Hound
Hound dogs are independent and curious types of dogs. Before training, they must understand why they need the training to do something. If they don’t think the training you’re doing is essential, they will ignore the efforts.
Hounds have two types: scent hounds and sighthounds. The scent hounds use their sense of smell whenever they want to find something. While for sighthounds, they use vision to see what they are looking for.
How to Identify a Vizsla
Vizslas are often mistaken for other dog breeds like hounds. Yet, Vizslas are from the species of pointers. They are also called Hungarian pointers because they point at the animal or object they are hunting. To identify a Vizsla from other breeds, Vizsla heads are strong with prominent occipital bone, unlike other species.
Here are their distinct features you can take note of:
- They are docking their tail, which is to protect them from hunting.
- A Vizsla has a reddish-colored nose that blends with his fur or coat color. Thus, if their nose is black, brown, or any other color than red, they’re not a Vizsla.
- Vizsla backs have variations in color, but they do not have a ridge. Their eyes may vary, but the whites in their eyes do not come out.
- They usually have golden-colored eyes. Their eye color during the puppy stage also varies from green, grey, yellow, or blue eyes.
- They have red eye color, the same as their fur color. If their eye leather color is black, it’s possible that they are not a pure breed of Vizsla or not Vizslas at all. In comparison, color or pale eye leather may signify a health issue for a Vizsla.
- Vizslas’ ears start below the head and are wide, long, and silky. The ear is thin with round-shaped at the bottom. The ears of purebred Vizslas do not lay back.
Other Similar Breeds to Consider
Vizsla is a good choice for a pet and companion. If you can’t have one for some reason, you can choose from other similar breeds:
- German Shorthaired Pointer – They can do almost any activity and are good at game hunting and water retrieving.
- German Wirehaired Pointer – They are made for hunting, are strong, and excel at pointing and retrieving.
- Brittany – They are also bred to be hunters and have excellent scent-tracking talent. Like Vizslas, they have medium-sized bodies and have high energy.
- Chesapeake Bay Retriever Guide – They are the most independent and most robust retrievers. Like Vizslas, they were born for endurance and strength and for water retrieving.
- Pointer – They are the oldest sporting breed and are hard-working dogs, follow scents along with the wind.
Final Thoughts
Vizslas are usually mistaken to be coming from other breeds, one of which is a hound. They originated from Hungarian as a pointer type of dog and were born to become hunting companions of hunters. They are called Hungarian pointers for that.
Both Vizslas and hounds share the trait and history of hunting, and they have a strong sense of smell. Yet, Vizslas are not a breed of hound dogs. For one thing, vizslas have varying physical characteristics of hounds because of their many breeds. But, Vizslas share standard physical features that one can distinguish.
