Health

At Vizsleo the health of each of our dogs is of the utmost importance to us, we believe this begins with the bloodline.

What is inbreeding?

Inbreeding is the mating of related individuals, either close or distant. The more inbred a dog is, the higher the chance that the same version of a gene has been inherited from both dam and sire – both for desirable and undesirable traits. This could increase the chances of a dog being at risk for both known and unknown inherited disorders and can lead to inbreeding depression. Inbreeding depression is an overall decrease in general fitness, or general health, and may reduce, across the breed, things like litter sizes and fertility. It is impossible to make precise predictions about the exact impact that inbreeding has on an individual breed or dog, but we do know that, as the degree of inbreeding increases, the risk of having a serious and harmful impact on the breed as a whole will also increase.  

What is the inbreeding co-efficient?

The inbreeding co-efficient is the way that inbreeding is measured. It is the probability that two copies of the same gene have been inherited from an ancestor common to both the sire and dam. The lower the degree of inbreeding, the lower the inbreeding coefficient. It is a measurement of risk and does not guarantee that puppies produced will or will not have any inherited health conditions.

With each carefully selected pairing we consult the Kennel Club to check the inbreeding co-efficient of potential puppies. Currently, the Kennel Club stipulates the breed average inbreeding co-efficient for the Hungarian Vizsla is 3.2%. Our aim is to keep this as low as possible, never exceeding the Kennel Club breed average.

What is health testing?

We are dedicated to ensuring all relevant health testing is conducted before considering to breed from any of our dogs. Clementine has had an extensive list of testing conducted, far exceeding those required by the Kennel Club for the Hungarian Vizsla:

  • Lupoid Dermatosis : Clear

  • NCCD : Clear

  • HUU : Clear

  • Hair Length : S/S (Short Hair)

  • Elbow Grade : 0/0 = 0

  • Gonioscopy - PLA : Grade: 0

  • Hip Score : 3/4 = 7

Certificates for all of the above are available to be viewed on request.

Nutrition

‘A healthy outside starts from the inside.’ Robert Urich.

Carnivores that evolved to eat meat don’t tend to thrive on diets that are carbohydrate based- these diets place stress upon their organs as the enzymes they developed over hundreds of thousands of years of evolution are not evolved to handle carbohydrates at high levels. The optimal energy source for dogs is protein and fat derived from meat, with a very small proportion in terms of carbohydrate, supplied in terms of gut contents of the prey animal.

Did you know a dog is likely to produce one hundred times the acid than that of a human stomach!

We’ve fed kibble, in fact we’d always fed kibble until Cleo arrived. Her breeder introduced us to raw feeding (a PMR diet in particular, more about that shortly), after much research of our own we converted Clementine. It wasn’t hard, Clementine had never been a fan of kibble, despite trying dozens of high-quality brands.

We know there are kibble diets out there that are better than the rest, but in our opinion none come close to feeding carnivores what they evolved to eat- raw meat in the right proportions.

Prey Model Raw

All our four legged companions follow a Prey Model Raw diet.

The PMR diet imitates the diet that canines have been eating for thousands of years. The diet is modelled on whole prey that they would have eaten in the wild, something their bodies have been biologically design to do. A PMR diet ensures that they are getting the essential vitamins, minerals and nutrients to keep them healthy, whilst you get to see the excitement and enthusiasm at feeding time.

What are the benefits of raw feeding?

We believe there are significant benefits to a PMR diet:

  • Improved Digestion

  • Healthier teeth and gums

  • Firmer, smaller stools with little or no odour

  • Healthier looking skin and coat

  • Better weight management

  • Less risk of allergies

  • Calm hyperactive dogs

Each puppy will be weaned from Mum onto a PMR diet. They will leave ready for their new home with a week of raw food, a step-by-step meal planning guide and our continued support.

We aren’t judgy-judgy breeders and we know everyone’s circumstances are different, but as a busy family of five who travel, camp and stay away with friends, we’ve made it work with our pack. We are happy to help support you with whatever choice you make.

Meal Planning

A PMR diet can be as easy or complicated as you wish to make it.

We follow the 80-10-10 rule, 80% muscle meat, 10% offal and 10% bone. The 80-10-10 ratio represents the average meat, bone and offal within prey animals. However, this is a guide to follow, every meal doesn’t have to follow this precisely, balance over time is key.

With a PMR diet becoming increasingly popular, there are a plethora of companies supplying food. As part of our Puppy Care Packs we provide our recommendations of suppliers, ensuring you are confident and happy to continue the raw way of life.

Exercise

When we talk about exercise, we don’t just mean physical exercise, mental stimulation is equally as important for the Vizsla. Exercise and feeding times are often the most exciting parts of a dog’s day and they keenly anticipate them.

Puppies need much less exercise than fully grown dogs. If you over exercise a growing puppy you can quickly over-tire the puppy, but more importantly damage developing joints potentially causing early arthritis. A good rule of thumb is a ratio of five minutes exercise per month of age (up to twice a day) until fully grown, for example fifteen minutes for a three month old puppy. Vizslas are a relatively slow maturing breed, their bones do not fully calcify until they are approximately ten to twelve months old. As such, there is no sensation for the puppy that they are stressing their body, so exercising on hard surfaces and running distances is not appropriate.

There is no doubt that Vizslas love to run and they make excellent running companions, in fact Clementine’s favourite thing is seeing the Canicross harness come out. We are more than happy to guide you through the process of getting your Vizsla Canicross ready, expect to start this around twelve to eighteen months.

Until then, mental exercise is key! Vizslas are intelligent and enjoy mental stimulation, which itself can also lay a basis for future training. Mental stimulation may come in the form of:

Puzzle games: simple puzzle toys and toys in boxes are great for puppies to learn how to deal with frustration.

Scent work: throw a treat in front of puppy and encourage them to find it by guiding them with your hand and words, praise when they find it and allow them to eat it. As puppy becomes more confident you can start them finding a piece of food that has been hidden without them seeing it being hidden. You can still use your hand to guide but then allow their nose to find the food. As puppy becomes more adept increase the area, introduce it in the garden, field etc. If puppy is more toy oriented introduce a toy rather than food.

Hide and seek: The children love this with Clementine. As the name says, hide and seek. Start with a short distance, calling the name, when they find you give lots of praise and/or treats. It’s a great game to get puppy searching but to also practice recall!

Training

A trained dog is a happy dog. Housetraining aside, dogs also need to be taught good manners and the house rules. It might seem cute letting your new puppy sit on the sofa, but unless you’re happy for them to do it for the next hopefully twelve plus years, it’s easier to teach them as a puppy as they will forever take liberties. For us, having young children, jumping up is something we ensure we train early on. We don’t encourage or respond to puppies when they jump up to discourage it.

We’d suggest the below as basic training:

  • Responding to name

  • Learning how to greet and behave politely around other people and dogs

  • To come back when called

  • To walk nicely on a lead

  • To sit and stay on command

  • To allow grooming and examination by yourself or the vet

There are many dog training classes in every area, the Kennel Club even run Good Citizen classes. If you fancy it, we know of several HPR and Ringcraft Classes and would be able to help point you in the right direction for your area.

What To Avoid

This list is by no means complete, but these are all toxic/poisonous to dogs:

Foods

  • Alcohol

  • Chocolate

  • Coffee/caffeine

  • Grapes/raising/currants/sultanas

  • Artificial sweeteners containing xylitol

  • Some human vitamins and supplements

  • Mouldy food

  • Onions/chives/garlic

  • Macadamia nuts

  • Yeast/dough

Plants

  • Brassica plants (cabbage/broccoli/cauliflower/swede/turnip)

  • English Ivy

  • Hydrangea

  • Apple seeds (cyanide)

  • Jasmine (berries)

  • Elderberry

  • Narcissus (bulb)

  • Monkshod

  • Arrow grass

  • Hyacinth (bulb)

  • Boxwood

  • Iris (bulb)

  • Poison Ivy

  • Japanese Yew

  • Rhododendron

  • Rhubarb

  • Cherry Pits (cyanide)

  • Snow on the Mountain

  • Chokecherry

  • Stinging Nettle

  • Avocado Oleander

  • Climbing Lilly

  • Laburnum

  • Toadstool

  • Tobacco

  • Laurel

  • Tulip (bulb)

  • Andromeda

  • Walnut

  • Marigold

  • Wisteria

Household/garden

  • Slug pellets and other pesticides

  • Hair dye

  • Rat poison

  • Oven cleaner

  • Drain cleaner

  • Antifreeze

  • Bleach

  • Insecticides

  • Disinfectants

Natural Treats

Hairy rabbit feet/ears, lamb trotters, hairy deer feet, antlers, dried chicken hearts and wild boar skin.

Whilst they may not sound all that appetising to us, these all natural treats are the ultimate, mouth-watering treat for our four-legged friends.

Aside from being super tasty, though, they also offer a range of other benefits:

  • They’re more nutritious

  • They provide mental stimulation

  • They’re hypoallergenic

  • They have natural deworming properties

  • They contribute to healthy skin and coat

Please avoid rawhide products. The Christmas and novelty rawhide products are highly processed including bleached, dyed and preserved with various chemicals. They are also a choking hazard and a known cause of intestinal blockages.