viva la Vizsla!

Pronounced: VEESH-la. "The Vizsla is a dog breed originating in Hungary. They are natural hunters endowed with a good nose and an above average trainability. Although they are lively, gentle mannered, demonstrably affectionate and sensitive, they are also fearless and possessed of a well-developed protective instinct. They make for good household companions and/or family dogs."

I mentioned in a previous post that dogs are addicting. Well, since we adopted Riley, we've been dreaming and planning on what type of dog to get next. Let me interject right here... if we ever ran into a breeder with gordon setter-golden retriever pups, we would, without hesitation, take another "designer mutt" home with us! Riley has been fabulous; he's got a great temperament and lots of love to share, and we are certainly content with him buuuut he needs a friend, eventually. We WILL NOT get another dog any sooner than next fall since we currently live in an apartment and do not have the room for all of us to cohabit in a happy and healthy manner... but until then, we can dream, right? Anyway, our attention has been drawn to Vizslas! Here are the top 3 reasons why we want a Vizsla (in no particular order) along with some darn cute pictures:

1. Temperament: "Vizslas are high energy, gentle-mannered, loyal, caring, and highly affectionate. They quickly form close bonds with their owners, including children. Often they are referred to as "velcro" dogs because of their loyalty and affection. They are quiet dogs, only barking if necessary or provoked." Also, they're known to be fine retrievers. Just what we want, a playmate for Steve, I mean Riley, a snuggle-bug and a possible running buddy, Riley is too slow :(


2. Color & coat: They are a gorgeous golden-rust color or sometimes more copper/brown. Either way, very attractive. And they typically have short hair with no undercoat, which means no shedding!


3. Unique: I don't know anyone who owns a Vizsla (don't get one before us!). In fact, I had never heard of them until reading an article in Richmond Parents Monthly (I don't know why we had that paper) titled What Dog is Right for Your Family? It would be neat to share with people about an uncommon and excellent breed.

Vizsla 2010!!!

*Info. and photos courtesy of Wikipedia and Google images*