Top products from r/vizsla

I saw the picture you posted - what a beautiful girl. I've also got a Penny. As for being overwhelmed, know that is totally normal, so don't stress. Getting her signed up for a class asap is also a great move. If you can have a private trainer come over even just for one or two sessions at home, he/she will point out a ton of things you could be doing better and get you started on how to correct them.

As for leash pulling, here's what we did:

• Get a six-foot lead that is easy to grip. Here's the exact one we got: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B016KCD0F8/. It's bright and she didn't want to chew it as much as she wanted to chew the nylon one we started with. You want to get to the point where you can walk with your leash hand totally relaxed at your side. At the start, you'll find that you naturally raise that hand to shorten the lead distance, but try and work to keep it down so the pup has 6 feet of freedom.
  
• Start your walk. From when you leave your house (including on your driveway!), the second she starts to pull, stop moving right-away and wait for her to stop pulling so the leash goes slack by her moving back towards you a bit. This can take some time, be patient. You want her to start realizing that loose leash = green light, tight leash = red light, and that by walking nicely, she'll get to wherever she's trying to go.
  
• When she is walking with the leash slack (often only for a few seconds at the start), praise her constantly. We use "good walk!" to let her know that is the behaviour we want, and then as soon as she starts pulling, we use a correction word like "uh-uh!" and stop dead in our tracks so she knows that's not OK.
  
• We started this late, and so we've dealt with having to correct this by breaking the habit, and while it has worked, it was very slow and makes your walks very slow as well, as you're constantly stopping. I really wish we started this the day we got her.
  
• Lastly, keep your walks short while she's learning this so she can keep her focus, and make sure everyone that walks her understands that the second she pulls, they stop walking.
  
  We also introduced a second exercise to help reinforce this:
  
  

1. Go somewhere that is free of distractions and smells, we used a paved pathway behind our house.
   
2. Have a family member/friend go stand a little ways down the pathway, while you hold the lead.
   
3. Have your pup walk slowly towards that person. Naturally, she is going to be pulling like crazy to get to them. The second she pulls, stop in your tracks, turn her around and walk back to where you started.
   
4. Keep repeating this until she can walk from the start to the person without pulling. This can take a long, long time but it worked wonders for us.
   
   Sorry this got so long. Good luck! We got some of these tips from http://toldin.com/content/teaching-vizsla-walk-loose-lead

1. Vizslas are born running. However, you shouldn't force them to run long distances until their epiphyseal plates close, about 18 months. Normal running, playing, and jumping is fine, just don't force them to go on runs with you. A good time of thumb is start at a 5 min exercise per month of age. At 2 years they should get at least an hour of high exertion exercise every day. They are very active dogs, and mine always remind me when I haven't. A happy vizsla is a tired vizsla, and a bored vizsla is a destructive vizsla.
   
   
2. If you are asking when does a vizsla slow down, they don't. Although around 8 or 9 years old you might be able to catch a glimpse of them without a high speed camera.
   
   
3. Teeth start falling out at 4 months with canines at 6 months. As for the switch, I think it was 12 weeks, but a quick Google search should answer that.
   
   
4. Not sure what you're asking here, they will already have teeth.
   
   When looking at toys, you want things that they can easily fit their mouth around, but large enough the can't swallow. Go to your local goodwill/thrift shop and pick up a few cheap stuffed animals. A good book for first time vizsla owners is the versatile vizsla by Marrion Coffman. It would've answered all the questions you asked and more.
   
   Also, training isn't just for the pup. It's a good way for both of you to learn each other, and what is expected.
   
   Don't stress too much or it will rub off on the pup and you can get a neurotic dog. Remember, this should be FUN!
   
   Edit: I typed this on my phone and didn't proofread. So if anything doesn't make sense that's why, but I'm going to bed.

Do the stuff in this book! It helped me out so much. I only wish that I had done everything in this book. The only thing that I couldn't get myself to do constantly was feed him from Kong products. So I had to deal with him chewing stuff that he shouldn't. It's a really great book, that will help you avoid a lot frustration. It's little rough at times, but worth it.

https://www.amazon.com/Before-After-Getting-Your-Puppy/dp/1577314557

This is a list of other gear that I would buy again:
http://www.biketowleash.com/

https://www.stuntpuppy.com/products/stunt-runner

http://www.gundogsupply.com/k-9-komfort-biothane-check-cord.html

http://freedomnopullharness.com/

http://www.ruffwear.com/Approach-Pack_4

https://www.chewy.com/health-extension-whole-elk-antler/dp/120509?utm_source=google-product&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=f&utm_content=Health%20Extension&utm_term=&gclid=CjwKEAjw1PPJBRDq9dGHivbXmhcSJAATZd_Bol2vs_muxDY32W-rfRrBwNZ50KYJsRhqfULe3TQE4hoCCVTw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds



best of luck!

Cuddle cave my friend: Spot Sleep Zone Cuddle, Faux Suede Cave Dog Bed - Fabric Bottom - 22X17 Inches/Chocolate / Attractive, Durable, Comfortable, Washable Ethical Pets https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00W4YQUXQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_VrJPBbT1T3PY9

Omg I love it!! Where did you get the lion's mane? Is it this one? I would love to see the tail part on a stubby little vizsla tail 🦁

My Visla is 7 months old and loves to run, she is off leash trained but I do use a training collar. I don't shock her, just use the vibrate or the beeper and she comes right back to me. I was surprised how easy it was to train her to be off collar, she will chase anything that runs away but a beep from the collar and she comes right back.

http://www.amazon.com/Petrainer-PET998DRB1-Rechargeable-Rainproof-Electronic/dp/B00W6UVROK?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

It's a Coolaroo bed! We love it - and so does our pup :)

https://www.amazon.com/Original-Elevated-Pet-Bed-Coolaroo/dp/B001HX4280/ref=sr_1_12?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1487256418&sr=1-12&keywords=dog+bed

We give our boy the salmon [Taste of the Wild](
http://www.amazon.com/Taste-Wild-Pacific-Formula-30-Pound/dp/B0018CIP6K). He really likes it and it keeps his coat super shiny.

This looks pretty close! [Amazon ](Nina Ottoson Dog Brick Treat Puzzle Dog Toy by Outward Hound https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0711Y9XTF/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_7VY.BbGTE8GHV)

Is your dog still intact? I'm guessing he's been neutered but if not, that's first.

How much exercise? Many, many problem I've had with my V have been solved by insane amounts of free exercise (not running with you, he's too young). So if the problem is happening at the dog park, take him to a field and have him retrieve for an hour, then take him straight to a dog park. Wringing some of the energy out of the dog should set him up to win.

My female is intact and just turned two. She occasionally does some pretty mean (vocal) resource guarding with other dogs, but I've never feared she would tear into another dog. My first line of defense when this happens is to call her to come to me. If she ignores this, I use a Garmin collar on vibrate. She was trained to know vibrate or a beep means stop. (if you haven't used a collar in any capacity make sure you do research on how to use them effectively. you can really confuse them if they're not used properly. I also have the electrodes covered on mine with electrical tape. I think V's are too soft for shocking) If it's really, really bad (very rare) I'll grab her and point her at my face and give a stern (not screaming) NO w eye contact-pause-and then give her an OK to go back to hell raising.

Also, I had a friend who was raising a German Shepherd pup which became out of control with guarding. He swears by this book which I've not read: http://www.amazon.com/Dog-Whisperer-Compassionate-Nonviolent-Approach/dp/1593375980/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

Helped him immensely.

You should head over to /r/dogtraining for some great info. They endorse positive reinforcement training and should be able to point you in the right direction.

Also, please DO NOT use dominance training. It's been disproved and is not very effective, especially in Vs. It could make the matter worse since the dog will then feel MORE threatened.

I had an issue with my Weim guarding food which we've worked through. Although resource guarding is not the same as sleep aggression, I'd still recommend the book Bones Would Rain From The Sky.

My dad has used this book on all of the dogs we've ever owned (2 labs, 2 vizslas) and we continually receive compliments on how well trained they are.

Most people assume we have an invisible fence, but really my dad just trained our dogs to stay within the boundaries of our yard and curb and they know not to leave. He even runs marathons and trains by running all over our neighborhood and the adjoining forest, and the dogs won't cross any streets unless he tells them it's okay (they run off leash).

What type of lead is Rocco on when he's on his walk? It's common to have pulling/rambunctious pup problems while they are young when using just a collar. We've used a harness and over time all pulling and unwanted behavior has virtually stopped.

For other issues, I'd suggest a gentle lead, which for some reason seems to nullify all of most dogs problems when walking. When you first start using the gentle lead, only put it on for a few minutes with a ton of treats and then work up to using it for a 5 min walk or so. Eventually, the lead will be natural and Rocco might stop this behavior. After he matures a bit more, you can go back to the regular collar/harness.

When our V was about one, she would always start off our little jogs (we'd go for about .5 miles at that age) by getting really excited and trying to bite me/the leash. After about 30 seconds of powering through, she would get into stride. She just was really excited that we were doing something different. Over time, as we worked up her mileage she completely stopped trying to nip at us once she realized it was a regular thing.

Outside of that could your partner make all of her walking sessions complete training sessions? Take a huge bag of treats and work on heel and sitting every few steps? I think if you had Rocco focused on training, he might not even get around to this behavior. It would be a little annoying at first, because it makes a quick walk to use the bathroom much more involved. It might help refocus him though.

I am also in the Nashville, TN area with a Vizsla. Maybe you ran into me! We found ours by emailing the contact us at http://www.vcaweb.org/. If you want to read a book, most breeders will recommend http://www.amazon.com/Versatile-Vizsla-Marion-I-Coffman/dp/1577790561

Maybe some acclimatizing? Like, get a thunderstorm CD and play it at low volumes while you guys play, then ramp it up to louder and as loud as you can ... start it at odd times, and always a treat as the BOOM! hits, to distract and counter some of the existing anxiety ... then, in a next phase you ramp down the energy level at the BOOM! by paying less and less attention to it until finally you just ignore it.

I kind of did that with the vacuum cleaner when our Viz was a pup, and at this point he ignores the vacuum until I get within a couple inches, then he ambles away.

As @Requi3m points out, they pick up cues from you - another thing we did to limit reaction to noises like that was that if we were there when they happened (as we made sure to be for the first few Independence Day fireworks times) then we made sure we had his attention on us (playing or talking, whatever) and if he barked/reacted much we made a disappointed sound and turned away. But if he ignored the sounds, so did we.

Amazon! click here :)

http://www.amazon.com/Cant-Vizsla-Bertie-worldwide-shipping/dp/B00W9LVX5Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1450881680&sr=8-1&keywords=I+can%27t+keep+calm+I%27m+a+vizsla

Not really. Basic fetch games and Vs have naturally soft bites and birdy noses. A book I read (Gun Dog by Wolters ) recommended fetching a shoe brush for even softer bites but I use sticks, tennis balls, whatever. Just work on a complete retrieve.

Gun Dog: Revolutionary Rapid Training Method https://www.amazon.com/dp/052512005X/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_EAbCub0A1B408