Great Information To Read About!

  If you are looking for a pet for your family, or as your companion, it is of paramount importance to select the right breeder to at least direct you toward the right lineage, then to the right litter, and ultimately to the right puppy.  It truly starts with the breeder. If you can find a breeder you can trust, who has a sufficient amount of experience and knowledge, and is avidly involved with showing and breeding show dogs, then you are taking the first step.  Those who breed to improve on the lines they possess will breed in hopes to acquire that particular puppy who will win over other breeders and judges alike.  It is a satisfaction that is rewarded from having the respect of the breeders in the Vizsla community.  However, not all puppies in the litter can be kept by the breeders.  Eventually, these puppies must find great, solid homes.  The last pick puppy in that litter may in fact turn out to be the best looking adult Vizsla at maturity.  All the puppies in the same litter share all the DNA information passed down from generations upon generations of healthy champions whose owners loved and improved upon.  There truly should only be subtle differences between them.  It is the litter that is critical to your decision making process.  Breeders will more than likely select a particular puppy because of certain anatomy angulations in structure, or height in rear pasterns.  Generally, the entire litter will share in the basic characteristics of substance, disposition, and coat color.  The qualities in a good breeding usually outshine other litters that have been bred blindly and for profit. 
 

• Good and reputable breeders strive to convey an open and honest line of communication amongst other breeders.  Because they love their dogs, they participate in activities such as field, obedience, and conformation show events to enhance their dogs’ highest points of characteristics.   Granted, there is a distinct pride in achieving wins, but these events allow breeders, exhibitors, and participants to take note of accomplishments made by these dogs.  Breeders are then able to use their observations to learn more of what each dog can offer.  It is a cycle which was initiated by the American Kennel Club to improve or develop each breed to its full purpose and capacity. 
   

• Good breeders breed to improve the breed as a whole.  They understand what the breed is currently lacking and keep track of profound faults in the majority of the Vizslas.  They study pedigrees, memorize dogs and converse with other breeders about dogs they do not know.  (There truly is a fascination with delving into the history of past generations of golden retrievers.)  Most importantly, good breeders consistently screen their breeding stock for health issues and eliminate a breeding program which may be a detriment to an entire generation of golden retrievers, if not their own. 
   

• Good breeders understand that they are not God.  They understand that it requires a great deal of information, analysis, forethought, and luck.  It is a science that has not proven to be infallible.  There should never be an assumption that there will be a perfect breeding without study.  Good breeders can only hope, through their endeavors, to produce beautiful, healthy, and long lived golden retrievers.  They acknowledge limitations and boundaries in breeding.  They particularly take on this enormous responsibility with the help and guidance of others, present and especially from the past. 
   

• Too many breeders believe that they need to breed a high number of litters to get what they want.  They seem to also breed a high quantity of litters for financial reasons with no regard to the numbers of good homes available for this breed in their area.  They will breed whatever they want, however many they want, and think that the end result will fix itself.  Breeding is a huge responsibility to living souls.  It should not be taken lightly.
   

• If you would like to get involved with your breed, study the breed and the Breed Standard.  Read about the breed’s history and understand the present direction that the parent club, the Vizsla Club of America, is taking.  Learn the basic structure in a dog and how it relates to its original purpose.  Eventually, you will start asking questions and forming your own opinions about what is most important about this breed.  Everybody has their own interpretation of the Breed Standard, and when you come to understand structure, you too will have your own interpretation.

     The breed standard is a set of written guidelines put together by the Vizsla Club of America, the parent club of all Vizsla clubs in the United States, our national club.  These guidelines help all breeders to conform to certain character features when breeding.  It helps us to stay within certain height measurements, eye color, pigment color, and general disposition of the breed.  Without such outlines, we would have an array of Vizslas and no common objective when breeding. 

1. These guidelines also help to assist AKC judges make their selections in competition.  In turn, it conveys to the breeders which dogs comes closest to their interpretation of the Breed Standard.  Top winning dogs and show champions are then highly considered as high quality breeding stock.  Of course, they are all critiqued and scrutinized a million times over, but it serves the purpose in choosing the right dog when breeding.  Which is why showing dogs in conformation is so important if one would like to breed. 

2. My definition of the structure of any dog is the anatomy of the canine species that relates to the overall health of the dog.  Depending on the purpose of each breed, structure plays a key role in its intended use.  Vizslas were originally bred to assist in hunting game in field and water.  It requires more than just four legs, a tail, and teeth.  There are so many specific anatomy traits that help the endurance level of a dog, as well as overall health.  For example, the depth of chest can actually allow for more lung capacity.  A well placed shoulder can ease more comfort in a dog trotting all day. These are just a few examples of what is truly needed in the breed, which most self proclaimed breeders do not know.  It is important to know that if your breeder does not know structure and the written standard, then your breeder is pretending to be a breeder and has made a lot of money with no regard to improving the breed, but their bank account.. 

3. It is important that the Vizslas purpose and function is not lost in haphazard breeding practices by so many profit seeking breeders who do not participate in any of the AKC events.  These breeders lack vital knowledge in their dogs’ pedigree and ultimately do not know what they are breeding.  They also lack a great deal of information on important stud dogs by not communicating with other breeders and exhibitors.  If these self proclaimed breeders do not participate in AKC events, how well can they truly understand structure?  Their strategy to purchase dogs out of champions to then breed the same dogs over again limits their abilities as breeders to minimize certain faults and frailties in structure from the breed as a whole.  There are too many unwanted dogs and puppies in this world to produce more puppies just for the sake of making money.  Dogs should be bred as an enhancement of its predecessors, so that we can enjoy and entertain its intended purpose and other assets that are beneficial to its families. 

4. We do insist that either the sire or dam, has an AKC show or hunting title.  Not all breedings must have this, but one must research and understand the pedigree of a prospective puppy.  Is there diversification?  Do most of the dogs in the lineage have titles?  Also, please make certain that both parents have their health clearances, such as those from the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) and the Canine Eye Registry Foundation (CERF).

5. OFA is an acronym for The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals.  It is an organization developed in 1966 to study, record, and limit the widespread disease of hip dysplasia. Today, it has grown to help prevent genetic hip and elbow dysplasia through radiographic  screenings.  OFA also provides evaluations on ultrasonic screenings for heart abnormalities, such as SAS.  Without the assistance of OFA, most of all the AKC recognized breeds would suffer widespread decline in healthy and happy dogs.

6. CERF stands for Canine Eye Registry Foundation.  This is an organization that evaluates and can certify canines, clear of any inheritable eye diseases, such as cataracts or entropian.  A canine ophthalmologist will examine the eyes of a dog and will fill out a report provided by CERF stating any abnormalities in the eye region of that dog.  If both eyes are normal, then the ophthalmologist will fill out the CERF report to send to the CERF organization.  There, they will review the report and send back a certificate which states the dog eyes are healthy, normal, and okay to be bred.  However, if the ophthalmologist finds a cataract, or other inheritable disease, it will be marked in the CERF report and CERF will issue a letter stating that the dog is not within their standard of a breeding prospect.  This is to let the breeder know that this particular dog may pass on inheritable eye diseases which may affect the dog and its puppies gravely.  A particular eye disease is Entropian.  This is where the eyelids are formed in a way to where the eyelashes grow toward the eyes, causing immense tearing and pain.  A surgical procedure to resolve this may cost anywhere between $3000-$5000.  This is why it is extremely important to know if the parents of prospective puppy has its hip and eye clearances; so that you won't have to dish out a great deal more than the cost of your puppy.