Vizsla Breed History

Finder, pointer, retriever, three-gun dog in one; strong, agile, a good house dog, expecting and giving friendship and trust – those are the characteristics of today’s Vizsla.

The origin of the Vizsla is shrouded within the peaks and valleys of the Carpathian Mountains, for it was through this mountain chain that the Magyars, or Central Asian Gypsies, journeyed in the ninth century in search of farmland and with them went their dogs.

Finally they settled in the Carpathian Basin, and it was throughout these rugged plains and valleys that their dogs mated with a local Mastiff-type hound. Thus was the hunting ability of two breeds combined.

With the passing of time the country became known as Hungary, and turned into a kind of feudalism, nobles and warlords taking portions of land under their absolute control. With farming established, landowners had time to train the Magyar-Mastiff cross to hunting needs. The dogs had a short muzzle, large floppy ears and a keen sense of smell. These dogs found game, flushed it, to be retrieved by falcon.

An upset to this type of hunting occurred when Hungary was invaded and occupied by the Turks in the fifteen hundreds. The Turks had their own dogs, which they bred to the Magyars Mastiff cross. The resulting dog was called a Vizsla, which in Turkish means “to seek” and in Hungarian “to point”. The dog was now not only a finder, but also a pointer of game.

One hundred and fifty years later the Turkish occupation ended and Hungary came under the control of the Hapsburgs. Again, the land was divided between the upper classes. This period also saw the advent of the firearm, which enhanced the prowess of wealthy landowners. They organised shoots to which visitors brought their own pointer-type dog which was crossed in turn with the Hungarian hounds. It was through this crossing that the Vizsla we know today came into being, and for that we have to thank Hungarian aristocrats.

With the passing of time German, Austrian and English visitors took Vizslas back to their country to improve their stock, crossing them with pointers. But the Hungarians suddenly realised their stock of original Vizslas was depleted, so they began to rebuild the breed using several types of dog.

The breed re-established, owners formed an organisation which selected a dozen Vizslas and from this nucleus of three males and nine females are all the registered Vizslas in Hungary descended.

But the vicissitudes of the now well-established Vizsla were about to begin. Following World War I, in 1920, the Hungarian Peace Treaty was signed, with Hungary being divided between four countries. Some three million Hungarians found themselves on foreign soil in a gigantic mix-up of land. Aristocrats, the Vizsla owners and breeders, were now no longer living in Hungary, but in parts of a taken-over country.

Not deterred by this upheaval Vizsla owners and breeders instigated the Magyar Vizsla Breeding Association. The first Standard for Vizslas was drawn up, and later, in 1935, revised. The breed was now officially recognised by national dog clubs world wide.

Next crisis came with World War 2, when Hungary was forced into war against the Allies of German pressure. Once again Hungary was invaded and occupied, this time by the Soviet Communists, who deemed the Vizsla to be a symbol of wealth. They destroyed ninety percent of the breed.

Followed an exodus of Hungarian hierarchy, who took their Vizslas to neighbouring countries; that is, what Vizslas remained out of a registered five thousand.

Elizabeth Mihalyi fled to Austria. She took with her her Vizsla, Panni XV, pregnant with her third litter, whelped during the flight. It was impossible to care for them, and they were destroyed.

Elizabeth spent six years in Austria. During this time she located a male Vizsla living in Vienna. He was called Betyar, and was the first Vizsla registered in the Austrian International Dog Registry. Panni was the second register in the book. When she gave birth to Betyar’s puppies the litter was the first Vizsla litter registered in Austria. Several of the seven puppies went to homes in Italy and Germany, and became the Vizsla breeding stock in those countries.

When Elizabeth finally left for America, she had to leave Panni behind. Later, she acquired a bitch from Panni’s line, and thus bred Vizslas in her new country. The Vizsla, like many Hungarian immigrants, had reached America.

From the hardships as a Magyar camp follower, the Vizsla has evolved through revolution, civil war, invasion, occupation and throughout all the determination of Hungarian dog lovers. Not only have they given us a canine friend, but truly, the aristocrat of gun dogs.