Collecting our Vizsla puppy tomorrow...

[tim0409]

Hi,

After around two years of contemplation we chose a Vizsla puppy last month and pick him up tomorrow. My wife has spent a fortune this week on various dog related items (crate/bed/toys/bowls/food/treats etc etc) so we are well prepared but I'm mildly apprehensive about the next few weeks....any hints and tips gratefully received! We live around two hours from the breeder; initially I was going to take our Suzuki Jimny but it's a bit of a shaky ride so might take our old Micra auto, which is surprisingly smooth (and I'm less worried about "accidents")

Here he is...

[tim0409]

Thanks for the replies! We picked him up today and it was fine although the drive from Glasgow to East Lothian wasn't without incident...he vomited 30 mins in but thankfully most of it landed in the centre console and down my wife's arm (tomorrow's job is to remove the console and clean underneath...). He settled after that, but we ended up in heavy traffic on the Edinburgh City Bypass where he was sick again although we were better prepared this time. A car in the next lane wound the windows down to speak to us after their kids spotted Freddie (they later posted on a Facebook group, which my wife is a member of). He has had a good look around the house and garden, went to the toilet outside and is now currently sleeping next to me in his bed; all good so far!

[tim0409]

Mikebentley said:

Our “Bear” is 6 now. Here she is with Claude (Bulldog)and Matilda (Bengal) by the fire last Christmas. She is the calm, good natured and the most trainable dog we have ever owned.

She knows her boundaries and what is acceptable or not in spite of my wife and children’s attempts to convince her otherwise.

She is fab.

Great pic! We have wood burner, which we use every night but I didn't get around to buying a guard for it but I think Freddie will love it!

In terms of the car, we decided to go with the Micra yesterday and the breeder recommended we take him on our lap for the journey although we did take a crate with us in just in case. We were lucky to get one of the new Suzuki Jimny so we kitted out the back for him (boot tray with storage compartment and a crate. From now on we will transport him in it (only for short trips at the moment).

Last night he was very cautious as you would expect although I did manage to get him to go to the toilet outside. My wife slept on the couch with him in his basket and he got on okay; he is like a different dog this morning, lots of exploration, playing and sleeping. We were worried that he didn't want to drink since he got home so my wife put some water with his food and he lapped it up. My wife and I couldn't have children so it feels weird having something that is completely dependant on you!!!
Here he is exploring the garden.

[tim0409]

Thanks for all the replies. The last few days have been great, but also “challenging”.... He is a real bundle of energy and appears to be settling in well. We have taken him out a few times in a papoose including to a local dog friendly cafe and he was really well behaved. The toilet training also seems to be going to plan and he’s also learned to “sit” (just!). The problem we have is at night; my wife has been sleeping downstairs on the couch close to his cage and takes him out to the toilet but he continues to cry for attention/play every two hours. Last night I built up a bed in a spare room/office for my wife or me to sleep in and moved his crate in there with the plan of moving it further away each night (following advice from her puppy book) although opinion on this is divided. Any advice would be gratefully received! We also looking at getting a play pen; any thoughts?

Edited by tim0409 on Wednesday 4th December 13:19

[tim0409]

I thought I would update the thread with some recent pictures. He is doing really well and growing so fast! We weighed him yesterday and he is 13.6kg. As soon as he had his injections we started walking him which really helped with his energy levels; we are lucky to live next to a great beach so he really enjoys his (short) walks. His training is coming along well, and he was housetrained within the first week which was a relief. He goes absolutely mental in the evenings for around an hour when he is tired (I think this is called the "zoomies"), but he has been getting better in the last week; he requires a lot of attention but I so glad we finally took the plunge - I've struggled with depression in the past and I can testify that owning a dog is a very good antidepressant!

[tim0409]

gifdy said:

Lovely dog ! We have a Viszla puppy coming in 4 weeks so watching your thread with a lot of interest My brother has two so I know the world of madness we are about to enter !

Let us know when you take delivery! Ours has really grown in the last few weeks, and has (thankfully) calmed down a bit in the evenings. He managed to pick up a parasitic infection so has been a bit under the weather but he was back on form today. We live next to a beach and woods, and he absolutely loves running/leaping about in the dunes; the last few weeks has seen him start running around really fast which is great to see. All in all he is shaping up to be a great dog; I was perhaps less sure than my OH about the whole dog thing but I have become really attached to him recently! I've even agreed to sell our Suzuki Jimny as he absolutely hates it (the ride isn't the best in the back) and buy a more practical car!

[tim0409]

Your puppy looks great - good luck tomorrow!

[tim0409]

Sideways Tim said:

How is your boy doing?

He is doing really well, thanks. We seem to have got into a good routine and he is sleeping through the night although he is very definitely not a morning dog! He is still a bit mad for 30 minutes in the evening when he is overtired but apart from that he is great. We are always getting comments on how calm he is for a Vizsla as he is quite happy to sit around in cafes etc without causing any bother. My wife has just got in from his final puppy training class......




He loves the beach!

[tim0409]

gifdy said:

Glad to hear they calm down ! We’re one week in. House training going pretty well, and he’s a sitting machine but the zoomies are hard work. He also hasn’t really settled down at night so we’re all walking around like zombies

I remember it well; we were up every two hours (at least!!) Your pup is lovely.

Here is Freddie today on his way into Edinburgh on the train; he is so unbelievably calm when he is out and about, although the first thing he did when we left the station was do a poo in the middle of a busy road!

Edited by tim0409 on Saturday 14th March 19:03

Edited by tim0409 on Saturday 14th March 19:05

[tim0409]

He’s beautiful!

Freddie was/is a nightmare with biting. He has got better though, although when he is overtired he is a hard work, not least because he is getting bigger by the day; last night I bent down to get something and he launched himself at my face - it’s not even a proper bite, he’s just playing/mouthing but we really need to get on top of it. We’ve tried making a high pitched yelp and turning around but that has only had limited success, so any suggestions would be grateful received.

Apart from that he is SO much more chilled than I was expecting him to be. We are staying in an empty hotel tonight (my wife needs to be around to administer payroll, or what’s left of it!) and he has been absolutely fine, even taking him for a walk through the centre of Edinburgh. I got a fright today though - we have whistled trained him so we let him off the lead when we go to the beach near our house. It was busier than usual and at one point he took off at what felt like 100mph and kept running, and running....I chased after him and he finally decided to turn around and run back towards me. I think I will have to step up the high value treats in training!

He is 6 months old tomorrow, and he has become such a big part of our lives.

[tim0409]

Poor Freddie has not been well this week. He ate his dinner on Monday night and woke us up at 5am vomiting. He hasn't eaten or drunk since so we took him to the vet the next day, and they advised us to keep an eye on him. The vet dropped by the house last night, and he was admitted this morning for an X-ray; there is apparently an obstruction in his intestine so they are operating as I type this. Fingers crossed everything goes well.

He turned one last week; here he is on his birthday....

[tim0409]

Thanks for the kind replies. I've just got off the phone with the vet and Freddie is fine if a little groggy! They had to push through what was in his intestine, and open up his stomach to remove a large quantity of seaweed! He's in overnight and back tomorrow.

He won't be doing this for a while.....

[tim0409]

Unknown_User said:

Are there any more updates on Freddie's recovery from his seaweed eating misdemeanour?

We've just picked him up and he was so excited to see us! I think the cone thing is going to take him a bit of getting used to though; I've ordered a soft cone, which might make things easier although the wound is pretty big so we need to be careful he definitely can't get to it. As a first time dog owner the last week has been pretty stressful!

[tim0409]

MrsMiggins said:

Glad to see Freddie is ok! I'd love to have a dog and if/when I get one it'll be a Vizsla.

Did you get him from a breeder in the Glasgow area?

Many thanks; we got him from a breeder near Lanark recommended to us. They were great and really knew the breed having had vizslas for years. Freddie was from their last litter as they are now retired.

[tim0409]

Turn7 said:

The inflatable collars can be better than a cone if you can find one......

Glad to see he is up and about.

Many thanks for the recommendation; I've just ordered one from Amazon for delivery tomorrow!

[tim0409]

juice said:

Yeah we were totting up Oscar's misdemeanors this year. It came to 630 quid in Vets fees for thing's he's eaten

March : 3 x hotcross buns. Had to be rushed to the vets, and vomit induced. 130 quid.

Sept : 1 x Bamboo stick stuck in throat after he snaffled half a breakfast bap on the way to the IOW. Had to google a Vet on the IOW while on the ferry and took him straight there when we landed. Was stuck in his throat. Sedated, stick removed - 280quid.

Yesterday : Ate god-knows what. Was excessively drooling. Took to the vets, 2 anti-emetic injections. 120 quid. Fine as rain this morning.

BTW : I'd recommend a suitical. They fit round the body with poppers at the back (and a big hole at the back, for well - the obvious !). We got one for Oscar when he was neutered as he didn't get on with the cone of shame at all. We put it on and he just wouldn't move, was like having a dog statue !

The bill for Freddie was £2400 this week Thankfully we are insured!

The inflatable collar was delivered at lunchtime and it's definitely better than the lampshade; I will see how he gets on with it and might go down the suit route if it's a problem. We put a mattress on the floor last night with his bed next to it so he didn't need to jump up. He was fine for a few hours then I woke up to find his plastic protector bumping off my head as he tried to lick me...