Hungarian Pointer or Viszla

The vast Hungarian planes, between the Danube and Tisza are very rich for small game hunting, especially partridges and hares, and also, from the 18th century in pheasants. That is why it is not strange that many breeds of dogs were born in these places. The most important is the Viszla, a good pointer with multiple qualities of a hunter. The first data about this dog are from the 18th century and come from the Zayngroc zone. Among its ancestors, we surely find the yellow hunting dogs brought by the Turkish. In the same way, the German Short-Haired Pointer, the Red Hannover Dog and other tracker dogs have participated in the birth of this pointer breed. In 1917, the center of the breeding moved to Kapsovár and since then, the dogs have been raised without being crossed.

The Viszla is intelligent, easy to train and a good tracker; many specimens behave in an excellent way in the water. Due to its extraordinary qualities and also unusual color, this breed was appreciated not only in Hungary but also in other countries and continents. Compared to other pointers, the Viszla is not a precocious dog and a good part of its innate qualities, the pointing for example, is expressed later.

Size: male 57-62 cm; female 53-58 cm. Weight: 22-28 kg. Colors: dark yellow, eventually with a reddish patch (1). A brown or light yellow is not accepted. The hair is short, straight and rough, greasy and flexible to the touch. In all the body, the pigmentation is dark yellowish brown; the nose, the border of the eyelids, the pads of the legs and the claws have a darker tonality of the same color, but they are never black. The walking is agile and the steps are characteristic of the breed. Generally, the dog chases the hunt at a gallop. It constantly stays in contact with its master and it works "under the weapon".

From time to time there are longer haired puppies. In the 1930s, the Hungarian experts got them crossing these specimens with the Drahthaar, the Drotzöru Magiar Viszla (2). The hair of this hard-haired pointer is 3-4 cm and it is rough and matt to protect the dogs from the cold and the frozen water during duck hunting. The color is the same for the short-haired Viszla. The breed is not balanced at all; in the litters sometimes there are puppies with defects in the hair coloration.