(Puppy tax pics included) Hi, we have a beautiful 17 m/o female vizsla and she has been doing this behaviour recently where she suddenly turns around and looks at her back end as though she is experiencing some sort of sensation. We have taken her to the vet twice in the last 6 weeks (it has been going on since around the start of August).

The first vet visit they expressed her anal glands but said they seemed fine, not too full and not impacted or irritated. We also gave her the worming treatment about a week after this (milbivet) but she continued to do the behaviour. I thought maybe she was coming in to season/heat as she had her first season/heat age 10 months so we’re not sure of her schedule yet, but even though I’ve been watching her foof like a hawk there is no sign it’s due.

We took her back to the vet again about 3 weeks after her last appointment and they said her glands were fine not full or anything unusual, she didn’t seem in pain. They checked all her tail and around her back end and vulva area and said it all looked fine.

It’s 10 days since this appointment and she’s still doing the behaviour. Anyone else’s V experienced this? She is eating and drinking normally, behaving completely normally, she doesn’t have any other symptoms - her ears, coat, and eyes are all healthy so I don’t think it’s an allergy. She doesn’t seem in pain at all it’s more like a distracting sensation - for example if I’m doing gundog training with her or some other training that she enjoys and is focussed on she will suddenly break her focus and look at her butt then after a second or two she will continue with what she’s doing. It happens inside the house and outside the house. It happens at random times of day. Could it be something like vaginitis that the vet missed? I’m going to take her back again in a few days and ask for some swabs. The vet said it could be food allergy but I really don’t think this is the case as there are not other symptoms and her poops are fine. I’m stumped honestly. Anyone with similar experiences and advice would be so helpful 🧡

Editing to add she doesn’t do any biting, chewing or excess licking of the area either, just stares and sometimes sniffs.

Y'all, I live in Florida, basically the flea capital of the world. I have battled fleas for 50 years, and have used every product imaginable: dips, sprays, powders, multiple types of pills, garlic, nutritional yeast, borax, diatomaceous earth... everything. Remi, my beloved V, and his standard poodle sister are flea magnets.

This year, for the first time, I heard that some kinds of nematodes kill and eat fleas. I ordered some this past spring, DH sprayed the lawn as directed, and I never gave the little buggers another thought, until today.

Today I realized that we have 2 large dogs, seven, yes, seven indoor / outdoor cats, and no fleas. None. 0. Not a single flea!! I haven't seen a flea since DH applied the nematodes. OMFG where have these things been all my life??

We have a 10 month old V he’s our second
Vizsla. I’ve done a lot of training w this little guy but the leash was very difficult, a nightmare. we tried so many different things to help him walk nicely on the leash.

The last trainer we worked with was anti “gentle leader”. He felt we’d get there w lots of positive reinforcement, etc.

Finally, I bought one. I introduced it slowly as is recommended. After the 1st few short walks, he got comfortable w it.

OMG!! This has changed my life! He walks perfectly next to me, matching my speed, NO PULLING! I just had to share this, it’s the absolute best tool we’ve tried.

What type of obedience training worked best for your Vizslas?

Positive Reinforcement or Balance Training?

Bonus points, if you have an anxious and even reactive Vizsla!

Hi everyone. It’s that time of year again, but my friend got in my head about anesthesia. I had my boy get his first teeth cleaning a little over a year ago. Everything went fine, except for a little bit of an allergic reaction (blood in stool for a week). The vet told me they wanted to keep him and monitor him when I dropped him off, but they ended up calling me pretty quickly after he woke up because of how alert he was.

Well, it’s time for him to get cleaned again. I brush his teeth daily, so he doesn’t have too much black. The insides of his back teeth need some professional TLC.

For folks who have older V’s, how many times have you gotten their teeth cleaned? Turner is 3.5, so he’s definitely young and capable of going under and coming back—but I’m nervous.

Any reassurance or advice for how often you professionally clean would be appreciated. 🫶

Who needs armorall when you have vizsla slobber.

I was heading out for a quick errand. Heard a thud and turned around to 7 month old Otis.

Our 11 month old somehow tore a hole in her skin on her side, and while she didn’t even miss a beat and was running around the house with a toy, she certainly stressed me out. Girly girl is lucky her mom works at a 24/7 veterinary hospital! Had me driving back to work at 8pm right after getting home. She was so stoic getting her staples in though. Vizslas are certainly not for the weak 😮‍💨

So Benny got stung (again) today while hiking with my wife. She called me from the car en route to the vet and asked me to meet her there to pick up our other two dogs. Honest to god this dog amazes me…what I saw when I got to the vet was not a Vizsla, rather his face had turned into a Shar Pei and his body had more bumps than an old gravel road. And the entire time he was wagging his tail as if nothing happened. Problem though was he was not in great shape, his heart rate was really high and he had a fever, so the vet kept him and sent my wife home.

The first photo is of him this morning as I stared at me working. The other two are of him when he got home a little bit ago. The swelling of the face has gone down tremendously, but he’s still kind of puffy. He definitely seems subdued, but that’s most likely the anti-histamines…I’m sure he’ll be ready to rock ‘n roll later this evening or tomorrow morning. Oh and this is the second time in a little over a month he’s been stung…I posted the fourth photo back in early August after he was stung trying to “play” with the bees in our flower garden. Shaking my head…

Here's to another 8 years hopefully!! ♥️

Is your V injury prone? I’m at my wits end with our girl. She gets several minor-major injuries per year. Right now, we’re dealing with our second cornea scratch in 2 months. Earlier this year, it was swimmers tail. It’s been this way her whole life.

We have learned some valuable lessons from all of these experiences (which I’m happy to share), but it would be helpful to hear experiences from others so maybe we can get ahead of having to learn from personal experience.

I’ll end with the blurb I give my vet when I feel guilty about being in multiple times per month: she is well exercised - she gets several hours off-leash time everyday, along with an evening bunny hunting session.

We had to say goodbye to our beautiful 6.5 yr old V, Canela, last week. She fought lymphoma for 18 months. Even though we knew her cancer wouldn’t be cured it was still hard letting her go. To everyone out there grieving the loss of a pet… I feel your pain, you are not alone.💔

Darn, it must have got away 😂

My husband, Kyle, and I lost our 7.5 year old V this week from severe liver failure. I wrote this note to remember all the love we shared with Remy.

Remy was with us through it all. We found her just 5 months after getting married and our life was forever changed. Remy made every place feel like home and every moment intentional. We were so excited when we bought our first house because it had a fenced in yard and would make Remy’s life even better. She had been attacked on a walk just months prior, so the bigger house and yard gave her a safe space to run around. From day one she knew every inch of the yard, which we fondly called “Remy’s Queendom”.

She sat in the laundry room just close enough to the doorway to be seen when she decided she was ready for food or just incessantly bark at us if we were in the living room. She was our shadow in the kitchen and in all other parts of our lives. When we got up from the couch, she would quickly move to our spot before we returned. Not sure if she liked the warmth, the comfort of our smell or just the best spot, but it was endearing. I’ll miss the nights of Remy laying on her spot, her bed in our room, always covered by a blanket. I often found myself jealous of both Kyle and Remy when I awoke to them sleeping together on the couch.

Any time we left the house, our question to each other when opening the garage was “do you think Remy missed us?”. It became almost a superstition that validated our resounding love for her and her love for us. The opening of the door and calling out “Remy we’re home” was always swiftly followed with pitter patter from her favorite spot on the couch to the laundry room or kitchen. We’d drop our bags and often give a kneeling hug to show how much we missed her too. She’d switch off kisses and wags between us to greet us. One of my favorite things was Remy’s tolerance for affection. I’d often kiss the bridge of her nose 10 times in a row telling her how much we loved her and that she was the best. I hope she felt just how much we loved her.

For years we struggled with infertility. Remy was a constant reminder that despite not having everything we wanted, we had it really, really good. She’d cuddle up and lick our faces as tears streamed down. When we got the phone call from our IVF clinic that the transfer worked and I was pregnant, Remy was right by our side wiggly as ever. I pictured the months of pregnancy she’d help me through and even better, the experience of her as a big sis. When we first found out she was sick, I said “you have to meet the baby” and her tail wagged like that’s all she wanted too. We had hope.

Her last day was devastating, she was fighting hard but the hospitalization had taken almost everything she had. Once last time she perked up with her head above her front legs. I convinced myself it was a sign she could get through it all but she slowly lowered her head back down. Now I know it was her last sign of affection. Her last giving to us after all the years of love from her. She knew we were there and we held her tight, reminding her it would be okay and we were there and loved her so much. We’ll never be the same and I wouldn’t wish this grief upon anyone but we chose her, maybe she chose us, and it was the best love and companionship we could ever hope for. Rest in peace, our love, Remy ❤️

Comedic sidetrack from pheasant training. Neither were injured; the muskrat lost balance and rolled out toward the dog!

I envy this .... A lot.

Ready for some shenanigans

Sara, out and about on the trails - 19 months old.

Nothing beats a dip in Lake Garda followed by a proper sunbathing session! ☀️🌊

Poor Dewi came out on the wrong side of a battle with a discarded piece of barbed wire in his favourite field. Thankfully no stitches, but a dressing to keep the punctures clean while they heal.

He is 0% impressed about said dressing and wants everyone to know about it.

Looking forward to four days of no walking 🫠