The Vizsla Lab mix or Vizslador is an intelligent dog with a strong history in field sports. These gorgeous pups can make great family pets for active homes, but they have a lot of energy to burn and a strong need to be together. They can be clingy and sensitive, slow to mature and shed a lot too. However, if you have the time and patience for positive reinforcement training and a sport like agility, their kind, friendly and eager to please temperament is incredibly rewarding.
Contents
Where Does the Vizsla Lab Mix Come From?
It is only in the last decade or so that Vizslas and Labradors have been combined regularly. Before then it was usually just a farm based accident, or someone producing local working ranch dogs for convenience. However, we can learn a lot about their history by getting the know the parent breeds’ origins.
The Vizsla has a long history, and in ancient times it was used to hunt Falcons. They are still popular working dogs today, and are even used by the Transport Security Administration for search and rescue operations, and can also be a seeing-eye dog.
The Labrador had its origins in Newfoundland, Canada. Fishermen took these dogs on boats with them to help haul in their catch. Today they are also used extensively as service dogs, law enforcement and military dogs, as well as hunting companions.
What Do They Look Like?
Although they are a mixed breed, the Vizsla Lab mix has a fairly consistent appearance. They have floppy ears, long legs, barrel chests and an alert expression. All their coats are short and they tend to be more likely to have orange or chocolate coats than the black or yellow from the Labrador side of the family.
They are also high shedding dogs, that will benefit from weekly grooming especially in the spring.
Vizsla Lab Mix Temperament
The Vizslador is a high energy dog which loves to work. They need loads of exercise, so if you are an active, outdoors person, they would love to join in on your adventures. Their hunting background belies just how soft natured and sensitive they are. It could be said they need just as many cuddles as they need hours of exercise!
Don’t be surprised if your pup becomes your canine-shaped shadow as you go about your business at home. They too will be a kid for a while too, renowned for their extended puppyhood.
Training and Socialization
This mix is very trainable, but their delayed maturity means you will need a bit of patience in the early years. One of the most important things to remember about this mix is that the Vizsla side of the family could bring with it some skittishness. It is vital to thoroughly socialize your dog when it is small to make them more comfortable in a variety of settings.
Vizsla Lab Mix Health
Vizsla and Labrador dogs are both prone to hip dysplasia, vision problems and bloat. It’s important that both parents have good hip scores, a recent eye test and a clear certificate for PRA blindness. This will give your puppy the best chance of not inheriting those conditions.
Bloat is a little different in that its cause is often environmental. Bowls like slow feeders can help reduce the chances of your dog suffering from it, as can avoiding exercise immediately after eating.
Vizsla Lab Mix Puppies
Mix breeds are rapidly gaining in popularity. This can be a good thing for the general health of dogs on the one hand, but it can also open the way for unscrupulous individuals to make a quick buck off the back of mass-produced pups.
In order to make sure your puppy and its parents have been treated kindly and fairly, it is important you visit the place they are bred. Meet the breeder and at the very least, meet the mother dog along with her litter. She should have an obvious bond with the breeder, and a purpose beyond just producing puppies. She should also be a treasured pet, working dog or even agility companion. And the breeder should be happy to show you evidence of health tests from both parents.
(paid link) What About Rescue?
A great option if you are not ready for the onslaught of a puppy for the next 4 years is to rescue an older dog. It is also a great way to give a dog a second chance.
Usually, a change in the owners’ circumstances has led to the dog having to go to the shelter. However, bear in mind that at times the dog may be for rescue because they had some problems.
Health issues or behaviors that the previous owner could not cope with, or worse still, they had been neglected or mistreated. Make sure you get a thorough history of the dog before you take them home. Ensure you have the right environment to give them the care and attention they need.
Pam Buckley says
Hi all. I am looking for a vislador – preferrable young or puppy. anyone know any breeders? I’d also consider a rescue.
Pam
Les says
I have just lost my lab viszla cross at 14.5 years old.had her from 7 weeks. She was forever the puppy, real hard work in the first 2 years. Even at the age of 10 people would think she was a pup. So loving, clever and obedient the best dog I have ever had and miss her so much.
Davina R. says
I got my Vizsla Lab mix at the Cincinnati Lab Rescue, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Best choice I ever made. I don’t think I was quite ready for such an active dog, but I love him soooo much and wouldn’t have it any other way. He was abandoned as a puppy and moved in and out of foster homes. He’s been tricky at times but it’s worth it when he drags me outside for a walk through the snow, or when he sits on my feet, even when he runs around the house with a toilet paper roll or something. He makes me laugh every day and as I’m writing this, he’s ripping the squeaker out of his toy bear to play with it. He destroys toys fast (his record is 2.1 seconds) and isn’t the most well behaved, but I love him, and if you can get a Vizsla-lab, spoil it with way to many treats and have fun with your new best friend.
Craig says
Where do I go for a visila lab mix puppy
Janet says
I am writing to give some feedback on your scenario of rescuing a Vizs-lab. I rescued a ten-year-old that someone had sorely abused. I had never even heard of a Vizsla before that, but it became evident after watching youtube videos that she was more Vizsla than Lab. The one attribute that she got from the Lab was an undercoat, which still wasn’t enough – or maybe it was just that she was old, or came from a warm climate and then I moved a couple of years ago to an area that gets a fair amount of snow. But it is interesting how you get a lot of solid clues as to just what went on, through their moments of terror when in certain situations. I had her three years, and I lost her just this May. In the first month I left the dryer door open and she ate three socks. I didn’t know it until the next day and I had to have her cut open to get them out. The first four months she walked backwards through the house. She was afraid of doorways. She was afraid of my trying to give her treats, even the word, so I began calling them goodies. She wouldn’t look straight at me for the first six months. I don’t think she had ever been in an automobile or else it had been a very bad experience. I took her everywhere I went and after meeting soooo many friendly people, she finally came to like it. She would suddenly be afraid of me when I put on my father’s big shirt-jacket and my boots to go work in the orchard. For two years, she was terrified of the sound when my hand brushed on cardboard. She was afraid of everything I picked up and of any bodily movement at all. The brand new hardwood floor I had put in was completely torn up in a year from her claws when she would suddenly become rigid. When I moved, it was evident that she was afraid of going through the chain link gate in to the yard. And six months ago, when the smoke alarm began chirping due to a low battery, she had a relapse, sitting on my bed trembling in such fear that I couldn’t calm her down for half an hour after disconnecting it. I think the piece of garbage that terrorized her for ten years must have been totally incompetent at field training (as well as at being human) and beat her until she couldn’t even think straight. She never did regain the self-assurance to be in the lead down a trail, always afraid she was going to screw up. But she kept taking leaps of faith all the way to the end when I could swing things around without her moving a muscle and only just then walk past her while she was eating and she would continue. I was so happy because it was like the last big hurtle for her and we made it. I never chastised her for anything, because at first she didn’t have the confidence to pull any tricks until the last year, when it was my fault when she did something she never had before (like eat food that I left in the truck while I went in the store). I actually saw it as steps toward the healing of her psyche.
Jennifer Raap says
Poor thing. Great that she got to have a few good years.
I have a a Vizlador, also rescued.. i found him on the road, stopping cars.. he would step in to traffic to get the cars to stop, then he walked to the driver door as to say, “take me with you?” It broke my heart to see it. No one opened the door for him. He is a big dog and when i found him he was nearly 2 years old and nothing but a big head on a rack of bones.
I stopped my car on the side of the road, about 10 meters from him.
When he heard me call him over, e cried and screamed, as he ran over to me, and pushed hil body against my legs. So i brought him home. He must have been a chained dog his whole life. Cause thats the only thing he knew to deal with everything els needed to be taught..and i cried in despair many times in the first year i had him, he was soooooo difficult, so rough and high energy. And no cood with other dogs (i had 16)
He is good now, calmed down a lot after castration. The best thing i could have done as he nearly killed 2 dogs in an attack out of nowhere. To humans he is great, and he needs his cuddles everyday or he gets very depressed and rebellious.
Despite being difficult at times, i love him and could be without him no more