Hi,
My girlfriend and I are looking for a vizsla puppy. We live in NYC and have been searching for the reputable breeders in our area (basically NY, NJ and PA breeders). After doing our search for about 6 months, we found a few great vizsla breeders (actually this forum was the biggest help). We started emailing those breeders to see if they'll have any upcoming litters, and here is my question:
- One of those breeders (i should probably not give the name) replied to us saying that they will not have a litter this year but they recommended us another breeder that is going to have a litter in late september. We really appreciate that they helped us find a breeder, that's so nice of them but my concern is that we never heard of that breeder they recommend before, so should we just assume that it's a great breeder because it was recommended to us by a great/very reputable breeder? Or should do a little search on how good that breeder is?
thank you.

It's OK to give names, there's a chance that someone might know this breeder and can give you an accurate answer.

You can do some research independently, see what s/he has produced and what they've gone on to do. You can ask the referring breeder for more info, including his or her own opinion and where that comes from. But recall that the demand for Vizslas far outstrips supply, so many w/o connections unfortunately cannot obtain a pup. It would be helpful for you to get a direct referral about yourselves from breeder 1, and to go meet them. You can get a pretty good sense of the type of breeder they are and the quality of their work thru a good meeting with them and their dogs.

I've never known good breeders, to recommend bad ones.
I would still independently do some research on the breeder. By all means, ask the 1st breeder about the other breeders dogs.

You’re correct to want as much info as possible about the breeder. In part, it partly depends on whether you want pet quality or a dog with parents that hunt and/or show where you may want more credentialed pedigreed animals.

Although I went with the later, I was surprised to see that the operation cranked out ~40-60 puppies a year and when I collected mine, the parents weren’t even on site (nor were the breeders/seller, apparently in a separate building and unavailable), rather a kennel manager handed over the pup.

Although a highly credentialed (field competition) breeder in IL, it felt a bit like a ‘cash and carry operation’. Perhaps asking for some names of past customers would be a good idea.

I’m happy with my Vizsla, however, remain somewhat skeptical about an operation that is breeding so many, possibly as many as 8-10 litters a year. That kind of scale must be quite profitable though.

An educated consumer is less likely to encounter disappointment, especially true when the subject is a living creature you make considerable commitment to/with. Unfortunately, with demand so far outstripping supply, not only are shady breeding practices more common, but desperation on the part of prospective owners results in their overlooking what otherwise might be a puppy mill. The fact is, a quality breeder produces dogs that are conformationally correct, inherently good field workers, and indoor socialized companions...those variables and qualities are not somehow mutually exclusive.

VERY WELL SAID..........

We were very fortunate to find a very reputable breeder for our first V two years ago. And most recently with our 11-week old female V. They are out there, but you have to do a considerable amount of homework fwiw.

Breeder referral is a good start in your puppy search process. I would ask/request for the following items:

1. Health test results of the sire and dam.
2. Any performance title (hunting, conformation, agility, etc.)
3. Previous litters' from either dam or sire - how are they doing?; any health issues crop up?
4. If it's a first time breeding, why the pairing of the two dogs? What is the breeder's purpose?
5. Appointment to see the dam/puppies
6. How are puppies socialized?
7. Terms of the contract

It is very important to be patient and not rush the search process after all you'll be making a commitment to love and care for a living thing for possibly more than 10 (hopefully) years.

I've added more things to the list, that I ask breeders.
1 How do the parents, and grandparents react to dogs new to them?
2 Same question as 1. Just replace the word dog with people.
3 Parents, and grandparents reactions to loud noises, storms, and new places.


You want the parents to have the temperament, you hope to see in your new puppy.

I hope you don't live in an apartment in the city and work full time. If so, please don't get a Vizsla. My current two are from Atlanta, GA and San Antonio, TX and both came from young working couples living in the City. Fortunately for the dogs, these were kind and loving people and found me to re-home them. I drove 6000 miles and spent 10 days on the road for them. Having said that, there's an alternative to adoption (rarely available) orbuying puppies namely what I have done. Look at Puppy Find and go to end/oldest. You may find, like I did, young, housebroken, friendly and healthy Vizlas offered to loving homes.

You can contact the New Hope Vizsla Rescue (Run by Debra Evalds). They cover the NJ-NY-PA area and they have a list of reputable and non-reputable breeders. They would be happy to give you the information. https://newhopevizslarescue.com/