Is a Vizsla right for us?

Hello All

I am so pleased that I found this site and wonder if you can help. The picture shown with this message is of Dalton, our beloved Rhodesian Ridgeback who we bought off a couple on the first of Feb this year when he was aged just over 13 months. For those who do not know about Ridgebacks, they are scent hounds, companion dogs, extremely loyal and loving and absolutely full of character, being very intelligent and quick to learn. They do not suffer fools gladly and if they think you are instructing them to do something (eg get over a stile) in a less than efficient way, they will show you how they think it should be done!

So ... why am I on a Vizsla site? Basically, although I work from home and am able to be there for Dalton whenever he is not sleeping, we think he would benefit from a canine friend. He loves company and we believe would bond very well with another dog of the right type. I have researched a number of breeds and it seems to me that Vizslas have much in common with Ridgebacks and Dalton would therefore respect the breed. (Just so that you know, we would love another Ridgeback, but Dalton is 41 kilos and could reach 45 kilos when fully mature and whilst my husband could handle this, I recognise that if 90 kilos of Ridgeback were on the end of my lead and just happened to spot a deer, then I would resemble and individual travelling at speed without a sled! - a smaller version of a Ridgeback therefore, would be fantastic and without knowing much about Vizsla, they seem to fit the bill).

If any of you vizsla owners could give me any idea of the funny things your wonderful looking dogs do or any of their characteristics then this would be fabulous. Also I would like to know how they behave around other dogs and whether they prefer to be with their own breed, etc. Any snippets would be gratefully received to aid me in my decision. To help inspire you, I will first list a number of Dalton's traits and this may also give you an idea whether a Vizsla would get on with him or vice-versa.

Dalton is quick to learn and can be taught to respond to a new word in a matter of hours and a maximum of a few days if it is particularly difficult. However, if he is excited and you want him to do something in particular, then he will decide what you want him to do before you say a word. For example he has recently learnt both "back" which means he reverses and "twirl" which means that he goes round in a clockwise circle. If he senses you have a treat for him he will do a series of twirls and a few backs before sitting down expectantly as if to say well ... that must be what you wanted, can I have my treat now.

He does not sleep in the bedroom although we do put a bed for him on the landing at night (His bed is actually in the downstairs cupboard - the door having been removed from the hinges). If he wants us to get up he moves so that he lands heavily on the door with a banging sound or stretches his legs so that his claws make a scraping noise. He also yawns loudly.

He does not bark often but he shakes his head so that his ears flap loudly, he whines sometimes, though we are trying to discourage this, he sighs and he moans. When he sleeps he snores his head off or alternative he makes a noise which is surprisingly like purring although we are not sure whether this is an indication of contentment.

When we first got him he did not wag his tail very much - Ridgebacks can take a while to settle in a new home, but this has evolved from a slow wag, to a full circle wag and in the last month he has developed what we call "happy ears" in that he pins his ears back so that you can see the insides of them. It makes his ears stick out and he looks quite a clown but this is a definite sign that he is happy about something - he always greets you with these ears.

Dalton is essentially a very gentle dog and although we have only had him almost 5 months, he allows us to handle any aspect of him without fuss. We can clean his feet, lift his tail etc and this morning when my husband was walking him, Dalton came back to Griff because he had a piece of chaff or seed in his eye and wanted Griff to remove it.

Inspite of being very intelligent, Dalton is definitely a scent hound and can be a bit of a clutz, knocking over his waterbowl yesterday even though it was in clear sight. Griff and I often see rabbits, pheasants, and even deer that Dalton will only spot if he happens to catch a whiff of a scent or he is a few feet away!!

I could probably go on but I guess this is enough to get you started. I feel sure that the Vizsla will have just as much character and look forward to any anecdotes. Thank you in advance for your help with this.