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Could you please let us know dates and judges when applicable. Also please let us know if you require any material returned. We also love relevant photos to go with articles and special results!

PLEASE send us PHOTOS and ARTICLES!!!!! The more local content we can keep the more interesting it is to all of us!

LOGO / T-Shirt Design

If we can (clear enough drawing, design, whatever) we will scan and publish all suggestions and take a vote on which one(s) to use!!

The Hunting Song

With a variety of serious hunting happening in the next couple of months I thought that the following song about hunting season and limits was an appropriate addition to our Newzsletter.

picture: NZ CH Agasvari Draga Zephir with the days catch.
Photo thanks to Patrick Dowd

I was in no mood to trifle,
I took down my trusty rifle
And went out to stalk my prey.
What a haul I made that day.
I tied them to my fender, and I drove them home somehow,
Two game wardens, seven hunters, and a cow.

The law was very firm, it
Took away my permit,
The worst punishment I ever endured.
It turned out there was a reason,
Cows were out of season,
And one of the hunters wasn't insured.

People ask me how I do it,
And I say, "There's nothin' to it,
You just stand there lookin' cute,
And when something moves, you shoot!"
And there's ten stuffed heads in my trophy room right now,
Two game wardens, seven hunters, and a pure-bred Guernsey cow.

Breeders Listing

Debrecan Kennels; Judy Young/Anne McMaster,
19 Sefton Street, Belfast, Christchurch 5,
Ph. (03) 323-8859

Rezsults - Breed

Continental Gundog Club Open show 22.02.97
NZ Bred Bitch - Ch Maggy Mae of Szep-Allat - BOB (Jenny Peacocke)
Puppy Dog - Huntsbury Diamond (??Rumer) - ROB (Carolyn & Darryl Walker)

BOP Gundog Champ Show 22.03.97
Junior Bitch and Junior in Show - Ch Ruby Roze of Szep-Allat - CC, BOB (Jan Edwards)
Puppy Dog - Suave Joe of Szep-Allat - CC, RBOB (Jan Edwards)
Rotorua Kennel Association Champ Show 22.03.97
Puppy Dog - Suave Joe of Szep-Allat - CC, BOB (Jan Edwards)
Junior Bitch - Ch Ruby Roze of Szep-Allat - CC, RBOB (Jan Edwards)

Taupo Kennel Association Champ Show 23.03.97
Junior Bitch and Junior of Group - Ch Ruby Roze of Szep-Allat - CC, BOB (Jan Edwards)
Puppy Dog - Suave Jow of Szep-Allat - XX RBOB (Jan Edwards)

A quiet couple of months (at least according to what was sent in for publication!)

Vizslas as War Dogs in the Great War

My parents were caretakers for Austro-Hungarian Baron Valbot Bela who maintained his summer home at his castle outside Zemplen Hogyala. I grew up with Baron Valbot's vizslas. When I was 12 years old I was sent away to a trade school and there I lost contact with the vizsla until I was 19 years old. I was drafted into the Army right after World War I broke out and I was soon to learn what daring and heroics the vizsla would play in the War.

After a short training period, I was shipped to the Russian Front. Our company was very fortunate inasmuch as we had a trained war dog, a vizsla. They were rather scarce and the outfits that got them were considered lucky. The dogs were used mainly for relaying messages, standing guard and scouting for patrols. During the winter of 1915, we had a lull in the fighting and we began to dig trenches and bomb shelters deep down under the surface.

Picture: Barat Amber Flight (Flight)
Out and hunting mischief!!

One evening, while we were resting in our shelters, our dog started acting very strangely. He was restless and uneasy; then he stood perfectly motionless and listened intently. He began to dig a hole in the ground. At first, we didn't know what to make of it. He would listen, then dig. We got down on the ground, but heard nothing. The dog wouldn't give up; he was trying to tell us something. Finally, our Commander caught on - the Russians were digging under our lines. We retreated to a position far enough back and dug in again. A few days later it happened - the Russians blew up our vacated positions and began, what they thought, was a surprise attack. We counter-attacked and dealt them a very humiliating defeat. Because of that vizsla's intelligence and keen senses, hundreds of our boys owed their lives to him.

In 1916, we were replaced on the front by fresh troops. We were supposed to get a short furlough, but instead the Roumanians attacked on another front and we were dispatched immediately to fight them. This time we were not so fortunate, for we had no dog. The other vizsla remained with his master who was separated from our Company.

When we reached the front, we had no idea of where the enemy positions were. We sent out patrols, but they never came back. Finally, we sent an urgent message to the higher command requesting we have a dog. We were rewarded for, shortly thereafter, we received two vizslas. They went out with our patrols and, for awhile, were without results, but at least our patrols returned.

Finally, one day while out on a patrol, we witnessed a battle of battles. Our vizsla came upon a Roumanian police dog. This dog was out ahead of an enemy patrol. Both these dogs were trained killers and they immediately went for each other's throats. Here the vizsla showed his superior skill and intelligence. He out-smarted and out-maneuvered the police dog and before long the vizsla stood triumphant over his dead opponent. He also alerted our patrol of the approaching enemy. We took up our positions and waited. Before long, the enemy walked right into our hands. We took them prisoners without a shot being fired.

There were countless other deeds performed by this great dog, many of which I witnessed and others I heard about. However, these were among the most memorable heroics displayed by the Vizsla.

Found by Chance

James had shot a nice fat yearling hind, and all we had to do was carry it out to the car. Too simple! We lost it by rolling it down a hill instead of carrying it down. It was 9pm and dark. What's more, we weren't even on the hillside we thought we were on. Anyway the deer never rolled down the slope to the bottom, instead it rolled and gathered up speed, bounced four times and disappeared over a bluff!!

After two fruitless hours searching, and dimming torches, we called it quits. It was now raining so with wet skins and low spirits we headed back to the car. 2.30am saw us arriving home.

James phoned me later that day, the conversation going something like this:

"Mike, what do you think the likelihood of finding the deer with your dog would be?"
"Not good. It's been raining all day and she's still not too sure about deer yet."
"Well, the meat would have been kept cool, so it won't have gone off. If we don't give it another go, it'll be a waste of Venison."
"O.K. Pick us up, but don't get your hopes up too high on finding it."

It was still raining at 5pm when we got to the bottom of the hill. No wonder we lost the deer - in daylight we saw that she could have gone down one of four different guts. We had spent all our time searching only one of them.

picture: Chance (Perchance of Szep-Allat)
with the "lost" deer.

Working Chance across the gut and into the wind, we worked our way 50 metres up from the bottom of the first gut - the one we had worked the night before. She started winding and worked her way across to some nearby Karaka trees which were covered in bush lawyer and surrounded by Toe toe. Egging Chance on, we watched as she worked the wind until she was standing with her head high scenting into the mass of Lawyer and Toe toe at the base of a small tree.

Once I managed to climb and crawl to her side and could have a closer look to where she was winding, I noticed one of the deer's legs poking out from the tangled mess. It took James and I a lot of effort to free his deer from five feet up the tree.

After telling Chance and ourselves how clever we were and carrying the deer to the nearest pickup place, we decided to have a quick hunt as it had stopped raining. This time with Chance, what could go wrong ...?

Tracking with Vizslas

I thought it was time I put in a plug for Vizslas and trials. I cannot understand why more people don't use their Vizslas for this very rewarding sport. The dogs just love tracking. Like gun dog trials, one is trying to qualify, not compete against others. All competitors are keen to see each other qualify which creates a great atmosphere.

Trialing does take a lot of time. The dog not only has to track well, it has to do an obedience course, jump (clear, scale and long) and achieve (for me!) the dreaded send-away. Sushi, my first Vizsla as well as my first trialing dog, loves to track but has always hated the send-away. Thank goodness we have now reached T.D. level where the exercise is no longer done!

I had just started basic peg tracks with Konya, my young Vizsla, when I broke my ankle (out tracking of course!) Then, a month later, Konya got her leg broken when she gave my daughters horse a fright. They laughed when we went into the vet clinic - me with my leg in plaster and the poor dog with her leg at a very odd angle! Her leg was plated and she had to live in her kennel and small run for a month - what a come down from sleeping on my bed. Konyo coped amazingly well but still managed to break the plate. She now has a crooked leg but it hasn't slowed her down.

We have just started tracking again after 6 months break, much to Sushi's delight. I'm not too fast on the downhill yet but hope to be competing in a T.D. in March.

Konya is very keen but sometimes the pheasants and rabbits smell better than my track. Think we'll have to get stuck into our obedience work. I'm aiming for her first trial later in the year.

Unfortunately there are not many trials in this area - we need some more enthusiasts. If anyone is keen to "give it a go" don't hesitate to contact me. A friend and I go out regularly and we have some great land to work over. We would be happy to help anyone get started.

Happy dogging,
Pat Armstrong

Agility

Agility is a fast growing sport in New Zealand and I have been involved over the last six years. I am now an agility judge.

The main requirements are an athletic dog that loves to please, obedience training helps but is not essential. Over weight dogs should lose weight. Persevering is the key in the early days of agility training as obstacles like the weave are not easy for the dog to learn.

Picture: So do Vizslak smile?
Maggy certainly does!

Agility is a real test of the handler/dog relationship. The majority of mistakes are handler error, i.e. failure to give commands early, lack of control etc.

It is a sport where the errors are clear even if the fix can be harder, whereas when you 'show' dogs little is ever said about the improvements you could make.

The Vizsla is well suited to agility with its wonderful temperament, athleticism and natural energy. I personally find you bring out the best in a Vizsla when you work them, i.e. filed trialing, agility, obedience, showing, etc.

Fun is the key to agility training and handlers must remember this as they learn the rules in order to compete at ribbon trials and official agility events. Your Vizsla will read your body language very easily and be influenced by it.

Key points in training Vizslas in agility are:

1. Keep it fun, e.g. use food, toys, etc as rewards.
2. Don't over train. The intelligent Vizsla can bore easily if repetition is over done.
3. Trainers keep as fit as your Vizsla (a tall order from one who is carrying extra pounds).
4. Praise, Praise and more Praise doing it right.
5. Be consistent from the beginning with obstacles such as the A Frame, Dog walk or See Saw that have contact points the dog must get. The Vizsla sees it can get off quicker without going onto the contact point.

1. Starters - this is for beginners and comprises mainly of jumps, tunnels, weave and the table, etc.
2. Novice - this includes contact equipment such as the A Frame, Dog walk and See saw but is within the ability of starter dogs.
3. Intermediate - and
4. Senior - are both classes with much more difficulty and a certain number of wins is essential to be part of these classes.

It is great to see three Vizslas have joined the ADX ranks (that I know of).

• NZ Ch Wynyard Voriz Zsaylem ADX (Zsaylem), now retired (owner Judy Young)
• NZ Ch Agasvari Gyongy Virag ADX (Cheska) (owner Judy Young)
• Wynyard Lord Szylow ADX (Szylow) (owner Julian Stephens)

Get Together

The people enjoyed the fun of watching 12 dogs all having fun together as also enjoyed a pleasant shared lunch at Val and Deans wonderful place - our special thanks to Dean for keeping us supplied with iced water on such a hot day!

Get togethers are FUN!! If you want one in your area, offer your name, a place and a date and we will advertise it in the Newzsletter. They are not hard work. We always get everyone to bring a share plate for lunch and the rest of the day seems to look after itself.

Following is the recipe Val used for her liver treats. She only makes 1/3 of the recipe as with one pup it goes a long way. Probably those of us with rather more dogs should consider doubling it!!!!

Livercake

1 pound raw liver, cut in pieces
3 raw eggs
1 cup wheat germ
1 cup cornmeal
2 tbsp. garlic powder

Picture: our "babies" (Barat Amber Flight & Barat Amber Flame) making sure that any dropped food or livercake is gone!

Slowly and thoroughly blend all ingredients until you have a batter-like consistency. Preheat oven 325 degrees. Foil line a 9 x 13 baking pan, and grease it. Pour "batter" in, and smooth out. Bake for 25 mins. Cool slightly and cut into pieces.

I like to cut them into pieces the size of my little finger. That way I can break little pieces of from there.

Another untried liver treat recipe follows for the adventurous. Let us know how your Vizslas like it.

Liver treats

1 lb. raw calf or chicken livers
2 cloves of garlic
1 box corn muffin mix
2 tblsp. honey (optional)

May be frozen.

Good bait treats!

Mary had a little lamb

Mary had a little lamb, its fleece was slightly grey,
It didn't have a father, just some borrowed DNA.

It sort of had a mother, though the ovum was on loan,
It was not so much a lambkin, as a little lamby clone.

And soon it had a fellow clone, and soon it had some more,
They followed her to school one day, all cramming through the door.

It made the children laugh and sing, the teachers found it droll,
There were too many lamby clones, for Mary to control.

No other could control the sheep, since their programs didn't vary,
So they scientists resolved it all, by simply cloning Mary.

But now they feel quite sheepish, those scientists unwary,
The problem solved, but what to do, with Mary, Mary, and Mary.

Movie Tricks

We have quite a list of these that we will put in the next few issues - let us know how you get on with them. The reason they all mention usefulness to agility is because I received this from the CLEANRUN agility list on the Internet.

Most of the actions you see dogs doing in movies are simply an assembly of simple tricks. By teaching your dog to do each trick, you can have him/her capable of being a movie dog (or just a fun pet). Some of these tricks help the dog in other sports such as agility and in obedience. Likewise, agility work can be incorporated into movie work. For example, dogs that can jump obstacles can be taught to jump in and out of moving cars, leap over people or other dogs, or jump in and out of windows. A-frame work can be used to teach the dog to go over fences or other high obstacles and dog walk training can be used to teach dog to walk along narrow walls, etc. We use the circle obstacle with the hole covered with saran wrap to teach the dogs to jump through a window.

This list doesn't include tricks such as retrievals which are used often in movies or bite work. Bite work should only be done by a trained handler as you must do it properly to be effective. None of these tricks require special equipment. These tricks are meant to be fun for you and your dog. I have given some instructions on how to do them but there are many ways to teach the same trick. Use the one that works for you and your dog.

PLAY DEAD/BANG

Agility Use:	to get dog to down on table if you are having problems with this obstacle
How:	With dog in sit or stand stay, point finger and pull hand up while saying bang. This action is similar to the down hand signal. Dog must lie down on side with head down. You may have to do in stages - down and side.

CIRCLE

Agility Use:	to improve corners and turns and weaving - helps increase flexibility
How:	With dog in stand stay in front of you, give "circle" command and entice dog with food treat or toy to turn in circle. Don't encourage to "chase tail". Give reward when dog turns fully. Gradually give command from greater distances. For distance, it helps to put reward on end of pole and use to get dog to turn in circle.

BOW

Agility Use:	before doing agility, this is a good stretching exercise. Can also help on down contacts
How:	With dog in stand stay, handler in front of dog, with reward (food treat) in hand. Move both hands in towards dogs front paws (above paws) while saying "bow". As dog extends head down for treat in a bow position, reward. This trick is eventually down at a distance and can be down from the side with a single hand command.

CRAWL

Agility Use:

Helps dogs who will not go through tunnel

How:

Dog in down stay. Hold treat in right hand with left hand on dog's withers (farther back on large dogs). Move hand with treat up and down (short movements) while saying crawl. As dog moves forward, hold him/her down with hand on back. Move treat hand away from dog so dog has to follow to get treat. Reward initially after any movement and then require longer distances. If dog has trouble crawling, this can be down under someone's legs or under a solid chair or low agility table.

BACK UP

Agility Use:

positioning dog at start, repositioning if dog slightly overruns weave poles, general control

How:

Dog is in stand stay alongside a wall with leash on. Handler in front of dog. Step into the dog, move hands towards dog in a pushing motion (palms up facing dog). Dog will have to move backwards as you move into it. Reward with "good back" as soon as dog takes one step. Best way to reward is to toss treat into dogs mouth. If you let him take it from your hand it is hard to get distance on this one. Leash can be used to move dog back if he has trouble. Wall keeps dog straight. Gradually stop moving towards dog as you give the verbal command and hand signal. When learned properly, the dog will back away from you in a straight line for extensive distance (depending on comfort zone of your dog)

TOUCH / TARGET

Agility Use:	use to send your dog to an obstacle or to encourage touching contact
How:	We train this one by first having dog touch a piece of paper stuck to the wall. Take dog to wall, command "touch" or "target" and touch the paper. When dog jumps up and touches the paper, reward her. Then place an object on floor and send dog to "touch or target. Reward when dog moves to object and touches it.

TURN OUT THE LIGHT

Agility Use:

same as target - a fun trick to do that helps dog learn to go away from handler and touch or manipulate an object

How:

Hold treat at light switch (make sure dog can reach the switch when on back legs. For short dogs, place on sturdy table at light switch). Give command "turn out light" or "light off" When dog jumps up to get treat make sure her paws hit the switch. Reward with "good light off/out, or whatever your command was". Gradually start to stand away from switch and send dog. Toss treat when dog jumps up and paws at light. You can also teach this by placing the treat on the switch so dog has to knock it off. I found that the dog uses the mouth to hit the switch more than the paw so I prefer to hold the treat in my hand.

A Weekend in Australia

To all Vizsla club members this is just a short account of the wonderful time I had with the Vizsla owners and fans from all over Australia for the big national get together on the weekend of the 15/16 March.

This weekend must have taken hours to organise and it was a credit to all the people who got together to do so. Even meeting people like me at the airport must have taken great organisation. I was met by a wonderful person, Lois, who was so happy to take me into her family and show me all around her kennels. I watched her daughter, Cinnamon, grooming quite a few of the show dogs for the Saturday because as well as Vizslas they show Fox Terriers.

There were two shows on for the weekend. On the Saturday was the Yarra Glen Kennel Club All breeds championship show which was held at the K.C.C. Park Cranbourne, just out of Melbourne. On the Sunday was the big show, the sixth Vizsla Championship show at the Royal Melbourne showgrounds.

Jackie Perkins (Gardenway) judged on the Saturday at Cranbourne and also judged the special classes Sunday. Gay Gottlieb (Russetmantle) judged the main classes at the big show on the Sunday at the Royal Melbourne showgrounds.

On the Saturday out of more than 80 entries best dog went to Hanafor Lord Stafford. Interesting to note Edwina Morris has a litter mate Hanafor Lord Stockridge in Christchurch. The best bitch went to the wonderful Hanafor Lady Wychbold. That was a very popular win as she is a great old girl with a wonderful top line and show presence even though eight years and many litters later. Lord Stafford then went on to win best dog of breed and group which pleased us all, another notch to tally up for the Vizsla in the gundog group.

Picture: Zamba (Phoenix of Pimlico) with owner Dale Young at the Northern Classic.

On the Sunday Gay Gottlieb was faced with judging over 100 entries and what a wonderful job she did. Best dog went to Hanafor Master Callaway. Nice to note that once again we have a litter mate here in N.Z., Hanafor Miss Halifax owned by Lynn Sheppard of Christchurch. The best bitch in show went to Hanafor Ballock Tay.

After the main classes it was an eye opener for me to see some of the obedience dogs give a demonstration. Well known Vizslas such as Hanafor Wychton Winston & Ashburton worked so well by Anne Salisbury. Marlene and Ben Rankins & their Hanafor Capa Callan & Hanafor Royal Quest also put up a great show. Last but not least was Pretorium Kay (Studley) trained by Michael Cowan. Studley was the first male Vizsla to obtain his A.D. title in Australia.

At the end of a wonderful day of judging we all got together for prize giving. A glass or two of bubbly was handed around, then followed by a mighty spread and a good cup of tea! A good chance to talk to everyone including Nicky over from Christchurch to also see and learn like me.

After the show some of us were lucky enough to go up and stay wit Faye Harris and Don Urquhart at Wildewood, the home of Hanafor and Willowbark kennels. We all made the four hour drive in one piece but I felt sorry for the two English judges (Gay & Jackie) who must have been so tired. We all learnt a lot the next day as Jackie showed us how to stack a Vizsla properly - hind leg not too far back and tail in line with back. What a good head should be like and many other finer points were also pointed out to us by Gay.

On the Monday evening we had a Barbeque on the banks of the Murray river not far from the Hume Dam. It was so nice talking to the many Vizsla people and to share in their knowledge and observations on Vizslas. One thing I did notice was that our dogs seemed to be on the whole a lot fitter than the Australian counterpart.

On the Tuesday Don & Faye kindly drove all the way back to Melbourne to put Jackie & Faye on a plane back to England and me on a plane back to New Zealand. Faye and Don are real Vizsla believers and go out of their way to encourage people to love and enjoy the Vizsla dogs as a breed to own and really enjoy.

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