When will your vizsla finally calm down? It’s the main question that most new vizsla owners have shortly after getting their pup. This article answers the top FAQs on this topic and explains the best ways to calm down a vizsla.
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Why Do Vizslas Have So Much Energy?
Where does all that energy come from? Vizslas were and are still to this day one of the top gundogs we know of. They were bred to spend many hours working outside with their owners, hunting, pointing, and retrieving wild game.
The daily routine that vizslas had for hundreds of years made them naturally agile, muscular, and extremely fit. Their metabolism and overall endurance have developed to work so efficiently they can be outside running for several hours.
And that’s why to this day, vizslas have tonnes of energy. From puppyhood to adulthood, your vizsla will be naturally fit and energetic. In fact, many of the owners who had senior vizslas (10 years +) insisted they could still happily be outside running for many hours.
Psst. A word on Vizsla training! Brain Training For Dogs could be the best training approach we’ve seen for Vizslas. Results show improvement in obedience and behavior quicker than we thought possible! It’s seriously worth checking out.
When Will My Vizsla Calm Down?
Most owners say there is a noticeable difference in energy and hyperactivity from around 2 to 3 years of age onwards. Some vizslas may calm down before this, and some may take longer.
The only safe thing to assume is that their age isn’t the answer to calming down a hyper vizsla… There may not be a period one day to the next when your vizsla goes from crazy sock chewer to a monk who’s found their inner peace. There isn’t necessarily a moment where you can expect your vizsla to suddenly become “calm”.
Your vizsla will always have a level of energy and excitability, that’s a breed trait that never goes away. So with this in mind, it makes a lot of sense to learn how to manage your vizsla’s energy while it’s at an all-time high. This way, it will be smooth sailing as your vizsla ages and gradually becomes calmer.
6 Ways To Calm Down Any Vizsla
Having a calm vizsla is all about expending his energy correctly.
Your vizsla will have energy every day and that won’t change. So managing it, requires a daily routine that’s full of outlets and activities where your vizsla can expel his energy without being destructive, disobedient, or just darn crazy!
1. Exercise Him Twice Per Day
Exercise is the obvious one, so I’ll get that out the way first. A vizsla in their prime years (2-8 years) should be receiving 2 hours per day, one hour in the morning and another in the evening.
When your vizsla wakes up, he’s going to have FULL energy and he won’t know how to contain it, so adjust your schedule (or wake up earlier, sorry!) to give him an hour in the morning first thing.
Vizsla puppies shouldn’t receive this much as their bones, joints, and muscles are still developing. At 6 months, keep your vizsla to 1 hour and under of dedicated exercise. He likely does enough jumping and bouncing around throughout the day as it is.
It’s so crucial to allow his body to grow and develop before he receives intensive exercise.
2. Visit Doggy Play Groups or Invite Friends With Dogs Over
Socializing is so important! Socializing develops overall good behavior, temperament, and ability to appropriately act around strangers and new dogs… It’s also a serious energy drainer!
Socializing is perhaps the most powerful form of mental stimulation for any dog. An hour of sniffing around and interacting with a new dog or person will tire them out just as much as an hour of sprinting.
- Without expending your vizsla’s mental energy along with his physical energy, he’ll never truly be tired.
Plus your vizsla will get to reap the endless list of other benefits that socializing offers like better behavior, temperament, and increased friendliness to new dogs and people.
3. Use Puppy Pens To Calm Him Down
Puppy pens are useful in many ways. To me, puppy pens are just like crates, but with much more freedom and comfort.
If you think your vizsla just needs to calm down a little, he can go inside his puppy pen with a new treat or toy that he can lay down and focus on. By limiting his space he’ll be less inclined to run and bounce around, but at the same time, it’s not so limiting that it will frustrate him. That’s the beauty of puppy pens.
How to make it work?
The puppy pen should be considered by your vizsla a fun and happy place to be, and should only have positive associations with it. Putting your vizsla in the pen as a punishment will render it ineffective in calming him down.
When you first get the puppy pen, spend a lot of time with your vizsla around it, play with him in it, give him new treats and new toys while inside, and it will make him fond of his puppy pen. Then, when you finally need to use it, there won’t be any resistance or whining. Our favorite puppy pen.
4. Provide Interactive Puzzle Toys
You have normal dog toys, and then you have interactive dog toys. Both have their place, but interactive dog toys focus more on mental stimulation and keeping your vizsla’s mind working. Some interactive toys are better suited for when you are there to supervise, and others are safe to leave him with.
Toys like the Nina Ottosson encourage your vizsla to use his brain to figure out the challenge. In order to retrieve the treat, your vizsla must push, remove, or slide one of the plastic components.
- Albeit simple, this is extremely stimulating for your vizsla and will have his mind working overdrive. As this toy has small removable plastic blocks it would be better for you to supervise and assist him with it.
There are also toys like the Star Mark Bob A Lot. This is a simple interactive toy whereby your vizsla has to use his muzzle to roll the ball in the correct direction for a treat to fall out. Some owners even use these as slow feeders.
A simple toy like this can channel your vizsla’s energy for up to an hour and will leave him feeling accomplished and “worked” which is essential for true working dogs who desire to fulfill roles.
5. Daily Basic Command Training
Basic command training is simple, yet super powerful! Basic commands are those like sit, stay, paw, down, and come here. You probably already do this, but if you aren’t doing at least 30 minutes per day, then schedule it in asap!
Basic command training may start off “basic” but you can actually make it increasingly harder as your vizsla improves. For example, instead of making him sit and stay in front of you, ask him to sit and stay, and then leave the room before giving him the “ok”. With a little thought, you can get very creative with simple commands.
The benefits?
Not only does this develop your vizsla’s overall obedience and behavior, but it’s thoroughly entertaining for him and he’ll LOVE you for it. He receives your attention, tasty treats, entertainment and you receive a tired and happy vizsla after you stop. It’s a win-win!
6. Spend More Time With Your Vizsla
You may be surprised but general interaction with your vizsla will go a long way.
Spend as much time as you can playing, training, engaging, and even talking with your vizsla to keep him happy, content, and mentally stimulated.
As vizslas crave attention so much from their owners, not receiving enough of it can cause general anxiety and hyperactivity. Although hyper behavior can be seen as annoying, by actually showing him more of your time and attention, you’ll effectively calm him down.
Another reason why a lot of interaction is encouraged is that your puppy needs someone to express themself with, he needs a clear leader. If he doesn’t receive enough attention he may not really know who’s in charge and who to look up to, which also leads to hyperactivity as well as bad behavior.
Why These Methods Work and Why They Are Important
The 6 methods outlined above work so well because they are all stimulating. They all provide your vizsla with something to do and somewhere to channel his energy, either physically or mentally.
Some may be more effective than others, but if you can, doing all of them together will be the ultimate accomplishment. Not only will your vizsla have enough outlets to remain calm and well behaved, but he’ll be happy.
Vizslas are working dogs at heart and they need to have a job to do or a role to fulfill. You may never use your vizsla as a gundog, and that’s okay, you don’t have to… But he’ll still need to have similar thrills in order to be calm and content.
This can be achieved with the ideas above like taking him to doggy playgroups, interacting with new people and dogs, training him, engaging with him, and providing fun challenges for him to solve.
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● Do Vizslas Get Along Better In Pairs?
What To Expect From Your Vizsla
It could be worth reconsidering what you expect from your vizsla and how much you are anticipating him to calm down.
Vizslas are an energetic breed and they love attention from their humans… they are bound to be excitable around you, after all, you are their favorite person!
Although your vizsla will likely calm down after 2 to 3 years of age, don’t wish the time away. Many of the owners I spoke to all said this exact same thing… They were waiting for their vizsla to “calm” but then when it happened, they soon missed the crazy chaotic pup they once had.
So I guess it’s important to cherish every moment you have with your vizsla, hyper or calm, and ride out the storms whenever they come by.
Thank you for reading!
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