Hungarian Wirehaired Vizsla or Slovakian Rough Haired Pointer? Discussions

Hi all, I am new here (have posted an introduction). I currently own a working labrador who is a real handful! I love it though. We do obedience and have started some proper gundog training as well, he knows the very basics and works when my OH shoots in the winter but I want to bring that training on a bit.
I am looking to get a second dog (bitch) next year. At the moment I am stuck between a HWV or a SRHP. I love the look of them both and have researched the breeds over the internet, as far as I am aware there are no examples of either breed anywhere near to actually meet in 'person'.
Can anyone lay on the table for me the pro's/con's of each breed? Which would/do you have and why?
Any help would be much appreciated

i cant help you with information - but i have met a couplle of HWV and they are stunning gentle sensitive dogs. wew were very close to getting one ourselves.....

good luck in your search!

many many pics when you do!

Can anyone help? I have been researching both breeds and can honestly find nothing that makes either breed more or less appealing than the other. Does anyone have first hand knowledge of these breeds that can help?

I was due to get a SRHP this Summer, but after having my pup sold to someone else before I had chance to pick him out, I decided to talk to a couple of people in the breed. It is my opinion that with the SRHP being a very new breed to this country that inbreeding is a bit of an issue. There have been a few reported problems with teeth and many of the dogs that are being imported into this country are already related to the dogs residing here resulting in the genepool not being increased.

That said there are just as many people that are very happy with the breed, I certainly don't want to run it down as I'd still love one one day, but I'm now going to wait until the SRHP is more established and until any initial problems have been resolved.

I'm now looking at getting HWV, the breed seems to be slightly more widespread and the genepool is increasing at a good rate with many kennels importing dogs in from Europe of unrelated lines.

Hope that helps.

Hiya, I had seen that thread thanks, I know what you mean about the photos
That info is very helpful, it was something that had worried me. I'd heard of a few pups having undershot jaws. I also see that one particular stud dog has been used an awful lot:?
In all honesty I can see me getting another lab this time and saving an HPR breed for when my kids are older. It's fun to look though

hi peedie , it is hard to choose between the two breeds as in looks they are so alike the same go's for vizlas and weimaraner but their natures are very different so thats what you have to look at ,and find the breed which fits in to your life style the best,i have never owned a whv but have spent time with a few and i amthe very proud owner of a slovak which is nearly 2 years old and cant wait to get another one,i havent had any problems with maggie and i would love to send you her pedigree but im not very good with a pc so i pm you another site so you can take a look , the stud dog you are talking about is maggies father and has been used a lot but he is the latest import so that is to be expected if i can help in any way just ask,there are some of each in scotland i will dig up some addresses to see if any are near to you ros

Thank you!

Hi Peedie,

Pleased to meet you. I have a slovak and while I'm new to the breed here are a few of the health issues that I;ve come across in the last year:

My dog has bad teeth problems. He has an overshot jaw which has required a lot of fixing. baby and adult teeth out, an acrylic brace fitted for two months, numerous trips to a specialist vet, general anaesthetic and sedation. His littermate and brother now has pain issues since he was 9 months old where he can't stand up or lie down without moaning. It seems to be an inflamatory issue, similar to reactive arthritis. I know of another young bitch with a similar problem from another breeder. It is being talked about that the condition is a possible reaction to an earlier GT infection like campylobacter so perhaps not a breed issue, but a knock on from an infection.

Temperament wise, my dog is very headstrong, with little self control at the moment. Quite the opposite of the breed description. He's not very biddable outside yet and I think I'll be grey haired before I finish training him. LOL. He's not particularly sensitive either. But he learns things fast and so we get on fine with clicker training. I think bitches might be less strongwilled?

Would I get another slovak now knowing what I know after this year? Perhaps I might not because I hadn't understood how small the gene pool really is. There are two main stud dogs that seem to be used. Perhaps the work they are doing in slovakia to broaden this out might bear fruit. But you do still see very big differences in coat tyoe which surely is indicative that the breed isn't well established yet.

I love my dog loads, obviously. But if I could choose again I might choose a breed where I can research the lines more and I could choose temperament and ability not just looks. I would also want an indoor raised puppy with appropriate early socialisation handling.

All this is just about my own experience and others might have a different opinion.

Hi Peedie,

I wanted to share my experience with you of owning a Slovakian Rough Haired Pointer for nearly 2 years now.

I have found the breed to be of excellent temperament & their natural intelligence makes them very easy to train of which I did from a very early age & in doing so I have a dog which is a pleasure to live with.

I can not fault this breed myself for their wanting to please, easy to train, biddable loving nature.

I have not experienced any health problems at all, neither has my friend who also has a SRHP of the same age.
I would highly recommend this breed myself if going to the right home.

As for coat type the HWV goes from wired to wooley their coat is also not uniformed.

The HWV is also a beautiful breed of dog of which I have had some experience in looking after one & meeting others. They are very similar to the SRHP but seem more timid in their nature.

Researching & meeting a breed before deciding to bring one home is a good way to go.

I hope this helps you by giving another persons experience on the breed.

I am getting another SRHP in the future which I wouldn`t do if I thought there was major health problems in the breed, all breeds could have their problems.

All the best Eska

It's a difficult one, because if your dog is of ill health it can be devastating. Looking into things you tend to find others with similar problems. Of course things happen in many breeds, but we are still talking about very small numbers here in the UK and indeed in slovakia. Thankfully, Grey has had a problem which now doesn't cause him any further discomfort now we have undergone the treatment. But his brother's problems are ongoing as is the pain issue for another lady's bitch I'm in touch with. It's in the best interest of the breed for this to be looked at proactively and to make sure it isn't down to breeding.

I spoke to someone in the breed who told me he found the male dogs to be quite dominant and headstrong. I don't go in for dominance theory but I do concur that my Grey is pretty headstrong. From what I saw at the funday, a lot of the slovaks seem to be terrible pullers on the lead. Grey is a lovable rogue, that's how I laugh about it. I think a lot of the people on this thread have bitches who seem to be much closer to the breed description.

Perhaps fresh imports or matings in slovakia would help.

lou cold you please pm me with the details of the dog and bitch that have these problems ,so i can look in to it, also you mention these are from different breeders so i would like that info to thanks ros

Hi Ros,

yes, no prob. Will pm you.

xx

Hi Peedie

I have met several HWV and know at least 4 very well as they work on a shoot that I go to.
I have been told that they mature much faster than your average gundog, and are easy to train.
The only downfall seems to be that in some of the breedlines, the coat can sometimes end up being soft and silky instead of the normal rough coat.
Also 2 of the ones I know have very slight skin problems.
Sorry I can't give more detail

Have you considered a Spinone? Gorgeous dogs. Or a German Wirehaired Pointer? HPR dogs are huge fun.

I have considered sooo many breeds it's ridiculous, my husband now asks me what me 'breed of the week' is ha ha! I think what I am really looking for is what we have already, a labrador. M fear with an HPR is that I won't be able to give it enough exercise or stimulation while my kids are young and take up a lot of time too. I think an HPR may be something I'll dream about for later in life... *sigh*

Just wanted to comment on the two breeds mentioned, not picking just want to give my own experience/opinion.

Spins are great dogs, I show one with a friend of mine. He really is the sweetest lump of a dog. Not a nasty bone in his body. On the down side he is very big (although to be fair he is at the top end of the height range in the breed standard) and slobbers an awful lot. The last reason is the only reason I could never own one myself!

GWP were a breed I was really keen on, but when I looked into it them it sounded like they could be unsound on the temperament front sometimes and are also known to be quite aloof. Not great for a first time HPR owner like me.

Me too!

What I really, really want is an Anatolian Shepherd Dog! Something entirely different from a Gundog and massive with it. However, with me having to rely on my parents (both in their 60's now) to look after my dogs on the three days I go to work every week means I have to consider them too and I don't think an ASD would be the best for them!

That's why I've gone for the HWV. They seem very sweet natured (although the two I've met at a Grouse Pointing Test did whinge a bit, but owning an English Springer this will be nothing new to us! ) and well suited to a pet home (although I do plan to work mine, my dogs are always pets first and foremost).

One thing I think you have to consider with HPR's is they're bred to quater very wide which can mean they'll work quite some distance from yoou when you're out walking. It's just something to consider and wouldn't be a problem with training. Remember the winner of last years Friend For Life was a young girl and her HWV!

My advice would be to contact a couple of HWV kennels if you're still interested and talk to them about their breed. I was due to get a pup from a working breeder in my area, but it's turned out their bitch isn't in whelp. I'm now looking to get one from someone else from similar lines, but the original breeder is still happy for me to visit his dogs and have a chat. Most good dog breeders will be very happy for you to visit them and their dogs if you're thinking of owning one.

Good luck on what you decide.

Totally agree on both points - exactly my experience too. Of the two, I'd have to go for the Spinone I think, as they're such clowns and if you don't mind a bit of slobber, I bet they'd be fab pets. Unfortunately, although I've seen a couple in the field, I haven't been impressed, but I'm sure there are some good ones about.

Oh I wish you could've been at the Grouse Pointing Test last week, there were quite a few Spins there and they were fantastic! My friend took hers and although he didn't get graded, he did the most fantastic point over a rabbit hole!

Only two dogs got a grading as the conditions were atroscious (gale force winds and snow/hail ), but one of the two dogs was a Spinone.

Brill day.

I like them both but I would choose the HWV of the 2, for the opposite reasons I chose the Weim over the Viz. I'd go for the calmer option unless I was going to properly work him. From those I have met the HWV seems to be a lot more settled and as the viz is a slightly more sedate version of the weim I found the same of the HWV to the Slovak, but I have only met a handful of slovaks however I have met a lot more HWV and have good friends in the breed so maybe it's because I know the HWV better but with the weim being my first choice of dog the slovak would also be very tempting but I think my choice of this type of dog would be between the HWV or the GWP!