How To Raise & Train A Vizsla
We brought home our new Vizsla puppy, Zooka, in 2019 and are documenting his growth, development and training. We post text, video and image updates to this page, as well as to our email magazine and social channels. You can use our posts as a guide to help you raise your own puppy, even if they are not a Vizsla. Keep in mind that different breeds might develop at different rates, so while you can do these things with any breed, your breed might need certain things at slightly different stages or ages.
Our book, JUVENILE DELINQUENT DOGS: The Complete Guide to Saving Your Sanity and Successfully Living with Your Adolescent Dog, is based on raising our first Vizsla, Romeo when he was an adolescent.
Written by Sue Brown, practicing since 1996, Certified Dog Behavior Consultant through the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants and Certified Professional Dog Trainer through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers.
Our book Juvenile Delinquent Dogs was nominated for a Maxwell Medallion by the Dog Writers Association of America, in the category of Books-Care, Health, Training, Behavior.
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Articles, videos and infographics on how to raise and train a Vizsla
Our goal is to positively impact the lives of as many dogs and their families as we can, in part through our extensive library of video, infographics and text articles. 
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- Week 1: Introduction to calming music and biosensor early neurological stimulation
- Week 2: introduction to stuffed animals, distinct odors through essential oils, sound desensitizing music and toenail clipping
- Week 3: Introduction to more toys, textures, sounds and goats’ milk
- Week 4: Met a new dog, getting more outside time, beginning to wean pups off mom
- Week 5: getting started on housetraining, crate training, recall (come when called) and eating a raw diet
- Week 6: field trip offsite, Puppy Party, new people and beginning clicker training
- Week 7: field trips – horse barn, farmers market and a pool party!
- Week 8: more field trips, temperament and conformation evaluations, and heading to new homes
- Setting up for a new puppy
- Road trip to North Carolina to pick up our Vizsla puppy, Zooka
- Introducing your new puppy to your resident dog
- Week 9: pick up Zooka from the breeder in North Carolina and settle in at home in Colorado with our eating, exercise, training and sleeping routines
- Weeks 10 and 11: intro to new dogs, field trip, kiddie pool and new obstacles
- Zooka @ 10.5 weeks, puppy training session in new places like a local park
- Zooka intro to the puppy kiddie pool at 10.5 weeks
- Zooka @ 10.5 weeks, what puppy walks should look like
- Zooka @ 10.5 weeks, safely introducing your puppy to new dogs
- Zooka 11 week old Vizsla puppy self play with inappropriate objects
- Puppy and adult dog play: Zooka at 11 weeks with Ollie
- Week 12: Pool party, more play dates, continued training, more field trips
- Supervised appropriate puppy play: Zooka, 12 week old Vizsla in Puppy Class
- Week 13: More play dates, more field trips, continue Puppy Class, start Shaping in our training
- Week 14: More play dates, more training, more field trips
- Puzzle toys are great mental stimulation for puppies, Zooka @ 14 weeks
- Appropriate play between puppy and adult dog: Zooka @ 14 weeks with Loki
- Zooka, puppy napping in his crate
- Zooka’s ER visit and surgery
- Week 15: Play date, pool party, ER visit, surgery for rock obstructing his GI system
- Puzzle toys and mental stimulation for a dog on limited exercise or surgery recovery, Zooka @ 15 weeks
- Puppy leash manners on a hike, Zooka just under 4 months old at Snow Mountain Ranch
- Zooka puppy play with Power Tug Toy and BONUS GoPro blooper!
- Puppy toys for human-puppy play – go big or go home!
- Week 16: Lots more training; more mental stimulation due to limited activity for surgery recuperation
- Zooka < 4 months old climbing on a tree stump at Snow Mountain Ranch
- Week 17: continued limited physical activity; more training & mental stimulation; return to walks & field trips
- Week 18: lots of play dates, more outings, raising expectations and adding new things into our training
- Week 19: progressing with training, continue play dates and outings, discovered the joy of DIGGING!
- Week 20: traversing full flight of stairs on his own; continuing training, outings and play dates
- Week 21: Losing puppy teeth, more play dates, and our first overnight trip to the mountains!
- Week 22: continued stay away from home and learning first steps to a fetch/retrieve
- Week 23: continued training w Heel, Fetch, Stay, etc.; first overnight human visitor, lots of play with other dogs
- Week 24: fear/sensitive period, continued work on social skills, and the baby teeth are almost gone!
- Week 25: new cues for training, allowing more access in the house, and his puppy teeth are gone!
- Week 26: focus on ramping up training and expanding field trips; plus more SNOW!
- Week 27: 6 months old, vet visit, and an off leash play date!
- Week 28: a big field trip and a big test of his abilities in public this week!
- Week 29: Zooka’s big road trip #2! Utah, Nevada, California, Arizona and New Mexico
- Week 30: teaching Zooka to use a scratchboard for nail filing, continue training and play dates
- Week 31: turns 7 months old, how did that happen?! Dog adolescence is in full swing
- Weeks 32 through 35 / 8th month – adolescence, marking, and starting our off leash work
- Walk the dinosaur – I mean, the dog. Leash manners with Zooka
- 9th month / Weeks 36-39: adolescence in full swing, countersurfing, and other fun things!
- Zooka training session – Heel, Fetch & other stuff
- What is your dog’s personality? Zooka’s personality or temperament examined
- 10th month / Weeks 40-44: more adolescent antics, humping, advancing our training and continued socialization
- Does your dog chase cars? Zooka is thinking about it
- Hiking/walking with your dog: Zooka, 10 month old Vizsla @ Dawson Butte
- 11th month / Weeks 45-48: working on NOT chasing, upping some of our training challenges, continued socializing
- 12th month / Weeks 49-52: turning ONE YEAR OLD! plus fewer outings due to stay-at-home order during this pandemic, more training at home
- Zooka’s Funny Faces
- 13th Month / Weeks 53-57: some training progress and some back to basics, an injury limits his activities
- 14th Month / Weeks 58-61: more outings, first encounter with a bull snake, continued training
- 15th Month / Weeks 62-65: more outings, more visiting dogs, continuing classes for Zooka
- Just for fun – Zooka loves playing in the water from the hose
- What a tuned-in walk with your dog looks like: Zooka at 14 months
- 16th Month / Weeks 66-70: more hikes, group classes, and helping with demos and training other dogs
- 17th Month / Weeks 71-75: more hiking, a stay in the mountains, and lots of snuggling!
- 18th Month / Weeks 76-79: progress of two steps forward, one step back
- 19th Month / Weeks 80-83: addressing his nemeses, getting in the van and slippery floors
- 20th Month / Weeks 84-87: a month of some progress and no regressions
- 21st Month / Weeks 88-92: adjusting to his new younger brother
- 23rd Month / Weeks 97-100: Zooka’s roles as big brother and my assistant
- Blitzen’s Breakfast Training Session Including Heel Work
- 24th Month / Weeks 101-105: Zooka is now TWO YEARS OLD!
- Zooka’s Rules to the Elaborate Game of Chase
- The Blitzen Bulletin: June & July 2021
- The Blitzen Bulletin: May 2021
- Can two intact male dogs live together?
- The Blitzen Bulletin: January, February, and March 2022
- Zooka’s Polite Greeting at the Door
- Blitzen’s Breakfast Training Session Including Heel Work
- The Blitzen Bulletin: April, May & June 2022
- Blitzen's Polite Greeting at the Door
- Dog Parkour with Zooka & Blitzen
- The Blitzen Bulletin: August & September 2022
- The Blitzen Bulletin: July 2022
- Recall/Come with Zooka and Blitzen
- Wait and Release at Gate, One Dog at a Time
- The Blitzen Bulletin: October, November & December 2022