The History of the Hungarian Vizsla’s Origin
Hungary is famous for its sheepdogs. These include the Komondor, the Puli, the Pumi, the Mudi and the Kuvasz. But within the breed group of Vizsla, only 3 sub-categories can be found. Namely, the German Vizsla, the Italian Vizsla ( a.k.a Bracco Italiano) and the Hungarian Vizsla. The Hungarian Vizsla is the most-well known and thus the most well-loved as well. Within the famous Hungarian breeds, the Hungarian Vizsla stands regally next to the Transylvannian Hound (a.k.a Pannon Hound), since it is not a flock guard, but rather a hunting dog – unique to all the Hungarian dog breeds!
It developed independently from all the other Vizsla breeds, and its origin dates back to when the Magyars conquered the Carpathian Basin at the end of the 9th century. Hungarian tribes that settled in the Carpathian Basin brought dogs with them and these in turn mixed with hunting dogs of the Slavic people living in the occupied territory at that time. The dogs that evolved were the ancestors of today?s Hungarian hunting dog breeds, namely the Hungarian vizsla and the Transylvannian hound. Seperation of the two breeds occured in the 11th century and when the Turks conquered Hungary in the 16th centruy, the Vizsla developed further by crossing with the dogs of the Turks: namely with the dog breed called the Sloughi. Unfortunately, by the end of World War II, much of the Hungarian Vizsla population was destroyed. A few of these dogs were taken to Western Europe and America. The original book of origin was also lost in a fire, so the origin of some of the remaining facts became unknown. But top quality European breeders have perpetuated the gene-pool of this beautiful and regal breed that is very much loved outside of its native Hungary as well!
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