Getting ready for a new family member can be tough...and emotional.
We're getting a puppy...tomorrow! Now that we have a house Eric has been begging me to let us have a dog. I've liked the idea of having a dog but didn't know if I necessarily wanted to have one quite yet. We just bought a house so I wanted to enjoy it before we have a dog that will tear it apart. My naiveness when it comes to dogs is attributed to my wonderful father. Growing up my dad didn't want anything to do with a furry animal that could roam freely in our home. We had plenty of fish, bunnies, and even geese, but when it came to cats or dogs my dad quickly put the kibosh on the idea. To be honest I didn't even care because I wasn't a big animal person myself. When I'd go to friends homes I didn't care to even pet their stinky dog. It's just not my thing.
I've had too many bad experiences of going to friends homes and having dinner at their house and finding dog hair on my plate and on my food. Yes on my food! Awful right?
But it's hard to say when my feelings towards dogs changed. Maybe it's Eric...ok definitely. I love seeing families that are accompanied by the family dog on trips, camping, or at the park. I see it and I want it. But sometimes I'm scared of what that entails. The hair, shedding, smell, and poop!
Enter the Vizsla. Two years ago we saw a beautiful dog at the Provo Farmers Market. I loved the dog so much that I asked the owner what breed it was. He told it was a Vizsla - a Hungarian pointer dog that never sheds or stinks. Sold.
Since then Eric has been doing his research on different breeds, from puggles to labs, for the day that we'd eventually get a dog. It's always been his dream to have a family dog. I knew this day would come. Just didn't think it'd come this soon. When Eric gets excited about something it's always on his mind and consumes every ounce of his free time. I may be exaggerating a bit, but I will say, at least he's diligent! When we bought a car last summer he was on the computer every night looking at cars, price matching, looking at Consumer Reports, etc. When we were searching for our home it was the same thing. He's addicted to KSL classifieds, and always sure he's getting the "best deal" out there (get's this 100% from his dad). For the past year he's had the listing search "vizsla" saved in his computer and is always looking at the new pups advertised.
To make a long story short, he found a Vizsla breeder last year and wanted to surprise me with a Vizsla for Christmas. After putting my friend Laura to work on secretly feeling out what my reaction would be, he decided not to and came clean with me after Christmas. We've talked about it off and on since, and he found another breeder a few months ago. I was a little bit more warmed up to the idea of possibly having a dog. Better to deal with a puppy now before the next baby!
He talked to me about this breeder first, showed me the ad on KSL, showed me the pictures, and then I got kind of excited. I know having a dog is something Eric really wants so I should be more open to the idea...besides Leila would love a puppy. So Eric made an arrangement for us to see the puppies with the breeder. They were born on Friday, April 13th (not a bad omen and in fact many consider it lucky) and we saw the pups 8 days later. Before we got out of the car I told Eric not to get excited because I just wanted to look at them, Eric reassured me that if I didn't feel comfortable then we didn't need to get one and we wouldn't even bring cash for a deposit. After seeing the puppies, interacting with the dam, and talking with the breeder, I was sold!
I asked the breeder lots of questions and he validated all our research. He is the coolest guy and is so passionate about Vizsla's and says they are the perfect dog. He's had other dogs like retrievers and labs, but no dog compares to a Vizsla. He says once you have a Vizsla, you'll never have another dog. I inspected the home, didn't find a smell or see hair on the couch. On top of all that, we were comfortable that the breeder is legit; has all the right paperwork, getting regular vet checkups, etc. His dog, the dam, is a champion show dog, and the sire was a champion hunter flown in from South Dakota or something. Those little purebred pups were to die for. I interacted with the dam and she was so sweet and loyal. We played with like 3 of the puppies and I fell in love.
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| Litter of 10. |
I was holding 2 puppies in my arms when I looked at Eric and said, "Let's do it! Let's get a puppy!" So we put down a deposit (he was getting TONS of calls on the dogs so we wanted to make sure we got a good pick, we're 2nd pick out of 7 males so we'll have 6 boys to chose from - the females were all accounted for). We got locked in to pick up our pup the first week of June.
Why a Vizsla?
1. Don't smell. Vizsla's don't have an undercoat like most dogs so they don't have the "dog smell". Which also means they don't retain water and start to stink. They only need to be bathed 4x a year and they'll only get the dog smell if they jump into a lake or what have you.
2. Don't shed. Well, all dogs shed, I mean even I shed like crazy sometimes. But Vizsla's don't shed very much. A requirement for me to want to get a dog.
3. They are active, loyal, a good family dog, beautiful and very smart.
4. Medium size. That to me is the perfect size. Not too big to kick it inside the house and not too small that it can't go camping/hiking/running with us.
Seriously, doesn't this sound like the perfect dog? I think so too. It almost sounds too good to be true. We've done our research and have watched countless videos on YouTube but I still don't really know what I'm getting myself into. Luckily, Eric has had dogs growing up and is a bit more familiar (even though it's been 10+ years). I think it'll be more fun once the puppy phase is over. All our friends with dogs just say how hard it is to have a puppy. Fortunately, I'll be home and will have the "patience" or time to train/watch it. I don't want him to chew on my beloved furniture or shoes!
Here are the most recent photos from the breeder:
Eric's friends Ray and Rubi have been super excited for us to get a Vizsla. Last month Rubi and I were talking about the shedding, and she said I'll grow to love the dog so much that I won't even care about the hair. I dunno, Eric still complains about my hair everywhere! But I've never seen it that way and I'm sure that's true. Time to invest in some lint rollers. Otis, I hope I'll love you so much I won't care about finding hair all over the place.
Most families consider their dogs a part of the family, and I definitely want Otis to be a part of our family. Shortly after we met the puppies we came up with a list of 6 names we liked. We ran them past Leila and Otis was the only one that stuck and that she could say well. So Otis it is!
We put our deposit down in April and June felt like it was just around the corner, but it's felt like an eternity away. Luckily, our breeder has been fantastic about keeping us up-to-date on the puppy progress. Regular emails, photos, and descriptions of their personalities have been awesome. Today is June 1st and we pick up Otis tomorrow. It's been nice to wait 50 days to get Otis so that we can prepare for him. We've slowing started buying things and dog proofing the house. We've started reading the book Vizsla: A Comprehensive Owners Guide. It's funny reading this book because it's just like preparing for a baby. You have to prepare your home, buy all the right things, let it cry at night, etc. I'm still feeling underprepared for Otis' arrival but I'm also anxious to bring him home.
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| Testing out Otis' crate. |
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| Leila found a pooper scooper and wouldn't let go. I wonder if we can teach her how to use it. |
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| Making a dog tag. |
Tonight will be our last night of good sleep. And today will probably be the last day in our life where we are dogless. Vizsla's live for 10-15 years, and I can already say that I'm sure we'll get another Vizsla after that.
See you tomorrow Otis!
