Compared to other breeds, the Wirehaired Vizsla is a “new kid” on the block,  having been developed as recently as the 1930s. This isn’t to say that hunters weren’t pining for a dog just like the WHV earlier than that.

The WHV’s smooth coated cousin was often hunted over on Hungary’s famous Puszta, a game-rich grassland in eastern Hungary. There, the robust Vizsla was commonly used to retrieve huge 10 pound European hares, though the breed is equally at home in water. Falconers, and upland hunters, however, wanted a dog just like the Vizsla, but sturdier and with a thick, wiry coat resistant to the extreme weather and field conditions they were encountering in the uplands of northern Hungary. It was Vasas Jozsef who formally initiated the development of a Wirehaired version of the Vizsla by submitting an application to the Hungarian Vizsla Klub. In the paperwork, he outlined ways to develop the breed, and needless to say, his proposal created a firestorm.

Ultimately, however, his proposal was approved, and he was advised to develop as many specimens as quickly possible, but to preserve all the inherent qualities and characteristics of the Vizsla. The condensed version of this story is that an experienced German Wirehaired Pointer breeder, Gresznarik Lazslo, joined forces with Jozsef, and together, they began their efforts by crossing two Vizsla bitches with a solid brown German Wirehaired Pointer. The first individuals with three-generation pedigrees  inherited the color and desired characteristics of the Vizsla,  while inheriting a somewhat heavier bone structure and wiry coat of the German Wirehaired Pointer. By 1966, the Wirehaired Vizsla was recognized by the Federation Cynologique Internationale (FCI)  as an independent Hungarian breed – but could this dog hunt?

In 1976, the Hungarian Vizsla Club held hunting tests exclusively for the new Wirehaired Vizsla to bring attention to the breed. A total of 26 dogs entered, and it was such a resounding success that more hunting tests were held for the Wirehaired Vizsla every other year.

Today’s hunters have discovered a dog that hunts within about 100 yards, is very biddable, and retrieves naturally.They’re very birdy, and they have a strong pointing instinct, and while the breed can’t run with field trial pointers, nor can it break ice all day long with a Chesapeake, a wire haired can do everything an all-rounder can do.

Wirehaired Hungarian Vizsla bronze sculpture by Anna Tölgyesi is available for $1,340 here.  Photo of Wirehaired Hungarian Vizsla appears courtesy of the AKC.