Updates 2022

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June 2022 - After lengthy periods (approximately 1 year) spent in VSO foster care, assessment, and rehabilitation, Whiskey (M) born in January 2017 and Henley (F) born in September 2019 were finally adopted by new families, both of which did not have any young children.  Both dogs had resource guarding, aggression, and biting histories.  Henley's history was more severe than Whiskey and we were concerned about her second chances.  She spent her foster care with a very experienced Vizsla foster owner and trainer who spent enourmous amount of time identifying her triggers and working to make her relaxed and less fearful.  We are grateful to both foster families for working so hard to ensure these dogs got a second chance. 

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Updates 2021

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Spring 2021 - The VSO agreed to accept "Henley" in its rehoming program in spite of her bite history.  She went into foster care on March 14, 2021.  It was estimated that the fostering would last months and we were not certain of this dog’s future.  After arriving at the foster’s home, Henley settled in.   The foster spent condiserable time identifying the triggers that caused Henley to display agreession.  While in foster care, Henley began to thrive.  The foster has worked hard on socialization and rehabilitation.  At the end of 2021, Henley remained in foster care.

 

“Whiskey”, a neutered male Vizsla born January 2017 and bought from a puppy mill in New Hamburg, ON was reactive, and in the past displayed resource guarding and did inflict what was reported to be minor bites on his female owner and her mother.  However, he had not bitten since May 2019.  COVID lockdowns and stay-at-home orders prevented the Rescue Team from transporting him to a foster.  The owner ended up boarding him with her dog sitter in Toronto who indicated at the time that she would find a home for him; that subsequently changed and at the end of 2021, we formally accepted Whiskey into our Rehoming program.

 

“Wellesley“ was bred by a volume breeder who had four Vizsla litters on the ground when his new owners came to pick him up.  He became increasingly reactive, even to people whom he knew or had met before.  The owners had consulted a behaviourist but aggression was becoming more severe.   The VSO Rescue Team agreed that Wellesley deserved a chance at rehabilitation, despite his past.  Two potential homes were screened and lined up to work with Wellesley.  However, another lunging and attempt-to-bite incident took place and the owners reached out to the dog’s behaviourist who said that euthanasia was the likely best outcome.  The owners followed through and euthanized Wellesley on August 2, 2021.

 

“Jasper” imported from the US, was an older Vizsla located in Montreal, and he had started displaying a lot of anxious behaviour and could not settle or sleep well at night.  The owner was given several suggestions for dealing with his nighttime restlessness and general noise anxiety, including a full health check up.  The owner was contemplating euthanasia.  Following our recommendation to get medication for what was likely canine cognitive dysfunction, the owner decided to rehome him with a family in New Brunswick.  We had no further updates on Jasper after his rehoming but learned that he was starting to settle with medication.

 

The owner of “No name Vizsla” with resource guarding issues bred by backyard breeders, Willard Vizslas in Minnesota, reached out to the VSO in summer of 2021 asking for help as she was concerned for her young children.  The owner said she worked 16-hour days and has been too busy to call back.  The owner gave conflicting information but didn’t follow up with any additional request for help, so this case was closed.

 

“Cooper’s” owner contacted the VSO via FB on August 15th concerned about a sudden change in the neutered six-year old’s behaviour from very sweet and loving Vizsla “most of the time” to increased reactivity and aggression towards the husband.  The dog has bitten him twice. In a subsequent incident when the husband was trying to unclip the dog’s harness, he lunged at and bit the husband and the wife when she tried to intervene.   They were very concerned about their two kids if the aggression and biting continued.  It was learned back in May, the dog dove under their trailer, got a gash which required stiches.  The husband was changing the dressing and the dog reacted; the aggression might relate back to the association of pain and husband.  The husband was advised to keep his distance from the dog but toss tasty treats on the ground when he walks by to increase the association of good things with the husband.  The owner did not request additional help after their first communication with us.

 

“Beau” – a young male dog which came from the same breeder as “Henley” and was successfully rehomed in 2019 by the VSO, got away from his owner and was tragically hit and killed by a car in October 2021.  The owners and the VSO were devastated by this terrible outcome.

 

Updates 2020

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February 2020 - Sadly, "Griffin" lost a battle with cancer with lymphoma at too young an age. His new owners and their Vizsla, Sage, are heartbroken.

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June & July - the VSO was very busy fielding queries and working behind the scenes to get ready to foster and assess two Vizslas for adoption.  One young male dog had resource guarding issues; in the end, the family decided to try to keep working to reduce his fear, guarding issues, and hyperarousal.  The VSO continues to provide the family with a lot of behaviour modification resources.  A 6-month old female that was sold to a young man by a breeder who didn't screen the home, ended up being placed with his aunt's relatives who had been researching the breed.  Both dogs came from backyard breeders who refused to take them back.  

 

June 18, 2020  "Simba" was adopted by a loving adult family who also own a 10-year old Female Vizsla.  He was transferred to his new furever home today.  This family has already bought him presents to celebrate his 5th birthday on June 20.  But the best present of all, is a new home.  Happy Birthday Simba!  

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May 31, 2020 Simba, an almost 5-year old neutered male Vizsla was brought to the attention of the VSO by the Windsor-Essex County Humane Society in SW Ontario.  Simba was dumped on May 15th, 2020 and the owner was traced via the dog's microchip but didn't want the dog back.  It was learned that Simba bit the owners' brother but after spending two weeks with the Humane-Society where Simba's behaviour was observed, the staff felt that the bite was likely provoked.  They felt he deserved a second chance but were unable to put him up for adoption due to the bite.  The VSO was contacted and after much back and forth discussion about Simba's behaviour, the VSO accepted him into their rescue program, placed him with a foster on June 2nd, and put him up for adoption.

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August 2022 “Henley” – a female Vizsla born September 2019 to a backyard breeder in Windsor, came to our attention in August 2020 after the owner applied to relinquish her to the VSO following a couple of bite incidents (to the F owner).  The owner and her partner have a young baby.  After much discussion and a foster home lined up for Henley, the owner decided to keep the dog and work with her.  In the fall of 2020, Henley was sent off for a 2-month board and train at Unleashed Potential in North Bay.  When she returned, she appeared to be an improved dog but there were 3 incidents of aggression while she was in her crate that led the owners to make the decision to relinquish her finally.

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Updates - 2019

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August 10/19 ~ After two weeks of being fostered with experienced Vizsla owners and club members, Beau joined his new family Liam and Rebecca Cragg (VSO members) and their two female Vizslas on a large farm in eastern Ontario.  Thanks to the many folks who applied to adopt him.  The fostering period allowed us to witness Beau's energy and behaviour and to better understand what his needs were; there were some issues not reported or witnessed earlier and that made it more of a challenge to find the right home.   We were very grateful to the foster home for taking him in and we are confident his adopters are prepared to take on and deal with these challenges. 

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Updates - 2018

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November 25/18 ~  Griffin went to his new home to live with VSO Members Hans and Johanna Handke and another 6.5 yr old Vizsla in the country-side of SW Ontario.

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November 10/18 ~ Stanley, the special-needs Vizsla has been adopted! 

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August 22/18 ~ Norman, the handsome 2-year old male Vizsla, found a new home with Tracey and Paul Craig of Georgetown ON.  Sadly, due to an undiscovered or undisclosed aggression issue, Norman had to be euthanized two months later following increased serious aggression and several unprovoked bites and attempted biting incidents occurred.  He was deemed to be unsafe in the presence of humans.  

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Updates - 2017

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“Grandpa”, a stray, senior Vizsla found on Wednesday February 3rd 2016 in Whitby ON and deemed unadoptable due to his advanced years (around 14 at the time) was set for euthanasia but rescued by Amy White, Operations Manager of Superdogs Internationale.  The VSO’s Rescue program provided financial assistance to help cover some badly needed dental work. After turning 16 in August 2017, “Grandpa” passed away on November 28th, 2017.  He had happily lived out the remaining two years of his life in the company of Amy White, surrounded by two more Vizslas and other dogs.  Grandpa was an extremely fortunate Vizsla.  Rest in Peace Grandpa.

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