Wirehaired Vizsla

Gentle and lively; prefers company to being left alone.
A Wirehaired Vizsla
Photo: SchorschR
Adult male
25–29 kg
55–65 lb
Adult female
20–25 kg
45–55 lb
Lifespan
12–14 yrs
Class · Field
also Sport, Family

What it's like

In temperament the breed is gentle and lively, with plenty of stamina and a keen nose. It attaches closely to its people and is known for preferring company to being left alone. It responds to calm, consistent handling rather than harshness, and it tends to be willing and quick to learn in the field.

Day to day
Activity
Needs lots of exercise
Intelligence
Needs daily brain work
Handler demand
Needs steady training
With people
Affection
A lap or leaning dog
Loyalty
Sticks close to its people
Independence
Keen to work with you
Around the home
Sensitivity
Needs a calm, predictable home
Voice
Barks to alert, then settles
Prey drive
Likely to chase small pets
Breed explains only about 9% of how individual dogs differ in behaviour1. Meet the dog. A good breeder breeds for temperament as well as health, and matches each puppy's personality to the right home2,3.
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Living with one

It has a wire or harsh coat. Loose hair stays caught in the coat until it is brushed, stripped or clipped out. Plan on a brush once a week, plus hand-stripping two or three times a year. It needs plenty of exercise compared with other breeds.

Size and growth

A Wirehaired Vizsla is a medium dog, heavier than a Border Collie and lighter than a Golden Retriever. Males end up clearly heavier than females.

In outline it resembles the smooth Vizsla but is a little sturdier, with a dense, harsh coat lying close to the body over a water-resistant undercoat. The wiry hair forms a short beard and bushy eyebrows, which give the face a serious, whiskered look. The coat is a shade of russet or golden sand, and the nose, eye rims and claws tone with it rather than showing black. Small white patches on the chest or toes are allowed.

Puppy growth

Reference curve · community data appears as owners log
By about 5 months, a male Wirehaired Vizsla puppy is already as heavy as a grown Staffordshire Bull Terrier. They grow fastest between 3 and 4 months old.
Fully grown
11 mo
Both sexes, at 99% of adult weight7
Male
Female
Shaded: expected range
01020302m4m6m9m12m18m
01020302m3m4m6m9m12m18m
Age
Male
Female
2 months
5.4–6.4 kg 11.9–14.1 lb
4.9–6.0 kg 10.8–13.2 lb
3 months
8.0–9.5 kg 17.6–20.9 lb
7.0–8.5 kg 15.4–18.7 lb
4 months
11.6–13.7 kg 25.6–30.2 lb
9.9–12.1 kg 21.8–26.7 lb
5 months
14.9–17.6 kg 32.8–38.8 lb
12.6–15.3 kg 27.8–33.7 lb
6 months
17.8–21.1 kg 39.2–46.5 lb
14.7–18.0 kg 32.4–39.7 lb
7 months
19.9–23.6 kg 43.9–52.0 lb
16.3–19.9 kg 35.9–43.9 lb
8 months
21.5–25.5 kg 47.4–56.2 lb
17.4–21.3 kg 38.4–47.0 lb
9 months
22.6–26.7 kg 49.8–58.9 lb
18.3–22.3 kg 40.3–49.2 lb
10 months
23.3–27.6 kg 51.4–60.8 lb
18.8–23.0 kg 41.4–50.7 lb
11 months
23.8–28.2 kg 52.5–62.2 lb
19.2–23.5 kg 42.3–51.8 lb
12 months
24.1–28.6 kg 53.1–63.1 lb
19.5–23.8 kg 43.0–52.5 lb
15 months
24.7–29.3 kg 54.5–64.6 lb
20.1–24.6 kg 44.3–54.2 lb

Lifespan

No vet study has measured how long Wirehaired Vizslas live yet. The 12–14 years shown is a general figure without a published source.

Where it comes from

The Wirehaired Vizsla was made in 1930s Hungary by crossing the smooth Vizsla with the German Wirehaired Pointer: hunters and falconers wanted their Vizsla's drive and versatility in a heavier-framed, thicker-coated dog that could stand up to rough country and hard winters. Its standard still wants an all-round gundog at home in water, woods and open fields, one that holds a line of scent even when it has to swim4,8.

The Wirehaired Vizsla, known in Hungary as the drótszőrű magyar vizsla, took some decades to settle into a recognised breed. Its early breeders, among them József Vasas, had to rebuild their small stock after the Second World War, and the Fédération Cynologique Internationale accepted the breed in the nineteen-sixties. It later reached Britain and North America. It is a versatile gundog, bred to find game, point and retrieve on land or water.

Breed standard

The Wirehaired Vizsla is judged against standard no. 239, in group 7, Pointing Dogs4.

Questions people ask

General guidance for dogs rather than a measured Wirehaired Vizsla figure: most females have a first season somewhere between six and fifteen months, and cycles then settle to roughly every 180 days. Smaller breeds tend to start earlier and larger ones later, so a medium-sized breed is most likely somewhere in the middle.

Compare with related

Vizsla
Pointing dogs · Medium
German Shorthaired Pointer
Pointing dogs · Medium
French Spaniel
Pointing dogs · Medium
German Wirehaired Pointer
Pointing dogs · Medium
Or compare the Wirehaired Vizsla with any breed you choose
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Sources

Uncited on this page: Lifespan — no reviewed source yet, so it is a general reference figure rather than a published one.
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Parts of this page were written by AI ·