Onpoint Vizslas - Vizsla Field Activities

At Onpoint, if our dogs cannot hunt, we will never ever keep them for breeding stock! We believe that a Vizsla that does not have the hunt instinct is a poor representative of the breed and should never be bred. Hunting Vizslas are not the result of just any breeding. They are the result of careful planing of many generations of complementary backlines coming together reinforcing the natural hunt instinct many Vizslas are famous for.

Unfortunately with the increasing popularity of the breed, we are seeing more and more Vizslas being sold as hunting dogs when in fact, they and many of their ancestors, have never been hunted! I have had more Vizslas than I can count come to me for field training only to find that the dog has extremely little natural instinct and absolutely no desire. It deeply concerns me to see the breed splitting between field and show. If you are looking for a hunting dog, we strongly recommend that you buy one from someone who hunts and/or trials. *Ask to see pictures of past successful hunting trips. Anyone who hunts their dog will have many photos they will love to show off! If possible go and watch the dog work, ask for references from satisfied hunters/field trialers.

For me, Grouse hunting is truly about the dog work! It is not a fast paced hunt. In Eastern Ontario and Quebec, it is common to walk all day in the woods and never see many more than a dozen birds. While hunting in Northern Ontario and Quebec and Wisconsin, you may be lucky enough to have 30-40 contacts a day. Not a lot of birds compared to other types of bird hunting.Grouse can be tricky on young dogs because there can be long periods of time without any action. A young dog may begin to think that it is just out for a walk and quit hunting. To combat this, I like to run my young dogs with an older more experienced dog. I don't really care if the younger dog messes up and we don't get the bird. I rely on my older dog to get the young pup into some birds. I simply want the young pup to have some bird contact and don't mind using my hunting trip as a training session. Regardless how many I see, I don't believe in shooting any birds that were not pointed by my dogs. When I finally get a chance to run two of our older and more experienced dogs together, I really enjoy seeing the finished product and all of our years of selective breeding coming together. Because Grouse can become jumpy and spooky, they can often naturally flush before you even get anywhere near them. This is when I find that having dogs that have good locating abilities, good noses and dogs that will honour one another is absolutely critical. At Onpoint, we have been very careful in selecting our bloodlines in order to produce dogs with natural desire, good noses and style.

For those who are not familiar with Woodcock, they are a very bizarre looking bird. They are a little larger than a Bobwhite Quail and have a very long and pointy beak used to extract worms found in boggy moist ground. Most Woodcock are found during their migration from the north. They tend to travel in waves or flights.I enjoy Woodcock hunting for many of the same reasons that I enjoy Grouse hunting. However, for a young dog Woodcock hunting can be much more exciting. Woodcock seem to give off a strong scent that even the most novice dogs cannot miss. Where one is found it is quite normal to find five or six more in close proximity (1 sq. acre) during migration. If the dog makes a mistake and flushes the bird usually it does not fly too far before it lands again. This gives the dog a second chance to handle it properly.

I have hunted Scaled Quail in Texas and Bobwhite Quail in Kansas, Virginia, North & South Carolina, Florida, Georgia and Iowa. I must say that quail hunting has become my favourite hunt of all. There is so much fast action!Quail live in groups called "coveys". When a dog points the covey and the hunter flushes it, quail can fly off unpredictably in all directions. Nothing can compare to it for starting out a young inexperienced dog because there can be so much bird contact once the covey is located and then busted up. This really seems to make the lights come on for a young pup and gets them out there hunting hard for singles. There is little chance of a young dog becoming bored with so much fast action.My hunting trips also give me the opportunity to correct any sloppy habits my older dogs have picked up. While I don't expect my dogs to be steady to wing and shot for quail hunting, I do expect them not to chase and not to take out birds. I find that when a covey flushes, I have the perfect opportunity to correct this.Although I do use wild quail to correct some errors, I would never attempt to keep a quail dog steady to wing and shot for various reasons. Firstly, I believe that it is unrealistic and puts too much pressure on the dog. To expect a dog who retrieves to remain steady to wing and shot while two hunters are firing multiple shots overhead and birds are falling all around it, is too much to ask. Also, I do not like to leave wounded game behind - Wild quail are ten times tougher than pen raised quail and can run a good distance if they've been wounded leaving very little scent behind. I want a dog that is quick on the retrieve when multiple birds have fallen.

I use to do more pheasant hunting years ago than I do now simply because I've become hooked on quail. Unlike some of my other hunting trips where there is hard walking through dense cover, pheasant hunting is something hunters of all levels of physical ability can enjoy. Although Pheasants can run, once a dog has learned the art of pinning a pheasant they are not as tricky to get close to as the Ruffed Grouse. Pheasants are also not as hard on a dog steady to wing and shot as Quail hunting is. Again for this, I like to run an experienced dog with a pup. Pheasant hunting also gives you the chance to see exactly what your dog is doing because the terrain is usually a little more open. It gives me the opportunity to truly evaluate our dog's performance and our Onpoint breeding programme.

We are lucky to have a good population of Huns right here in the Ottawa-Carleton area. Although we have a hunting season for Huns, I spend most of my local season hunting Grouse and Woodcock, we do use the local Huns during spring and summer training.Because the season in Saskatchewan opens earlier than here in Ontario, we take advantage of this by going out for ten days and enjoying some big open country hunting. This is where I can really enjoy seeing our Vizslas stretch out and grab some ground. We have been quite successful with many full counts of both Huns and Sharptails (and the odd duck retrieved) in the Western Prairies.

Hunt tests are organized in Canada by the CKC (Canadian Kennel Club) and in the United States by the AKC (American Kennel Club). In both Canada and the United States there are three levels of hunt tests that evaluate your dog's performance in the field. In Canada there is the Field Dog Junior (Fdjr), the Field Dog (FD), and lastly the Field Dog Excellence (FDX). In the United States there is the Junior Hunter (JH), Senior hunter (SH), and Master Hunter (MH). Rules and Regulations are available through the CKC and AKC which further explain the criteria by which a dog is evaluated.Each summer it is common to find about eight or more Onpoint bred Vizslas at CKC/AKC hunt tests. In most years we personally title about five or so of our own Vizslas. Because we have experience in the field and have carefully chosen our bloodlines to preserve the Vizsla hunting ability, we are able to enter young dogs immediately into the second highest level (FD). In fact, most of our dogs have earned their FD title before their second birthday and do so with the top test scores of the days! Many of our novice dog owner handlers have also experienced similar success with their Onpoint bred dogs.Another organization that runs hunt tests is the North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association (NAVHDA). NAVHDA is in no way linked to the CKC/AKC but has their own registration and system of hunt tests. NAVHDA tests put a great emphasis on water retrieves and tracking than either the CKC/AKC does. NAVHDA testing comprises primarily of GWPs and GSPs but, there are some Vizslas that have done well too. Like the CKC/AKC these tests are non competitive in nature. Onpoint Vizslas have also had successes in this area as well.

NSTRA trials tend to be a fiercely competitive demonstration of a dog's ability to quickly locate and point stylishly and rapidly retrieve game. In NSTRA you are judged by someone who has been taught, tested, apprenticed and evaluated by a Senior Judge and a set of rules and regulations to earn the title of a Certified Judge. This introduces a more uniform standard than in some other trails, though all have their merit.

Although NSTRA trials are dominated by the pointers and the setters, I have had some great success with the Vizsla. I have owned and trained 2 NSTRA Champion Vizslas (one 2X NSTRA CH) as well as have NSTRA points on most of my dogs. In order to be competitive in NSTRA, a Vizsla must point with Style and Intensity. The NE region has probably the most pointed Vizslas in North America with most either directly from our breeding or out of Onpoint bloodlines.

NSTRA trials are open to all pointing breeds. Dogs are run in 30 minute braces and are scored on each find, each retrieve along with the dog& it's first back (honuring another dog's point) as well as obedience and ground cover. A trial that has between 26-32 dogs competing award three points for a first place placement, two pts for second, one pt for third. In trials where there is less than 26 dogs competing but more than 24, only two pts are awarded for first, one for second. When a dog has accumulated 18 points - 9 of which must come from first place placements, a Champion certificate is awarded.