Just curious about the pros and cons for these two different breeds for upland game and a bit of waterfowl.

No idea where you'd find a good Vizsla but I've seen a few that were really nice dog's. Well kept secret I think. Really easy to find a good GSP. Never worked with a Vizsla, friend had one and it was a super dog. I suspect they both take training about the same forgiving of handler mistakes, GSP's are really good about that. As for what they hunt, I'd say they both hunt the same thing's. Had a lot of Shorthairs, not so good for waterfowl in really cold weather! Be a lot easier to find GSP pup's also, they are every where. One of my favorite breed's

The significant difference between the breeds is the length of their tails.

They will perform much the same in the uplands with a greater difference between individual dogs than breeds.

They will handle waterfowl equally too with differences between dogs more significant than breeds. I don't consider either to be candidates for big water divers but for the overwhelming number of combo Hunter's either will be fine.

GSPs can be easily found but that also means one has to research the backgrounds better to get a decent chance at a good dog. Vizslas are less common and the breeders tend to be more discriminating as a whole. The three Vizsla breeders I know have waiting lists in excess of 3 years after the prospective owner successfully concluded a questionnaire and interview.

For either breed, I think the North American Versatile Hunting Dog club would be a good place to start and likely finish your search. They have a pretty large registry and their testing is geared towards the Hunter for the most part.

I love GSPs but a well-bred pup from either breed will bring you years of joy in the field if you do your part.

Trained, tested and hunted over both. Depending on breeding, both can be excellent choices for you. If I were to define any general differences I've experienced is that the Vizsla has been a little "softer" to me in regards to training pressure.

Male Vizlas seem "goofier" to me when they are young.
GSPs seem like they are all business from the day they are born.

Both great breeds and close cousins to the also great Weims. Major differences are color and frame size. Each are capable hunters. I agree that Vizlas are the softer of the bunch. You can easily cower and/or wreck one with your voice. MY vizla just turned 12 and velcro dog description applies, great companion. She was phenomenally athletic in her younger days and showed a great nose.
I really like all 3 breeds, but owned more brittanies over the years.

Will add that the mid-Pennsylvania Mennonite puppy mills have discovered Viszlas. Many of the puppies they are selling are prone to illness and/or mental issues.
In other words, genetically dorked.
Many of these end up in rescue shelters or with exorbitant vet bills that often result in a disappointing partner cuz often these problems can't be fixed. A heart breaking situation!
My message is simply vet your breeder.

Just cut to the chase and get a Wirehaired Pointer

...You mean, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon...

Best of everything!

plus one on this. These puppy mills are doing a lot of damage to the real gun dog breeds. Be very very careful.

Drahthaar. Thank me later. Seriously though, lot of great breeds out there. But big drahthaar fan for sure.

Owned both gsp's and vizslas. I think generally the gsp ( with good breeding) a bit better, heartier bird dog.I think vizslas are very good bird dogs and better in general household pets than gsp's . Cant say either is top pick for waterfowl though due to coat length etc.

Ok I looked at these two Breeds years ago for the same thing you are looking at I ended up getting a Brock.

he Braque du Bourbonnais (pronounced brock-do-bor-bon-nay) is a breed which dates
back to the late 1500’s in France. The word Braque is derived from a French verb, which
means to aim or point. It can also be translated as pointer. The breed can be found in
the pages of French literature and was known for its amazing hunting instincts. It is
thought that the Braque du Bourbonnais originated from the early Spanish pointer.
The name of French pointers reflects the region where they were developed. This
pointer, the Braque du Bourbonnais is from the Province of Bourbon, a region of central
France

The breeder was Cactus Kennel out of Arizona great people Mary and Larry are top notch people.


This is Tazz my Mutt at a rendezvous of Brocks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XJFskSzMxA

He is the best hunting dog I ever worked with.

All things being equal breeding wise from what I have seen after hunting over a bunch of both, The Vizslas is a better pure pointer and the GSP is the better all around hunting dog.

I would take a French Brittany over either. My FB was a natural retriever and loved the water. Cold weather and water did not phase him one bit. They have the energy to run with big dog's, though they are naturally close working dogs. I ran mine along side my Elhew EP and he would range farther of course. All the FB's I have hunted over had high heads! I am guessing I have hunted over at least 15. In fairness I wouldn't hunt them in big water so sea ducks and divers are pretty much out. If you hunt divers in calmer water it would be no problem. They will surely steal your heart, that I can assure you! They are a SOFT dog, so if you have a temper or are a heavy hand they are not a breed for you.

I have a friend that runs Vizslas both in the Field and in Field Trials. I will openly admit that I am bias to EP's and ES's! But her dogs are top notch and have made me a believer in the breed. I also got a chance to run behind some Vizslas's in Hungray while I was working in Slovakia. I did not hunt but was afield with them hunting. They are great dogs when properly bred. They are a SOFT dog, so if you have a temper or are a heavy hand they are not a breed for you.

GSP's Arguably the greatest versatile hunting breed. I have hunted over some very nice dogs with high heads. Unfortunately the majority of the GSP's I have hunted over did not have high heads. To a lot of guys that doesn't matter. And I agree overall it's not that big of a deal. But I love high heads. I don't think the GSP as a whole does anything great outside of being your best friend! However they are a solid hunting dog with many skills. It will be up to you or your trainer to develop those skills. Maybe I am wrong on this but from my experience hunting over GSP's the smaller framed dogs are the ones that seem to have high heads and seem to me have more drive.

I agree with 30338 the very limited Drahthaar's I have hunted over (I believe 3) were exceptional versatile hunting dog's! I think if I were looking for a Versatile Hunting Breed that is what I would go with. I just can't say they are better than GSP's due to the limited number of dogs I have hunted over.

What matters in the end isn't what anyone of us thinks, it's what floats your boat. Do your research on breeders, check references and I mean actually call them! Make a list of questions before hand. I honestly believe that with the right properly bred dog, training, and hunting any of the hunting breeds will get the job done. Some will excel in one area that others may or may not and vise versa. All will steal your heart I can promise you.

Last thing, it is a big commitment and expense. No dog is going to be great without continued training and hunting. Good Luck and keep us posted.

Beautiful Looking Dog Fair_Chase

Beautiful GSP. All legs and nose it looks like.

Ah thanks. He is a good one. Almost 5 yo. Pic by the water does make him look extra tall but I think it's the angle of the shot. He is legs and lungs though.

I briefly owned a GSP that a coworker couldn’t handle living in the city. It was a female that had several thousands poured into her for bird training.

The dog was absolutely beautiful, small in size, but still young. She looked like it was on roids. Big, defined, leaned out muscles, and tons of energy, very high strung.

I had 5 acres fenced with 6’ft high Australian fence wire. Plenty of room to roam, kept her outside - not in a kennel while I was at work, inside with the family at night.

That dog would climb the fence wire front paw, leg foot over and over then jump from the top out and run wild a few times each week. I’d sometimes get a call from a neighbor that saw her running loose. The first few times, I left work to run her down, only to find her either back on my property or sniffing around near by.

I liked the dog a lot, but the hardest thing was trying to understand the high strung behavior. It was like she could never seem to chill out, more of a frantic behavior than a hyper, needs to be worked type of identifier. Never seen that before...But, at the time, my experience was strictly Lab hunting dogs.

Finally, I decided before I lost her, or she got shot for trespass by a ranch hand. i took her to the breeder who trained her up and asked if she wanted her for a kennel bitch or to pour some work into and sell her at a later time as a ready for birds hunting dog. The trainer took her.

I was leary of the GSP breed after that experience for many years...I hunted over several during those years and never saw the same crazy behavior exhibited once.

I can honestly say, I love that breed of dog. I find them awesome both in how they look and work...I would even own one, if I was certain that weird high strung out, worrying type of behavior wasn’t inherent to this breed of dog.

😎

Beaver,

Some hunting Buds have had them over the years, and I have yet to see one that wired. Without exception, they were all people Dogs that more or less craved the attention of their owners.

Another Bud, who trained Dogs and at one time had Dogs on the circuit, had a big Elhew Pointer named Jake. Jake had been thru a couple owners that couldn't handle him. Gary knows his Dogs and how to train them, but he met his match with Jake. He had the body of a superb athlete, along with a big heart a set of lungs to test it. Combined with a mind of his own, he was mostly untrainable. Jake for the most part had no attraction to people. He was placed on earth to satisfy his lust for Birds, wherever his body and heart would take him.

So no, all GSP are not like the one you had. But every hunting breed has a rogue that lives by their own rules.

Bat,

I appreciate this information...The wife and I are in discussion about owning a bird dog for hunting and family enjoyment. I will definitely take a hard look at a GSP....😎

Suggestion.

If you don’t mind a flusher, then perhaps look at a field breed English Springer. Easier to train, house Dog of the first order and travels easy in the car.

Best hunting/house dog I’ve owned was a Springer Spaniel. Another small framed female, but a huge heart for hunting anything with feathers. She came to me at a smidge over 3 years old. Fully trained and a field trial blue and red ribbon winner in puppy class.

I never put a dime into her...I just hunted her, allowing her to mature on her own. Had her for 11 years. She passed at approximately 14 years of age.

Heart always trumped body size, imo. Watching “Flyer” make long water retrieves on Canadian Honkers was hilarious. Dog always looked like she was underwater swimming in with a fat goose.

😎

When I was looking for a dog I came across a web page https://www.dogbreedinfo.com/braquedubourbonnais.htm

I read the dog has a On Off switch like no other dog I thought that would be awesome man was it true the kids call my dog white lightning and turbo Tazz when he was out side then at night when we bring him in the house the kids call him Tired Tazz as he makes one circle on his bed and out like a light.

From articial:
Brauqes are a medium-size hunting dog, with a great desire not only to hunt but to please you. They have an "on/off" switch like no other hunting dog that I have seen. The minute you release them in the field the hunting switch is flipped "on". When you get them home they flip that switch "off" and they are just as content to sit on the couch with you and watch a movie. They have a short, dense coat that dries in minutes and is easy to groom. Bourbonnais have a sweet personality and have a very soft temperament—they do not need a lot of corrections to train; you will get further with a soft voice and hand than you will with a firm voice and a heavy hand. While softer dogs are wonderful around the home they often take a little longer to train for hunting, but is well worth the time you put into them. While they are a hunting dog and like to run, a daily walk is fine for them."
Hunting Dogs

They look like a German Short hair on steroids stout little dogs at least the males jaws look way stronger than the Short hairs mine is a excellent hunter good luck in your search.

any firsthand real world experience with this breed? Ever hunt waterfowl and upland with one on the same day in sub zero temps?

40 years' experience raising and training hunting breeds and I know of no hunting breeds where a short walk suffices for exercise and training.

First hand is I have had my mutt for nine years one of the best dogs I have had great hunter. I would go to Arizona to a event the breeder put on and would be surrounded by brock's where we would do a hunt in planted field's not really my thing I like wild birds but I did get a good look at these dogs in action.

There is not a lot of these dog's in the states but well worth a look prices are not bad compared to other breeds.

Now if you are looking for sub zero I would not look at the Brock he is just like a German short hair.

I have had Weimaraner English pointer and Irish setter's. trained them all and all were good hunter's all of them a little different.
The Setter hated doves the Pointer was hard mouthed the Weimaraner was a little snippy around kids. I did like she was so loyal to me and would not listen to one command from the X lol.

As far as exercise goes I have no idea I have a two acre fenced yard he self exercised the kids called him white lightning as he streaked by lap after lap.

As far as the off switch in the paragraph I copied from the web page I gave the link for I can attest to , even as a pup he would come in and hit the rack that I was not use to with the other dogs I had.

Perhaps relevant to what you are pursuing:
I recall a comparison (don't know how valid) that a weimaraner tended to stay w/in 600 meters while a viszla tended towards 400 meters. Never head similar comparison to GSPs.

The few Vizslas I have met have been fine dogs. But I have met more good GSPs, just more out there. Had two GSPs ourselves, a male and a female. Male would range out much farther in the field unless you were firm on pulling him up short. On a leash he was just fine, not a puller or anything. The female naturally ranged forward at perfect shotgunning distance. Both terrific with the family--to include two infants--the female even protected our daughter once (male was deceased at that point, or the illegal would have bled even more). Also took the female GSP hog hunting. Not as a bay or catch dog, but just a dog to keep my daughter company. Female GSP was really old at the time, but had a wonderful time walking the fields and sitting with my daughter in a blind.

FIL had a couple more. He did not hunt them.

All the dogs were from families who bred a couple successful local hunting GSPs. All were good, healthy dogs, though I don't know how my FIL's would have done in the field.

I am a GSP fan. Great hunting dogs and great family dogs too.

Sweet Jeezus! Have you ever actually hunted over dogs? If I had one that ranged like that, I'd trade it for a fat 3-legged Lab!

This is a somewhat typical Campfire discussion: A guy asks about two breeds and others start suggesting Springers, Setters, etc. The same thing happens with various firearm discussions, but it's even more understandable with dogs, because they can easily steal our hearts. In my case, it's the Vizsla that's stolen mine.

I'm on my third female; they've all had slightly different personalities, but they've been wonderful hunters and companions. I've hunted (along with my Vizslas) with three different GSH. One was a guy I bumped into on public land that had a young female the same age as mine. He struck me as a "dog man" and we agreed to hunt together to give the dogs experience in hunting with other dogs. All we put up were hens, but watching the dogs work together, honor each other's points, and having fun was wonderful. Wherever he and his dog are, I hope they're doing well. The other GSH belongs to a close friend. Abby is now 16 years old and mostly blind, but she's still happy to see me and I'm happy to see her. She had the makings of a good dog with a good nose, but she never got worked and trained enough when she was young and had a tendency to run wild. The third GSH belongs to a friend of the last friend and is a beautiful young dog with a marginal owner. He sent her to a trainer, but I don't think he communicated very well. The dog has a lot of potential which I hope is met. (I know that people have different schedules, but I've really enjoyed training my own dogs and watching them develop.)

Which is part of the reason I went with the breed I did: I had heard Vizslas were easy to train, and they have been. Pretty much the only commands I've trained have been "Whoa" and "Heel". Ten minute sessions a couple of times a day have worked, along with a little "wing on a string" play and fetching. They've all just naturally seemed to pick up hand signals. The latest one is probably the poorest retriever (unless she's hunting with other dogs, in which case everything that falls from the sky belongs to her and gets brought to me). I've heard that GSH can be hard-headed, but I don't know how true that is. I've heard that Vizslas can be "soft": I know all I've ever needed was to raise my voice and sound stern. I don't think the Vizsla does well with long hours in a kennel. They want to be with their humans and there's a reason they're called "velcro dogs". Probably the same is true with the GSH or any other breed; the more time they spend with their human buddies, the happier they are.... Unless your a real [bleep], and I think there's more crappy dog owners than there are crappy dogs. Oh yeah: Vizslas are amazingly odor-free..... unless they decide they need a little "cover scent". That's when their short hair and lack of an undercoat is nice.

If you find a good breeder, preferably with a chance to see both the parents, and spend time training, playing with and exercising the puppy, I think you would be happy with either breed.

No two dogs even in the same breed range the same.

In some terrain I don't mind a "long leg dog" But the grouse and woodcock woods isn't one of those types of terrain. But even in the grouse and woodcock terrain I don't mind a good dog that ranges more than most will accept. Key is a "good dog"! I am not knocking anyones dogs but from experience most guys that claim their dogs are good fall short. When I had my English Pointer Cooper a good friend of mine had a well breed English Setter. He sent her to a well known trainer that I won't mention here. I am not going to mention because in fairness I do not know what was expected and what was promised. His dog had a great high head and tail! As well as a great nose. But did not hold point, did not back, and when she did hold point she broke at the shot. She didn't retrieve but did point dead. Something I am not a fan of but I guess it's better than doing neither. So hunting with his dog close was paramount. Cooper held steady as a rock to wing and shot. So I never minded him ranging. My buddies all said to me their first time hunting over Cooper that he runs big for a grouse dog. But after the hunt saw that it didn't matter as he didn't bump birds.

One thing to keep in mind is sending a dog off to a trainer isn't a bad thing and for a lot of guys is probably the best foundation. Where I see things fall to sh_t is when they get the dog back! One the dog needs to get to know you, he/she has been working for a different person and most likely different skill, demeanor, and expectations. Second the training MUST continue.

Wall Canyon Vizslas out of Montana,. Owner is Bridget Nielsen is IMHO the best in the business. One of the top authorities on the breed. All her dogs are NAVHDA tested including VC titles. I have owned GSP's for close to 50 years and still dance with the girl that brought me, however I've hunted over her dogs many times and all I can say is WOW! Great noises, duck hunting fools, and a joy to have around the house and kids. Very playful! You'll pay for them but over a dog's life the initial cost is not the biggest expense. Google her on the web and give he a call, she loves to talk dogs. She's also a top trainer.

I’ve got a Viszla and she started out as a remarkable dog. Then she hit 2 and doesn’t hunt, is afraid of her own shadow and spends most of her time her kennel on her own accord. I will say living in Wisconsin, probably not the best choice but she’s a beautiful dog. Now I just run my lab... I know labs are the granola of hunting dogs. I see a lot of people recommending Drahthaars, I agree these dogs are badass hunting/killing machines as my foreman has 2 and they’re awesome but they’re a lot of work and need a lot of exercise from what I’ve seen.

Love that pic!!!

Mine doesn't seem to have that problem!
Actually when she's awake she's fullbore...

Hi Guys! I am a Vizsla man from now ever after! I have my first one now, a 4 1/2 year old female that is simply great. Had her from 6 weeks old as a rescue, and she has literally trained herself nearly entirely. We groundhog hunt, and she keeps the considerably large goose population both at my home,(next to the Delaware Canal), and at my gun club,(we have a 5 acre pond), in check.

Whole town loves her, she is the sweetest thing on four feet, and has kids stopping in the yard to play! Can't say enough good about her. I contracted heart failure shortly after we got her, but Tessa simply adjusted to my level, and couldn't be a better dog!

If I live longer than Tessa, my next one will also be a Vizsla!

+1

I'm a "rescue dog" kind of guy. I've had a bunch of different ones over 50 yrs or so, and two things I can say for cdertain: Females are generally more controllable than males, (except when they are in heat), and Hungarian Viszlas almost train themselves.

I got Tessa as a rescue at about 6 weeks old, she's 5 yrs old now, and incredibly she has taught herself to hunt for us better than I could have trained her. At only thirty pounds, she's still an asset for me, since I'm a bit disabled, right down to the permits allowing vehicle use, so her willingness to work hard for me is a plus......she is also thoughtfull enough that she even allows me to sleep in her bed! She's great with kids, and really loves my wife too!

Maybe there are better breeds out there, but you have my vote.

GSP’s need to run, and Range (don’t hunt close)

V’s (at least mine) are thin skinned (can’t take REALLY Northern Cold), but hunt well, and tend not to bark.


Basically if you plan to keep it in the house the V’s are better, because a GSP will drive your wife nutz.
GSP’s are better being outside dogs in my opinion.

Another caution about V’s, they are not as genetically solid as the GSP, they can have mind issues (noises put them under the bed), because of the massive in breading that occured when the brought the bred back from the edge.