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This post is all about Vizsla puppy biting and surviving the Vizsla Puppy Stage
If you are a new Vizsla puppy owner, then I’m guessing you’ve already scoured the internet in full panic mode, searching for ways to stay sane while managing this high energy, biting, zooming, absolutely crazy, but ridiculously cute, new family member. Vizsla puppies are NO JOKE! I’m sharing my Vizsla puppy experience in hopes it offers some help, or at the very least, lets you know you’re not alone on this wild ride.
Vizsla Puppy Biting and Other Challenges: Surviving the Puppy Stage
I’ll walk you through all the tips and tricks we used to survive the Vizsla puppy stage. Trust me, you’ll want to be prepared and have all the essentials ready to go. Vizsla puppy biting can be seriously obnoxious, and I’ll share exactly what worked for us (and what didn’t). Hopefully, this helps make your Vizsla’s puppyhood a little easier and a lot more enjoyable!
Table of Contents
- Get Prepared: Vizsla Puppy Essentials: 10 things you MUST HAVE if you want to survive!
- Vizsla Puppy Biting and Other Challenges
- Advice for Vizsla Puppy Owners
- Vizsla Puppy Owner Resources
Vizsla Puppy Essentials: 10 things you MUST HAVE if you want to survive!
1. High Quality Chew Toys
If you want any peace and quiet, you need to invest in some good chew toys. A coworker (fellow Vizsla owner) told me he swore by Benebones, and it was a gamechanger for my Vizsla puppy.
2. Tons of Training Treats
Vizslas train best with positive reinforcement, so keep training treats on hand at all times. Reward good behavior!
3. Puppy Food
I have always had good luck with Diamond Naturals dog food, and my Vizsla puppy did really well with it too. Plus, my vet also said Diamond Naturals is a good choice.
4. Dog Crate
If you are planning to crate train your Vizsla, be sure to get a good quality metal crate.
5. Dog Blanket (Skip the Dog Bed)
Not everyone will agree with me on this, but I would skip the dog bed. My Vizsla puppy tore up every single dog bed we bought her. So, after wasting hundreds of dollars on dog beds, we ended up getting her a nice cozy fleece blanket instead. She used her blanket in her crate and would even pull it out to lay on around the house. She loved it and I loved that she didn’t tear it up!
6. Dog Toys (and lots of them)
Get a variety of dog toys. My Vizsla puppy was obsessed with this tagged soccer ball. It is such good quality, and she didn’t tear it up at all. I also went to the local dollar store and picked up tons of stuffed toys, squeakers, ropes, and rubber balls for super cheap. Your Vizsla puppy is going to destroy them anyways, so no sense in spending a fortune on them. *Tip: Don’t give your pup access to all the toys at once. Get a few out at a time and just swap them occasionally.
7. Harness and Leash
Vizsla puppies are VERY active, so walking is a good way to get out some puppy energy. Be sure to use a dog harness and a good leash!
8. Engraved AirTag Dog Collar Holder
Of course you don’t want to lose your sweet Vizsla puppy, so be sure to get an AirTag. My dog has an AirTag holder for her collar with a separate name plate. How cool are these AirTag holders with the name engraved on them!
9. Gates and Play Pens
I highly suggest using gates and/or play pens to keep your Vizsla puppy contained and out of places where they may not be safe. We used a gate to stop our puppy from going upstairs. These play pens are also a gamechanger for keeping your puppy contained, but giving them a little more room to play!
10. Squirt Bottle
Just trust me… you need a squirt bottle. Vizsla puppies BITE. Constantly. The squirt bottle (on stream) was the only thing that stopped my Vizsla puppy from biting. We tried yelping, saying no, and every other thing that is supposed to help deter puppy biting. The only thing that worked for us was a spray bottle. I sprayed her one time, and then very seldomly ever had to again. As soon as she saw the bottle, she quit. So, I carried that thing around with me everywhere!
Here are a few other items that you may want to have on hand:
- Nail Grinder: Introducing nail trimming and/or grinding to puppies is essential. It allows them to get used to it, and will make your life much easier in the long run.
- Puppy Training Pads: We used these in our Vizsla puppy’s crate for the first month or so. They worked well and are even washable, which was convenient.
- Crate Bowls: I love these things! These bowls attach to the crate, so they won’t spill in the crate.
Vizsla Puppy Biting and Other Challenges
Vizsla Puppy Challenges. Where do I even start? There are plenty of challenges you’re likely to face with a Vizsla puppy. I know all puppies come with struggles, but I genuinely believe the Vizsla puppy stage might be one of the toughest. So let’s talk about it. I’m going to walk you through the specific challenges we faced, along with some background on each one, including when they started, when (or if!) they ended, and what helped us get through them.
Vizsla Puppy Biting (THE BIG CHALLENGE)
Without a doubt, the biggest challenge for our Vizsla puppy was biting. We brought our Vizsla puppy home at 9 weeks old, and that first week she was a total angel. She was sweet, sleepy, and cuddly. But then, the biting started.
It quickly got to the point where she was almost impossible to play with because she bit constantly. I had bite marks all over my arms and hands, and so did every other member of our family. It was a lot. I read every article, watched every video, and tried every method I could find and nothing worked.
Then I came across a tip online about using a squirt bottle. I figured it was worth a shot. I squirted her once, and she backed up and ran away. After that, just holding the bottle stopped the biting. If she started to nip and I picked it up, she immediately took off. For a while, I literally walked around the house with that bottle in hand, because, let’s be honest, those bites HURT.
Just to be clear, her biting wasn’t aggressive. It really seemed like her way of playing. We had a few phases where the biting calmed down, but it always seemed to come back. It wasn’t until she was around 7 to 8 months old that we finally started to see some improvement.
Unfortunately, there’s no magic fix for Vizsla puppy biting, it’s just something they do. Vizslas are a naturally mouthy breed, and biting is part of their puppy phase. My best advice is to be consistent. Try different techniques, and once you find something that works, stick with it. You’ll likely go through ups and downs. Some weeks the biting improves, and then suddenly it gets worse again. Hang in there, and know you’re definitely not alone. I seriously searched “how to stop Vizsla puppy biting” daily for months. It’s tough, and honestly, most advice I found said the same thing: you can’t really stop it, you just have to survive it until it passes.
Note: If your Vizsla’s biting seems aggressive rather than playful, definitely consult your veterinarian. This post is focused on typical puppy biting, not true aggression.
Potty Training
Potty training actually went pretty darn well for our Vizsla puppy. We kept a super close eye on her, and anytime she started sniffing around a little too much, we took her outside. She seemed to catch on really quickly, which was so awesome!
Most of the accidents she did have were when she was distracted or overstimulated. For example, if she was in full zoomie mode (more on that later), she’d almost always have an accident. And then there was the excitement factor. Whenever a family member came home, she’d get so happy and immediately pee during the greeting. Who can even be mad at that? It’s just too darn cute.
One area we did struggle with was potty training in bad weather. If it was raining? Nope. She wasn’t having it. She’d stand right by the door and just pee on the floor instead. Around 6 to 7 months, she got a little better about it, but even now, she’s definitely not a fan of doing her business in the rain.
Zoomies
Oh my goodness, the zoomies! I’d seen dogs do this before, but our Vizsla pup takes it to a whole new level. She is seriously hilarious. Every single evening, like clockwork, she gets a sudden burst of energy and goes absolutely wild.
One minute she’s calmly chewing on a bone, and the next, she’s sprinting full speed through the house. It’s impossible not to laugh. She runs laps around the furniture, and has even figured out how to scale the back of the couch horizontally. Parkour, I guess!!
Scared of Everything
My Vizsla puppy was super skittish right from the start. She’d get startled by the smallest things, like a leaf blowing across the yard or a car door shutting in the distance. The second something spooked her, she’d jump back and take off running as fast as she could. We did our best to keep her calm and reassure her every time it happened. If it was a specific object she was scared of, we’d gently introduce her to it and show her it was nothing to worry about. I wasn’t used to this kind of nervous behavior because none of my previous dogs had ever acted like this. Over time, she definitely improved and started getting more comfortable with her surroundings, but even at six months old, she was still pretty cautious and easily startled.
Meeting New People
Meeting new people has definitely been an interesting challenge. Since my Vizsla puppy is naturally pretty skittish, introductions weren’t always easy. But we knew how important it was for her to experience different people and environments early on, so we made a point to take her out often for lots of walks and trips to the ballpark.
She actually did great on walks. She didn’t bother other people or dogs and just kind of kept to herself and minded her own business. The ballparks were a bit more chaotic, with tons of people (including little kids) coming up to meet her. But she handled it all really well. Everyone would ask if they could pet her, and she was super sweet and gentle with them.
We did run into a few situations that I still can’t fully explain. For some reason, there were certain people she was extremely scared of. She would bark nonstop and wouldn’t let them near her. My dad was one of those people. He’s the kindest, most dog-loving man you’ll ever meet. He’s been my go-to dog sitter for years. But for whatever reason, our Vizsla pup just wouldn’t warm up to him. The moment she saw him, she’d back up and bark like crazy. He couldn’t even get close.
There were a few other random instances like that, and while we never figured out exactly what triggered her, we did land on a strategy that helped a lot. If she reacted that way toward someone, we’d have them completely ignore her with no eye contact, no talking. Eventually, she’d get curious enough to creep over and sniff their hand, kind of “check them out.” And once she decided they were safe, she was totally fine. It was the weirdest thing, but thankfully it worked!
Barking
Well, unfortunately my Vizsla puppy is a barker. She could be peacefully sitting, and then suddenly just start barking like crazy. She barks when she wants something, she barks when she is excited, she barks when she is startled, she just BARKS. This took some getting used to because I previously had a German Shorthaired Pointer that maybe barked 10 times in her entire life.
Jumping / Counter Surfing
Jumping is pretty common in puppies, and my Vizsla was definitely a jumper. Since we didn’t want her jumping all over us or our guests we focused on teaching her “down.” She caught on fairly quickly, but when she got excited, she’d still jump. Sometimes she would do the dreaded “jump and nip” combo, which was NOT FUN! It was something we worked on constantly throughout her puppy stage, but it was definitely a challenge.
And then there was the counter surfing. From a young age, she was always trying to climb up and see what was on every surface. As she grew, this only got worse. By the time she hit six months, she was tall enough to reach just about any counter in the house. She perfected the classic “paw and pull” move to snag papers, food, or whatever else we left within reach. The good news is that if you have a Vizsla puppy, your house and counters are probably clutter-free! 😉
Advice for Vizsla Puppy Owners
Vizsla puppies are hard. They just are. They’re hyper, busy, and can be stubborn. Since they’re also really smart, that stubborn-smart combo can be seriously exhausting. One day they’re absolute angels, and the next it’s like they’ve forgotten every single thing they’ve ever learned. Owning a Vizsla puppy can feel like an emotional roller coaster. Vizsla puppies are constantly testing your patience, your nerves, and just about everything else.
But… they’re also insanely gorgeous, and they are so unbelievably soft that it’s pretty much impossible to stay mad at them for long.
So hang in there, fellow Vizsla puppy owners. The Vizsla puppy biting and other challenges get better…but that first year is so hard!
Vizsla Puppy Owner Resources
If you have specific questions or just love to hear from other Vizsla owners, check out some of these really great Vizsla resources.
- Vizsla Forums: https://www.vizslaforums.com/
- Vizsla Forum on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/vizsla/
- Join a Facebook Vizsla Owners Groups: Vizsla Owners | Vizsla Lovers
This post was all about my Vizsla Puppy!
I hope you can use some of the information and tips I’ve provided on surviving life with your new Vizsla puppy. I’d love to hear from you. Drop me a comment below!
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