Dutch Ch. Quodian’s Okos on point. Photograph by Ron Baltus.

The number of retriever breeds plying their trade in America has been quite stable for at least a century. Ditto for the number of spaniel breeds. However, the number of pointing breeds gliding through our national scenery has increased rather frequently. Why this is, or what it suggests about folks who prefer to have their birds pointed, is beyond me. However, as an all sporting breed aficionado, I am most grateful for the series of fascinating pointing breeds that have arrived here during my lifetime.

The most recent to come to my attention is the wirehaired vizsla (WHV). This is a relatively new breed, originating in Hungary during the 1930s. Any breed lacking a many-centuries-long history--perhaps tracing back to certified canine passengers on Noah’s Ark, or at least to King Tut’s kennels--is at a disadvantage here in the Colonies. To make the American team without such credentials, a breed needs not only a lot of natural talent but also an “extra something” that makes it stand out from other talented pointing breeds.

The WHV has all of the above. Talent? This breed is easy to train, hunts close, is a good bird-finder, retrieves naturally and tenderly, takes readily to waterfowl retrieving in all but severe conditions, and has even proved its worth in falconry. Its “extra something?” The WHV has charm in abundance.

History
In the mid-1930s, Vasas Jozef of Csabai Vizsla kennel in Hungary set about to develop a new breed with the hunting traits of the vizsla but with a wirehaired coat for better protection from cold weather and punishing cover. He decided to cross his vizslas with German wirehaired pointers, so he teamed up with Gresznarik Lazlo of de Salle German Wirehaired kennel. After the usual disappointments and near-misses, they achieved their goal with a bitch they named Dia de Selle, the first WHV to be exhibited.

She wasn’t perfect, in that her coat wasn’t quite as thick and rough as they wanted, but she was close enough to become the wirehaired vizsla breed’s foundation bitch. In 1943 the Vizsla Club of Hungary began assisting in the development of this new breed. Because of WWII and post-war problems in Europe, it wasn’t until 1966 that the Federation Cynologique Internationale (FCI) recognized the wirehaired vizsla as a separate Hungarian breed.

WHVs were introduced into the United Kingdom in 1970, and from thence into Canada. The Canadian Kennel Club (CKC) recognized the breed in 1978. In the early 1970s, Mr. Charles Newman of Volney, Virginia began importing and breeding them, but he called the breed the “Uplander.” In the ensuing years, the name happily reverted to wirehaired vizsla, and in 1986 the North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association (NAVHDA) recognized the breed under that name. Although still a rare breed, a few WHVs have done well in NAVHDA tests. The United Kennel Club (UKC) recognized the breed in 2006.

In 2003, a group of WHV fanciers formed a national breed club, the Wirehaired Vizsla Club of America (WHVCA), which now has a website (see below) and a quarterly newsletter (“Hot Off the Wire!”). The club’s leadership is developing a working certificate test program, and they plan to sponsor annual national specialties. They have also begun the process that will lead to AKC recognition. Early this year AKC accepted WHVCA for the Foundation Stock Service (FSS), which allows the club to begin collecting and compiling pedigrees for the initial batch of registrations.