I've been a lab only owner but have been considering a gsp to get ready for next bird season. I've also only ever bought purebred....but have come across a gsp/vizsla mix litter. has anyone had any experience with this mix before? I only know a little about either breed....what might their size and temperament be, and would it be a risky adventure to not go purebred?

i'm a duck/dove/quail hunter with 2 toddlers at home, and also run a lot. thanks,

-bobby

Do both parents hunt, and how are their temperaments?
That is going to tell you more about the litter, than just looking at the breed. Your going to have to look at the size of the parents too, to get a estimation of the pups mature size.

They have more in common than some other breeds.

I have not been around a GSP since I was a kid (along time ago) and have only seen one red dog. My experience with drops or crosses is they will be a great one in the litter and the rest just dogs. Hunted behind a setter-pointer cross in the 80's that was one of the best BIRD dogs I've ever seen and knew of brit-setter that was awesome as well. I asked about litter mates and was told the rest would not hunt. Just my 2 cents. Good luck.

Take a look at the dam and sire and there's your answer for what their size and temperament might be.

One of the best bird dog men I have ever known said if you bred a bird dog to a bird dog you will most likely get a bird dog.

I have owned both and think the mix would be a great combo. Not sure how to train them though. The GSP breed can sometimes take a trainer with a firm hand to get done, but the Vizsla will be absolutely ruined by a firm hand.
I would not hesitate to get one of them- just curious how they look. If you get a chance, can you post (PM) a picture to me?
Thanks.

There in lies your answer. You just need to make sure they are bird dogs, and not yard dogs...regardless of breed.

The Vizsla was used in creating the GSP, then after WW2 they was alot of GSP used in the Vizsla to bring it back after Germany then Russians rolled across Hungary, like they look at the parents.

Yep, if mom & dad both hunt, I dont see why not.

Good golly twostrike where did you get that? The V was not used to create the GSP brred. A cross of Spanish, German, and most likely a German bloodhound, with possibly a Spanish Pointer. There is no evidence that the Vizsla was used to produce the GSP.

With that said, typical Vs are far far softer than most shorthairs. Have less style, less range, and are just not nearly as much dog. Since breeding tends to produce less than the parents, I'd look to the lesser of the two parents and understand the pups will most likely be an underachieving, watered down, version of that specimen.

Personally I wouldn't consider the pups 'cept for pets.

Wow

wow is right.

Not sure if wow means, "wow couldn't agree more" ,but I've hunted over somewhere near 100 shorthairs, have owned 30 plus, have judged over 100 trial stakes and hunting tests that included many many red dogs and shorthairs, and have hunted over a good number of Vs. I have seen 4 or 5 Vs that were the equal to a slightly above average GSP, and have seen a grand total of one truly NICE red dog, owned by Mike Lundy, a Rebel Rouser, Rozanek bred dog. Mike's dog was a tremendous dog. Most have bred off that line trying to get the speed, stamina, style, desire, of that one dog. Breed didn't have much else.

wow as in you're in orbit bro.

Since when did breeding 2 good dogs produce mostly crappy dogs? This goes against all logic whatsoever. (i'll talk in terms of hounds since that is what I know most about.)

If you breed 2 dogs with good instincts and "natural" talent, the pups produced will tend to also have good instincts and natural talent. I've seen English ticks/Walkers that would blow the other dogs out of the water. Bluetick/redbones that were better Hunting dogs than what I witnessed was the Big World Champ that year.

In terms of trainability (generic) I've seen GSD/labs that could be taught in 2 reps of a training. And that was the whole litter.

IMO, if you know both parents are good hunters, go for it. Might save you quite a bit of initial cost. Start training softly as you would a Viz just in case. If only 1 was a good hunter, then you take the same chance as buying a pup from some of the larger breeders that breed their 8 females that have never been in the field to the owner's titled sire.

This goes against all logic as well. If this was the case eventually there would be no hunting dogs at all as with each breeding the instinct would be less and less....

There is a trend toward the average.

With nearly every litter, there are dogs not built for hunting, they may make great yard dogs or retrievers or blood trackers (depending on breed) but just not have the best nose for birds. In the case of hounds, I've seen coon culled hounds be the best squirrel and rabbit catch dogs. If those culled dogs are brought back into the breeding, then you are diluting the "working dog" gene pool.

Imagine just color for a sec. If 2 black dogs have a deep recessive white gene, and out of a litter of pups 1 is pure white while the others are pure black or mix. If that white pup is allowed to breed to another black dog with white recessive gene, all pups will be either white or mix white/black. If you keep breeding crap dogs like some kennels do (not naming any names, but the one i'm thinking of isn't on here) to ok dogs, the gene pool is going to get more diluted to what Bill said, average is best...

Well yeah if you keep breeding crappy parents.

Robert Wehle explained it best in his book , "Snakefoot the making of a champion." He gave an example of 6 foot 6 inch man and a woman of the same height. Most of their children would be shorter than either of them. He went on to write several pages on the subject. He only kept the best and sold the rest. He bred a famous line of Elhew pointers.

I think his assessment is pretty much spot on. It also sounds as if he has quite a bit of experience with both breeds.

I believe the Vizsla is way overhyped especially on this forum. Im not saying they aren't good dogs but from what I have seen he is right. They are a jack of all trades and a master of none.

I'm not going to argue because I don't have enough experience in bird dogs but I think if every Tom Dick and Harry had a V like they do a GSP then you would see more really great dogs.
I disagree though that they are overhyped and that they are not nearly as much dog as a GSP. They both have their place.

Don't get me wrong I'm not raggin on the V. They do have their place. I just believe that his assessment was correct when comparing them to a GSP. Some people just simply don't want/or need that much dog. Just like most duck hunters wouldn't know how to handle a hard charging FC, AFC kinda dog in the duck blind. More dog is not always better. Just depends on your needs as a hunter.

But to the OP's question my brother in law has a Vizsla. He got a Vizsla because his buddy had a GSP/Vizsla mix and he thought that dog was the best bird dog he had ever seen. Still to this day he swears there was no better bird finding machine than that dog. So if the parents were quality dogs you could end up with a really nice puppy.

Do I need to drag out my old quote that starts out, " One of the first things you learned about bird hunting, if you grew up in the South, is that you never criticize another man's birddog."?