August is Puppy Holiday Time!

This month we have two of this years puppies staying at Nearlyheaven ,while their owners visit the UK for a wedding.

They are great companions for our remaining puppy ( who is awaiting his new owners return from the USA in September).

Originally we put the puppies in their "own puppy  pen" to play during the daytime, however they were not too happy with being confined, they wanted to join the adult dogs in the garden.

 Happily they are all romping together and even "Zac" has been seen playing with them.(Zac has a horror of small puppies and usually runs away from them).

Each morning before I go to the airport ,I take all of the dogs into my fields to let
off steam, it is a wonderful sight to watch 8 Hungarian Vizsla dogs galloping at full pelt around together.The sheep and livestock just ignore them..... thankfully!
It is amusing watching their characteristics Lucia and I regularly look at a puppy and say he is doing that just like "Teddy" or look at that " he is lying down with his legs back just  like "Meg" etc.
Thankfully none of them have emulated "Blanchettes "puppy antics which was holding on to the tails of the horses when they galloped around the field!

Pedigree Hungarian Vizslas come to Facebook

Here's a quick note to everyone who wants to keep in touch with Pedigree Hungarian Vizslas on Facebook. This blog now automatically posts to Sue's "Pedigree Hungarian Vizslas" Facebook page.
If you "Like" the page using the "Like Box" below, then you will receive all the blog updates direct to your own Facebook newsfeed and can comment on them as you would on the blog. (Comments only remain on Facebook and don't appear back on the blog.)

If you can think of other friends of yours on Facebook who you think might also be interested to receive our updates, then please use the "Suggest to Friends" link on the Facebook page (Top left, under the photo).



Social Oomph set up by Richard Martin.

Puppies Settling into their New Homes!

We are receiving many reports that the puppies are settling happily into their new homes.

Freud-Anna of Nearlyheaven  is enjoying herself in the South of France.

News and photographs from "Red"

Since posting my article this morning about the puppies leaving home I have received these photographs and news about" Red" otherwise known as Fleuron Bear of Nearlyheaven.

Hi Lucia/Sue

I thought I would give you a quick update on Red. He has settled in really well and has been toilet trained from the word go. He wakes us up in the night to do a wee and then goes straight back to bed with one of our slippers! He has an outside play pen which he goes to for the toilet - which is great! He has made friends with our Kittens and loves to herd the Chickens up as though he were a Sheepdog not a Gun Dog! He loves traveling in the car and enjoys being in his crate at night and in the car.

 He doesn't like being woken up when we need to go somewhere 

though; he's a real sleepy head! And the noises he makes as he goes to sleep are so funny!

We are going to New York late November and hope that we can bring him to you for a week if possible?

Thank you so much for all the love and care you gave him - he's a wonderful pup!

It is such a pleasure to see the puppies settling into their new homes so easily. Sue

Saying Goodbye such Bittersweet Emotions!

The puppies are leaving home and starting a new chapter in their lives.Their new owners have waited a long time for these little bundles of joy (some people have been on the waiting list for a year).

The weeks have passed so quickly since the night that we helped "Meg" bring her puppies into the world.
It is almost impossible to believe that these puppies weighed 400 grams only 8 weeks ago. Despite having this huge litter of 11 puppies , "Meg" has produced healthy, plump puppies and she remains rather on the heavy side herself, despite the ever

demanding requirements from her brood for milk, milk and more milk please Mum!

The puppies were weaned onto weetabix and milk,minced chicken, pureed vegetables, they have all had the best start in life,now they are eating Royal Canin baby dog dried food but they get treats like mined beef and pasta now and again.

Do not be surprised if your puppy does not want to eat when he first arrives in his new home, it is a huge shock for him to feed alone without the company of his siblings, be patient and tempt him with small amounts of interesting foods until he settles down.

The new puppy  owners live all over France, some of  the puppies have had long journeys, however they have all traveled  well and settled into their new environment quickly.Florence has surprised her new owners by being really easy to house train, within two days she was behaving impeccably.

Freud-Anna had the longest journey, she now resides in the south of France with a very surprised young Doberman as a companion......... guess who is the boss?

Two more puppies depart tomorrow, they are going to the same home, therefore life will be easier for their new owners as Vizsla's love company and to have the added company of a sibling is pure bliss for a puppy.


Vizsla's will never be unhappy if they have another dog to keep them company, if they are alone they want to be with their owner 24/7 they can never get enough love and attention.
They love to explore  every new sight and sound
this is the time to introduce them to as many new
experiences as possible.

Puppies learn rapidly at this age so do commence their training as soon as they have settled into their new homes.
This is the time to give firm, gentle guidance.

 The puppy on the right is meeting "Deeva" who is his aunt she was staying here while her owners were in the UK.
We try to offer a service to all our puppy owners which enables them to come and stay here with us if they have to return to Britain.


Surprisingly, we still have two superb males looking for new owners so all of you please ask around to see if friends or family may wish to have a beautiful boy with such an illustrious pedigree to grace their homes!

A word of congratulations to "Meg" her devotion to her puppies is second to none. Now her milk has almost dried up, but every morning she wakes me up at 6-30 am because she wants to go downstairs to feed and clean her babies.
During the day time she will lie outside their pen watching them play and just keeping an eye on them.
I hear marvelous reports of last years litter, yes "Meg" you are a great mother!

Vizsla Puppies soon departing to New Homes

                                                                                                                Thanks to David Page photography .

It is a bittersweet time for us at Nearlyheaven as our gorgeous Hungarian Vizsla puppies are now seven weeks old, and soon it will be time for them to leave the nest and go to their new homes.

First they must visit the veterinary surgeon to have their microchip,  injections and a health check.

We have tried in the past to take all of the litter in one session but it causes mayhem at the surgery, so we shall take three puppies at a time, this is to keep the vet happy!

Thankfully, the weather has improved and during the daytime the puppies go into their outdoor house which has a fenced garden area to allow them to play.

They have amused us by wanting to curl up in the buckets rather than sleep in their large and comfortable shed. Their antics and play fights are a joy to behold.



Many of the new owners visit their chosen puppy each week to spend some time playing with them.

Mum is no longer living with her brood,  they completely strip her of milk in a few seconds and then chase her around trying to obtain a second drink, she soon retreats into the house after her feeding  duties are finished!
The adult male dogs are always terrified of the puppies they never accept them until they begin to  look like adult dogs!

So much for the brave hunting dogs!

The female Vizsla's all want to "mother" the puppies and play with them.
Blanche cleans and licks her nephews and neices whenever Meg has her back turned! below is a picture of "Deeva" (She is Blanchettes daughter) she has been residing here for a week while her owners were in the UK, she was fascinated by these little creatures, in fact she reverted to being a puppy once again, playing and rolling on the floor with them.

Of course we try to educate our babies prior to them arriving in their new homes, they are using newspaper for their toilet at night and this should help with future house training.

They come into the house to get used to the smells and sounds so that they will not be frightened of new experiences when they leave home.
Our puppies having a party!

The one below is a bit of a Poser!

These two boys are hoping for new owners very soon!

    Finally here is Teddy Bear who was born to the same parents 13months prior to these puppies!

The Vizsla Puppies are now 5 weeks old !

Life is never boring at Nearlyheaven, the puppies are now over five weeks old and growing rapidly.

They are constantly hungry and their poor mother is driven to distraction by their constant demands for milk.
"Meg" has done a great job of rearing these eleven puppies, she is an excellent mother and she happily allows visitors to meet her babies and to pick them up etc.

Since the puppies were three weeks old they have been having supplementary food, at first it was weetabix and milk and now they are on to cooked minced meat and chicken with pasta. I spend more money in the supermarket for the puppies than I do on our food!

Now that the weather has improved they go outside in their playpen, where they spend the day,playing, eating and sleeping.

We have nine puppies reserved with only two males seeking new homes.

The puppies will be ready to leave their mother on the 9th June and will go to homes all over France mostly with English families.

Meg having a welcome treat!

The Hungarian Vizsla Puppies Have Arrived ( All 13 of them)

  Well the long awaited event has finally arrived "Meg" (Bicton Bear it All ) went into unexpected early labour on Tuesday night.

She did not give us any warning, and in fact she was lying on her bed with all the other Vizsla's when the first one appeared.

This first puppy, a boy, came backwards it was not too difficult to ease him out.

                                                    

                                                      We moved "Meg" into her bed in the kitchen and she continued her endeavours, and easily produced several more puppies. Then we waited nearly two hours for the next one to arrive, the reason for this long delay was that this puppy was stillborn.(In many years of breeding this is the first still born puppy that I have ever seen) 

After this, the puppies came quite quickly and naturally, sadly, we had another long wait until another still born arrived.

Lucia and I sustained ourselves with endless cups of coffee, we had a struggle to keep the puppies warm, so when Meg was busy producing babies we were drying them for her, she could not complete the drying before another one popped out.

Well, after a long and worrying night finally at 6am the last puppy arrived .Our courageous lady had produced thirteen puppies, the eleven that survived were 5 girls and 6 boys, no wonder they came early, she could not contain that many any longer.

As each puppy arrived, we recorded the time that it was born and its weight, unbelievably they were all of normal size and a good weight, most of them weighed nearly 400 grams which is heavier than her previous litter of puppies!

All the babies are thriving and gaining weight rapidly, we offered them supplementary milk, but they did not seem to want it at present. She is a wonderful mum, she looks very well, she is content, and she is very proud of her offspring.                                                  

                      

Now it is time to mention the humans in this saga, Lucia has not been to bed for two nights, she helped me with the births, then last night she sat beside their bed maintaining a vigil to make sure that they were all drinking properly. She has refused to go to bed during the daytime, as I write this she is mowing the lawns!

I can admit that I am totally exhausted even though I did manage to sleep last night, it must be something to do with my age!

Hungargunn Bear it'n Mind wins Crufts Show!

Hungargunn Bear it'n Mind wins Crufts Show!
This Vizsla has become a legend in his own lifetime , breaking records throughout his career.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungargunn_Bear_It'n_Mind
Many of you already know that he is the father of our bitch "Bicton Bear It All.( "Meg").

It was over two years ago that I spoke to Gay Gottlieb the doyen of Vizsla breeding, and asked her advice as to the future wife for my dog "Visions of Success" ("Leko").Gay told me that she had had some puppies sired by "Yogi" and they were the best puppies she had ever seen.

I contacted his owner and after a bit of wrangling he agreed to allow me to purchase a bitch of 6 months old, she was the pick of the litter which he had intended to keep for himself.

I  decided aslo to send my bitch "Whispered Promises" to him and she duly went to the stud in Carlisle, however she failed to come into season and eventually returned home to France.Subsequently she was mated to the top dog of France  "Tonga du Clos de la Baudeliere and produced eight puppies.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          "Meg" has been a joy to own, she has a special personality and some curious traits, she stand up on her hind legs to look out of the window and reminds us of a Meercat.She also stretches her legs out behind when lying down .

I have only shown her 3 times and she has won every time.


Last year she and "Leko" produced 10 beautiful puppies which were outstanding, this year she is a lady in waiting her litter is due around the 16th April.





"Visions of Success"

The story of the Vizsla's at Nearly Heaven .

I have been breeding gundogs for over thirty years,I fell in love with the Hunter Pointer Retreiver dogs when I was in my twenties.

I was lucky to have a famous gundog breeder and judge living not too far from me.I went to ask her advice and to see if she may have a puppy for sale.The breed of dog that I was interested in was the German Short Haired pointer.

                 

Upon meeting Louise Petrie Hay at her famous Waidman kennels she advised me that she did not have any litters expected but to come and see her dogs.
I was enchanted with these beautiful noble dogs and wanted to learn as much about them and their history as I could.
Mrs. Petrie Hay became my mentor for many years, She advised me which strain of pedigree was the best, and when I wanted to breed from my bitch "Anna" I used the Waidman stud dogs.
Louise kept two puppies from my litters and they went on to be excellent gun dogs,winning many prizes in the show ring and field trials.

Sadly "Anna" died at the age of twelve years and I could not bring myself to replace her, it was time for a change of breed.

Many years after our initial meeting, I had seen my first Vizsla at the Waidman kennels and I was bowled over by this beautiful breed.So now I once again arrived to find out about the Hungarian Vizsla dogs.
I was pointed in the direction of George and Barbara Shepherd who had brought her bitch from America and had mated her to a top British sire.my new puppy was called Bargeo's Chilli Pepper" .

I fell in love with her immediately, she was so loyal and very intelligent, I was surprised at how quickly she learned new things, she became my shadow for four wonderful years, until sadly here in France,she stepped on an Aspic Viper (of Cleopatra fame) and despite the best veterinary care, she died at the age of four and a half.
Thankfully, prior to my emigration to France, Louise had arranged "Chilli's" mating with Gay Gottlieb's handsome "Russettmantle Fisher",this mating was a last minute affair, performed the week before I left for France.
I arrived at my new home at the end of October 2002 with one pregnant bitch. She produced ten puppies on New Years Day 2003.

Two of Chilli's offspring "Visions of Success" and "Whispered Promises" became the foundation stock of my Nearlyheaven kennel.
more about that in a later post.