Vizsla vs German Shorthaired Pointer

Bounding, wiggling, racing away—the Vizsla dog breed has a high-energy personality that’s always ready to go, go, go. (They’d make an ideal sub for the Energize Bunny should he ever retire). Inquisitive and loving, a Vizsla is sometimes called a “Velcro dog” as they tend to stick close to their people. As for aggressive tendencies or a penchant for biting, the Vizsla temperament isn’t known to engage in either. Instead, a gentle, friendly nature and a playful demeanor are far more common Vizsla traits.

Having a Vizsla in a home with kids and babies is a fine idea—and the breed also enjoys the company of other dogs, especially when they’re young. Bonus: They can even be trained to live peaceably with cats. But keep in mind that Vizslas have a high prey drive and may chase a kitty, so if you plan to introduce a feline to the family, take care to keep the cat safe until your Vizsla puppy is well socialized.

Vizsla qualities also include a high level of competence and an ability to learn quickly, making this dog highly trainable. Vizsla intelligence has long been prized as the breed has a distinguished history as a faithful hunting companion that was bred to both point and retrieve. Modern-day Vizslas have equally demanding jobs as seeing eye dogs, search and rescue animals and as professional sniffers (think drugs or explosives). And Vizslas even have a patriotic streak, serving as canine recovery workers at Ground Zero in New York City after the attacks on September 11, 2001.

The German Shorthaired Pointer breed is a loyal, loving dog who wants to hang out with their pet parent. These dogs enjoy working, and you’ll find they’re alert dogs who keep an eye—and a very strong nose—on everything.

Their temperament is easygoing, and they can be friendly with new people. Socialization will help bring out more friendly qualities when meeting new people, but they’re typically not aggressive toward humans and don’t tend to bite. German Shorthaired Pointers are great with kids and other dogs. But these dogs were born to hunt, so they don’t mix well with smaller pets, like a rabbit or cat.

These high-energy pups love to please their people. However, they’re easily distracted by what they see and smell, and that may make training a little more difficult. These are hard-working pups who love it when you give them something to do. You can fulfill their type-A needs through playing games like fetch or through dog sports, like agility.