ORIGIN: Hungary
DATE OF ORIGINAL STANDARD: 1936
GENERAL USE:
The vizsla is multipurpose all-round "HPR" gundog, that should perform equally well in the field, water and woods. Its major characteristics include superior scenting ability, steady and stylish pointing, exceptional aptitude for retrieving, keenness to work in water and follow the track of the game in the water.
It is adaptable to the extreme weather conditions and the rough terrain. Being a practical gundog the gunshyness, the lack of pointing and retrieving ability, lack of love for working in water are undesirable traits. Because of its temperament, it also adapts well to apartment living as a companion dog.
F.C.I. LISTING:
Group VII.: Gundogs.
Section 1.1.: continental gundogs.
It is required to pass a performance test (field and water test).
HISTORY OF THE BREED:
The ancestors of the Magyar Vizsla arrived in Hungary in the wandering Magyar tribes' company. Sketches and descriptions of the breed can already be found in documents dating from the 14th Century. Its significance as a hunting dog grew from the 18th Century onward, and by the end of the 19th Century, Magyar Vizslas were noted to perform well in hunting field tests. Other gundog breeds likely played a role that is worth mentioning at that time in the development of the breed. A scientific breeding program was launched in 1920, and in 1936 F.C.I. granted it breed recognition.

GENERAL APPEARANCE:
It is a shorthaired, medium sized " golden rust ("yellow") versatile sporting dog of distinctive and aristocratic appearance. It is rather light, lean of build (ossature and muscling), reflecting the consonance of strength and beauty.
IMPORTANT BODY RATIOS:
The body length is slightly more than the height at withers.
The depth of chest is smaller than the half of the height at withers.
The fore face is slightly shorter than the half of the length of the head.
TEMPERAMENT:
It is lively, friendly, even-tempered and easily trainable. Its fundamental characteristic is its strong willingness to handling. It is a soft tempered dog that does not tolerate rough handling. It should not be timid or aggressive.

HEAD:
Lean, noble and proportioned.
FOREHEAD:
The skull is moderately wide, slightly domed, with a mild median line originating from the moderately developed occiput down to the stop. The browbone moderately arched.
STOP should be moderately sloping.
MUZZLE: should be wide, not narrowing and ends squarely in a well-developed nose with nostrils well open. The bridge of the nose is straight. The colour of the nose is in harmony with the colour of the coat but a shade darker.
The foreface is proportionately long.
THE JAWS: should be strong and well developed with complete dentition (42 pieces). The incisors meet in a scissors bite, they stay almost vertically in the jaw.
EYES: should be medium sized, slightly oval shaped, bright and intelligent in appearance. The eyelids should close neatly and clearly. The shade of its colour is in harmony with the colour of the coat, the dark brown eyes preferred.
EARS: are set at medium height and slightly farther back, lying close to the head. Thinnish, "V"-shaped with rounded ends. Its length should be approximately 3/4 of the length of head.
NECK: The neck is of medium length, proportioned, well muscled and slightly arched. The skin of the neck should be smooth and tight without dewlap.

BODY:
WITHERS: should be pronounced, well muscled.
BACK: firm, tight and straight. The anticline vertebra area is filled-in with muscles.
LOIN: should be short, broad, tight fitting and well muscled, straight with only the natural arch of the lumbar vertebrae. The coupling is tight and solid.
CROUP: is well muscled, should be wide and adequately long, only slightly sloped to the base of the tail, not too short and steep.
CHEST: should be moderately broad and deep with well muscled and slightly prominent breastbone, with well-sprung ribs and well ribbed back. The elbow should be at the level of the sternum.
BREAST: is well muscled, filled out, with slightly prominent breastbone.
THE LOWER CHEST LINE: curves smoothly upward into the flank with moderate tuck-up.
TAIL set is moderately low. It is of medium thickness, only slightly curved tapering toward the end and reaching about to the hocks, well covered with hair. In motion it is carried outstretched about the horizontal level. In the countries where law allows the docking the 1/4 part might be docked.

FORE ASSEMBLY:
FORELIMBS: are strait, strong-boned and well muscled. Wieved from the front these are parallel, in profile these are vertical and should set under the uppermost edge of the shoulder blade.
SHOULDERS: The shoulder blade (scapula) should be with adequate length and layback, during motion it is flexible. The angle at shoulder is reasonable.
UPPER ARM: adequately long and strong.
ELBOWS: should be close to the body but not too tied, in motion it should not bend in nor outward. The angle at the elbow is balanced.
FORE ARM: long, straight, with firm but not heavy and sturdy bones.
PASTERN JOINT: should be tight fitting and clean.
PASTERN: proportionately short and lean with a small forward slant.
PAWS are somewhat oval and compact with rough slate-grey pads, the toes are strong, arched and closed. The nails are strong and brown. When posing they are parallel.

HINDQUARTERS:
The hind limbs should have strong bones. Viewed from the riar the limbs are parallel and straight, with moderate angulation.
UPPER TIGHT: long, muscle attachments should be very powerful, The angle at the femur relative to the pelvis should be correct.
STIFLE JOINT: the angle at the stifle should be balanced.
LOWER TIGHT: Long, well muscled and sinewy. The length of the upper tight should be nearly equal to the lower tight. The angle at the hock is balanced.
HOCKS: set slightly low, firm, lean and sinewy.
RIAR PASTERN: short, lean and vertical.
PAWS: see at forequarters
GAIT:
Its characteristic gait is a lively, elegance, graceful brisk trot with drive and adequate stride. During hunting even steady, far-reaching gallop. The topline is level, the back is tight. pacing is undesirable.

SKIN: is tight, free of wrinkles and folds, it is pigmented.
COAT: The hair should be short, dense, strait and coarse to the touch without undercoat. Should cover all parts of the body. The coat is thinner on the abdomen. On ears and head it is shorter, fine and silky. The hair on the tail is a little bit longer.
COLOUR:
Various shades of "yellow" / golden rust,. (In Hungarian described as the golden colour of the crust of bread (zsemlesárga)). Ear colour might be a shade darker, but otherwise coat colour must be solid. Red, mahogany or tawny shades are undesirable. Small white spots not exceeding 5 cm in diameter or marl white spot on the chest, throat or on the toes are not considered faults.
The colour of the lips, eyelids is similar to the colour of the nose.
SIZE:
Males: 58 - 64 cm at shoulders
Females: 54 - 60 cm at shoulders
The structural and dynamical balance is more important than the measured height.
It is not aim to increase the height, advisable to strive for medium size.
FAULTS:
Any significant deviation from the above descriptions is considered faulty, and the severity of it should be proportional to the degree of deviation.
DISQUALIFICATION:
Significant deviation from type.
Atypical head.
Dark brown, light lemon, paled or not solid colour, spotted nose
White spot on the chest that is bigger than 5 cm, white paws.
Yellow eyes, ectropium, entropium or distichiasys
Undershot or overshot, missing teeth (except 2 pce of PM1)
Pendulous, slavering lips,
Dewlaps.
Atypical coat.
Timid or aggressive dog
Seriously faulty movement.
More than 2 cm discrepancy from the size.
FINAL COMMENT: Males must possess two visible normally descended testicles.

The offical Australian Standard

F.C.I. Standard No 57 dated June 1996

Adopted in Australia from 1st January 1998

Revised May 2001

Country of Origin: Hungary

Translated by Mrs H Gross-Richardson, Mrs Ann Mitchell and Mrs Elke Peper

BRIEF HISTORICAL REVIEW- The ancestors of the Hungarian Vizsla came into the Carpathian Basin with the nomadic Hungarian tribes. Written descriptions and graphic illustrations are found in documents of the 14th century. From the 18th century, his importance as a hunting dog has been increasing steadily. As early as the end of the 19th century, competitions for pointing dogs were organised in Hungary, in which Hungarian Vizslas participated with great success. In those days, other Gundog breeds most likely played an important part in the development of the breed.

The specific modern breeding started in 1920, as a result of which, the Hungarian Vizsla received recognition by the FCI in 1936.

GENERAL APPEARANCE – He is a medium sized, elegant gun dog of noble appearance with a short russet gold coat. His rather light, dry, lean structure embodies the harmony of beauty and strength.

CHARACTERISTICS – The Hungarian Vizsla is a versatile gun dog that must be able to work in field, forest and water and have the following typical qualities. He must have an excellent nose, firmness on the point , be excellent at retrieving and have the determination to remain on the scent even when swimming, which he manifestly enjoys. He copes with difficult terrain as well as extreme weather conditions. As he is intended to be an efficient hunting dog then gun and game shyness, unwillingness to point and retrieve, as well a dislike of water are undesirable. Because of his easy going nature and his adaptability, he can easily be kept as a companion dog in the house.

TEMPERAMENT – Lively, friendly, evenly tempered and easily trained. His outstanding willingness to keep contact with his master while working is one of his essential qualities. He cannot bear rough treatment and must be neither aggressive or shy.

HEAD AND SKULL – The head should be dry, noble and well proportioned. The skull moderately wide and slightly domed. A slightly pronounced groove runs from the moderately developed occiput towards the stop. The supercilliary ridges are moderately developed. The stop is moderate.

His nose should be well developed and broad with nostrils as wide as possible. The colour of the nose harmonises in a dark shading with the coat colour. The muzzle is blunt, not pointed, with strong jaws that are strongly muscled. The bridge of the nose is straight. The lips are tight fitting with no pendulous flews. The jaws are powerful and the cheeks are strong and well muscled.

EYES – The eyes are slightly oval and of medium size with well fitting eyelids. He has an intelligent and lively expression. The brown eyes harmonise with the coat colour, as dark as possible preferred.

EARS – The ears are set on at medium height, a little backwards. He has fine leathers, which hang closely to the cheeks and end in a rounded V shape. The length is about three-quarters of the length of the head.

MOUTH – He has a regular and complete scissor bite with the upper teeth closely overlapping the lower teeth and set square to the jaws with 42 healthy teeth according to dentition formula.

NECK – Of medium length, harmonising with the overall appearance. The nape very muscular and slightly arched. Tightly fitting skin (no dewlap) at the throat.

FOREQUARTERS – Viewed from the front they should be straight and parallel. Viewed from the side the legs are vertical and placed well under the body. Good bones and strongly muscled. The shoulders are long, sloping and flat with well attached shoulder blades. Flexible with strong dry muscles. Well angulated between the shoulder blade and upper arm. The upper arm is as long as possible and well muscled. The elbows fit close to the body, not tied in and turning neither in nor out and are well angulated between the upper arm and forearm. The forearm is long, straight and sufficiently muscled with strong but not coarse bone. The pastern joint is short and tight. The pastern is short and only very slightly sloping.

BODY – The withers are pronounced and muscular. The back is solid, strong, well muscled, taut and straight. The muscles should hide the vertebral spines. The loin is short, broad, tight, muscular, straight or slightly arched. The portion from back to loin is well coupled. The croup is broad and of sufficient length, not to cut off short. It slopes slightly to the tail and is well muscled. The chest is deep and broad with a well developed, well muscled, moderately arched forechest. The sternum should extend as far back as possible. The sternum and the elbow should be at the same level. The ribs are moderately arched with the last ribs carried well back. The underline is elegant, tight, arching towards the rear and slightly tucked up.

HINDQUARTERS – Viewed from behind they should be straight and parallel. Well angulated and with strong bone. The upper thigh is long and muscular with good angulation between the pelvis and upper thigh. The stifle is well angulated. The lower thigh is long, well muscled and sinewy. Its length is almost equal to that of the upper thigh. Good angulation between the lower thigh and the metatarsus. The hock joint is strong, dry and sinewy and rather well let down. The metatarsus is vertical, short and dry.

FEET – The forefeet are slightly oval, with well knit, sufficiently arched, strong toes. The nails are strong and brown in colour. He has tough, resistant, slate grey pads. The feet are parallel when standing or moving. The hind feet are similar to the forefeet.

TAIL – Set on slightly low, strong at the base, then tapering. In countries where tail docking is not prohibited by law, the tail may be shortened by one quarter to avoid hunting hazards. If tail docking is prohibited, the tail reaches down to the hock joint and carried straight or slightly sabre like. On the move, it is raised up to the horizontal. It is well covered by dense coat.

GAIT/MOVEMENT – The typical gait is an animated, light-footed trot, elegant and far-reaching, with much drive and corresponding reach. Not exhausting gallop when working in the field. The back is firm and the topline remains level. Good, upright carriage. Pacing undesirable.

COAT - Short and dense, should be coarse and hard at the touch. On the head and the ear leathers, it should be thinner, silkier and shorter. The hair underneath the tail should be slightly, but not noticeably longer. The coat should cover all if the body with the underside of the belly being a little lighter coated. No undercoat.

COLOUR – Various shades of russet gold and dark sandy gold. The ear leathers may be a little darker, otherwise uniform in colour. Red, brownish or lightened colour is undesirable. A little white patch on the chest or at the throat, not more than 5 cm in diameter, as well as white markings on the toes are not considered faulty. The colour of the lips and the eye rims corresponds to the colour of the nose. The skin is tightly fitting, without folds and well pigmented.

SIZE/WEIGHT

HEIGHT AT WITHERS

Dogs: 58-64 cm

Bitches: 54-60 cm

IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS

The body length slightly exceeds the height at withers.
The depth of the brisket is slightly less than half the height at the withers
The muzzle is slightly shorter than half the length of head.
It is ineffective to increase the height at the withers. A medium size should be aimed at. Overall balance and symmetry are much more important than the mere measurable size.

FAULTS: Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in the exact proportion to its degree.

DISQUALIFYING FAULTS

Distinct deviations from the characteristics of the breed
Strong deviation from the sexual characteristics
Atypical head
Spotted (butterfly) nose
Pendulous or dribbling flews
Under or overshot mouth. Wry mouth, including all intermediate forms
One or more missing incisors and/or canine and or premolars 2-4 and /or molars 1-2. More than two missing PM1. The M3 are disregarded. Not visible teeth are assessed as missing ones. Supernumerary teeth not in line with the others.
Cleft palate, harelip
Light yellow eyes. Very loose eyelids. Ectropian. Entropion. Distichiasis (double row of eyelashes)
Pronounced dewlap
Dewclaws
Very faulty movement
Atypical coat
Dark brown or pale yellow colour. Parti-coloured. Not uniformly coloured. White chest patch larger than 5 cm.
White feet
Lacking pigmentation either on the skin or on the lips and eye rims.
Any type of weakness in temperament
Deviation of more than 2 cm from the above mentioned heights at withers
NB: Male animals must have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.