FCI Standard N°
57 / 13.09.2000 / GB
ORIGIN: Hungary.
DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE ORIGINAL VALID STANDARD:
06.04.2000
UTILISATION: A versatile gun dog that must be able to
work in the field, forest and water, having the
following typical qualities: an excellent nose,
firmness on the point, excellent retrieves and
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, gun and game shyness, unwillingness to
point and retrieve, as well as 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.
CLASSIFICATION: Group 7 Pointing Dogs.
Section 1 Continental Pointing Dogs.
With working trial (Field and Water Trial)
BRIEF HISTORICAL SUMMARY: 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 already. 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 (among others) 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 ShortHaired Hungarian Vizsla
received recognition by the FCI in 1936.
GENERAL APPEARANCE : Medium sized, elegant gun dog of
noble appearance with short french roll yellow coat.
His rather light, dry, lean structure embodies the
harmony of beauty and strength.
IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS
• The body length slightly exceeds the height at
the 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 the head.
BEHAVIOUR/TEMPERAMENT : Lively, friendly, evenly
tempered, easy to train. 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 nor shy.
HEAD : Dry, noble, well proportioned.
CRANIAL REGION
Skull : Moderately wide, slightly domed. A slightly
pronounced groove runs from the moderately developed
occiput towards the stop. The superciliary ridges are
moderately developed.
Stop : Moderate.
FACIAL REGION
Nose : Well developed and broad with nostrils as wide
as possible. The colour of the nose harmonises in a
dark shading with the coat colour.
Muzzle : Blunt, not pointed; with strong jaws,
strongly muscled. The bridge of the nose is straight,
Lips : Tightly fitting, no pendulous flews.
Jaws/Teeth : Powerful jaws with a perfect, regular and
complete scissor bite, the upper teeth closely
overlapping the lower teeth and set square to the jaws
; with 42 healthy teeth according to the dentition
formula.
Cheeks : Strong, well muscled.
Eyes : Slightly oval, of medium size. Well fitting
eyelids. Intelligent and lively expression. The colour
of the eye harmonises witht he colour of the coat,
darkbrown eyes are preferred.
Leathers : Set on at medium height, a little
backwards. Fine leathers hanging closely to the
cheeks, ending in a rounded V shape. The length is
about three quarters of the length of the head.
NECK : Of medium length, harmonising with the overall
appearance. The nape very muscular and slightly
arched. Tightly fitting skin at the throat. The area
around the throat is dry.
BODY
Withers : Pronounced and muscular.
Back : Solid, strong, well muscled, taut and straight.
The vertebral spines should be hidden by the muscles.
Loin : Short, broad, tight, muscular, straight. The
portion from back to loin is tight and compact.
Croup : Broad and of sufficient length, not cut off
short. Sloping slightly to the tail. Well muscled.
Chest : Moderately deep and broad with well developed,
well muscled, moderately arched forechest; sternum
extending as far back as possible. The sternum and the
elbow should be at the same level. Ribs moderately
arched. Last ribs reaching well downwards.
Underline : Elegant, tight, arching line towards the
rear, slightly tucked up.
TAIL : Set on slightly low, moderatly broad 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 almost to the horizontal. It is
well covered by dense coat.
LIMBS
FOREQUARTERS : Viewed from the front, straight and
parallel. Viewed from the side, legs are vertical and
placed well under the body. Good bones, strongly
muscled.
Shoulders : Long, sloping and flat, well attached
shoulder blade. Flexible during movement. Strong, dry
musculature. Well angulated between shoulder blade and
upper arm.
Upper arm : Preferably long. Well muscled.
Elbows : Fitting close to the body, however not tied
in, turning neither in nor out. Well angulated between
upper arm and forearm.
Forearm : Long, straight, sufficiently muscled. Bone
strong, but not coarse.
Pastern joint : Strong, tight.
Pastern : Short, only very slightly sloping.
Forefeet : Slightly oval, with well knit, sufficiently
arched, strong toes. Strong brown nails. Tough,
resistant, slate grey pads. The feet are parallel when
standing or moving.
HINDQUARTERS : Viewed from behind, straight and
parallel. Well angulated. Strong bone.
Upper thigh : Long and muscular. Good angulation
between pelvis and upper thigh.
Stifle : Well angulated
Lower thigh : Long, well muscled and sinewy. Its
length is almost equal to that of the upper thigh.
Good angulation between lower thigh and metatarsus.
Hock joint : Strong, dry and sinewy, rather well let
down.
Metatarsus : Vertical, short and dry.
Hind feet : Similar to forefeet.
GAIT/MOVEMENT : The typical gait is an animated,
lightfooted trot, elegant and far reaching, with much
drive and corresponding reach. Persistent gallop when
working in the field. The back is firm and the topline
remains level. Good, upright carriage. Pacing
undesirable.
SKIN: Tightly fitting, without folds. The skin is well
pigmented.
COAT
HAIR : Short and dense, should be coarse and hard at
the touch. On the head and the leathers, it should be
thinner, silkier and shorter. The hair underneath the
tail should be slightly, but not noticeably, longer.
It should cover all of the body ; the underside of the
belly is a little lighter coated. No undercoat.
COLOUR : French roll yellow and its different shades.
The 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 eyerims corresponds to
the colour of the nose.
SIZE/WEIGHT
HEIGHT AT WITHERS
Dogs: 58 - 64 cm
Bitches: 54 - 60 cm
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 exact
proportions to its degree.
ELIMINATING 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 24 and/or molars 12 ; 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;
ectropion, entropion. Distichiasis (double row of
eyelashes).
• Pronounced dewlap.
• Dewclaws on hind legs.
• Very faulty movement.
• Atypical coat.
• Dark brown or pale yellow colour.
Particoloured, not uniformly coloured. White chest
patch larger than 5 cm.
• White feet.
• Lacking pigmentation either on the skin or on
the lips and eyerims.
• 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.
