ZIKOVIZ VIZSLAS
Pets that become family members
WHERE WE STARTED
Welcome to ZikoViz Vizslas.
We started our journey as Vizsla breeders back in 2016, when our beloved Zizi gave birth to her first litter. This was a fulfilment of my wife Liz's lifelong ambition to rear a litter of pups.
The experience as I am sure you can imagine was a tiring one, but also a hugely fulfilling one. We had done so much research into breeding. Reading online information, speaking with breeders and of course reading books. Just what you would expect of anyone undertaking such a serious responsibility. But what stands out most in my mind is how Mother-Nature just kicked in and took over. No books or internet for Zizi. It all just came wonderfully naturally.
All of that now seems like a distant memory, and whilst we breed on a hobby basis, it has become a passion for us and a real important part of our lives.
Please browse through the pictures we have on our site. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do. Also, if you're thinking about buying one of our pups then have a look through our questionnaire. For us, finding the perfect home for our puppies is of the highest importance.
INTRODUCING OUR FAMILY
We fell in love with Vizslas several years ago and decided that when we finally got one we could fulfil my wife’s (Liz's) lifelong ambition of breeding a litter of pups. With this in mind we were keen to find a puppy with a low inbreeding coefficient (Zizi’s is 0.2) and parents with good hip scores.
We have experienced two very rewarding litters from our eldest Vizsla Zizi, and now two litters from her daughter Bree!
Please note, that as we breed as a hobby, i.e. we are not professional breeders, we are not members of the Kennel Club’s Assured Breeders Scheme. However, we have had four litters (over four years) and we do have our own Kennel name: “Zikoviz” (hence the website's name), with which we register our litters with the Kennel Club.
PIPPA LINDEN
Pippa is our eldest family member born in October 2009.
She's the boss and likes to keep all our other family members in order. (Although occasionally Zizi might have other ideas! :-D )
.jpg)
ZIZI LINDEN
Zizi is our eldest Vizsla, born in December 2013.
Her temperament is that of a loving, confident, energetic and outgoing girl.
She measures 21 inches at the 'withers', which puts her at the bottom of the breed standard for height.
Her hip scores combine to make 9, which is below the breed average (seen as excellent).
BREE LINDEN
Bree (short for Breanne), born in April 2016 and like her mum, has an incredibly loving, energetic and confident personality.
She measures approx 22 inches at the withers, which means she is pretty much in the middle of the breed standard.
Her combined hip scores are 12, and her elbow scores are a perfect zero.
KIRA LINDEN
Kira is our latest beloved family member and was born July 2018. The third generation of the ZikoViz family and like her mum and grandma, she too is extremely loving, confident and full of energy.
LIZ & ROB LINDEN
This is us. Well it was a couple of years ago. :-)
When I met Liz she had one Labrador, Boo, who sadly passed away in February 2018 at the age of 15½, and as you can see from the above, we obviously added to the collection!
It's also worth mentioning that Liz has had dogs pretty much all her life, and her desire to rear a litter of pups is one that she has had for a long time.
MEL TALBOT
I’m Mel, Liz’s daughter.
I remember when I was really young begging my parents for a dog, they finally caved when I was around 7 and I’ve had dogs in my life ever since! And now dogs are my whole life.
I’m a dog walker so spend my days out in all weathers with a whole selection of different breeds and sometimes our girls are lucky enough to join me at work.
I have just finished a level 4 canine behaviour course and hope to one day run my own dog behaviour & training business.
And when I’m not working with or studying dogs, I’m at home cuddling with our 4 girls and every now and then I’m lucky enough to spend 8 weeks surrounded by puppies!
GUNFIELD I AM LEGEND - LOUIS - ZIZI'S CURRENT MATE
This very handsome boy is Louis, and Louis has been chosen as Zizi's current mate.
The following info is from Gunfield's website and describes Louis:
"Louis is the homebred son of two outstanding USA imports and is The only stud dog of his breeding in the UK.
Louis is a medium-size dog of very dark russet colouring.
He is athletic with muscular build.
Louis is a working dog who works mainly on the beating line a job that he does well and enjoys.
One of Louis finest assets it is superb temperament he is cheeky and playful and affectionate he is good with humans of all ages and all other dogs.
Louis has been standing at Stud since March 2018 and has produced some beautiful offspring who have inherited his good looks and temperament."
Health Tests
Hip score 6/4 (which is below the breed average - this is a positive thing as the higher these scores are the worse the condition is)
CLEAR LH, Cerebellar Ataxia and HUU
Gonioscopy 0
According to the Kennel Club's Mate Select service, which looks at any inbreeding within the previous 5 generations, Louis's match with Zizi results in a 0% inbreeding co-efficiency. This is the best possible score.
You can see more of Louis here: http://gunfieldvizsla.com/louis
GUNFIELD'S BIH CH VADASZFAI SZIPKA (ZIPPY) - BREE'S CHOSEN MATE
Zippy is Bree's chosen mate.
He was born in 2014 and imported from Hungary. Like Bree he has a lovely affectionate and energetic temperament. When we went to visit Zippy at Easter 2018 to meet him to make sure that he was the right dog for the job! We fell in love with him immediately and wanted to bring him back home with us (sadly not to be!). He has the highest European classification of ‘A’ for his hip scores. And zero score for his elbows.
The match with Bree results in an inbreeding coefficient of approx 1.7%, which is seen as excellent (as of 2018 the average inbreeding coefficient for Vizslas as a breed was 4.7%).
He has a superb pedigree and you can find comprehensive details via the following links to the Gunfield websites.
(Look for Gunfield's BIH CH VADASZFAI SZIPKA under Stud Dogs)
GUNFIELD DAYS OF GLORY (REICKO) - ZIZI'S PREVIOUS MATE
We have used Reicko for all of Zizi's litters.
The match with Zizi results in an inbreeding coefficient of less than 1%, which is seen as excellent (as of 2018 the average inbreeding coefficient for Vizslas as a breed was 4.7%).
Here's a brief resume taken from the Gunfield website:
"Sire: Paradox Hunt N for Gunfield (Imp USA)
Dam: Gunfield Rags Ta Riches
Hips 4/2
Elbows 0
Hearth checked and DNA`d
DNA tested clear Cerebellar ataxia
Long haired Gene clear
Clear Hyperuricosuria (HUU)
CRUFTS qualified"
He has a superb pedigree and you can find more details via the following links to the Gunfield websites.
(Look under Stud Dogs for Gunfield Days of Glory)
General Information
Please note, that we can explain all about terms like inbreeding coefficients and hip scores etc when we meet (if you don’t already know what they are).
All of our pups are born and raised in our family home so they will be familiar with the everyday household sounds (washing machines, vacuums, TV’s, radios etc). They will also be well socialised with a variety of people and our other pets.
Please see the Ownership page for more detail.
As for the matching of puppies to their owners, we support this in a roundabout way. We have found with our previous litters that knowing the personalities of the pups we have been able to gently guide the prospective owners to pick the one most suited to their family and lifestyle.
Why Gunfield?
Liz found Gunfield after weeks of searching for a potential stud dog. Using the Kennel Club's "Mate Select" utility Liz eventually found what we thought of as the perfect sire for Zizi, Reicko, and he was. Gunfield have a wealth of knowledge and experience with Vizslas, and are there to provide support as needed. They have worked hard too to ensure that they have the finest dogs and by importing dogs from Hungary and USA are helping to ensure that the inbreeding coefficient for the breed is being reduced, which ultimately translates into healthier dogs.
Pricing
As you may be aware, pricing for pups has gone crazy during 2020 as many people who are now permanently working from home have realised that they have space for a dog in their lives.
We have kept a close eye on the pricing of Vizslas (not unusual to see £3,000+ for Kennel Club Registered and £2,300+ for unregistered pups) and whilst we don't believe that the current price hike is justified, we are also aware that unscrupulous people are seeking out pups that are being sold at pre-covid prices and are selling them on at huge profits. As such we are seeking to strike a balance and we are now asking for £2,200 per pup.
This pricing reflects our experience as breeders, which includes the various health tests that we have undertaken to ensure healthy pups. We also seek out appropriate Sires for our dogs to ensure the optimal inbreeding coefficients (the litter we are expecting next will have a zero inbreeding coefficient, which is as good as it gets). At the same time this pricing remains lower than some people are asking for unregistered dogs and substantially lower than those selling Kennel Club registered pups.
Viz Whizzes
You may not have come across this yet, but their is an optional social aspect to owning a Vizsla. Across the UK groups of Vizsla owners meet on a regular basis to allow their ginger ninjas to get together and let off a bit of steam.
When we first had Zizi there was no group for our immediate area (Calderdale) and so we set up a group on Facebook and we now have over 120 members. The chances are that there will be a group close to where you live, but you are always welcome to join us for a Viz Whizz. The third Facebook link in the contacts section below is for the Viz Whizz Calderdale group.
CONTACT
Location: Near Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire
Liz 0788 301 0863 or Rob 07899 06 33 56
The Facebook link below is to our public Page that includes ongoing Updates for our litters.