Official ICCF Breed Description
Brief Historical Overview
The Hungarian Vizsla is an ancient hunting breed that developed in the Carpathian Basin, where its ancestors accompanied the migrating Hungarian tribes that arrived in Europe in the 9th century. These dogs were used for hunting feathered game, hare, and small animals, combining lightness, speed, pointing ability, and retrieving. In the Middle Ages, the Vizsla became the dog of the Hungarian nobility, who valued its endurance, obedience, and ability to work in diverse landscapes — from forests to open plains. After the wars of the 20th century, the breed was close to extinction, but dedicated breeders restored it and established the modern type: elegant, harmonious, and strongly people-oriented. Today, the Vizsla is recognized as a versatile pointing breed, combining working quality with a friendly temperament, widely used in hunting, sports, and search-and-rescue work.
General Appearance
The Hungarian Vizsla is a medium-sized dog of dry, elegant build, with harmonious proportions and a refined, aristocratic type. The body is slightly elongated; musculature is lean, strong, and emphasizes endurance and long-term working ability. The topline is straight and smooth; the chest is deep, ribs long. The head is dry and elongated with a soft expression. Ears are long, thin, pendant, highlighting the noble profile. The coat is short, close-fitting, and smooth. Movement is free, light, wide, demonstrating energy and speed. The overall appearance must convey liveliness, refinement, and endurance. Coarseness, looseness, excessive lightness, a square format, or lack of breed expression are unacceptable.
Important Proportions
The Vizsla must possess balanced, functional proportions: the body length slightly exceeds the height at the withers, ensuring stability and a spacious gait. The chest reaches the elbows, providing adequate respiratory volume. The head is elongated, with muzzle and skull approximately equal in length. Limbs are long, dry, with well-defined angulation, allowing wide movement range and strong propulsion. The tail is set moderately high and carried horizontally or slightly raised in motion. Proportions must achieve balance between speed, endurance, and agility. Short-leggedness, narrow chest, weak bone, excessive length, or body imbalance are considered serious faults.
Behavior and Temperament
The Vizsla is a balanced, active, friendly breed with high intelligence and strong human orientation. It is characterized by a gentle yet determined temperament, willingness to work and learn, and strong contact with its handler. In the field, the Vizsla is energetic, performs a fast, wide search, maintains a confident point, retrieves reliably, and shows stable concentration. It must retain stress resistance and show neither fearfulness nor unjustified aggression. At home, the Vizsla is affectionate, emotional, and requires attention and close interaction with its family. Temperament faults such as nervousness, excessive excitability, timidity, or lack of working motivation are serious deviations from breed type.
Head
The Vizsla’s head is elongated, dry, proportional, with a soft, noble expression. The skull is moderately wide, slightly domed, with smooth lines and a noticeable but not sharp median groove. The stop is gradual, marked but not abrupt. The muzzle is long, strong, slightly tapering toward the nose but never pointed. Cheeks are dry and moderately defined. Bite is scissor-type; jaws are strong, teeth even and complete. The head must combine elegance with working functionality. Skin fits tightly with no wrinkles. Coarse or overly light heads, short or excessively long muzzles, weak jaws, heavy skulls, or lack of breed expression are unacceptable.
Foreface
The foreface is harmonious, dry, and well defined, emphasizing the noble profile. The nasal bridge is straight or slightly convex; the nose is large and dark brown, matching the coat color. Lips are dry, close-fitting, without looseness; lip corners soft and clean. Jaws are powerful, ensuring a confident grip when retrieving game. The chin is moderately defined but not coarse. The foreface must appear precise, clean-lined, and functional — suited for long field work. Faults include pale nose, loose lips, weak lower jaw, coarse lines, asymmetry, or an excessively thin profile disrupting breed type.
Eyes
The Vizsla’s eyes are oval, medium-sized, set slightly obliquely, giving a soft, attentive, lively expression. Eye color matches the coat and ranges from light hazel to dark chestnut; very light eyes are faulty. Eyelids are dry and close-fitting without looseness. The gaze must reflect intelligence, sensitivity, and human orientation — key traits of the breed. Round, protruding, overly light, or uneven eyes, as well as poor eyelid fit, are faults. Eye expression is one of the defining elements of the breed, revealing balance and working concentration.
Ears
The Vizsla’s ears are long, thin, soft, set low, hanging along the cheeks and forming the characteristic noble profile. They reach the corner of the mouth or slightly below, with rounded tips. At rest, ears lie flat without outward rotation; when alert, they lift slightly at the base while maintaining smooth lines. Coat on the ears is short and smooth. Faults include excessively short, narrow, heavy, or high-set ears that distort the head’s proportions. Ears contribute significantly to breed expression, adding softness to the gaze and elegance to the silhouette.
Neck
The Vizsla’s neck is long, dry, elegant yet muscular, forming a smooth arch that allows the dog to carry its head high. It broadens gradually toward the shoulders, ensuring proper connection with the body and freedom of movement. Skin fits tightly with no dewlap. The neck must be long enough to provide good visibility during searching but not excessively extended to the point of imbalance. Faults include short, thick necks, weak musculature, or pronounced dewlap. The neck is a key breed element reflecting elegance, lightness, and working suitability.
Body
The Vizsla’s body is slightly elongated, harmonious, athletic, with well-developed musculature and a dry build. The topline is straight and stable; the back firm and moderately long. The loin is short and muscular, transitioning smoothly into a slightly sloping croup. The chest is deep, reaching the elbows, ribs long and moderately arched, providing considerable lung capacity. The abdomen is tucked up but not excessively. The body must be flexible, strong, and enduring, reflecting the breed’s ability to work actively in the field. Faults include narrow chest, weak back, looseness, excessive length, or overly short format.
Tail
The Vizsla’s tail is set moderately high, thick at the base, tapering toward the tip. At rest it hangs down; in motion it rises to back level or slightly above, remaining straight or forming a light curve. The tail must complement the dog’s working style, accompany movement, and preserve body lines. In countries where docking is banned, the natural tail is fully acceptable. Coat on the tail is short and smooth. Faults include high tail carriage, constant elevation, kinks, excessive mobility, or weak tail base. Incorrect tail form disrupts balance and breed expression.
Exterior Description
Forequarters
The forequarters are straight, dry, strong, parallel, with well-defined but not coarse bone. Shoulder blades are long, sloping, well laid back, forming correct angulation with the upper arm to ensure wide reach. Shoulders muscular but dry. Elbows point straight back without turning or tightening inward. Forearms are long, vertical, with firm, dry musculature. Pasterns short, elastic, slightly sloped, absorbing impact during fast search. Feet are oval, tight, with arched toes and strong pads. Faults include toeing in or out, weak pasterns, narrow feet, light bone, or deviations limiting movement efficiency.
Hindquarters
The hindquarters are strong, dry, long, with well-developed muscles providing powerful propulsion and endurance. Thighs are long and muscular; lower thighs are also long, forming correct stifle angulation. Hocks are strong, low-set, moving in a single plane. Metatarsi are short, vertical, forming a stable base. Feet oval, tight, with thick pads. Faults include straight angulation, weak ligaments, cow-hocks, bow legs, narrow stance, or insufficient musculature. Correct hindquarters ensure agility, speed, and working stamina.
Gait and Movement
The Vizsla’s gait is free, light, elastic, with great reach in the forequarters and strong rear propulsion. Movement must be wide but controlled, reflecting endurance and ability for long field searching. The topline remains stable without swaying or sagging. At the trot, the Vizsla shows smoothness, energy, and steadiness, maintaining rhythm and straightness. At higher speeds movement becomes more expansive but remains coordinated. Faults include short stride, stiffness, crossing limbs, weak propulsion, unstable topline, or deviations from correct posture. Gait is a key indicator of breed quality, reflecting natural lightness, energy, and hunting style.
Coat
In the short-haired Vizsla the coat is short, dense, close-fitting, smooth, shiny, pleasant to the touch, yet sufficiently protective against wind and terrain. Undercoat is minimal or absent, which is typical for the breed. The wire-haired variety has denser, harsher, medium-length coat with strong protective function, and feathering on legs and face may appear. In both varieties, coat must highlight the dry, athletic build. Faults include soft, wavy, long coat in the short-haired variety, as well as sparse or brittle coat compromising protection.
Permitted Colors
The standard allows only shades of russet or golden-russet: from light golden to deep red. Coat must be uniform without patches, shading, or dilution, except for slightly lighter markings on the chest or toes. Nose, lips, eyelids, and pads must be dark brown or harmonize with coat color. Large white patches, black, brown, gray, or any other colors, as well as spotting, are disallowed. Color purity and richness are key breed traits, expressing elegance and national identity.
Size
The Vizsla is a medium-sized dog with dry, strong build; correct size is essential for proportional balance. Height at the withers: males 58–64 cm, females 54–60 cm. Weight ranges from 18–30 kg depending on sex and structure. Height must harmonize with the body: too tall or long-legged dogs lose stability and working efficiency, while short-legged or overly compact dogs lose elegance and free movement. The chest must reach elbow level for adequate respiratory capacity. Proportions must highlight balance between lightness and strength — essential for a working pointing dog.
Faults
Faults include any deviations affecting working ability, exterior harmony, or breed type: weak bone, narrow chest, insufficient depth, weak back, looseness, excessive length, or overly short format. Head faults include light or round eyes, weak muzzle, loose lips, protruding ears, abrupt stop. Movement faults include short stride, stiffness, limb crossing, weak rear propulsion, unstable topline. Coat faults include soft, wavy, or uneven texture in the short-haired variety. Temperament faults include fearfulness, nervousness, excessive excitability, poor contact, or lack of hunting motivation.
Disqualification
Disqualifying traits include serious structural, color, or behavioral defects that make the dog unsuitable for breeding: unprovoked aggression, extreme fearfulness, unstable temperament. Anatomical disqualifications include severe limb deformities, serious orthopedic defects, incorrect bite, missing multiple teeth. Disallowed colors include spotted coats, black, brown, gray, or large white patches. Blue, green, or uneven eye colors are disqualifying. Coat deviations such as long, soft hair in the short-haired variety are also disqualifying. Any trait fully impairing functionality or breed type excludes the dog from breeding.
Important Notes
When evaluating the Vizsla, its historic purpose must be considered — a versatile pointing dog capable of working efficiently across landscapes from forests to open plains. All exterior elements must be assessed through functionality: lightness, endurance, harmony, and dry musculature support long field work. Young dogs may develop unevenly; temporary lack of musculature or angulation is acceptable if improvement is evident. Temperament is key: the Vizsla must be human-oriented, confident, balanced, showing hunting passion without nervousness or aggression. Special attention is given to movement — it must be wide, free, and stable. Any deviation impairing work style is significant.
Conclusion
The Hungarian Vizsla is an elegant, versatile, highly intelligent pointing dog combining speed, endurance, gentle temperament, and pronounced working qualities. It preserves its historical role as a reliable hunter’s companion, demonstrating confident searching, precise pointing, and clean retrieving. Its harmonious build, uniform golden-russet coat, and expressive temperament make the breed recognizable worldwide. The Vizsla must remain strong, communicative, balanced, and cooperative. The standard emphasizes preserving working qualities, clean exterior lines, and breed temperament — the traits defining the breed’s value. A well-bred Vizsla remains a functional, beautiful, and reliable dog, honoring centuries of tradition and meeting modern demands.
