Can Vizslas Be Left Alone? [Discussed By Age + How To Do!]

Can vizslas be left alone

Hungarian Vizslas are a highly energetic and active dog breed, which may lead you to wonder if they can be left alone. That’s why I’ve written an in-depth article to help answer your question.

As Vizslas are an active breed, it can be challenging to leave them alone for long periods. They can be left alone for 4-6 hours with adequate exercise, positive reinforcement, and mental stimulation. However, being alone too much can increase anxiety, restlessness, destructiveness, and aggressiveness.

If you want to leave them alone, the training process must be reliable and practical. In fact, I’ll share some proven tactics that will be beneficial for you. So, let’s dive right in.

How long can Vizslas be left alone?

I have mentioned that Vizslas can be left alone for about 4-6 hours. To be honest, it really depends on the age of your dog. Check out the below table,

The age of Your VizslaPossible time (hours)
8-10 weeksUp to 1
2-3 monthsUp to 2
3-4 monthsup to 3
5 months +up to 4-6

Vizsla puppies.

When we think about 8-10 weeks old Vizsla puppies, they require loads of caring from you. Because they just separate from their mothers.

Normally, 8-10 weeks old puppies tend to sleep about 15-20 hours per day, and the problem is they are not sleeping straight away.

Often they tend to wake up every 1-2 hours filled with energy. In this condition, they may feel extremely hungry, and they will try to find food as newborns.

So you cannot leave this old Vizsla puppy alone for more than an hour. But as they grow, you can increase the time.

6-18 months old Vizslas

Usually, 6-18 months old Vizslas have socialized adequately with good basic obedience training. But it’s somewhat challenging to train them to be left alone because they are in their youth with endless energy.

But don’t worry. Before concluding this article, I’m gonna give you a proven method to train your vizsla to be left alone for a considerable time.

Moreover, having positive reinforcement training would accelerate training.

Mature Vizslas

Mature Vizslas can be left alone about 3-5 hours in a row with good training. But we can increase the time by using several handy tricks.

But when we look into older Vizslas, the time they can be left alone really depends. Sometimes, they might be prone to health issues. Because health issues are directly impacting this time. So they can stay alone for about 2-6 hours per day.

Everyone knows vizslas are hunting dogs, and they can work 8-10 hours a day. Even so, they are unhappy at all. If you are a busy person, Vizlas may not be the right dog for you.

Vizslas are High energetic, Gentle, loyal, very sociable, attention-seeking dogs. These dogs want tons of attention in order to be happy and healthy. That is the main reason why they cannot tolerate being alone.

So they can be such a board and moreover it causes separation anxiety. In this case, they can be

  • So irritable
  • Destroy the furniture. 
  • So vocal as Weimaraners do. ( This can be annoying to neighbors) 
  • Frustration

Many people say that Vizslas are not recommended for busy people. But I personally disagree with this statement to some extent.

Because if you can provide what Vizslas need, this dog can be suitable for you. But for lazy families, I don’t recommend this dog. 

Any dog, not just Vizslas, can be trained to be left alone. But It depends mainly on the individual dog and age.

9-5 Job and home alone vizslas

If you work in a 9-5 job, you are the one who suffers most from this problem. With this kind of busyness, you cannot focus on the needs of the Vizslas. 

But if you have an active family, Sharing the dog’s responsibilities is not complicated. 

Especially, young vizslas require a lot of attention. Once the vizslas have matured, they are a little easier to keep alone. But these things are not a miracle. You have to give them love, affection, exercise, attention, and all they need.

But if you would like to adopt a mature one, there are many rescue teams, and you can find a rescued, non-destructive, mature vizslas dog. But there are loads of things you have to consider before buying a new dog.

Can vizslas be left alone

Their energy level is not funny. If they don’t get at least 1.5-2 hours of exercise, it can lead to many problems. 

How can you make time for them and fulfill all their needs with your 9-5 job? And how to train vizslas dogs to be left alone? Don’t worry. Let’s discuss this.

How to train Vizslas to be left alone?

To be honest, If I share my experiences with you, at first, looking at my dog’s face and leaving the house was very complicated. 

So, when I found out about this method, I have got absolutely amazing results. So you need to train your vizsla dog to be left alone. No matter your vizsla dog, a puppy, or a mature one, follow these steps.

Place the crate correctly – Step 1

Buy a crate that is most suitable for a mature Vizla. The crate should be slightly larger and more comfortable for a fully grown dog.

Keep the crate in the living room. Now you can start crate training for the dog.  Never crate your Vizsla as a punishment for bad behaviors. Let them feel the crate as their home or their own territory.

Tip: Feed your dog three times per day in the crate. Moreover, keep water as well.  

Can vizslas be left alone

Spend some time with the dog – Step2

Okay, now you need to place the crate in your room and spend some time with your vizsla. But here the dog should be crated. Furthermore, you can do small activities such as cleaning, spend time on the phone, etc. 

But the matter is that the dog must see you also in the room. If he starts crying, don’t take any action. Instead, let them do it for a while.

Leave the room – Step3 

The third step is you have to leave the room. Also, vizslas should be crated. Sometimes he can start cry and bark. Let them do it for a while. 

Once the vizslas are accustomed to being alone, they will stop acting too much when they are alone. Do these activities for a few days. 

Leave it alone for a short time – Step4

After a few days, it’s time to leave Vizslas alone for a short time. First, you have to crate the dog. Now leave the house for about 10-20 minutes. 

When you return, get the dog out of the crate. Now is the time for some cuddling. Give some puppy treats and say, “Good boy.” 

Can vizslas be left alone

Then gradually increase the time. Also, do not do this more than 3 or 4 times a day. Make sure your Vizslas gets good exercise. ( We will talk about this before the end of the article.)

Over time, your vizsla will be able to stay alone in the home for 8 hours.

Tips:

  • Keep some chewing toys in his crate. They want to do something that makes them busy. 
  • When the Vizslas puppy grows up, you no longer need to keep them in crates when they are home alone. It’s essential to give them proper potty training.
  • Play with them before you go to work. (More on this below)

Important

You have to identify triggers that can increase anxiety. Possible triggered are

  • Picking up your bag
  • Picking up keys
  • Changing clothes
  • Opening and closing the doors
  • Switching on the car

On these occasions, your vizslas’ anxiety level can be increased. Why? Because the Vizslas can recognize that you are leaving, and they know they need to be left alone.

So in these cases, controlling them can be a little difficult. So you have to do something to train them to stay in such triggers.

By the way, here is whether Vizslas are good apartment dogs.

How to train them to avoid these triggers?

Act as a trigger occurrence. Let’s say it’s picking up your keys. So do this at any random time of day. But don’t actually leave the house. Then stay for a while and go back home. When you return, don’t forget to reward him as before.

You have come to the point where they feel like you are not triggering at all. Identify their movements. Often when you try to quit, they are better off not taking care of you. Sometimes he may be chewing his favorite toy. 

A fun fact: you can set up a dog monitor system and see what they are doing when you are away from home. 

Furthermore, training to stay at home is not enough. We have to give the proper exercises regularly. If you are a 9-5 employee, how can you do that?

Read this to understand whether Vizslas are good guard dogs.

How to give exercises for vizslas to be home alone?

As a 9-5 employee, spending more time with Vizslas can be difficult. Because you have minimal time, here let’s discuss some tips to give them exercise when you have less time. 

You already know that vizslas are known as kind of an active breed as Weimaraners. They require strenuous exercises. 

  • Make a routine for exercises.
  • Buy another active dog and make a fence around the yard.

Make a routine for exercises.

As I mentioned above, your family needs to be an active family to meet Vizslas’ needs. Wake up about an hour early, go for an off-leash walk or run with your dog. 

When the vizslas are tired, they can usually be left alone without getting any distractions. But surely, they need at least 2-3 hours of daily exercise. 

When you return home, you can take a small walk with your dog. I know it’s a little bit tired after a full workday. But try to make it fun. Possibly you can,

  • Go with your fiancee/fiance.
  • Ask your husband/wife or other family members.

But these exercises are not enough. They need strenuous exercises. But it is challenging to manage time for such things. So it’s possible to do strenuous exercises 2-3 days per week. As an examples

  • Cycling
  • Jogging
  • Long walks or runs
  • Hiking

Tip: You can hire a dog walker in your area. 

Buy another active dog and make a fence around the yard.

As Vizslas are natural hunting dogs, they don’t like to stay alone in the home. Moreover, their behavior is a little close to Weimaraners. When they stay home alone, they tend to do dumb things as Weimaraners do. 

This hand trick you also can try out. If you have a fenced yard, it’s unnecessary to keep vizslas inside the house. You can let them roam the yard as they want.

Important: The vizslas are known as escape artists. Also, they are excellent jumpers. Average vizsla can jump up to 4 feet. So the fence must be at least 6 feet in height. 

When they can roam the way they want, they have less anxiety. But if you can give him another partner, they’ll run and play all day. So they get automatic exercise. Therefore you do not need to worry too much. 

In these ways, leaving vizsla home alone isn’t a much difficult task. 

Conclusion

Most people love these Vizslas. Spending time with these dogs is so funny. So, most Vizslas’ owners have a common problem. “Can vizslas be left alone?”. Well, this whole article complete review of this problem. You can see a small overview below. 

  • Introduction
  • How long can Vizslas be left alone?
  • 9-5 Job and home alone vizslas
  • Train Vizslas to be left alone?
  • How to give exercises for vizslas to be home alone? 
  • How long can vizslas be left alone?

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