Pedigree Hungarian Vizsla Puppies, Limousin, France

Nearly Heaven Flying School is Closed

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 11:07:00 +0000

I am sorry to announce that Nearly Heaven Flying School is now closed. It will neither re-open under its existing name, nor indeed under a new name.

Neither Nearly Heaven, nor Susan Virr's legacy is affiliated with any other aeroclub.

However, I am pleased that my mother's legacy lives on in the large number of students and friends who flew with her in France. The family would like to thank all of you for your kind comments over the last few months.

Flying: Where next?

I am frequently asked if I know of a flying school that evidences the same high levels of energy and enthusiasm embodied by Nearly Heaven, sadly I don't know of any such in France, but Susan Virr was taught by Phil Matthews at Cotswold Aeroclub, Gloucestershire Airport http://www.cotswoldaeroclub.com/ Phil can be reached on 01452 713942

Puppies are having fun

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 07:41:00 +0000

The Puppies are six weeks old now and getting, bigger and stronger every day, they spend their days in their outside home, playing, fighting and generally having a great time.

In the evenings , they reluctantly come into their stable, where they play with their toys, until sleep overtakes them.

Meg, is still feeding them, however, her visits to them are now infrequent and it is obvious that her milk is gradually drying up. She loves to play with them and I truly think, that she will always remain a puppy at heart.

Big Brother Teddy tolerating this puppy

All of our adult males are frightened of the puppies,they give them a wide berth, however Blanchette, adores the puppies and spends time enjoying their company and cleaning them, when their own mother is not looking.

Soon it will be time for the litter to visit the vet, to be microchipped and vaccinated, then they shall leave home to go to their new owners.This is always a sad time for us, as these wonderful little dogs fill us with joy every day.

Lucia spends lots of time with the puppies, they are truly bilingual, she speaks Spanish to the them, and the puppies never forget her terms of endearment.

At present we have two females and one male for sale.

Mum with her babies

Puppies are growing up

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 16:01:00 +0000

The latest litter of puppies are nearly four weeks old and are keeping us captivated by their antics.
They are jumping , barking and playing with their siblings, but most of all they are growing rapidly in front of our eyes.

When the puppies were born , they averaged 400 grams, now some of them are over three kilos!
They are gradually getting used to their first form of "house training" they have newspaper surrounding their beds and they dutifully trot out to use their "paper toilet"

Soon ,they will move from the kitchen to one of the stables, in a few days they will be strong enough to go into their outside play pen, during daylight hours if the weather is favourable.

Of course Meg is an excellent mother and they are looked after 100% of the time, however since last week due to vociferous demand ,I have supplemented their diet with weetabix and milk, It is an amazing sight for when I put the bowl down, they gallop over to the bowl and the food vanishes in a few seconds.

Once they are replete, they stagger back to their bed, with protruding tummies for a little sleep. In about 45 minutes, the cycle begins again, first a feed from Mum , then a top up with their cereals, a little play and a little rest. It is certainly a "puppies life"

We have one boy and three girls available for reservation.
For further details call 0689713603 or send an email to puppies@pedigree-hungarian-vizslas.com

they are here!

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Mon, 16 May 2011 08:03:00 +0000

Another Year Another Litter of Puppies?

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 15:38:00 +0000

How the years fly by! Once again another year has passed, since I was writing on this blog about our forthcoming litter of puppies.

"Bicton Bear it All" or otherwise "Meg" has finally come into season, we are hoping for another successful mating with her husband "Visions of Success" otherwise known as "Leko".

Leko and Meg

Our dogs live on our small farm and mix regularly with all of our animals and poultry, which roam on a free range basis over the grounds.

We have horses, sheep and lambs, Vietnamese pot bellied pigs, chickens,geese, ducks and rabbits The dogs know that to chase or kill them is strictly forbidden, they abide by the rules reluctantly!

We already have several people who are patiently waiting for a puppy, So I am delighted that things are moving along now.

For those of you who are new to this blog, "Meg" is the daughter of the illustrious Hungarian Vizsla

Hungargunn Bear it'n Mind who was the outright winner of Crufts Dog Show in 2010,.

Meg has had two previous litters of puppies, the first litter she had 10 beautiful puppies,then she astounded us by producing 13 puppies (11 survived). I do hope for a nice easy time this year, my wish would be a "small" litter of 7 or 8, however no doubt, she is sure to surprise us once again.

Lucia and I are very lucky, because many dogs, from our previous litters ,come back to visit us, therefore we see them through all of their stages of development.

At times we have had eight vizslas in the house at one time.
It is so nice to see our family greeting their offspring, the mothers always remember their children, and the males welcome all the dogs, without seeing them as intruding on their own territory.

We have three male dogs living here with two females as a family,they are always easy to handle,as long as they know who is their leader.

Of course they respect each other (as in a wolf pack) they know their places in the pecking order and they are happy and content.

Teddy trying to fly!

Hungarian Vizslas are very intelligent and very sensitive, however if they do not have boundaries, they can become naughty at times.The answer is to be their pack leader, they will then be obedient, loving and your constant shadow.

The best thing about Vizslas is how much they adore you they, demand your love and company, however at times, especially when they even want to join you in the bathroom, this can be the worst thing about them too.

As I write this I have one behind me on the office chair,one under the desk and another licking my ear!

If you wish to be added to the waiting list please just contact either myself or Lucia

A remarkable note!

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 19:02:00 +0000

Hello everybody!

After reading your messages I want to tell you my story!

Vizsla''s are wonderful dogs, I could not live without our five Vizsla's! When Sue say's No to them they jump to attention!

She takes all five dogs on the roads/fields when she goes riding the horses.

When they come to a junction, she say's heel and sit and they wait to cross the road.

She can put all six on Stay and leave them at the top of the field, she then can walk down to the house and go out of sight, they will only come when she calls them.

They are crazy with delight when she comes home from flying, but she ignores them totally, until they calm down and act sensibly.

They are not allowed to go down the stairs before her (she is their leader and mine!),It is so funny to watch them, if one tries to pass her, she stops on the stairs and just says" Back" the dog then walks backwards to get onto the stair behind her.( they look as though they are dancing) when the other Vizsla's, come here on holiday, they too learn this ritual and would not dream of trying to pass her, neither do I.

When a young Vizsla puppy goes to his new home, he looks sweet and adorable, and everyone is amused by his play.

However during his time in the litter and in the early weeks, the puppies, bite , chase and jump on top of each other during their play times.

However if he tries any of the same tricks on his mother or any of the older vizslas in his family, they will soon chastise him with a growl and if necessary the bitch will put his nose in her mouth and clamp on him. The puppy soon learns good manners and respect from the older dogs; These dogs are training the youngster, towards being a respectful adult and he soon learns that he is at the bottom of the "pecking line" and if he does not behave he will be punished and ostracized until he shows respect.

When the puppy arrives in his new home, he needs guidance from his new owners,he needs to learn where his boundaries lie and he must be at the bottom of the pecking order,or otherwise he will grow up thinking that he is the boss and his owners are mere puppies, to be played with and totally ignored when he chooses.

I am sure that you have seen how boisterously affectionate, over demanding and defiant your puppy can become.

He has boundless energy, and he is extremely intelligent.You must remember that this dog has been bred to work, therefore he needs both physical and mental stimulation.

If your dog respects you and sees you as his leader, he will be the most wonderful companion imaginable.He craves your love and he wants to be part of the family, he hates being locked up or being confined away from his master.

The Vizsla needs to respect the word NO, he is actually a very sensitive dog, so do not over control him, give him constant praise for all of his good deeds, but you must NEVER, tolerate biting, growling or any defiant aggression ( I can guarantee that if your Vizsla is doing any of these things, he does not see you as his master).

They are adorable!

I'm missing all "mi cosas bonitas" = " my beautiful little things"

Lucia Andrade

August is Puppy Holiday Time!

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 17:46:00 +0000

This month we have two of this years puppies staying at Nearlyheaven ,while their owners visit the UK for a wedding.

They are great companions for our remaining puppy ( who is awaiting his new owners return from the USA in September).

Originally we put the puppies in their "own puppy pen" to play during the daytime, however they were not too happy with being confined, they wanted to join the adult dogs in the garden.

Happily they are all romping together and even "Zac" has been seen playing with them.(Zac has a horror of small puppies and usually runs away from them).

Each morning before I go to the airport ,I take all of the dogs into my fields to let
off steam, it is a wonderful sight to watch 8 Hungarian Vizsla dogs galloping at full pelt around together.The sheep and livestock just ignore them..... thankfully!
It is amusing watching their characteristics Lucia and I regularly look at a puppy and say he is doing that just like "Teddy" or look at that " he is lying down with his legs back just like "Meg" etc.
Thankfully none of them have emulated "Blanchettes "puppy antics which was holding on to the tails of the horses when they galloped around the field!

Pedigree Hungarian Vizslas come to Facebook

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 15:59:00 +0000

Here's a quick note to everyone who wants to keep in touch with Pedigree Hungarian Vizslas on Facebook. This blog now automatically posts to Sue's "Pedigree Hungarian Vizslas" Facebook page.
If you "Like" the page using the "Like Box" below, then you will receive all the blog updates direct to your own Facebook newsfeed and can comment on them as you would on the blog. (Comments only remain on Facebook and don't appear back on the blog.)

If you can think of other friends of yours on Facebook who you think might also be interested to receive our updates, then please use the "Suggest to Friends" link on the Facebook page (Top left, under the photo).

Social Oomph set up by Richard Martin.

Puppies Settling into their New Homes!

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 14:57:00 +0000

We are receiving many reports that the puppies are settling happily into their new homes.

Freud-Anna of Nearlyheaven is enjoying herself in the South of France.

News and photographs from "Red"

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 15:40:00 +0000

Since posting my article this morning about the puppies leaving home I have received these photographs and news about" Red" otherwise known as Fleuron Bear of Nearlyheaven.

Hi Lucia/Sue

I thought I would give you a quick update on Red. He has settled in really well and has been toilet trained from the word go. He wakes us up in the night to do a wee and then goes straight back to bed with one of our slippers! He has an outside play pen which he goes to for the toilet - which is great! He has made friends with our Kittens and loves to herd the Chickens up as though he were a Sheepdog not a Gun Dog! He loves traveling in the car and enjoys being in his crate at night and in the car.

He doesn't like being woken up when we need to go somewhere

though; he's a real sleepy head! And the noises he makes as he goes to sleep are so funny!

We are going to New York late November and hope that we can bring him to you for a week if possible?

Thank you so much for all the love and care you gave him - he's a wonderful pup!

It is such a pleasure to see the puppies settling into their new homes so easily. Sue

Saying Goodbye such Bittersweet Emotions!

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 08:04:00 +0000

The puppies are leaving home and starting a new chapter in their lives.Their new owners have waited a long time for these little bundles of joy (some people have been on the waiting list for a year).

The weeks have passed so quickly since the night that we helped "Meg" bring her puppies into the world.
It is almost impossible to believe that these puppies weighed 400 grams only 8 weeks ago. Despite having this huge litter of 11 puppies , "Meg" has produced healthy, plump puppies and she remains rather on the heavy side herself, despite the ever

demanding requirements from her brood for milk, milk and more milk please Mum!

The puppies were weaned onto weetabix and milk,minced chicken, pureed vegetables, they have all had the best start in life,now they are eating Royal Canin baby dog dried food but they get treats like mined beef and pasta now and again.

Do not be surprised if your puppy does not want to eat when he first arrives in his new home, it is a huge shock for him to feed alone without the company of his siblings, be patient and tempt him with small amounts of interesting foods until he settles down.

The new puppy owners live all over France, some of the puppies have had long journeys, however they have all traveled well and settled into their new environment quickly.Florence has surprised her new owners by being really easy to house train, within two days she was behaving impeccably.

Freud-Anna had the longest journey, she now resides in the south of France with a very surprised young Doberman as a companion......... guess who is the boss?

Two more puppies depart tomorrow, they are going to the same home, therefore life will be easier for their new owners as Vizsla's love company and to have the added company of a sibling is pure bliss for a puppy.

Vizsla's will never be unhappy if they have another dog to keep them company, if they are alone they want to be with their owner 24/7 they can never get enough love and attention.
They love to explore every new sight and sound
this is the time to introduce them to as many new
experiences as possible.

Puppies learn rapidly at this age so do commence their training as soon as they have settled into their new homes.
This is the time to give firm, gentle guidance.

The puppy on the right is meeting "Deeva" who is his aunt she was staying here while her owners were in the UK.
We try to offer a service to all our puppy owners which enables them to come and stay here with us if they have to return to Britain.

Surprisingly, we still have two superb males looking for new owners so all of you please ask around to see if friends or family may wish to have a beautiful boy with such an illustrious pedigree to grace their homes!

A word of congratulations to "Meg" her devotion to her puppies is second to none. Now her milk has almost dried up, but every morning she wakes me up at 6-30 am because she wants to go downstairs to feed and clean her babies.
During the day time she will lie outside their pen watching them play and just keeping an eye on them.
I hear marvelous reports of last years litter, yes "Meg" you are a great mother!

Vizsla Puppies soon departing to New Homes

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 10:39:00 +0000

Thanks to David Page photography .

It is a bittersweet time for us at Nearlyheaven as our gorgeous Hungarian Vizsla puppies are now seven weeks old, and soon it will be time for them to leave the nest and go to their new homes.

First they must visit the veterinary surgeon to have their microchip, injections and a health check.

We have tried in the past to take all of the litter in one session but it causes mayhem at the surgery, so we shall take three puppies at a time, this is to keep the vet happy!

Thankfully, the weather has improved and during the daytime the puppies go into their outdoor house which has a fenced garden area to allow them to play.

They have amused us by wanting to curl up in the buckets rather than sleep in their large and comfortable shed. Their antics and play fights are a joy to behold.

Many of the new owners visit their chosen puppy each week to spend some time playing with them.

Mum is no longer living with her brood, they completely strip her of milk in a few seconds and then chase her around trying to obtain a second drink, she soon retreats into the house after her feeding duties are finished!
The adult male dogs are always terrified of the puppies they never accept them until they begin to look like adult dogs!

So much for the brave hunting dogs!

The female Vizsla's all want to "mother" the puppies and play with them.
Blanche cleans and licks her nephews and neices whenever Meg has her back turned! below is a picture of "Deeva" (She is Blanchettes daughter) she has been residing here for a week while her owners were in the UK, she was fascinated by these little creatures, in fact she reverted to being a puppy once again, playing and rolling on the floor with them.

Of course we try to educate our babies prior to them arriving in their new homes, they are using newspaper for their toilet at night and this should help with future house training.

They come into the house to get used to the smells and sounds so that they will not be frightened of new experiences when they leave home.
Our puppies having a party!

The one below is a bit of a Poser!

These two boys are hoping for new owners very soon!

Finally here is Teddy Bear who was born to the same parents 13months prior to these puppies!

The Vizsla Puppies are now 5 weeks old !

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Fri, 21 May 2010 07:53:00 +0000

Life is never boring at Nearlyheaven, the puppies are now over five weeks old and growing rapidly.

They are constantly hungry and their poor mother is driven to distraction by their constant demands for milk.
"Meg" has done a great job of rearing these eleven puppies, she is an excellent mother and she happily allows visitors to meet her babies and to pick them up etc.

Since the puppies were three weeks old they have been having supplementary food, at first it was weetabix and milk and now they are on to cooked minced meat and chicken with pasta. I spend more money in the supermarket for the puppies than I do on our food!

Now that the weather has improved they go outside in their playpen, where they spend the day,playing, eating and sleeping.

We have nine puppies reserved with only two males seeking new homes.

The puppies will be ready to leave their mother on the 9th June and will go to homes all over France mostly with English families.

Meg having a welcome treat!

The Hungarian Vizsla Puppies Have Arrived ( All 13 of them)

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 13:30:00 +0000

Well the long awaited event has finally arrived "Meg" (Bicton Bear it All ) went into unexpected early labour on Tuesday night.

She did not give us any warning, and in fact she was lying on her bed with all the other Vizsla's when the first one appeared.

This first puppy, a boy, came backwards it was not too difficult to ease him out.

We moved "Meg" into her bed in the kitchen and she continued her endeavours, and easily produced several more puppies. Then we waited nearly two hours for the next one to arrive, the reason for this long delay was that this puppy was stillborn.(In many years of breeding this is the first still born puppy that I have ever seen)

After this, the puppies came quite quickly and naturally, sadly, we had another long wait until another still born arrived.

Lucia and I sustained ourselves with endless cups of coffee, we had a struggle to keep the puppies warm, so when Meg was busy producing babies we were drying them for her, she could not complete the drying before another one popped out.

Well, after a long and worrying night finally at 6am the last puppy arrived .Our courageous lady had produced thirteen puppies, the eleven that survived were 5 girls and 6 boys, no wonder they came early, she could not contain that many any longer.

As each puppy arrived, we recorded the time that it was born and its weight, unbelievably they were all of normal size and a good weight, most of them weighed nearly 400 grams which is heavier than her previous litter of puppies!

All the babies are thriving and gaining weight rapidly, we offered them supplementary milk, but they did not seem to want it at present. She is a wonderful mum, she looks very well, she is content, and she is very proud of her offspring.

Now it is time to mention the humans in this saga, Lucia has not been to bed for two nights, she helped me with the births, then last night she sat beside their bed maintaining a vigil to make sure that they were all drinking properly. She has refused to go to bed during the daytime, as I write this she is mowing the lawns!

I can admit that I am totally exhausted even though I did manage to sleep last night, it must be something to do with my age!

Hungargunn Bear it'n Mind wins Crufts Show!

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 15:13:00 +0000

Hungargunn Bear it'n Mind wins Crufts Show!
This Vizsla has become a legend in his own lifetime , breaking records throughout his career.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungargunn_Bear_It'n_Mind
Many of you already know that he is the father of our bitch "Bicton Bear It All.( "Meg").

It was over two years ago that I spoke to Gay Gottlieb the doyen of Vizsla breeding, and asked her advice as to the future wife for my dog "Visions of Success" ("Leko").Gay told me that she had had some puppies sired by "Yogi" and they were the best puppies she had ever seen.

I contacted his owner and after a bit of wrangling he agreed to allow me to purchase a bitch of 6 months old, she was the pick of the litter which he had intended to keep for himself.

I decided aslo to send my bitch "Whispered Promises" to him and she duly went to the stud in Carlisle, however she failed to come into season and eventually returned home to France.Subsequently she was mated to the top dog of France "Tonga du Clos de la Baudeliere and produced eight puppies.

"Meg" has been a joy to own, she has a special personality and some curious traits, she stand up on her hind legs to look out of the window and reminds us of a Meercat.She also stretches her legs out behind when lying down .

I have only shown her 3 times and she has won every time.

Last year she and "Leko" produced 10 beautiful puppies which were outstanding, this year she is a lady in waiting her litter is due around the 16th April.

"Visions of Success"

The story of the Vizsla's at Nearly Heaven .

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 11:33:00 +0000

I have been breeding gundogs for over thirty years,I fell in love with the Hunter Pointer Retreiver dogs when I was in my twenties.

I was lucky to have a famous gundog breeder and judge living not too far from me.I went to ask her advice and to see if she may have a puppy for sale.The breed of dog that I was interested in was the German Short Haired pointer.

Upon meeting Louise Petrie Hay at her famous Waidman kennels she advised me that she did not have any litters expected but to come and see her dogs.
I was enchanted with these beautiful noble dogs and wanted to learn as much about them and their history as I could.
Mrs. Petrie Hay became my mentor for many years, She advised me which strain of pedigree was the best, and when I wanted to breed from my bitch "Anna" I used the Waidman stud dogs.
Louise kept two puppies from my litters and they went on to be excellent gun dogs,winning many prizes in the show ring and field trials.

Sadly "Anna" died at the age of twelve years and I could not bring myself to replace her, it was time for a change of breed.

Many years after our initial meeting, I had seen my first Vizsla at the Waidman kennels and I was bowled over by this beautiful breed.So now I once again arrived to find out about the Hungarian Vizsla dogs.
I was pointed in the direction of George and Barbara Shepherd who had brought her bitch from America and had mated her to a top British sire.my new puppy was called Bargeo's Chilli Pepper" .

I fell in love with her immediately, she was so loyal and very intelligent, I was surprised at how quickly she learned new things, she became my shadow for four wonderful years, until sadly here in France,she stepped on an Aspic Viper (of Cleopatra fame) and despite the best veterinary care, she died at the age of four and a half.
Thankfully, prior to my emigration to France, Louise had arranged "Chilli's" mating with Gay Gottlieb's handsome "Russettmantle Fisher",this mating was a last minute affair, performed the week before I left for France.
I arrived at my new home at the end of October 2002 with one pregnant bitch. She produced ten puppies on New Years Day 2003.

Two of Chilli's offspring "Visions of Success" and "Whispered Promises" became the foundation stock of my Nearlyheaven kennel.
more about that in a later post.

Hungarian Vizsla Puppies for Sale 2010.

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 09:48:00 +0000

We usually try to have one litter of puppies per year,in the spring time, as this is such a nice time for the

puppies to play ouside prior to going to their new homes.
The puppies mainly reside all over France ,however several now live in Spain and we continue to receive reports of how well they are doing.
The future homes of all our puppies are most important to us, Vizsla dogs need a lot of exercise and a garden in which to play.
We offer the option of returning your puppy here if you wish to go on holiday .

This year 2010 we again mated Visions of Success (Leko) to Bicton Bear it All (Meg) hopefully we shall have a litter of puppies born in late April, the puppies will be ready to leave their mother eight weeks later.
Meg has an illustrious father Hungargunn Bear it in Mind, he has had huge success in his home country of Australia,now after being imported to the UK he has won everything in front of him constantly breaking records for the breed.He was Best of Breed at Crufts last year and was in the final line up.Further information about his success story can be found through Google.
Meg and Leko

The price of a puppy is 800 euros this includes their Kennel Club registration,Microchip and their first injections.
Owing to the new rules regarding the docking of tails the puppies tails will be undocked.
The mothers microchip number is: 981000000912302
The family are extremely intelligent, loving and easy to train they are wonderful with babies and children however they are house dogs and do not thrive in an outside kennel environment.
They are bred to work as Hunter, Pointer, Retrievers, for the show ring or as superb family companions/pets
The photograph below is one of last years litter Edward Bear of Nearlyheaven at five months old.

Why not come and visit our Vizsla family to see the parents and to learn more about this wonderful breed.

If you wish to reserve a puppy or want further details:

email:   info@nearlyheaven.com
Phone: 0033 555481750
Mobile: 0033 689713603

Hungarian Vizsla litter due end of April !

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 15:43:00 +0000

It does not seem very long since Meg (Bicton Bear it All) and Leko (Visions of Success) had their first litter of ten puppies, however it was eleven months ago and it is now time to start again.

Meg and Leko have successfully mated and the puppies should be born towards the end of April they will be ready to leave their mother eight weeks after birth.

We have five puppies reserved already, in fact some prospective owners have been waiting for a considerable time for this litter to be conceived.

Many of you saw Meg's illustrious father in the final ring at Crufts in 2009 in fact he is the most successful Vizsla in Britain after conquering all comers in his native Australia.

I have been delighted to meet many of our previous puppies who regularly call into see me or spend a short holiday while their owners go back to Britain.

Thank you all for the photographs and updates they are most appreciated.

Well Behaved Dogs are Welcome

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 16:07:00 +0000

Well behaved dogs are welcome at Nearlyheaven please contact either Sue or Lucia for details..

Sue's Diary The Christmas Holidays................

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 15:32:00 +0000

I do hope that all of you had a good Christmas and I wish you a Happy new Year for 2010!

As mentioned in my previous post,my initial intention for my Christmas break was to drive to England with my youngest Vizsla "Teddy Bear" to spend some time with my family for Christmas but also to go to Suffolk to learn how to teach Teddy so that he can compete in Field Trials in the future.
Lucia was left "holding the fort " she had her hands full with guests in the cottage, my mother, and several extra Vizsla dogs arriving for their Christmas Holidays ,while their owners travelled to England to be with friends and family.

I set off with Teddy in the car and managed the long, boring drive to Calais, I arrived in the evening and I duly found the hotel which I had booked for us for the night.

It was with a little trepidation that I brought Teddy into the hotel ,this was the first time that he had left home alone, without the company of his dog family, therefore I was worried that if I left him in the room during the time that I went for my dinner in the hotel restaurant, he may start howling or something similar.

He settled into the room and onto his bed without a murmur, I was very proud of him.

I arrived at the restaurant and was asked by the waiter "where is the beautiful dog" ? I replied that I did not think that he could come into the dining room. "please bring him, we all want to meet this unusual beautiful dog". Of course I went back for Teddy and he obediently joined me at my dining table.

Teddy" was the star of the show, the waiters petted him and the other guests admired him.It was amazing how one dog entered that room and the atmosphere changed immediately.Everyone was smiling and talking about him in fact he was the topic of conversation throughout the evening. As I was leaving the restaurant, a waiter brought a huge bowl of meat scraps from the kitchen "this is for his supper" he said.

I shall soon have to start a fan club for him!

The next morning we went for a long walk on the beach,He loved every minute of it and was fascinated by the waves and the sea gulls.

We left the hotel and arrived at the ferry terminal, to find that Teddy's passport was not in order. Despite all my efforts the man at P&O would not even listen to me.So it was about turn and home we went!

In fact it was a blessing in disguise as upon returning home, I discovered that Lucia had had a big problem with "Pasha" our stallion, our neighbours mare was "in season" and Pasha had smashed some fences trying to get to her.Lucia had had to put him in the stable however he was neighing and banging his door and causing her sleepless nights.

We solved that problem by sending "Pasha" away for his holidays, to commence his training for the eventing world.

I managed to get a flight to the UK a few days later and I spent one week with my daughter Kirsty and her partner Sam, and the second week with my eldest son Craig, his wife Collen and my two granddaughters Natalya (3) and Il ana ( 20 months).It really was good to spend quality time with my family as owing to my other commitments it is impossible for me to return to England very often.

One of my Christmas presents was the Cesar Milan dog whisperer books"Cesar's Way and "Be the Pack Leader" I was fascinated with his training methods.His philosophy applies to humans too.Cesar advocates at least 45 minutes brisk exercise for all breeds of dog every morning, this allows the dog to burn off energy,only then does he commence their training sessions.

I have owned and bred dogs all of my life, however I learnt more about the dogs mind from those two books in a week than I have in breeding dogs for the last forty years.

Every prospective dog owner should read the book prior to purchasing a dog.

Indeed I have seen a huge improvement in my dogs since using his methods.

Yesterday I walked for some miles on the snow covered lanes with all five of my dogs walking behind me without leads, they sat quietly when a car wanted to pass and they were a pleasure to own !

My obedient dogs!

Since returning to France I have had another enforced holiday, as the snow has curtailed flying lessons at present.

With the constant freezing conditions ,we spend many extra hours per day ensuring that all the animals have sufficient food and I am now a dab hand with the sledgehammer breaking the ice on the water troughs.

Hope the weather is not going to stay like this for too long!

Merry Christmas and a Happy new Year to our Vizsla owners !

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 17:38:00 +0000

I am leaving home tomorrow to drive to the UK for Christmas to spend time with my family. I am going to Suffolk for a short time after Christmas with my youngest Vizsla "Teddy Bear" to visit a friend, who trains Vizsla dogs for field trials.He has promised to teach me to to train Teddy .. sounds complicated but I hope that it works.

The reason for this new venture, is that the rules in France state that for a dog to become a champion they must obtain a "good" in a field trial as well as obtaining top wins in championship dog shows, my best dog has won over twenty of these prizes,all over France but he cannot become a champion as he has never been trained for field trials and he is too old to commence now.

This time, I am starting early with the puppy and I hope that I shall find the time to get this one to become a champion, as can be seen in the photographs he is very laid back about his training.I have done some training with him at home and he has been very good ( most of the time) I shall enjoy spending time with him "one to one" instead of having five Vizslas constantly vying for my attention.

Normally, I find that for teaching him things like sit and stay ,he responds better in the house where he does not get too distracted.

However in the huge fields of England, which are full of pheasants, I think that I shall have a bit of a struggle to contain him.!

I will keep you posted.

Please send us you best photograph of the year for the January Vizsla picture parade.

To all of our Vizsla owners Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

We hope to have a new litter of puppies in the spring.

Eng Sh Ch & Aust Ch Hungargunn Bear It Mind

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 10:12:00 +0000

Yogi is UK’s TOP DOG 2006 & 2007. In 2006, this was by the biggest winning marginthe history of the "Dogworld Magazine" competition. Winning again in 2007 makes him one of only three dogs ever to go back-to-back.

Yogi left Australia as an All Breeds Best In Show winner and since arriving in England has won 12 BIS, 4 RUBIS, 3 BISS, 28 BIG, 7 RUBIG and 45 CC's surely becoming the world's biggest winning Vizsla considering the average number of dogs exhibited at a Champ

Show in England is in excess of 10,000!

He is 2nd placed in total number of BIS won by gundog in a “lifetime” and he's achieved this in just over 2yrs and is the only gundog to win 7 BIS in one show season, which is the highest number ever won in UK.
"This Vizsla is surely the blueprint! His conformation is outstanding, all that I have read about it and studied about shoulder and hind angulation is seen in this dog. All the proportions and angles are there, the measurements are correct. Well laid shoulders, the distance from withers to elbow to floor equal. His body slightly longer in length than his height. All through he answers the standard; a medium sized dog in appearance, distinguished, robust but lightly boned. As his conformation is so correct, when he moves he takes the breath away, his balance and the ground he covers demonstrate his qualities as he elegantly flows around the ring, sound as a bell. On top of all this, his fine Gundog head has the kindest of expressions. He is a gentleman. I do indeed feel we are privileged to have the chance of sharing this handsome Vizsla with his Australian owners, we may never see another so good! All praise for his excellent condition and happy disposition." Gay Gottlieb (Russetmantle Kennels UK).

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 18:22:00 +0000

Posting tips
We have deliberately set-up this blog to be as user-friendly as possible which means that some of the so-called 'security' features are disabled to encourage greater participation.

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Click on the relevant blog title and then on the 'compose' tab and start typing—the keyboard response may be slightly sluggish at times because your document resides on the Typepad server rather than your own hard disk.

To amend an existing post, click on the 'list posts' link and click on the relevant post.

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Pictures

To insert a picture, either start a new paragraph, or place the cursor at the beginning of an existing paragraph, and click the 'insert image' link.

By default, a 'thumbnail' picture of 270 pixels wide will be displayed in the posting and the main photo will be displayed by clicking on the thumbnail.

These settings can be changed by selecting 'use custom settings' when uploading the picture.

The image may be displayed with text-wrapping to the right of left—to display an image on a paragraph without text, a 'thumbnail' size of 500 pixels wide with no text-wrapping will fill the available space.

It is no longer necessary to resize a picture before posting as Typepad automatically limits the maximum size that you get in the 'pop-up' version of the picture.

With small pictures of less than 270 pixels, do disable the 'thumbnail' setting or you will get a picture of about the same size but inferior quality.

Only the Site Administrator can post pictures to the Flying Photos album.

Posting

By default, the posting status (top right in the compose screen) is set to 'draft' which allows you to save your work without putting it on-line.

When you are ready to post, just select 'post now'in the posting status and each subsequent save of that article will post changes directly on-line.

You can also use the 'preview' button to see the results before posting—the preview has been much improved since this article was first written but it's still a good idea to view the final result by saving in 'post now' mode and then viewing with the 'view post' link at the the top of the compose screen.

Help and Support

Actually, the on-line 'help' documentation from Typepad is about the best I have seen and their email support people also respond very quickly with accurate answers.

You should find everything you need there but do feel free to email me with any technical issues.

Farm Sanctuary

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 17:50:00 +0000

Farm Sanctuary

As all of the animals at NearlyHeaven are so happy, we decided to share that joy with some new additions.
We started our Farm Sanctuary in the summer of 2008 and it was an instant success with our guests—especially the children, many of whom have never enjoyed the opportunity of seeing farm animals close-up.
Many of our animals were rescued or re-homed when their owners moved away.

They include sheep,

Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs

ducks, rabbits, pheasants, quail, pigeons & hens.

We find that children love to help with the animals and enjoy such activities as grooming the ponies, feeding the hens and collecting eggs.
There are additional pictures of the farm animals in our 'photo gallery'

Submit Questions

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 20:12:00 +0000