Originally Posted by
Annette47
I don’t know many Vizla’s and the two I know have the same owner. One is a puppy, so hard to know what to make of her. Her older dog has been very successful in the Obedience ring. She is a good, responsive worker, but more nervous (worried about the environment) than most of my Labs have been. Sweet, patient, calm dog generally though. My understanding of the breed is that they do require a LOT of exercise though. Oh, and she needs to wear a coat in the winter as they don’t have the nice thick coat like a Lab has.
That said, I’ve known quite a few GSP’s that compete in Obedience and all have been doing quite well, so it is clearly possible teach them a recall! They tend to be a bit goofy and impulsive though - they need to be taught to think things through. They are mostly higher energy than the one Vizla I know, but I would hesitate to generalize based on the one girl.
You said you want an Oban size Lab - that should be very doable. Chloe is 62lbs, and the young girls are both less than 60. There are lots of smaller Labs around here - mostly from field lines, but even some from mixed or conformation. Granted, most of them are girls but girl Labs are wonderful!