The Vizsla has multiple names just like the Australian Cattle Dog. They are known as Vizsla (which means pointer), Hungarian pointer or the Magyar Vizsla. This breed has been around for over a thousand years and are considered one of the oldest known hunting dogs. It is thought that the vizsla is a descendant of the eighth-century Hungarian hunting dogs. The vizsla has faced near extinction not once but twice with the first being from the Turkish Occupation (1526-1696) with a more serious decline after the Hungarian Civil War (1848-1849). The breed recovered from a small stock of about 12 true vizslas thanks to Hungarian sportsmen. The second near extinction the vizslas faced was after the two World Wars and Russian Occupation but were saved this time in part thanks to Mrs. Elizabeth Mihalyi. Mrs. Elizabeth escaped Hungary with her family Vizsla named Panni XV and was bred with Betyar from Austria. This breeding established the Panni-Betyar line which is recognized by the AKC as a foundation stock of the breed. Vizslas are known for their exceptional hunting skills, relentless loyalty, and versatility. The breed was highly regarded and treasured by Hungarian nobility. For centuries landowning aristocrats horded the vizsla and preserved their pure blood with more recently the breed is seen as not only a great hunting companion but also one great for families. The vizsla is not only treasured for their physical features but also their ability to adapt to various situations which made them versatile and reliable for tasks beyond hunting. The vizslas were not only tied to nobility and status but they also proved their worth during times of war and conflict. They were used to guard camps, sentinels, deliver messages and be a part of miliary campaigns. Dye to their speed and endurance that allowed them to be able to travel long and difficult terrains the breed was entrusted with carrying important messages across the battlefield to friendly commanders and troops. Even during the hardships of the battlefield the vizsla remained by the side of their soldier companions.

One way we can influence our dog’s and their dopamine levels with reward is something called the reward prediction error (RPE). This can be described in short as the difference between the expected reward and reward that is actually received. When a dog receives an expected reward the prediction error is zero (no change in behavior), when a dog receives a reward better than expected that is a positive RPE (increases behavior) and when a dog receives a reward worse than expected that is a negative RPE (decreases behavior). The way that RPE can be applied to dog training is massive and gives you a great tool of communication to increase or decrease behaviors. This is where variable rewards, especially for more complex behaviors, can be of great benefit to us in communication to our dogs to let them know they did good and that they did great. This is hopefully something that we do consciously but can also be done unintentionally so it is important to remember that our dogs are always learning both inside and outside the home. Reward prediction error is not limited to dog training, and it is something that all mammals experience and is how we make knowledgeable decisions. Dopamine neurons that are released both during the reward stimulus such as a marker word or clicker and during real rewards are similar and are individual to your dog. This is further reinforced with a reward the dog receives that is equal to or greater than expected for a desirable behavior, but timing is also very important and bad timing can taint your high value reinforcer. This is known as temporal discounting and while dopamine will still be produced it will be less and therefore your reinforcement weaker.

A Hurricane in a Teacup One of the earliest mention of spaniels in England was in 1576 by English physician John Caius in his book Treatise of Englishe Dogs. In his book spaniels were described and separated by function then later in 1801 Sydenham Edwards suggested that they be divided into Springing, Hawking Spaniel, or Starter; and the Cocking or Cocker Spaniel. The English Springer, alongside other spaniels, primarily grew in the counties of Norfolk and Shropshire. They were originally separated by size: less than 25lbs would be a cocker spaniel and those over 25lbs would be called springers. During this time both types of spaniels were born in the same litters, and both had a function: to serve as a hunting dog. The smaller spaniels, cockers, were used to hunt woodcock, hence the breed’s name, and the larger spaniels, springers, would “spring” or flush the gamebirds into the air. In the 1600s these spaniels were further categorized as land spaniels and were used to not only flush out birds but also rabbits. In 1902 the English Springer Spaniel was officially recognized by the English Kennel Club and recognized by the American Kennel Club in 1910. In 1914 the first English Field Champion was crowned, FTC Rivington Sam, and is considered one of the foundation sires for modern field lines. The Springers job back then is similar to what the field line is bred for in modern day: bird hunting and retrieve game. Whether the hunters used nets, bows, birds of prey or rifles to hunt down the flushed birds the Springer Spaniel remained very important and became known as a gun dog. . Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Springer_Spaniel, https://moderndogmagazine.com/articles/breeds/the-english-springer-spaniel/