It just cracks me up when they lay belly up like that. River does the same, no modesty whatsoever Laying like that is a vulnerable position, so it makes me happy when they do - they are comfortable and secure in their environment and totally trusting Also love the teeth What is her name?

Thanks, this is Sugar because she is so sweet.
She was donated to me at less than a year old. As she had been neglected and left to her own devices, both she and I have had to bend.
We had always had dogs but she is the best I have had. Thinking I'll keep her.

I love to see pictures of River. A neighbor of ours had a Visla in the early '70s. They are an interesting dog.

I agree with you on how secure they must feel to sleep like that.
I never thought about how vulnerable a dog could be when sleeping on their back until my brother commented on how safe she must feel. That is a heart warming thought. Thank you.

Awwww Sugar

I love all dogs, and every one of them that has been part of my family has been special in one way or another. If you are lucky there will be one who becomes more than special, they become a soul mate. That one for me was Jordan. She was a cross between our American Eskimo and a neighbor's visiting miniature black Schnauzer. Oops. Ashley had a litter of six and we kept a male and a female, and the others went to close family and friends. We kept Jake because he was a hellion almost from the day he was born - couldn't feel responsible for foisting him on anyone else There was also something about Jordan from the start. I can't describe it, but it was a bond. That little dog and I loved each other deeply. She was calm and quiet and unassuming, but I was her world and she was mine. After all these years, I still miss her.
Ashely and her pups

In this photo, Jordan is second from the left, Jake is all the way to the right

Jordan hanging out with me while I garden


River came in to our lives as a 10 week old puppy soon after Mike's sister Bonnie moved in. Her husband had unexpectedly died of a heart attack at 59 years old. I had never heard of the Vizsla breed before, but a good friend of hers breeds them. He is master of his universe and has the three of us wrapped around his little finger, er ah paw Vizslas have a very consistent look throughout the breed and also seem to have the same habits and personalities.

They call them Velcro Vizslas because they often physically attach themselves to you. River squeezes between your legs when you are standing - all the better to have you in a position to rub the spot on his back right above his tail. We are used to it, but it sure does surprise visitors! If you are on the couch or in bed, he circles around and plops down as close to you as he can physically get - it often takes three or four goes at it before he thinks he is close enough. He has a vocal range that includes at least a dozen varied meanings - and yes, he has trained us to know them all The communication aspect is amazing. His personality is unlike any other dog that I've had. Very specific in what he wants when he wants it, very energetic and athletic, very loving. Bonnie now lives in a cottage on our property, but River has the run of both homes. Bonnie walks him over every morning before she goes to work and he spends the day with me. Around 5:00 he starts watching for her, and as soon as he hears her car, he is off like a rocket running full beautiful stride through the woods to greet her. He is getting older now, but at 7 years old and getting a bit grey in the face, he is still unbelievably athletic and fit. Seeing him run is a thing of beauty.

No modesty, no shame, and makes himself comfortable in his favorite spots




Watching for Bonnie to come home


My favorite picture of him in his prime

What a handsome guy. I had to laugh at your photos of him sprawled on his back. I look through the photos I have of Sugar and they are mostly with her on her back as well.

She goes to work with me. I try to keep her behind the counter as she will come up behind people and squeeze between their legs too. It startles folks and seems rather rude. I have to admit that those of us who know her laugh when she does that to us. She also has a habit of laying down behind people and I am so afraid of someone falling over her. She is so quiet when she walks they won't know she is behind them.

Does River swim? Our neighbors' Vizsla couldn't. He asked my husband to bring our Lab to the lake and see if he could teach his dog to swim. In later years we were at a rural swimming beach and a man had a Vizsla out on the dock. The man was in the water and trying to encourage his dog to jump in. When the dog did, he couldn't swim either. I wondered if that was common with the breed.

Dogs can be the best companions. I had a vintage black lab and took on two older white labs whose owners couldn't keep them. When they all passed on, I went for a year with no dog. The two friends that would look after my pets if I was on vacation or when I was in rehab for a broken hip and leg decided that I needed another dog. They brought me Sugar. They have trained her for me including coming by work and taking her out for potty breaks. She was feral and neglected, covered with ticks, had free reign to run the woods. When I got her I had to turn a blind eye to some of her behavior. Not bad but just annoying. She would go out to the highway and bring home any trash she could find. The road looked great but the yard looked a bit trashy. We are past that now, with only her toys in the yard. She no longer can squeeze through the fence as I have fattened her up. I have an acre fenced and a pet door so she can stay in or go out as needed during the day. At night she will stay in and has never had an accident. I was surprised.

As I am 74, I extorted a promise from the guys that gave her to me. Should something happen to me, I want to know they will find her a good home. They assured me she would be taken care of. All is well.

I love Sugar's black and white split down the face. Her fur looks like the soft kind that I've always preferred in dogs. River has very short fur, but unlike other short haired dogs, his feels like velvet so I always want to be petting it.

Yes, River swims. We have a large pond - about 1 1/2 acres. Being Velcro Vizsla, he gets out there whenever Bonnie is in the water - either kayaking or swimming. If the great nieces and nephews are over, she will put a life vest on him because he will tire himself out without paying any attention to how far out he is from shore, and that pond is deep. He will also chase the canadian geese once in a while.

Bonnie and River kayaking


River chasing the Canadian geese with Bonnie's short description at the end
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

I am so glad Sugar was rescued and has found a good home with you. Sounds like she was a mess before you took her in. I love to hear that she has been fattened up Dogs sure are the best companions.

Mike and I started out with Aspen, an American Eskimo puppy back in the 1980s. She was a big part of our life back then and we thought of her as our child. We named this place in memory of her. After she passed, we got another American Eskimo because we liked the breed so much. My parents did too, and we got two females from the litter - Ashely for us, Abby for them. I named her Ashley because my dad always called Aspen that instead, thinking he was being funny - like Aspen was such an off the wall name And then.... Ashely proceeded to get knocked up and we kept two from her litter - Jake and Jordan. At the end of Aspen's life, a neighbor's black lab basically adopted us. She was an outside dog, and our neighbor was gone a lot. She had shelter and plenty of food, but she loved human interaction and as she had free reign of the woods around here, she started spending more and more time at our place and eventually made this her home base. I never thought I'd have more than one dog at at time, but for years we had four!!!

All four of those dogs lived to ripe old ages, but they started passing one by one. Jordan, my soul mate dog, was the last. We haven't officially had any dogs ourselves since then, but we've routinely taken in friend's dogs when they've gone on vacation, some of them extended. There has been golden retriever Miles, westie Scruffy, junkyard dog Tinker, and then cocker spaniel Riley who moved in with Mike's brother Lowell and his girlfriend/now wife Suzanne for years. Riley and River overlapped, and now there is just Bonnie's dog River. I don't think I'd want to be without dog companionship for very long.