My name is Tess!

This pretty girl is Tess and she is a 1 and a half year old Vizsla/Whippet mix. This makes for a very attractive and very active and athletic dog that is highly intelligent and easily trained. She looks like a Vizsla at first glance but when you look closer the Whippet in her is very evident. She weighs about 42lbs and has a very thin build. This is a Whippet body and she needs to stay thin. This is how she is supposed to look. She also has a full Whippet tail that has a curl to it and really gets going in a whip like fashion when she’s happy and wagging it, which is often. She has the beautiful rust colour of the Vizsla and we have also found that she is very much a bird dog and finds the birds out in the yard very interesting. Tess was abandoned by her owner in an apartment; left behind when they moved out. It became obvious that whoever had her before didn’t socialize her or properly exercise her. She was unable to go up for adoption in the pound she was in as she was very anxious there and it was felt that a foster home based rescue was a better fit for her. We welcomed Tess in and she has been a delight to foster and we really like this dog. She is fun and playful and very affectionate and she settled in to her foster home in no time. She has done so well in our home and now it is time for her to find her forever home where she can continue to blossom and live a full life.



The thing we need to stress most with Tess is that she is an athlete. This is a dog built to run and she is high energy and needs to have running exercise to be happy. If you are not already a very active person/couple/family then Tess will not be the dog for you. She needs someone who is already outdoorsy and active and who would love a dog to be a great partner in all activities. She is great in the car so road trips to fun places are something she would be totally up for. A large, fenced in yard is a necessity for Tess as ripping around the yard doing laps is a joy for her. She also needs the fence to be 5ft minimum as she is quite able to jump anything shorter if she felt the desire. Tess would make an EXCELLENT agility dog with the proper training so anyone looking for a dog sports partner should consider her. She would love to live with a runner or someone who would bike with her. She is young and fit and could easily keep up and she would be a huge motivator as she will run every day if you wish…there’s no “I don’t feel like it” with Tess. The nice thing about Tess is that as much as she is go, go, go outside, she is calm and settled inside. So after a good run or long walk she will curl up on her cozy pillow and have a nap. She is not a barky dog and is generally quiet indoors. She will alert to people on the property but responds well to a “Quiet” command after she’s had a few barks to let you know someone is here.



Tess is being fostered with dogs and cats and she loves all of them. She would adore going to a home with another young, playful, energetic dog. She is best friends with her foster sister, Meg, and they love running around the yard together playing chase and wrestling. If Tess were not to go to a home with another dog then she would need regular play dates with like- minded doggie friends to keep up her socialization and fulfil her need to play with other dogs. It would be ideal if she could go to a home with another dog but this other dog would need to share in her love of running and play…it just wouldn’t be fair to Tess to send her to a home with another dog that wouldn’t play with her. She adores play and it is a great way for her to burn off energy. As for the cats, Tess tries to play with them too and it is so funny to see her, front legs on the ground, wiggly butt in the air, trying to get them to play. Sometimes our cats will encourage her with a friendly swat and she loves this. She would do great in a home with a dog- friendly cat, but a skittish cat that will hiss and run will only entice Tess to chase so this won’t be a good fit. As for kids, although Tess is very friendly, we feel she would not be suited to a home with young children. Tess is very active and bouncy and still jumps up sometimes (we are working on this). Also, we have come to find out that her tail is quite literally a whip when she gets it going in a happy wag and we have been on the receiving end of some mighty tail whips across the legs which can hurt..a child would get this in the face or arms and that could result in injury. She has no idea that her happy tail is a danger to little ones and we can’t risk any child being hurt by our happy dog and her wagging tail. We would consider a home with kids over 12 yrs of age who understand the need to stay out of the way of the tail and who would be tall enough not that they get it against their legs where it’s not so bad. She would also be a fine dog for a young couple planning to have kids a few years in the future when Tess is more mature and less inclined to the overly enthusiastic tail wags of her puppyish self.



Tess is very intelligent and picks up on training well. She only needs to be told something once in a firm tone and she gets it. She is a real pleaser and tries very hard to make you happy. She has this funny “smile” where she shows you her front teeth when she is particularly happy…its very cute! She is also very food motivated so positive reinforcement training with treats is a great starting place to teach her the basics. She will need to go to a family that will want to take her to many levels of obedience school. She is such an easy dog to train and has so much potential that we do not want to see this wasted. Completing a basic obedience course is part of our adoption agreement but with Tess we are looking for people who will take this even further and work this dog to a higher level. She is so capable and she will benefit greatly from advanced training. At this point Tess is not a dog that can be trusted off leash outside of a fenced in area, and with sighthound in her, she may never be. Her instinct is to chase flying or skittering creatures so bunnies, squirrels, birds etc will always be a temptation for her. She is always on the lookout for them so she needs to always be securely leashed. We walk her in a “heel” position in town and she does great, but we put her on a flexi lead out in the country and on trails and she loves the freedom to sniff and explore while being safe and secure. She sets a fast pace when out for a walk so power walkers..this is a dog for you! No meandering strolls here…she wants to move! Tess also needs continued socialization. There are still some things that make her uncomfortable and she will give a little bark or growl. We correct this and show her that she does not need to fear whatever it is that is scary to her. She needs a new owner who will continue this and get her out and about and expose her to as many sights and sounds as possible. She needs firm verbal correction only so she needs to be with confident people who can be leaders to her. Tess does well when she has strong leadership so we are looking for people who can be that to her. Vizsla’s can display a strong protective instinct and we see that in Tess, she will bark when someone arrives or she will stand back and check out a new person, monitoring them until she is sure they are friends. This is something that anyone considering a Vizsla type dog needs to be aware of. They are very friendly and affectionate dogs, but they will protect their home, so proper introductions need to be done with visitors and Tess will need to be allowed to greet on her own terms. She does not do well with people that rush in at her. We have had many people over to visit and she is always great with them after a few minutes once she is sure that they are friends, but we tell everyone to just ignore her and let her check them out for the first few minutes and this works best for Tess. Of course, bribing her with a tasty treat is a fast way to her trust as well…she takes bribes so willingly!



Overall, Tess is a fabulous dog who will make you smile and laugh. She is goofy and funny and such a doll. We love this dog and she has been very easy to live with. She is crate trained and housetrained and has fit in with our family from day one. She only wants you to be pleased with her so she tries very hard to be a good girl. Of course, this does not extend to her crate blanket which she insists on shredding to tiny pieces regardless of what type of blanket we try with her. So have plenty of cheap towels or blankets on hand as she will go though many of them. It’s her quirk, what can ya do? HA! But other than having to clean up shredded pieces of blanket from her crate, Tess is an easy dog to live with and to love. She gets plenty of exercise here in her foster home and she is a happy and content dog. We know that there are active people out there looking for a dog to enjoy the pleasures of the outdoors with them and this will be the dog for you, active folks!! If you would consider putting her through agility training as well, all the better. This is a highly versatile dog that has so much potential. We know that the perfect home awaits Tess and we are so excited for her to find her forever home where she will be loved and never again abandoned. Tess is a loyal and devoted dog, she would have been devastated when she was left behind by her previous owner. We have promised her that this will never happen again and that her next family will be just as devoted to her as she is to them. Could this be you?

All Pound Dog Rescue dogs are spayed/neutered, vaccinated, heartworm tested, de-wormed (if required), and microchipped prior to adoption. The adoption donation of $400 is applied to assist in the costs of veterinary care and the overall care of the dog. For more information and adoption applications please consult our website at www.pounddog.ca.