TEXT COURTSEY OF:
Zöldmáli (Hungary)

The history of the breed originates from the 1930's, when the idea came mainly from hunters to breed a dog that has the same excellent features as the shorthaired Vizsla, but is more resistant to cold weather conditions.

Everybody agreed that the created new breed should be a Hungarian Vizsla with all its features, except for the wiry coat.  The work was initiated by Vasas József in Hejőcsaba, who was the owner of the “Csabai” kennel.  Soon after, he was joined by Gresznárik László (de Selle kennel), who had great experience in breeding German Wirehaired Vizslas, where the ideal coat type was achieved by involving shorthaired German Vizslas. 

They mated two Hungarian Vizsla bitches (Zsuzsi and Csibi), who had very good pedigrees and working abilities, with a totally brown German wiry male (Astor von Potat).  (Zsuzsi was the daughter of Kittenberg Kálmán's male,  Szikra, who was known to have longer-haired offspring as well.)  After selecting between the prostrates of Zsuzsi and Csibi there were yellow and browns as well and mating them with each other, Dia de Selle, the first exhibited wirehaired Hungarian Vizsla was born.  Dia had the same body as the shorthaired Hungarian Vizsla, but her head was like the German's.  Her coat was not rough enough and thick enough.  But in overall, she was a promising beginning of the creation of the breed. 

In 1943 Vasas József requested the Hungarian Vizsla Section to assist in breeding the HWV.  Some were pro, some were contra, but finally they accepted the request with the suggestion to show as many specimens in shows and hunting competitions as possible.  They also created a non-official pedigree for the HWVs.  Only after the evaluation of these documents could the standard and the final approval for the new breed be set.

The breeding aim was defined as following:  the HWV should preserve all inner and outer features of the shorthaired Hungarian Vizsla, preserve the ancestral yellow colour, and the hair should be rough and wiry.

The three-generation breeding resulted such specimens that had the same features as the SHVs and had wiry hair.   From the German Vizsla ancestors they inherited stronger, thicker bones and longer, thicker hair.

After the difficulties at the beginning, more and more dogs were registered, in this way.  In 1944 already 60 HWVs had been registered.  Most of them lived and worked in North Hungary in the area of Csallóköz and Felvidék.  The success of the breeding efforts was also proved by the increased interest abroad.  In Austria the Harasha kennel (baron Bornemissza's ownership) and the Povazia kennel (Kolomana Slimáka) were the pioneers. 

WW II caused great harm in dog breeding as well as everywhere.  The “Csabai” kennel became state owned, but the leader remained Vasas József, who even in those days brought the breed closer to perfection.  Other kennels should be mentioned as well, such as the Botond kennel in Kökény Gábor's ownership, the Oroska kennel in Mészáros Sándor's ownership, and further operating kennels abroad, the Povazia, de Selle and Haraska.  According to certain sources, in these lines, the Irish setters were involved as well.

Finally the HWV was acknowledged by the FCI in 1966 as independent Hungarian breed and was registered under No. 239.

The HWV population is much below the shorthaired ones.  Most of them are owned by hunters, who don't really care about breeding, thus a lot of species remain unregistered (don't have a pedigree).  While the average number of SHVs born yearly in Hungary is around 1000 (in 2000 and 2001) the average number of HWVs is 30 litters, i.e. 140-150 dogs.