Vizsla Character Traits.

There was a link that was passed on to me about some of the "quirks" that vizslas have. I find it amusing that Cody exhibits almost all of those behaviors.

Here's a summary of the full link and how Cody applies to each "generic" Vizsla trait:

• Sniffing at counters. Yup. He loves to sniff and see what's going on. Except for one time a few months ago, he only sniffs and occasionally licks. He has not yet gotten away with eating human food from the counter though.
• Extremely energetic. Unless you haven't read this blog, you already know this about Cody.
• Digging. I only let him hang out in the backyard after I exercised him completely. Except for one day when I left him in the backyard for 9 hours, he hasn't had any outside digging problems. Of course, I need to mention that he's obsessed with one spot in the living room carpet that he "digs" at.
• Likes to always be by your side. Cody will follow me into the bathroom unless I make sure the door is completely closed shut. I feel like he has a slight fear of abandonment, which of course makes no sense when he decides to run away.
• Vocal. He likes making noises all the time. He barks occasionally, but it's more weird whines and whimpers or groans. He'll make sounds when he's yawning, and of course, he's a big snorer.
• Oral fixation. (Needs things in his mouth). It's amazing how much he likes things in his mouth. He's swallowed most post-its than I can count. Since I put my "to-dos" on post-its, he actually does me a favor when he eats them because it means less tasks for me to finish. Until I miss something really important.
• Likes big, comfy places to sleep. From my heat map blog post, you already know that he loves my bed. He hates my car because I have bucket seats and he can't spread out. In general, he hates cramped spaces. Here are some pictures of him sleeping and you can see that the curled up position is not one to which he defaults.
• Smart and sneaky. He has found ways into corners and up on places that he's not supposed to go. Normally, I would praise him for being resourceful, but sometimes it's just being bratty.
• Love to be on high (chairs, sofas, etc.). Apparently this desire outweighs the cramped spaces problem as you can see here.
• Fetish for socks and shoes and laundry. Honestly, Cody's only really had a problem with socks. He also likes one of my flip-flops (just the right sandal) and a particular left boot.
• Soft personalities. The link says that if they're not socialized properly, they can be timid. I remember him being timid when he first visited the dog park, but he became one of the gang pretty quickly.
• Lap dogs. I don't have any pictures of him on my lap as I don't have any pictures of me in this blog. But trust me, he will try to lie on your lap or press and nestle against you if he can. It's nice and sweet. These are the times when I agree that having a pet can have health benefits such as lowering blood pressure and such. Of course, with all the other issues that he has when he's not lying down and peaceful, the stressful times may counter those benefits.