Irene Balla - Owner

I was born in Hungary where my family always had dogs.  My grandfather had many hobbies but he really like hunting so he bred and kept German Short Hair Pointers.  During his time breeding, my dad's brother was awarded the Golden Garland by the Hungarian Kennel Club for his successful breeding of the of the Hungarian Kuvaszok.  My father's sister bred hunting dogs, Short Haired Douch and Maltese. 

                       

When I was 14 years old (50 years ago) I got my first Vizsla.  My father's favorite breed was the Smooth Hair Vizsla.  My hobbies included horse back riding and dog training.  In time I was able to train my Vizsla for obedience, agility and hunting.  I did not have a comfortable life when I was young , living in an apartment that was too small for a family.  None the less, our family was not complete without our dogs.  I trained my dogs every day for 2 hours.  On weekends I would bring them to the Buda mountains.  I walked with them in the forest and then back home - approximately 20 km.

Ficko , my male Vizsla was awarded 10 gold medals on the hunting test.  He was very special to me.  I belonged to a small group of Vizsla lovers that traveled around Hungary together demonstrating hunting exercises with our dogs and performing in dog shows.

At this time  the vets did not give the dogs the complete doses of the distemper vaccination .  We have no idea why?  My dog died of this terrible disease when he was 15 years old.   My heart was broken.  I lost my pal and partner who brightened up my life everyday.  My dad bought me another Vizsla and unfortunately he passed away at just 5 months of age from the same disease.  Many years passed before I saved a Vizsla mix, a German Short Hair Pointer, and an Irish Setter. They had a good life with us.  They died of natural causes.

I came to Canada in 1984 as a musician with my husband.  We played music in the Intercontinental Restaurant on Bloor Street in Toronto.  I always missed having dogs around me in the country air.  I could not keep any dogs with me in the apartment.  My life was not full without them.  I stayed in Canada and bought a small house and shortly after I rescued many dogs, but no Vizslas.

     

I bought my first Canadian Vizsla from Quebec.  She was beautiful but was not terribly interested in hunting. I soon realized my dream.  I imported  two excellent hunting dogs from the Pitypang Kennels in Hungary.  I bred them with the best males in Canada:  CH On point Newman, CH Toldin' Own Rip Red Flyer and  USA Pennsylvania , CH Dry Martini.  All of my male offspring are excellent hunters and all have championship qualities.  I am very proud of all my Vizslas and all of the hard work it took.  A couple of years later, I imported  females from the Vandabanda Kennel in Hungary.  We bred occasionally to carefully chosen homes.



Presently we are living in an area that provides lots of running room for my dogs.  There is a lake by my house which helps me to train my dogs with retrieving exercises.  I am a member of the NAVHDA , Puli and the Kuvasz Clubs.  We go the to Scugog Dog Days of Summer to exhibit our breed and participate in the dock jumping competitions regularly.  You will typically find us at many field trials and dog shows where we interact with other dog lovers.