Meet Jaggs!

We’ve had our dear Jaggs for about two and a half weeks now and I’m just getting around to writing a post about him. Not because I’ve forgotten or haven’t wanted to, but because I just couldn’t find the time with this little guy running around! Getting a puppy has turned out to be much more time consuming than I originally thought, but I’m so glad we have this sweet boy in our life now.

We’ve wanted a dog for a while, and we just kept putting it off- feeling like we didn’t quite have enough time yet. But when we saw that the breeder we were looking at had 12 week old puppies available it was hard to say no.

What’s a Vizsla? and WHY a Vizsla?

When I tell most people about the kind of dog we got, most of them have never heard of a Vizsla before. I always explain it to them as the brown/red colored version of a Weimaraner.

The Vizsla is a dog breed originating in Hungary, known for their hunting abilities. Their beautiful red coat is the same color as their nose, lips, and gums. As puppies their eyes are green or blue, as they grow older their eyes change to a light brown color to match the rest of their appearance. The monochromatic red color of the dog helps out while hunting because it allows them to blend in easily to their surroundings.

We have friends who lived here at Vance that have a Vizsla and we absolutely loved her, she is the sweetest dog, sweet little Macey was the one who inspired us to get Jaggs. Also, Conor always knew that when he got a dog he wanted some sort of hunting dog, so this made Jaggs a perfect fit for him. But, why is he a perfect fit for me?? Well, Vizslas have a reputation for being “velcro dogs” meaning that they’re very attached to their owners and enjoy touching them or being around them at all times. This makes them the perfect cuddle buddies. As we speak, he is ~~sitting~~ sprawled across me, while I’m trying to type, enthralled with the pictures of puppies on the computer that seem to look just like him. While inside, he likes to be touching either Conor or I, and while outside he runs just far enough away so that he can still see us and we can still see him. They’re also a breed of dog that are very high energy, making them perfect runners, which I love. Although we can’t run him until he’s 18 months due to increasing the risk of hip problems as they get older, I’m so excited to get him out there and tack on the miles together.

Why the Name, Jaggs?

We picked Jaggs up from a breeder in Kansas about three hours away. On the entire way there we were trying to decide on a name for him. I had come up with a previous list that included the names Bauer, Baron, Cash, Chevy, Maverick, Brady, and Teddy. My favorite was Baron (after the “Red Baron” from WWII), with Vizslas being red in color, for me it made perfect sense! But, for Conor it wasn’t his favorite name, so we kept coming back to square one. We knew we wanted something unique and that had meaning, but couldn’t figure it out. Conor was spitting out random Air Force related terms and then all of a sudden, he said Jaggs. I asked him what it meant, after he told me, and we confirmed it, we knew Jaggs was it!

So, what DOES Jaggs mean? It is the name of the departure point on the flight line here at Vance the directs planes East. We liked that it was different and related to the Air Force without being completely obvious, and with us being from the East Coast, we liked that it was the departure point that leads us home 🙂

Our first few weeks with Jaggs has been anything but dull. He’s provided so many laughs, smiles, and at times many MANY hours of scolding. But as a puppy that’s to be expected. Conor and I are both so looking forward to seeing what other adventures this little guy brings us on. For now, we are just taking it one day at a time 🙂

Here are some pictures of Jaggs’ first few weeks at home:

Our first little family photo:

Little guy loves to be held

Lazy sunday football days. It IS possible for this guy to sleep in any position

This picture makes me laugh whenever I look at it. There was one night he was snoring so loud on the couch, so I looked at him and this is what his face looked like. He was just too cute.