not rough and thick enough, she was the promising beginning of the creation of the new breed. After Jozef and Laszlo, Koloman Slimák worked on creating a Wirehaired Vizsla in Slovakia. It is suggested that he added infusion of Irish Setter and Pointer in addition to German Wirehaired Pointer into his own line of smooth-haired Vizslas. Other anecdotal evidence suggests that Pudelpointer, Bloodhound and Irish Setter blood were added during the period of the Second World War when many other Hungarian kennels became involved in the development of the breed. It has also previously, but incorrectly been suggested that the breed was created by backbreeding of smooth Vizsla's most heavily coated offspring (Gottlieb, idem). In 2009, there were approximately 400-450 Wirehaired Vizslas in the US and between 2,500 and 3,000 worldwide. Official recognition The HWV was recognized in Europe by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI) under the Hungarian standard in 1963 as the Drötzörü Magyar Vizsla. Introduced to North America in the 1970s, the breed was first recognized by the Canadian Kennel Club in 1977 and North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association in 1986. The breed was recognized by the United Kennel Club in 2006. It was recognized by the Australian National Kennel Council in 2007. The breed was admitted into AKC's Foundation Stock Service Program in 2008. Effective January 1, 2009, the Wirehaired Vizsla became eligible to compete in AKC Companion and Performance events. The Wirehaired Vizsla was permitted to show in conformation in the AKC Miscellaneous Class starting January 1, 2011. They joined the Sporting Group and became a fully recognized breed on July 2, 2014. The breed is also recognized in North America by the American Rare Breed Association and the Field Dog Stud Book registries. Common illnesses Although the HWV is not generally considered as a sickly dog, breeding from a small number of dogs has led to heritable illnesses in some offspring, including: dysphagia-megaesophagus (difficulty swallowing, drooling and muscle wasting) hip dysplasia hypothyroidism sebaceous adenitis digestive problems (including intolerance to certain foods or food allergies) eye conditions such as: ectropion (the upper or lower eyelid curls outward which gives the look of "droopy eyes") entropion (the upper or lower eyelid, but in most cases the lower lid, curls inward towards the eye, therefore irritating the cornea) idiopathic epilepsy is becoming more common in this breed (Gottlieb 2002) Responsible breeders do not select dogs for breeding