Borzoi history

Most of the sighthounds have a long history behind them, the Borzoi is no exception. Early artistic records exist in hunting frescoes in Kiev's Sophia Cathedral, dating back to the 11th century. These paintings show hounds of the Borzoi type chasing various game.

The Borzoi, the aristocrat under the sighthounds, was originally owned by noblemen and royalty only (in Russia by the Czar and the Russian upper class, the peers), but the abolition of serfdom in 1861 changed the social customs of the Russian people. With the liberation of the serfs came the closing of many of the large estates and their enormous kennels and the breed degenerated for a while. In 1873 the Society for the Development of Hunting Dogs and Proper Conduct for Hunting was founded in Moscow. This society arranged dog shows and aimed to improve canine conformation as well as hunting abilities. In 1887 a supporter, Archduke Nicolai Nikolajawitsch founded the now world-famous Perchino kennels, which he based on the very best bloodlines available at the time. More about the Perchino kennels you can find in the book "THE PERCHIINO HUNT" by his Excellence DIMITRI WALZOFF. See “links and more”.

More about "Borzoi history" will follow soon…

General appearance

The first impression of a Borzoi is dominated by its impressive size, its thick and wavy coat, the elegance and beauty in its lines and harmony of build that all together create a very stunning looking dog. The size goes from 70 to 82 cm or more at the shoulder, bitches are always 5 cm or more smaller. Borzois have a long and dense, silky waved coat. All colours are allowed, often basically white with coloured areas going over to darker dogs even self black does occur. The dark or black coated dogs were long frowned upon by the Russian nobility because they stood out more clearly in the snow. Male Borzois have a curve to their backs that is a special characteristic of the breed. Bitches are similar but the curve is not so well defined. They have deep chest and tucked up stomachs. An elegant long head - there are many varieties of head of which each was given a name by the nobles who kept and bred them in the past. They should have dark, intelligent and keen looking eyes, almond shaped with dark eye rims. Hind quarters should be broad and powerful with long thighs, well bent stifles and broad well let down hocks. The tail is long and heavily feathered.

Hunting instinct

The Borzoi does have a strong hunting instinct - some specimens more than others. We should never forget that for hundreds of years it has been trained to hunt its prey to the bitter end, using its keen sight.

Here some samples of the most popular prey:

These days this is forbidden and dangerous for the dog, so they must be slipped to run free only at places which have been chosen with care - that is well away from all traffic and where there are no wild animals that could become their unhappy prey or lure them away! It is wise to train the dog from earliest puppyhood to be used to, and respect, cats, other dogs and all manner of other animals and other peoples pets. The puppy years are a very important learning time for all dogs. We have to be very active to get our Borzoi used to "modern civilization" and all the many situations and things that we both will come upon during its lifetime. We give our best to make of every experience a happy one and train so that the dog has fun and enjoys itself, with plenty of strokes and titbits as a reward for good behaviour.