Borzoi

About the Borzoi

Russian nobility bred the Borzoi to course wolves across open steppe, working in pairs to hold an animal until the hunt came up. The breed nearly vanished along with the estates that kept it, and the dogs alive today descend from a narrow group taken out of Russia and rebuilt elsewhere.

A male stands 74 cm or more, with a long, narrow head, a deep but narrow chest and a silky coat, flat, wavy or curly, in any colour. Movement should look effortless, and the dog should feel like an athlete rather than an ornament. Temperament is a real consideration for breeding: this is an undemonstrative breed that does not fawn on strangers, so a dog that stays calm and confident in an unfamiliar place is telling you something worth knowing.

Ask about a cardiac examination, since heart disease occurs in the breed, and about a current eye certificate, as retinal problems and cataract both appear. Bloat is a serious risk in a chest of this shape, so ask what has happened in the line and how the owner feeds. Raise thyroid function, and ask about longevity, which is the honest measure of any giant sighthound family. Sighthound sensitivity to certain anaesthetic agents is worth flagging to whoever ends up caring for the puppies.

Health & breeding

We check every hip, elbow, eye and DNA result you give us against the Royal Kennel Club’s public records by hand, and we record who checked it and when. The Royal Kennel Club’s public records may not include all the screening a dog has had, so a dog with no Royal Kennel Club record showing is not necessarily untested.