The Borzoi
The Borzoi
Origins
The Borzoi (also called Psovoi, Russian Wolfhound, Barzoï, Russkaya Psovaya Borzaya) is known to be the successor of the domestic dogs. The Russian word Borzaya depicts the fast dog reactions, meaning “quick dog”. This breed was popular in the early 1910-1920 and was mainly used for hunting wolves, with great results, due to sprinting and powerful body abilities.
Appearance
The Borzois belong to the giant dog breeds category. Also known as Russian sighthounds, this breed has a height of 65-70 cm and a weight of about 41-45 kg. The body is very gracious and streamlined; the fur is vavy and curly, silky and flat textured. The coat color is generally grey, with regions of white and dark brown, even black. The face mask can have a black and grey coloration, and sometimes all white or white with tan (especially for females). The body structure is powerful and agile, displaying long legs (covered also with wavy hair) and small paws. The long shaped head shows black or dark-brown eyes, a sharp muzzle, and the ears are in the back of the head. The body ends in a furry or slim tail, but this depends on the grooming process.
Grooming
The Borzoi breed requires extra attention regarding the grooming. Brushing is required twice a week in order to remove the dead hair and to keep the fur silky and wavy. In the shedding period, they should be brushed once a day. While grooming, trim the toes hair and clip the nails if needed.
Health Facts
The Borzoi dogs have a lifespan of about 6-10 years. They can suffer from various health issues, including musculoskeletal problems (hip dysplasia, elbow problems, OCD), gastric torsion (bloating – the stomach becomes overstretched by excessive gas content), heart diseases (cardiac arhythmia – the heart beat may be too fast or too slow; cardiomyopathy – malfunction of the heart muscle), eye problems (progressive retinal atrophy). Regarding the feeding, there’s a controversy whether to feed the puppies in excess to force the growing or to use highly concentrated diets to make them grow unnaturally.
Temperament and Lifestyle
The Borzois are agile and athletic dogs, silent and independent. They are sensitive to human contact and gentled house pets. They behave well around elder children and they can adapt to any living environment quite easily and fast. They are built for speed and endurance, thus loving to take long runs and plenty of exercising. If kept in the backyard, you should place a high fence in the dog area. They have hunting behaviours (easily removed with a proper dog training) sometimes chasing other dogs and small pets around, trying to subdue and immobilize the “prey”. They can live with cats and other small pets if early introduced. With the right kind of training (either dog obedience training or dog agility training), done in the right period of life, you can observe the great intelligence and learning capability of this breed.
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- The Bernese Mountain Dog
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- The American Water Spaniel
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