The Borzoi - The Russian Wolf Hound

The American Kennel Club description of the Borzoi is beautiful, "The Borzoi should always posses unmistakable elegance. With flowing lines, graceful in motion or repose. Males, masculine without coarseness; bitches, feminine and refined." I could almost end the article right here, because that just about explains the Borzoi, I do not think that there is any other dog that has such a sense of royalty and gracefulness about him as the Borzoi does. I guess that is not to surprising considering the fact that the Russian Czars kept these dogs for hundreds of years as prized hunting dogs. When there were Borzois in a Russian Czars’ kennel they were never sold, just given as the rare gift every now and then.

It is thought that the Russian Wolf hound (as the Borzoi is also called) came about from crossing the Arab Greyhound with a large heavy coated Russian hound breed, and that through some selective breeding they came up with the Borzoi…this is for the most part speculation, there is no actual proof showing that it happened that way.

When the Russian Czars went on a hunt, they could have a pack of a hundred or more Borzois, twenty or more hunters, usually on horseback, and their favorite game was the Russian wolf. To say the least, I think that the odds were stacked against the poor wolf that happened to be in their way.

The Borzoi went nearly extinct after the Russian revolution, people hated the dog because he had come to symbolize the very people that they were trying to get rid of, thousands of the Borzoi were killed and some nobleman decided that it would be easier on the dogs if they were shot by their owners rather then let the mobs get a hold of them and torture them to death.

It was the Borzoi that lived out in the country that eventually saved the breed, a certain soldier realized the great hunting abilities of the dog and the fact that he was part of the Russian heritage, and after a while, he was able to convince the government to put in place some breeding programs to preserve the breed. The Russian Wolf hound was saved…exports of the Russian Wolf hound were rare during that time but still enough dogs made it to Europe and America to firmly establish themselves in the outside world.

The Russian Wolf Hound is a tall dog that can be up to 29 inches at the shoulder and they can weigh up to one hundred pounds, their coat is usually long haired and it can come in almost any color, the usual color is white with spots, the hair can be wavy, silky, strait or curly, so take your pick. The coat does require some maintenance, it is recommended that the coat of the Borzoi be brushed for about five minutes every day, this not only keeps the coat in top condition it also makes sure that any mats that are starting to form are taken care of before they become a problem, that requires scissors and other undesirable stuff.

The Borzoi can be difficult to train, not from a lack of intelligence, but form to much intelligence! If the training is repetitive the Borzoi will become bored and stubborn, and basically refuse to learn anything more for that session. It has been reported that play training is very acceptable to the Borzoi, they evidently love it and it will bring a much better response then the traditional style of training.

The Borzoi is a quite dog in the house, if he does not have a nice soft bed of his own, then he will take over the furniture. They are huge lap dogs and are not to be trusted as guard dogs, because they have very little territorial instinct and their adults are almost mute, meaning they do not bark…hardly at all.

They do need a big yard for exercising, a big yard with a big fence around it, because if they see something that they consider to be game, they will chase it. Early socialization is essential with this breed because they can become nervous and easily frightened if they have been locked in the house their whole life.

The Borzoi is a beautiful dog that will make any owner proud!