Borzoi

Borzois vary widely in colour

Stated life expectancy is 10 to 12 years.[11][12] Median lifespan based on a UK Kennel Club survey is 9 years 1 month. 1 in 5 died of old age, at an average of 10 to 11.5 years. The longest lived dog lived to 14 years 3 months.[13] Dogs that are physically fit and vigorous in their youth through middle age are more vigorous and healthy as elderly dogs, all other factors being equal. In the UK, cancer and cardiac problems seem to be the most frequent causes of premature death.[14]

Like its native relative the Hortaya Borzaya, the Borzoi is relatively sound breed. OCD, hip and elbow dysplasia have remained almost unknown, as were congenital eye and heart diseases before the 1970s. However, in some countries modern breeding practices have introduced a few problems.

As with other very deep-chested breeds, gastric dilatation volvulus (also known as bloat) is the most common serious health problem in the borzoi. This life-threatening condition is believed to be anatomical rather than strictly genetic in origin. One common recommendation in the past has been to raise the food bowl of the dog when it eats. However, studies have shown that this may actually increase the risk of bloat.[15]

Less common are cardiac problems including cardiomyopathy and cardiac arrhythmia disorders. A controversy exists as to the presence of progressive retinal atrophy in the breed. A condition identified as borzoi retinopathy is seen in some individuals, usually active dogs, which differs from progressive retinal atrophy in several ways. First, it is unilateral, and rarely seen in animals less than three years of age; second, a clear-cut pattern of inheritance has not been demonstrated; and finally, most affected individuals do not go blind.

Borzoi is basically a very sound breed.

Correct nutrition during puppyhood is also debatable for Borzois. These dogs naturally experience enormous growth surges in the first year or two of their lives. It is now widely accepted that forcing even faster growth by feeding a highly concentrated, high-energy diet is dangerous for skeletal development, causing unsoundness and increased tendency to joint problems and injury. Being built primarily for speed, Borzois do not carry large amounts of body fat or muscle, and therefore have a rather different physiology to other dogs of similar size (such as the Newfoundland, St. Bernard, or Alaskan Malamute). Laboratory-formulated diets designed for a generic "large" or "giant" breed are unlikely to take the needs of the big sighthounds into account.

The issues involved in raw feeding may be particularly relevant to tall, streamlined breeds such as the Borzoi. The Hortaya Borzaya, a very close relative, is traditionally raised on a meager diet of oats and table scraps. The Hortaya is also said to be intolerant of highly concentrated kibble feeds. A lean body weight in itself is nothing to be concerned about, and force-feeding of healthy young borzoi is definitely not recommended.

Borzoi Flock DHSB 325, owned by Max Hartenstein, Berlin Germany, 1879

Wolf hunting with borzois (1904), Efim A. Tikhmenev.

The famous actress, Sarah Bernhardt, depicted with Borzoi, by Georges Clairin, French painter

The Borzoi originated in 17th Century Russia by crossing Arabian sighthounds with a thick-coated breed.[16]

The more modern Psovaya Borzaya was founded on Stepnaya, Hortaya and the Ukrainian-Polish version of the old Hort. There were also imports of Western sighthound breeds to add to the height and weight. It was crossed as well with the Russian Laika specifically and singularly to add resistance against Northern cold and a longer and thicker coat than the Southern sighthounds were equipped with.[17]

All of these foundation types—Tazi, Hortaya, Stepnaya, Krimskaya, and Hort—already possessed the instincts and agility necessary for hunting and bringing down wolves.

The Psovoi was popular with the Tsars before the 1917 revolution. For centuries, Psovoi could not be purchased but only given as gifts from the Tsar. Grand Duke Nicholas Nicolaievich of Russia bred countless Psovoi at Perchino, his private estate.[18]

The Russian concept of hunting trials was instituted during the era of the Tsars. As well as providing exciting sport, the tests were used for selecting Borzoi breeding stock; only the quickest and most intelligent hunting dogs went on to produce progeny. For the aristocracy these trials were a well-organized ceremony, sometimes going on for days, with the Borzois accompanied by mounted hunters and Foxhounds on the Russian steppe. Hares and other small game were by far the most numerous kills, but the hunters especially loved to test their dogs on wolf. If a wolf was sighted, the hunter would release a team of two or three Borzois. The dogs would pursue the wolf, attack its neck from both sides, and hold it until the hunter arrived. The classic kill was by the human hunter with a knife. Wolf trials are still a regular part of the hunting diploma for all Russian sightdog breeds of the relevant type, either singly or in pairs or trios, in their native country.

After the 1917 Revolution, wolf hunting with sighthounds has soon gone out of fashion as an "aristocratic" and a means- and -time-taking way of hunting. A necessity in a wolf-catching sighthound didn't exist, in addition to the old proved technique of battue with the use of baits, flags and other appeared new, way more effective—from airplanes, from propeller sleighs, with electronic lure whistles. For decades the generations of few remaining sighthounds were regarded as hunting-suited, when showing enough attacking initiative for fox hunting. The rumours about persecution of sighthounds in post-revolutionary Russia is a legend of modern times, possibly based on similar incidents in Maoist China.

In the late 1940s, a Soviet soldier named Constantin Esmont made detailed records of the various types of Borzoi he found in Cossack villages. Esmont's illustrations were recently published and can be viewed by clicking on the link below.

Esmont was concerned that the distinct types of borzaya were in danger of degenerating without a controlled system of breeding. He convinced the Soviet government that Borzois were a valuable asset to the hunters who supported the fur industry and henceforth, their breeding was officially regulated. To this day short-haired Hortaya Borzaya are highly valued hunting dogs on the steppes, while the long-haired Psovaya Borzaya, is going through a hard period of restoration of its working qualities after decades of shadow, mainly show existence.

Exports of Borzois to other countries were extremely rare during the Soviet era. However, enough had been taken to England, Scandinavia, Western Europe, and America in the late 19th century for the breed to establish itself outside its native country.

Borzoi portrait

• The Borzoi is the symbol of Alfred A. Knopf publishing house.
• Tasha, a female Borzoi belonging to the noted vet Buster Lloyd-Jones (founder of Denes natural pet foods), was born in the UK during the Second World War and is the pedigree ancestor of most British Borzoi bloodlines.[19]
• Ben was the white male Borzoi, beloved of Edward J. Smith, Captain of the Titanic. There exists a photo of the Captain and his dog outside his cabin on the ship. The dog was not, however, on the maiden voyage.
• Kolchak has been the mascot of the 27th Infantry Regiment since the Regiment participated in the Siberian Intervention. The 27th Infantry had been nicknamed "The Wolfhounds" in recognition of their endurance during battles in Siberia.

A Borzoi in the field with flowers

A female Borzoi

• Leo Tolstoy's 1869 novel War and Peace contains an extensive wolf hunting scene with Borzois in book 7, chapters 3 to 6.[20] The 1968 film version of the novel, War and Peace, contains a hunting scene with Borzois from the kennel of Ekhaga, Sweden.
• F. Scott Fitzgerald's second novel, The Beautiful and Damned (1922), contains a scene in which Gloria compares Anthony to a Russian wolfhound. Anthony decides to take this as a compliment: "Anthony remembered that they were white and always looked unnaturally hungry. But then they were usually photographed with dukes and princesses, so he was properly flattered."[21]
• George Bernard Shaw in his Everybody’s Political What’s What? (1944) wrote "The future of mankind belongs to its mongrels and not to its handsome but brainless Borzois."
• Ivan, one of the protagonists of the historical novel by the Cuban writer Leonardo Padura Fuentes, El hombre que amaba a los perros (The Man Who Loved Dogs), is the editor of a university journal of veterinary medicine, who manages to make a living during the Special Period in Cuba by helping people take care of their dogs. The novel alludes to Ivan's own dogs as well as to Borzoi dogs owned by Leon Trotsky and his assassin, Ramón Mercader.
• A Borzoi features prominently in a Music Hall revue in the short story Cousin Theresa by Saki (H.H.Munro).
• In the book The Romanov Prophecy (2004) by Steve Berry
• In the anime Kuroshitsuji (Japanese for Black Butler), Ciel Phantomhive as a child had a black Borzoi named Sebastian. He named the demon with which he made a Faustian contract after this dog.
• Uncle Zeke starred as "Digger" in the 2000 Disney film, 102 Dalmatians
• The Borzoi brothers, Rocket, Missile, and Jet in Ginga Densetsu Weed
• Boris in Walt Disney's 1955 film Lady and the Tramp
• Count in the 1991 animated film Rover Dangerfield
• D'or's Prince Igor owned by Barbara Todd (Zcerlov) and bred by Andre Legere appears in the 1969 film, Hello Dolly!
• When Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark arrive at the Capitol in the 2012 film The Hunger Games, a pair of pink Borzois are shown on screen—an illustration of the Capitol residents' gaudy lifestyle.[22]
• Borzois can also been seen in cameo roles in the films Love at First Bite, Legends of the Fall ("Notchee Boy"),[23] Excalibur, All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989), Bride of Frankenstein, Easter Parade, Wolfen, Ziegfeld Follies, Onegin (1999), Gangs of New York (2002), Chaplin, The Avengers (TV series), JAG, Maverick (1994), Sleepy Hollow, Last Action Hero, and A Knights Tale (on the DVD deleted scenes).
• "Mademoiselle Nobs" from Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii (1971) who "sings" a song with the band.[24][25]
• Lyndell Ackerman's "Nessie" CH Windyglens Finesse in the TV show Wings.
• In an SCTV parody commercial for fictional Poochare dog food, a borzoi dog is seen being taken for a walk by Eugene Levy.
• In episode 2 of the first season of the anime Medaka Box, one of the requests for the student council is to find a missing puppy, which turns out to be a Borzoi. It has grown quite large since it was lost. This also happens in the manga version.
• A Borzoi is one of the dogs to appear in the film Cats & Dogs. It is seen during the council session scene.
• In the game, The Arcana, there are two dogs, named Mercedes and Melchior, that are claimed to be pure white Borzois. They were accumulated when their owner, Lucio, was trying to find his familiar using magic.
• The breed is featured in Amor Towles’ novel A Gentleman in Moscow, notably in a scene where two Borzois create havoc in their unsuccessful attempt to corral the hotel cat in the lobby of a luxury hotel in Moscow.[26]

In 2004, the UK Kennel Club held its fourth temporary exhibition, "The Borzoi in Art," which offered unique insights into the Borzoi and how the breed has been depicted in art throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. The exhibition included paintings, bronzes, and porcelain which had previously not been available to the public. The exhibition ran from 27 September to 3 December. The Borzoi is frequently found in art deco-period works.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Borzoi.

• Borzoi at Curlie