Russian Hunting Sighthound

FCI 193 . Long-haired or fringed Sighthounds.

The Russian Hunting Sighthound or Borzoi, It is a breed of dog developed in Russia.
It descends from the Arabian greyhound being similar to a Russian sheepdog. Formerly known as the Russian Greyhound, It was originally bred to hunt wolves and hares. It is graceful, strong and fast, reaching a height of between 66 and 79 cm and a weight from 25 until 48 kg.

It has a long and narrow head, small ears. Its tail is long and stooped and his coat is silky and it can be smooth or slightly curly. It is almost always white with dark spots. It is notorious for its elegant appearance. The Russian Greyhound or Borzoi had its moment of greatest glory in the Court of the Tsars where it was bred with great mastery to be used in hunting the Siberian wolf..

It is a good Hunter of small animals, It is an affectionate and obedient dog with the master but, very distrustful with strangers, to the extent of showing aggression and even bite.

As all greyhounds, It also adapts to live in the House on condition of having large spaces where to move with great freedom.

Among all the Greyhound, the Borzoi is certainly the most “noble” both for its characteristics and for its gait.

It presumably descended from the Egyptian hound and there are no accurate data on its occurrence in Russia.

But he knows, by writings dated to the year 1200, It was already used for hunting Hare and other larger animals.

For centuries it has been the dog of the families of the nobility and of the tsars. You can say without a doubt, that the Grand Duke Nicholas he was the largest breeder of this breed and used to kennel around a hundred of these magnificent dogs.

The fall of the Tsars and the Russian nobility, was the cause of the almost total disappearance of this breed from its country of origin, However, It is quite widespread in Europe and America.

His first appearance in England took place about a century ago, when Tsar Alexander II gave him a pair of Borzoi to Queen Victoria.

Exists in all colors but the most appreciated are the white uniform, White with grey spots, Red and atigradas. Unlike other races, the white spots should not have very defined limits, but window gradually with the other colors. The hair is long, with silky reflections, corrugated and big curls. Smooth on the head, in the ears and in front of the extremities. You can be absolutely white, or white with yellow spots, Orange, red, atigradas, grey.

The appeal of the males is of 70 to 82 cm., in females it decreases approximately 5 cm..

• Alternative names: Borzoi / Russian Wolfhound / Russkaya Psovaya Borzaya / Psovoi / Russischer wondhund
• Group 10 / Section 1 – Long-haired or fringed Sighthounds

Dogs breeds: Russian Wolfhound