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And so, by its reflection, does the borzoi. You could be styleless,
moneyless, beautyless, clueless and overweight; but if you're
escorted by a borzoi, you'll project inches taller and years
younger than you are, as well as pounds lighter and Krugerrands
richer. Borzois are the tony-colored glasses through which
we humans would like to be seen — and through which, in fact,
we often view ourselves. Smilin' is stylin' for sure when
you've got one of the defining symbols of the elegance and
opulence of czarist Russia on a lead. Borzoi, we are
told, is Russian for swift. In any language it also
means elegant, regal, gentle, fashionably reserved, gorgeous
to behold and status-enhancing.
A Sightly Wonder
Russians
used the term borzoi to refer to all greyhounds and
sight hounds — dogs that catch sight of and then chase their
prey, either dispatching it when they catch up to it or detaining
it until the hunter or huntress arrives. To accomplish these
duties borzois are built for speed. Long-distance legs, a
deep chest and an aerodynamic frame, partnered with a slightly
arched loin and powerful hindquarters, make the borzoi an
agile, powerful and swift hunter. Although borzoi is
used generically in Russia, in other parts of the world borzoi
is the name of a specific breed, one that was known as the
Russian wolfhound when it was first registered by the American
Kennel Club in 1891 — and is still called that by some people
even though the breed's name was officially changed to borzoi
in 1936.
The ancestors
of the modern-day borzoi were developed by members of the
Russian aristocracy early in this millennium for the purpose
of hunting small and large game, including hare, fox and wolf
— especially wolf because Russia has been all but overrun
by wolves at times in its history. Russian nobility so closely
identified with the borzoi that for centuries it was a gift
of high honor bestowed on members of other royal households.
Princess Anna, daughter of Yaroslav the Wise (1019-1054),
took three borzois with her when she traveled to France to
marry King Henry I in 1051.
In 1635,
von Lessing, who wrote and studied canine history, compiled
the first major treatise on borzois, The Manner of Hunting
With Dogs. Von Lessing, whose work remains creditable
to this day, claimed that the Russian borzoi had descended
from a combination of eastern and western sight hounds. The
eastern branch of these coursing hounds (dogs that hunt by
sight rather than scent) contributed the small, drawn-back
ears and the arched line of the borzoi's body while the sight
hounds of the east contributed a long, protective coat.
The More the Merrier
Wolf hunting
was tantamount to the national sport in Russia. Scores of
borzoi trios (comprising two males and a female) accompanied
the czars' hunting parties, which were also accompanied by
great pomp and grandeur. The magnitude of these events was
described in glittering detail in one scene of War and
Peace, wherein 20 mounted hunters and 100 dogs went surging
off in pursuit of wolf. A similar account can be found in
historical records indicating that Archduke Nicolai Nikolaevich
hunted with as many as 150 borzoi, 15 English greyhounds and
two packs of 120 scent hounds. Czar Peter II (1727-1730) kept
a pack of 200 coursing hounds, most of which were borzois.
Prince Somzonov of Smolensk, who called himself Russia's prime
huntsman, had 1,000 borzoi-dominated hounds in his kennel.
The borzoi's presence at splendiferous hunting events and
its enshrinement in aristocratic kennels ensured its embodiment
as a symbol for wealth, elegance and grand designs.
Borzois at an Exhibition
For most
of their long history borzois were valued for performance
alone. In 1650 a book of rules relating to hunting with borzois
indicated that crossbreeding among various strains of sight
hounds was commonly practiced. This same book, however, contained
the first standard for borzois; and where there is a standard,
there is, perforce, a motivation for breeding to it.
That motivation
appeared in the guise of dog shows in Russia, where borzoi
were exhibited in Moscow by 1824. Coincident with this pursuit,
breeders were no longer so enthusiastic about crossbreeding.
They were, instead, eager to produce dogs that could acquit
themselves equally well in the show ring and the hunt. As
a result the first society of borzoi fanciers was organized
in St. Petersburg in 1888.
Come the Revolution
Borzois
continued to thrive as hunters and show dogs until the Bolshevik
Revolution in 1917. Bolshevik means "majority men,"
and the majority of these revolutionaries turned against members
of the ruling elite and the dogs they rode to hunt with. Borzois,
which were guilty of nothing more than efficiency, loyalty
and beauty, were slaughtered in wholesale lots by "reformers"
who were conspicuously lacking those virtues. Were it not
for the borzoi's exportation to England, beginning in 1875;
to the United States, beginning not long thereafter and culminating
in the arrival of a number of champions shortly before World
War I; and to other countries as well, the sleek, swift, noble
dogs might have been eliminated. Indeed, their status in Russia
today is marginal at best.
Great Britain particularly embraced the borzoi, but having
no wolves to offer the mighty coursers, the British bestowed
on them instead a fawning appreciation of their ornamental
beauty. The breed, therefore, was reestablished not as a hunter
but as a work of art and a gentle companion. America took
to the borzoi for the same reasons, but despite its displacement
and its elevated status as a status symbol and high-profile
companion, the breed has never lost its hunting instincts.
Living with a Borzoi
The majesty
of the borzoi (many males stand nearly 3 feet at the shoulder
and weigh between 75 and 100 pounds, sometimes more) is deceptive
because the borzoi remains an agile hunter capable of amazing
speed. In fact, no responsible borzoi owner would walk his
or her dog off leash because the sight of a furry, little
creature flashing by ignites the thrill of the chase and the
afterburners for the borzoi. Once that happens, the concerned
borzoi owner can yell, "Come, Sergei, come!" until he or she
is Russian-red in the face; but as long as the prey is kept
in sight, the calls will fall on deaf, albeit gloriously windswept,
ears.
The long
punishing jaws of a borzoi can snatch up small and not-so-small
varmints both wild or domestic with lightning speed. This
mighty hunter requires a good amount of space in which to
exercise on a regular basis but never off leash in populated
areas that are not well-fenced.
Its out-of-sight
devotion to the chase notwithstanding, the borzoi has few
equals as a house dog. Extremely well-mannered and gentle,
the borzoi is seldom inclined to be boisterous and is, in
addition, fastidiously careful about household items. He is,
furthermore, for all his impressive and regal size, an easy
keeper. His moderate appetite won't eat you out of house and
dacha; and his coat, which comes in all colors, and ranges
from long and silky to coarse and curly, needs but moderate
attention: thorough brushing twice a week, perhaps a few snips
of the scissors around the anus and the eyes now and again
for hygienic purposes, periodic nail-trimming and the occasional
bath.
Socialization
is important to the proper education of a borzoi. Given its
druthers a borzoi would probably choose to stay home with
the family and have guests do their visiting by telephone
or e-mail. Still, if socialization is begun early in puppyhood
and continued as the dog matures, the borzoi will get along
just fine with both adults and children. The playpen set,
to be sure, is not the borzoi's cup of vodka; but as long
as the dog and child have grown up together with the proper
adult supervision, there is seldom a problem.
Do not
expect cocker-spaniel slavishness from a borzoi though. She
is not that kind of dog. A gentle pat on the head satisfies,
and the opportunity to sit beside her owner to assist in reading
the paper or listening to music is the average borzoi's notion
of intimacy. Not surprisingly, quiet people and quiet pleasures
are the borzoi's preference. All in all, life with a borzoi
is a serene, peaceful, discriminating experience — at least
until the two of you are out on a quiet jaunt and Garfield
the cat or Pepe the poodle goes dashing by.
Back
in the USSR
When borzoi
breeder Nadya Novikova of Leningrad visited the Majenkir Borzoi
Kennels in Swartswood, New Jersey, eight years ago, the occasion
was duly observed by The New York Times. "Mrs. Novikova
was amazed by the Majenkir kennel," said The Times.
"Sprawled on a hill above Swartswood Lake ... are a horse
stable and a barn as well as kennels housing 40 borzois, including
Arcticus, the winner of best of breed at last year's Westminster
dog show."
That kind of kennel does not exist in Leningrad, said Novikova.
Breeders in Leningrad raise their dogs in city apartments.
Novikova, for example, kept four borzois, which lived with
her and her sons, then 20 and 12 years old, in a tiny, four-room
Leningrad apartment. In lieu of kennel help, Novikova lived
on a meager salary she earned by delivering morning papers,
a job she took so that she could devote more time to her family
and her dogs.
Novikova also told The Times that she cooked for her
dogs from scratch. In Leningrad, she said, nothing came in
cans or cartons, and the meat ration was scarcely enough for
the family. Locating food for the dogs was a daily exercise
in resourcefulness that involved a network of friends, relatives
and fellow dog lovers.
Although borzoi are almost exclusively kept as companion animals
in the rest of the world, they are still primarily hunting
dogs in Russia, where they are trained to "catch and kill,
returning pelt and carcass intact to the owner." Thus, Novikova's
dogs "will attack any animal, including other dogs, and must
be handled carefully."
Novikova saw borzois for the first time in 1979 when she had
a glimpse of two from a bus window. Believing that the breed
had disappeared altogether from the Soviet Union, she got
off the bus, caught up with the dogs and their owner, and
eventually became a member of a borzoi club. Unlike the gentle
borzois in the United States, Novikova's dogs were, in her
own words, "nervous, excitable and emotional ... they fight,
fly into a passion."
Matters
of Some Course
Although
borzois are not prone to a multitude of genetic disorders,
one other condition weighs heavily on the breed, and that
is bloat. Given the extremely deep-bodied construction of
the borzoi, one is not surprised at the incidence of bloat
(also known as gastric torsion) in this breed. Bloat occurs
when gas accumulates in the stomach, forcing it to swell and
to twist until all the internal organs are constricted. The
abdominal cavity fills with bacterial toxin, and death is
guaranteed if intervention is not forthcoming immediately.
Both rapidly ingested food and strenuous exercise immediately
after eating are thought to cause bloat.
Genetic
diseases — though not encountered as frequently as bloat —
are known to affect borzois. These conditions are bone cancer,
heart problems, eye problems and hip dysplasia. Responsible
breeders choose their stock selectively to avoid these conditions.
The truly responsible have their dogs screened for eye problems
and hip dysplasia and can provide certificates from the Canine
Eye Registration Foundation (to certify that a puppy's parents
are free from eye difficulties), as well as from the Orthopedic
Foundation for Animals (to certify that those parents have
sound hips). Unless both parents of the puppy one is interested
in buying have their names of those kinds of certificates
-- which the puppy's breeder should be eager to produce --
prospective borzoi owners should be discriminating enough
to look elsewhere for a puppy.
Rick Beauchamp is a freelance writer who resides in
Cambria, California. He is author of numerous books on canine
breeds and is a judge licensed with the American Kennel Club
and the United Kennel Club.
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