The Borzoi Czar-studded Elegance

Sixty years ago full-page ads for Duesenberg motorcars featured an elegantly groomed woman and a proud borzoi standing next to a Duesenberg. The two-word caption that accompanied the ad declared: "She discriminates."

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.