A Brief History of Borzoi: Reasons Behind the Diversity of Types

This article was originally published in Showsight Magazine, September 2011 issue.

A Brief History of Borzoi: Reasons Behind the Diversity of Types

The Borzoi, a true aristocrat of the dog world, is a breed that holds enigmatic appeal for its fans and baffles many judges with its variety of types. This Russian aristocrat survived against many odds as the breed’s history paralleled the turmoils in its native land. By tracing the Borzoi’s ancestry, we can better understand its diversity and the importance placed on functionality.

Many breeds of sighthounds were used to develop the Borzoi. Throughout the breed’s history in old Russia, the main emphasis had always been placed on breeding a functional coursing hound, suited for hunting hare, fox, and wolf on more or less open terrain. As the hunting practices and conditions changed, so did the Borzoi in its finer and cosmetic points. However, the breed has always been prized for its sound running gear and unique ability for the brosok, Russian for “burst of speed.” Imagine a dog running at what you think is its absolute full speed while pursuing the game. As it gets closer, it seems that the dog shifts gears and, all of a sudden, there is an unexpected acceleration. That is the brosok, one of the most important selection criteria for the Borzoi in its native land.

The original Borzoi, or psovaya, as it has been called in Russia for centuries (literally, long-haired sighthound), was the result of crossbreeding the Saluki-type dogs and native Nordic wolf-like dogs (or laikas). The sighthounds were brought to Russia by the Mongols that invaded the country in the 13th century. The laikas had long legs, slightly arched backs, narrow erect ears, and tails that were straight and carried down. Those laikas served their masters in Russia as versatile hunters that used both sight and scent and coursed their game.

When bred to the sighthounds of the Golden Horde, the resulting crosses were effective hunting dogs marked by elegance, possessing erect or semi-pricked ears (which over generations turned into rose ears), thick coats, frills around their necks, and feathering on the backs of legs, body, and tail. The typical colors were grey or gold sables; most of the dogs were self-colored, though spotted dogs are mentioned as well in the old sources.

The original Borzoi had a definite curve to their topline, a compact format, a narrow but deep chest, a shorter neck, and hindquarters set under the dog when standing naturally. The breed was so exotic looking yet so effective in the combined hunts practiced in Russia that it soon became a sort of national treasure. Great speeds on short distances were required of the sighthounds in order to hunt in the small cleared fields and forest meadows of Russia, so brosok was selected for in the early Borzoi.

The Greyhound was brought to Russia in some numbers during the reign of Vasili III (1505-1533) and played a role in the Borzoi’s development early on. Also, it is well recorded that the Greyhound was added to the Borzoi stock again in the late 19th century. The brindle color in the Borzoi is undoubtedly the legacy of the Greyhound.

The Chart Polski, a Polish sighthound breed that exists to this day, had also been introduced to the early Borzoi gene pool. False Dmitry, the first imposter to the Russian throne during the Times of Trouble in the early 1600s, was an avid hunter. He surrounded himself with Polish nobles, who brought their sighthounds to the court.

The Borzoi (or, to use the Russian term psovaya) had several known varieties and stages of development. The original or ancient psovaya was the result of crossbreeding the sighthounds of the Mongols and local laikas. The chisto-psovaya, according to most sources, emerged after the original psovayas were bred to the Greyhounds and Chart Polskis. The chisto-psovaya were known for their lighter build, very deep briskets with a decent spring of rib, longer necks, elegant smaller heads with large eyes and joyful expressions, plush coats, and shorter but straight tails.

The chisto-psovayas were enthusiastic hunters that trotted in search of prey. They were best suited for short-distance pursuits and had a superb ability for the brosok. After the great Northern wars, gaining access to the Baltic Sea, and following the founding of St. Petersburg in 1703, Russia had developed closer ties to the Baltic region. Peter II, the grandson of the famous Peter the Great, was an avid hunter. At the time, the chisto-psovayas were crossbred to the Courland wirehaired sighthounds, or kloks.

The kloks were bred by the German nobles residing in Courland, a Baltic region of present-day western Latvia. The kloks were massive, tall, shorter on leg, and had curly soft coats all over their bodies, heads, and legs. Their tails were sickle-shaped. Russian hunters of the time were very impressed by the size, width, strength, and fierceness of these impressive hounds, although their speed was inferior to that of the Borzoi.

The result of the systematic crosses was a new breed that emerged in the 1750s named “Courland Long-Coated Sighthound.” These new dogs had a short coat on the head, fronts of legs, and tail, but a profuse and very curly coat on the body. The Courland Long-Coated Sighthounds were somewhat awkward, shorter on the leg, and generally inferior to Borzoi in overall appearance and speed.

So, it was only natural for the Russian breeders to continue crossbreeding them with their psovayas (Borzoi). Eventually, that led to a complete disappearance of the Courland sighthounds and the emergence of the gusto-psovaya. The gusto-psovaya, which literally means “thick-haired sighthound,” represents the next stage of the Borzoi’s development. The gusto-psovayas were considered a rare and highly valued breed in the early 1800s.

They were tall and wide dogs with thick, curly, and long coats furnished by profuse, wavy, or curly feathering. The gusto-psovayas had very high-set small ears and beautiful chiseled narrow heads with excellent veining. The rise to their topline began closer to the shoulders in males, whereas the bitches had flatter backs, though their toplines never sagged. The typical colors were grey and gold sables, and all shades of gold, and they came in self-colored and spotted varieties. The gusto-psovayas had a supreme ability to accelerate on short-distance pursuits.

By the 1830s, due to the deforestation of Russia, hunting practices were slowly changing. The Russian breeders were beginning to be dissatisfied with the gusto-psovaya’s inability to pursue game on long distances. So, the drop-eared sighthound breeds, which were brought into the country after the Russo-Turkish War of the late 1700s, were to play a central role in the further development of the Borzoi. The Mountain sighthounds, or gorskayas, were the ultimate answer to the gusto-psovaya’s shortcomings.

The Mountain sighthounds were both fast and had great stamina. They were beautiful, elegant, graceful, and well-proportioned dogs. They had a slight rise to their topline and were longer in the body. They had gorgeous chiseled heads with a marked seam, prominent eyebrows, and occiput. Their beautiful eyes were coal-black. The ribs had both good spring and depth of brisket. The Mountain Sighthounds were known for their good tuck-ups, sickle-shaped or ringed tails, and short coats with feathering on ears, tail, and rear legs. The Mountain Sighthounds are thought to be the ones that brought the black and tan pattern into the Borzoi.

Another breed that was brought to Russia around the same time was the Crimean Sighthounds (krymka). They were much like the Mountain Sighthounds, except coarser. The Crimean Sighthounds had amazing stamina and good speed on long distances. However, they lacked the elegance of the Mountain sighthounds. They had smaller heads, level or sagging toplines, ring tails, great spring of rib, but shallower brisket.

So, when the drop-eared sighthounds arrived in Russia, a sort of frenzy began among the breeders, who started crossbreeding Mountain Sighthounds, as well as Crimean sight-hounds with the gusto-psovayas. By the 1860s, all Borzoi in Russia had Mountain or Crimean sighthounds in their pedigrees. The gusto-psovaya type was lost in its pure form. The Borzoi gained more stamina but, unfortunately, many exhibited looser ear sets and ring tails.

Another Russian sighthound breed, which had already been in existence then and exists to this day, is the Hortaya Sighthound, or, simply put, the shorthaired Borzoi. The Hortaya was the result of crossbreeding the chisto-psovaya back to Chart Polski and the Greyhound again.

With the abolition of serfdom in 1861, most landowners in Russia could no longer afford to keep large kennels, some of which housed up to 400 dogs. The number of old kennels was staggering, as most self-respecting landowners in Russia hunted with sighthounds. There were many distinct lines of Borzoi. After 1861, the breeders could no longer keep different lines and varieties of sighthounds. The result proved rather disastrous for the breeds. Basically, all varieties and/or breeds of sighthounds (Chisto-psovayas, Gusto-psovayas, Mountain, Crimean, and sometimes even hortayas sighthounds) were consolidated and crossbred rather carelessly. Many excellent lines of Borzoi were lost altogether.

At the first Imperial Hunting Society dog show in 1874, not a single gusto-psovaya, which then was considered the purebred Borzoi of the old type, was present. The members of the Imperial Society agreed that no more drop-eared sighthounds should be mixed with their beloved native breed. The fanciers concentrated their efforts on making the breed more uniform and started bringing back the breed’s lost features while holding on to some positive traits acquired from the Mountain and Crimean sighthounds. They put the beginning of the modern psovaya, or as we call it, the Borzoi.

By 1888, the first standard for the modern Borzoi was written by Nikolai Petrovich Ermolov, an undisputed authority on the breed, whose family bred Borzoi for over 200 years. The members of the Imperial Society accepted the standard and used it as a guide to bring the breed to a more uniform state.

The Perchino kennel of the Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, the Tsar’s uncle, was instrumental in the process. They had bred many truly remarkable Borzois in the early 20th century. The Grand Duke was able to achieve results because of the enormous resources that were used in his breeding operation. The kennel manager, Dmitry Valtsev, would later write a book, The Perchino Hunt, that has been translated into English and should be required reading for all Borzoi enthusiasts.

The Grand Duke was able to acquire the best breeding stock of functional Borzoi from the most distinguished Borzoi breeders. He then selected for the cosmetic features that were typical of the original Borzoi before the addition of the Mountain and Crimean Sighthounds, but at the same time kept the positive influence of those breeds. Mr. Valtsev led a very sophisticated breeding program, at the center of which he placed the dog’s hunting abilities and breed type.

So, in addition to breeding structurally sound animals that had the ability for the brosok (an original Borzoi feature) as well as the bonus ability for long-distance pursuits (inherited from the Mountain Sighthounds), in an attempt to bring back the original Borzoi, the Perchino dogs were also selected for such beautiful cosmetic features as overall elegance, nice heads with veining, dark eyes, high ear sets, hare feet, good straight tails, and proper silky coat texture with profuse feathering.

The process of bringing the breed back to a uniform state had not been completed by the time the Russian Empire was nearing the beginning of its end, first marked by the 1905 revolution, then its involvement in WWI and, finally, the 1917 Bolshevik revolution that devastated the country and nearly destroyed the Borzoi breed in its native land. Approximately 150 Borzoi exported from Russia are behind all the current dogs. The variety of type exists to this day, and one can see the different cosmetic features of the Borzoi’s ancestors in the dogs of today.

However, presently, few hunt with Borzoi, and it takes a truly experienced and dedicated breeder to understand and ensure the continuation of the functional sighthound, which was an absolute priority for all breeders of old times.