Radost Borzoi kennel is located at Bill and Lynda’s personal ranch, “Ruby Seitz (DBA),” on just shy of 35 acres in Northeastern Nevada’s beautiful region of the Ruby Mountains.
My dad, mom, and I have been breeding Golden Retrievers since the late 1960s, and then, I mentally started looking into Borzoi in 1980, thus acquiring my first Borzoi in January 1997. A dear friend/mentor/breeder, Barbara Binder, Borzoi del Viento, asked me to co-breed a litter with her in January of 2003, thus producing our first litter on March 07, 2003, the famous Gold Rush litter, and continuing on with other friends/breeders to produce more famous and well-known litters.
Our kennel name is Radost Borzoi. In August 2010, the American Kennel Club registered our kennel name “RADOST®.” (We renew every five years with AKC.)
We currently have seven Borzoi residing here. “Adele” and “Sammy” are two that we bred almost 14 years ago… they are still with us, going strong. “Izzy” and “Fane” are their dam and sire! “Eve” is going on 12 years young. She is “Winn’s” daughter. “Mason” is going on 10 years young. “Dicah” is our only intact female. She is 4.5 years young and is Winn’s great-granddaughter. And our two brothers who just turned 18 months old, “Droamo” and “Tyrion,” are Winn’s great-grandsons!
Our facilities for our babies is incorporated into our home. We house our elderly in our home on raised beds, and puppies are in the attached building to our home. They have raised beds, and access inside and out with dog doors that can accommodate -20 degree conditions. There is an outside day yard for adults and puppies… then a big performance yard, all 6 ft. high farm fence with drilling pipe metal posts. We have 3 ft. deep cemented barriers around the perimeter of the performance yard.
Our puppies are whelped in a whelping room with a dog door so that momma is able to go in and out into a fenced 6 ft. day yard. We use a top-end Jonart extra-large whelping box with side hog rails for the convenience of the dam and for us to be able to lay down with them all. The vets at Elko Veterinary Clinic are on-call in case of an emergency. Weighing and medical supplies are all on-hand, and in case any of us has to nurse the babies… bottles and supplies are available and ready. There is a handy “door” affixed to the whelping box, so when the pups’ eyes are opened and they are ready to venture out of the whelping box, they can; however, they are enclosed back into the whelping box at nighttime.
We are with the babies almost on a 24-hour basis for the first week. An on-call vet comes to check the babies and administer the first sets of shots and check-ups. We stay in the kennel area; we have a bedroom and the kennel has its own laundry area and kitchen area, complete with dishwasher. There is a heating/air-conditioning unit in the kennel. The whelping box bedding is rubber-backed sheep shear and cotton waterproof bed mats. We usually do laundry quite a lot throughout the day.
When they are three weeks old, puppies are raised starting off with an organic home-cooked base and grass-fed beef, gently cooked. They keep on this diet, adjusted as they grow. They are driven to the vet clinic at eight weeks of age and start outings. Socialization is very important. We usually have relatives with young children come to play with the babies, and West Paw toys with organic treats are a must to promote play and bonding. Basic Obedience training begins and Conformation stands are taught. After four months of age, five months… after rabies shots, we go to Obedience training to allow pups to socialize with other breeds and to get them to learn the basics of both Obedience and Conformation. Playing with “lure” toys promotes what our breed was bred for.
We do puppy socialization testing and have them chase lure toys to see if they have the drive to chase. We check for shyness, aggressiveness, boldness, assertiveness, and loving, caring babies. Food aggressiveness is a big one. If a pup is very aggressive, we see if they will respond to positive correction. We try to always promote positive corrections if needed.
Yes, we try to get puppies out at six months of age with Conformation classes. We do promote CGC Testing and Basic Obedience, also Agility training and events. We do not get puppies into performance running events until they are around 18 months of age.
Our adult dogs do Conformation, Lure Coursing, Rally, and Agility, when available.
Yes, that is what our breed was bred for.
It is so important to “condition” our babies after the age of 18 months old. Before then, they have access to a performance yard and our acreage. We go on long walks and get to venture outdoors. Adult dogs, we road work. I usually road work our adults 3-5 miles a day for 3-5 days a week. They also have access to the performance yard, which is 250 ft. x 125 ft.
Concerns include bloat, osteosarcoma, and DM. We do special nutritional diets for our babies, not that they need it; we just want to provide the best diet we can for them.
I do, and I pray that it will continue to be so.
Absolutely! We try to raise our Borzoi to be first and foremost family companions. It is so important to find just the right homes for them. I am sorry, but we do ask lots of questions in regards to care, environment, diet, vet care, and most importantly, secure yards and home life. We ask to see photos of the homes to be and we also request a signed vet letter stating that they know how to care for a sighthound and, hopefully, a Borzoi!
The biggest misconception is that they were bred to hunt and kill. Yes, they were bred to hunt and take down prey, but it is up to the owner to allow them to kill their prey. The best-kept secret… Borzoi are highly intelligent. They CAN reason!
Borzoi come in all shapes, sizes, and colors… read the Standard and stay true to the Standard. If they are balanced and move effortlessly, they meet the height requirements and structure requirements, so then they should not be penalized if they are too big or seem too small, as long as they are balanced and move effortlessly like the Standard states. Make sure that their down and back is true… no toeing in or elbowing out… and not knitting in the back legs.
Always remember… there were prior breeders who helped to mold your selected pedigree. Give gratitude to them. Recognize them for their efforts in trying to do the best they can. Do as much research and health testing as possible, and to me, I feel that if I breed a litter, they are mine for life. If ever an owner wishes to return them, they are always welcomed back to our home or we will try to assist the owner to find another home for them. AND we, as breeders, need to realize that it is the new owner who will care, condition, love, and provide for our babies. We have to recognize them also.
This is one of many stories, but it will show you the intelligence of a Borzoi.
A dear friend of mine and I co-owned a canine/feline store, and one night we were closing up the store. My girls would come with me to work and stay in the store with me for people to meet and greet them. They did not come every night, but most. Anyway, one of my favorite brood bitches would watch me do all sorts of things. One night, my “Izzy” was placed in the van and told that I would be out shortly after we’d closed the store. Well, my partner and I got caught up chatting, rather than closing the store, and Izzy proceeded to jump into the front set and turn my headlights on as if to say, “Mom, time to go!”
I stated to my partner that Izzy had turned the lights on and we both laughed, and then we proceeded to finish our conversation… ah, not good enough for Izzy. I do not know how she knew where the high beams were, but all of a sudden she was flashing the headlights at us! Thank goodness my partner was there or no one would have believed she was doing this! Hahahaha! Smart girly girl. There are many more stories I could share of the Borzoi intelligence and their reasoning abilities.
The best way to ensure a long and happy relationship with a purebred dog is to purchase one from a responsible breeder. Not sure where to begin finding a breeder?
Contact the National Parent Club’s Breeder Referral person, which you can find on the AKC Breeder Referral Contacts page.
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