BORZOI BASICS

TEMPERAMENT

Borzoi temperament is rooted in the breed’s history as independent thinkers. To successfully course and dispatch game, borzoi need quick wits and confidence to make their own judgment calls rather than looking to their handler for every direction.

The prevailing myth that borzoi are untrainable or unintelligent likely emerged as a misunderstanding of the breed’s particular brand of intelligence. Borzoi are clever problem-solvers - sometimes too clever. They learn to cheat at lure coursing, and they know exactly how to get in the butter dish on your countertop. They may play dumb with you to get what they want. In fact, they play dumb and get goofy just for fun! They want to have fun with you.

Similarly, they want to know “what’s in it for them” when working in a training partnership. Finding what motivates your individual borzoi is key to winning their hearts and helping them develop their skills.

Borzoi can be more reserved or more outgoing, depending on the dog. They are typically fiercely bonded to their family and pack. They thrive on consistency and routine. Borzoi should not display unprovoked aggression to people or other dogs, and frankly do best in pairs or packs with other borzoi or sighthounds. Their prey drive is generally high, and in rare cases, predatory drift has occurred (typically described as when a borzoi sees another dog as prey). When socialized to them young, borzoi can often co-exist safely with indoor cats.

Because of their size, strength, and long history of being bred to catch and kill game, even the sweetest borzoi should still be considered capable of causing injury even on accident, and we do not recommend leaving them unsupervised with small animals or children. That said, they can be amazing with kids and great family dogs!

LET'S TALK ABOUT CONSENT

An emerging science in animal behavior is the concept of cooperative care and consent-based interactions to build confidence and comfort around invasive handling and procedures. Borzoi respond incredibly well to cooperative care techniques. Some borzoi may be sensitive to spatial or physical pressure, making physical handling and veterinary care challenging for some individuals. A consent-based interaction style can greatly reduce discomfort or anxiety around physical manipulation, and we recommend incorporating cooperative care into your routine with your borzoi as soon as you bring them home.

HEALTH

For a giant breed, borzoi are relatively healthy, with males living an average of 10-12 years, and females up to 14 years on average.

As recommended by the Borzoi Club of America’s OFA CHIC guidelines, borzoi used in breeding should always be health tested for eyes, hearts (including echocardiogram), thyroid, and DNA tested for Degenerative Myelopathy (DM). Sudden cardiac death is a concern found in most borzoi pedigrees, and is currently being studied at Texas A&M University. We recommend annual holter monitoring, including contributing data to this important study. Anyone with a borzoi can participate! This data is helpful for the whole breed and not isolated to breeding animals.

Borzoi owners should watch for signs of bloat (gastric dilatation and volvulus), as this is a common affliction for large, deep-chested breeds. Although this can happen to any dog, bloat has a genetic component and some borzoi lines are more affected than others.

EXERCISE

The exercise requirements of a borzoi puppy and an adult borzoi are drastically different. Borzoi puppies will nap a lot, but when they’re awake, they are whirlwinds who need a lot of access to free play and self-dictated exercise. They get their exercise needs met best by spending a lot of time with a similar size/age playmate. Those large, quickly growing bodies need to be kept engaged and working all of their muscle groups in order to develop to their optimal condition. Puppies do best with frequent short play sessions throughout the whole day rather than a condensed hour here or there. Access to a wide open, safely fenced area is recommended for play sessions. Sustained exercise or activities where puppies don’t set their own pace should be avoided.

We highly recommend Rezance Borzoi’s blog on Exercising a Borzoi Puppy, which discusses the importance of physical play on a borzoi’s structural development, and how to ensure your puppy is getting the right type and amount of exercise.

A mature borzoi will generally be much less active. Borzoi are couch potatoes who increase their lethargy with age. And yet, they will still want to sprint in open spaces and keep busy with either physical or mental enrichment. Borzoi truly are athletes, and even though they may be lazy at times, they will still need their bursts of activity. Borzoi are great hiking companions, can keep up with versatile activity levels, and can be accomplished in many sports, but nothing gives them the same joy as running freely over open terrain.

HOW BIG OF A YARD DO BORZOI NEED?

The bigger the better, however, with a little creativity, a number of yard configurations can work for borzoi. If you don’t have a large yard, what other safe open spaces do you have access to? With a game plan and dedication to frequent visits to such a space, you can meet a borzoi’s needs without your borzoi dream yard. It will not be as easy as meeting their needs when living on acreage, and will require more effort than many homes are willing to commit to. However, if you happen to be the person who can and will commit, we’re happy to discuss placing borzoi in homes without large yards.