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Borzois- Looking For First-Hand Advice


weebird

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I am from west coast Canada, can you recommend any respected and reputable borzoi breeders somewhere in my area? Can be US or Canada. I do have a list of breeders but I don't know where to start. I want to make sure that the puppy is bread not only for their looks but also for their temperament and their health. I've never bought a dog from a breeder before, we only had rescues, so I have zero experience with any kind of breeders.

 

Contact the national breed club for reputable breeder recommendations and go from there. There is also a national rescue group. Let them know if you are looking for an adult that needs to be re-homed and/or retired adult or a puppy. Be open and honest when talking to the breeder. They want to be sure that people are a good match for their dogs and visa versa. For Borzoi, make sure that your breeder can provide results for you from the following genetic health tests: ophthalmologist evaluation, thyroid evaluation, cardiac exam, and a degenerative myelopathy DNA test. Also, talk to your breeder about temperament. I have personally met, interacted with, and/or had in my home more than a few sharp Borzoi. The breed is not supposed to be sharp so be sure that the breeder has information and is willing to openly discuss their lines.

Edited by GreytHoundPoet
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Thank, I'll make sure I'll ask about all those things. I did contact both canadian and american borzoi clubs to and got a list of recommended breeders, now I just need to find the best fit. We really do want a puppy this time, and thank you for nentioning the sharpness. We definitely don't want that.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

https://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/31915160

 

Sighthound Underground has a 'zoi right now, if you're interested in something other than a puppy...

 

LOVE 'zois!!

Thank you, we really would like a puppy this time. But I see that the boy in the link is in his forever home now, which is great :beatheart

I believe I got Niki from The National Borzoi Rescue. She was about two. Great dog. A little more shy than most. But certainly not a spook. She has been a great fit with all the dogs. Littles and greys!

 

Do you have a picture of her? would love to see her =)

Edited by weebird

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  • 2 years later...

Im very late reply, but we have a borzoi puppy. His names Milashka and hes only 9 months. We live in an apartment so hes essentially litter trained. And i work from home so i cant help in that department. But the shedding in the summer is ridiculous. It gets everywhere. With brushing its tough, they are very dramatic and thin skinned dogs and dont tend to take well to certain types of brushes. Milashka will scream and bite the brush since it seems too painful for him. Hes just starting to hit his rebellious teenage years to say. But its just a case of being more careful and keeping an eye on him more. They are very stubborn but training is definitely possible with a lot of treats! Milashka will pretend you dont exist unless theres treats involved. He can sit, stay, wait, lay down, paw, high five, spin, up, down and he sits and waits to cross the road and the same before he get his food. If you drop food he wont get unless you tell him to. We put treats on his paws when hes laying down and we can leave the room and come back and still wouldnt have eaten it unless we said to. But all of this came with time and effort. I can only imagine how difficult this would be if i was out of the house for more than  4/5 hours of the day. We've found that teeth will be fine if kept on top of! We started brushing and training ours when we git gim him home and we can brush his teeth fine. A vet told us once that a dogs teeth should be brushed at least once a week since 70% of dogs will have some sort of gum/teeth disease by the time theyre 2 yo. If brushing is bad we put dog toothpaste on chew toys, and regularly give him Whimzees. Again we started training ours from the day we bought him home and worked hard on recall. We even bought a 30ft long lead to work on recall from a long distance. At 9 months we can now have him off lead regularly. He plays fetch and runs and walks next to us nicely off lead for at least 30 mins. He recalls better off lead sometimes and is better at meeting other dogs off lead since he tends to freak out at the lead when he gets scared. It took a lot of work but we let him off lead from around 12 weeks old so he was used to it. At that age he was too scared to leave our side too far so has always learnt to stick near us most of the time anyway. Now he is in his teenage phase he doesnt wonder off more so i have had him on lead more recently. Our bigeest off lead battle with him was actually people! Milashka is very smart and can pick up energy very quickly. People often mistake him for an adult dog since he is so big, (29" at the shoulder, 9months old) so when he barks or is running around, people often judge and put their dogs on lead or even walk the other way! Since milashka picks up on this it puts him on edge and he tends to misbehave more. When people arent familiar with sighthounds, or borzois in general, they can be quite uncomfortable to see due to there size and stubborness and mind of their own. So we put Milashka on lead when people are around to make things simple and keep everyones minds at ease. Until we have said hello and explained that hes a pup, and made sure their dogs are friendly then we let him off again. He is regularly off in non fenced areas but we find that if he runs off, and you walk towards him, he takes that as a go ahead to keep going. If we walk away and call him from a distance he soon learns we are leaving, and that we arent interested in what he is, and oftwn comes back quite quickly. Obviously all dogs are different as are situations, but this has worked for us. He is quite well trained and other sighthound owners have often complimented us on how well he is doing. But no sighthound owners often dont get it and he looks unruly. We found crate training didnt work since milashka absolutly hates being restrained. He is a very free spirit and loves to be free and relaxed, however when over excited, for example when we take him to the vets. We must take the most interesting treats we have to keep him focused otherwise training goes out the window and he is too excited. We have had issues puppy proofing, we covered bookshelves with blankets and put everything in the kitchen we he isnt aloud. But he grows so quickly before we knew it hes as tall as me. When on his hind legs his head it 5"8. When outstretched laying down, front paw to back paw he is bigger than our bed. So over 6 foot. As a rule of thumb we say if we can reach it so can he. So loose items go in cupboards now. He is big for a 9 month old and still has more to go so be wary. Milashkas is very good with food. Will never take food unless you tell him to. If you drop a peice of food he wont touch it unless you say. If he has a bone to chew on, you can take it off him no problems. Same with toys. He will sit and wait until you put his bowl down and will wait even still until you tell him to go and get it. He will however eat anything that isnt edible if its on the floor. Hes eaten tennis balls whole, sticks, poo bags, just general balls of his own hair. He will lap up anything off the ground so thats one thing we have to watch when out and about with him since he has eaten sweets and chocolates that kids have thrown on the ground outside on walks. 

All in all borzois are lovely companions and great cuddle buddies. But in my opinion you have to have the time when they are young to break bad habits esrly. I cant imagine whay Milashka would be like if i was out of the house regularly. 

 

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