Borzoi

[ACavalierDream]

Does anyone have one and could tell me what their personalities/maintenance is like and how hard it would be to find a puppy? Could they be happy in London by large commons and Richmond or would we have a Fenton accident.

I have had a whippet and an Italian greyhound. How do they compare?

I will contact the club but I would like to know more about them.

I don't own one, but am a lurcher owner and frequently meet someone locally who has two Borzois. They are gorgeous, but huge and I know the ones I meet never go off lead as they have a very strong prey drive and can be an awfully long way away very quickly. Their owner describes them as totally willfull, and they don't give two hoots about their owners wishes.
I just checked, and only 90 borzois are registered in the UK each year, so I imagine they are going to be tough to get especially from a non show home.
From rather small dogs, what is attracting you to a borzoi?

I can't say that I know much about the Borzoi except that they are such elegant dogs but I am intrigued to know what a Fenton accident might be.

Aren't they so beautiful? Google: Fenton Richmond park and look at it on You Tube. I watch it any time I need a good laugh.

Thank you for getting back to me. Basically, I have fallen in love with sighthounds and do not want anything else. I adore whippets and Italian greyhounds but they have fallen prey to TikTok and insta so they are going the way of cockers and cavaliers with too many people wanting one. I saw 3 Italians in Covent Garden at the weekend, all tiny and spindly (in stupid coats), they are not meant to be like that. People say they are prone to leg breaking but that is only due to poor breeding. A good one is a hardy thing (unless it rains). I am looking for another one either whippet or Italian but I have opened a Pandora box of questionable breeders and really struggling to access the show breed type. So it got me thinking of opening my research to lesser known sighthounds. The wilfulness (I call it haughtiness) of the whippet and Italian seems to be a sighthound treat, which I really like. I find it delightful. But the issue is that I live in London, not far from Richmond and I suspect any sighthound bigger than a whippet is going to be an issue.

My friend has two and they are great. They are quite snoozy beasts.

Large lurcher?
We have 2 slightly larger than whippet size. And a deerhound /saluki cross who's nose grazes tea table height....

Look up silken windhounds. Just wow op!! Only just heard of them recently..

I have nothing useful to add but I do love Borzoi’s, it brings me joy to see them out and about but I don’t see them much nowadays for some reason. Thanks for the Fenton throwback, it’s been a while since my mind recalled that classic.

The name alone conjures up such whimsy!

My friend had one. He could bounce a vertical take-off over an 8 foot fence. Specialist dogs, in my view.

Ahah will look them up. Thanks

Good grief. Sounds like you need to leave on an estate for a dog like that.

It doesn’t get old.

I think wilfullness and haughtiness are different things tbh. Salukis are often accused of being haughty as unless you are their chosen person they don't greet you like other dogs express affection. But that's different to the 'and what's in it for me, nah thanks then' attitude to being asked to do things.
But anyway, if you want to have off lead dogs in public, then I'd very much agree that where you are isn't compatible with a 30mph+ dog. I live in an area with deer, and although my lurchers are pretty reliable there is something about the boingy running of a deer which is highly desirable.
If I was going to have a sighthound of an actual breed rather than the Heinz57 nature of lurchers, I'd have a saluki. They are arseholes, but very gorgeous

Then maybe they are both willfully and haughty 😂. My whippet was very good a judgmental side eyes. I swear she used to sigh when made to do something.

What makes a Saluki an arsehole? 😁

I am liking the idea of a silken windhound. It looks like a hairy whippet or small Saluki. Do you know anything another them?

A deerhound is a dream I have parked, along with Irish wolfhound and now borzoi… and a regular greyhound. I think only a whippet or an Italian can be in London off lead.

Fennnnnnntonnnnn

I have a saluki borzoi X rescue and he’s the most adorable, loving couch potato I’ve ever had. He has the zoomies a couple of times a day and we also walk miles in the morning but other than that he just wants ear scratches.

Have a look at podencos.
You just dont see borzoi puppies. I agree that they are just amazing looking dogs.
I have a podenco that looks like some sort of jackal or african hunting dog. She is such an affectionate funny goofy dog.

Nothing useful to add, but I presume you already know of cleolonglegs on Instagram, OP? If not, I think it would be right up your alley.

They look lovely but I am after a more long dog look if you see what I mean. A long snout with judging side eyes. 😂

I did not know that one! Thank you!

Sadly I would advise against a Borzoi for the same reason I never will own a Saluki.

What's the point in owning such a beautiful dog if you are unable to watch it gracefully run at top speed across open countryside....

Nothing to add other than that Fenton video made me really chuckle.

There is a bloke with a Border Collie called Colin near us. He's an older chap bless him and he lives right opposite the farmers fields we sometimes walk through. Colin doesn't listen to a single thing he's being told and probably really shouldn't be off lead. But you know he's coming as you can hear the poor fella shouting COLIN at the top of his lungs 🤦🏻‍♀️

I agree. I think it was wishful thinking on my part. My whippet was off the lead on the commons in London and in Richmond and got to run full speed BUT we had to make sure there were no deers in sight. She never attacked any dogs but she loved to fly pass some dogs and it could scare people. The Italian one just amuses people when she goes full speed but the power is nowhere near what the whippet could do.

I will play the euromillion and have a pack of borzoi to decimate the deer population on my large estate.