Marina, I have refused from buying Russian Borzoi at one time due to the thought that the dog would need enormous amount of running exercise. Is it true?

No. It's very simple, hunting is a seasonal business, dogs are taken out to the fields only in Autumns, prior to that they have to go through a little training. The rest of the year is very quiet and there is no need to spend any more time exercising Russian Borzoi than, let's say, Collie. Personally, I have noticed that Russian Borzoi likes to spend more time lying down than any other breed. We also keep Mops and Bullterrier, so they move around constantly following the owner. Borzoi on the other hand may not get up for 23 hours in a day, and even may not raise it's head up upon owner's return home. If you try to remove the sofa from under the dog, then may be it will move (-she laughs-). Russian Borzoi are extremely intelligent, calm and self-assured dogs. They never bark, neither do they guard, since they are not meant to do it.

Russian Borzoi have always been associated with lots of money, aristocratic families, wealthy capitalists, and, of course, their favorite hobby - hunting. Please tell us a little more about that period of Borzoi's history.

The breed takes the start centuries ago. However, it had been fully developed only in the second half of the 19th century. Russian noblemen loved to hunt, they united into so-called Emperor Society and started serious breeding of Russian Borzois for the hunting seasons. In those distant years the most famous Russian breeders were organizing Borzoi dog shows, exchanging the best of dogs' offspring. Every landlord with sufficient expanse of land tried to develop his own standard of Borzoi, which caused many breed standards to appear in those time. Pure breeding of Borzoi dogs began in 1888 when Count Ermolov made his first description of purebred Borzoi dog. However, the largest breeding work has been completed at the estate of Grand Duke Nicolay Nicolaevich Romanov by himself and his devoted servants.

But tell us, Marina, is it still necessary in our present days for Russian Borzois to hunt?

No, not at all. However that doesn't mean that present day dogs cannot hunt any more. Many dogs still go through special training for hunting purposes and there are still many hunters eager to use the help of special dogs. One of my sires - Aldebaran De Nobelle Veltrus - was born in Italy, neither his grandparents nor his great grandparent had ever witnessed a hunt in their entire lives, but when I took my Aldebaran to the field he "knew" what he was born for! Now he has several diplomas in hunting hare and fox.

In old time the most prestige was the hunting for "the red animal" - wolf or fox. To catch a wolf the dog had to be large, muscular and angry hunter. At the same time if the dog was too large, it would loose it's flexibility and miss the animal. Russian Borzoi has to be perfectly shaped, be very powerful, flexible and at the same time light. Another Borzoi's quality is a unique jump-attack during the chase, when one dog suddenly separates from the rest of the herd while the rest of the herd comes to a sudden halt letting this particular dog finish the chase. This is very unique quality.

Interview by Elena Pavlova
Translated from original by the Webmaster