Borzoi
A very tall Russian sighthound bred by the aristocracy to course wolves. Calm and quiet indoors, but the sheer height reshapes how you use a home, and the deep chest carries a serious bloat risk.
- Weight
- 27–48 kg
- Lifespan
- 9–14 years
Weight and lifespan are reference ranges from the breed guide. They vary by sex, lineage and individual dog and do not predict your dog’s ideal weight or lifespan. Read the care descriptions alongside the individual dog’s history.
Background and characteristics
The Borzoi was developed in Russia for aristocratic wolf coursing, working in pairs or threes to run a wolf down and hold it until the hunters arrived. That job required both speed and substance, and the name itself derives from the Russian word for swift. Adults commonly stand over seventy-five centimetres at the shoulder, and weight varies widely by sex, from around twenty-seven kilos in some females to close to fifty in large males.
Temperament and living together
Temperament is generally quiet and dignified. Borzoi bark little, are polite rather than effusive with strangers, and spend much of the day stretched out in a chosen spot. Training is where the sighthound shows: repetition bores them, and movement in the visual field outranks your voice every time.
Cats and small dogs need careful, gradual management, and open ground off lead is not a sensible risk.
Exercise and play
Exercise needs are moderate for the size — two walks of forty to fifty minutes plus a chance to gallop in a fenced area two or three times a week. Growth is the period that needs care: avoid long-distance running and repetitive jumping until around eighteen months, and keep the dog off slippery floors while it is still leggy and uncoordinated.
Coat and everyday care
The coat is long, silky and often wavy, with pronounced seasonal shedding. Brush two or three times a week normally and daily during a shed, concentrating on the neck and chest frill, behind the ears and the rear leg feathering. No clipping is required.
Health considerations
The health priority is gastric dilatation-volvulus. This is one of the deepest-chested breeds there is, the condition is life-threatening within hours, and every owner should know the signs before they need them. Feed divided meals, avoid hard exercise around mealtimes, and identify a twenty-four hour emergency clinic in advance; many owners discuss preventive gastropexy at the time of neutering.
Sighthound anaesthesia sensitivity, dilated cardiomyopathy and progressive retinal atrophy are also documented.
Home environment and care planning
In practical terms, this is a dog whose height rather than weight defines daily life. Counter surfing is effortless for a Borzoi, doorways and stairwells need thought, and a padded bed matters because there is very little body fat between bone and floor.