Borzoi personality traits-can anyone help Questions

Hi,
I would love to discuss with someone the personality traits of a Borzoi
We adopted Lottie-she was found starving, half dead on the moors.
Everyone thought that she was a Saluki, however when she regained her weight after she had lived with us for 6months. She grew a long silky coat.
We were out with her and a Borzoi breeder approached us and said "I see you have yourself a Borzoi"
We were surprised and I mentioned that he was suggesting this because of her coat and he said that it was the shape of her back, body, feet and head that he had noticed.
I checked out Borzoi info on the internet and indeed she does look similar although she does not have a Roman nose.
Her ears are most definitely more Borzoi as she holds them back rather than falling straight down as a Saluki's would. She also doesn't have the really long hair on her ears like a Saluki
Perhaps she is a Borzoi Saluki cross but as the Borzoi breed originated in the 1600s with crossing Saluki with Russian Hound, Borzoi's would genetically carry Saluki traits.
She is however only small-28" to the shoulder.
I know it shouldn't really matter what she is but we know so little about her anything that would help us understand her more would be great.
She has a distinctive personality,in some ways almost cat like, a definite princess and absolutely adorable
Can anyone help

I am no Borzoi expert but have a friend who keeps them. GORGEOUS but pretty aloof especially with strangers!!
I have a Saluki cross and also know quite a few Salukis.

Have you got any pics???? hint hint would love to see her!! Well done for turning her around and giving her a lovely home x

Hi,
Thanks for your reply,I'm new to the site and not sure how to post photos-I will look into it
I don't know about turning her around, I think she has turned us around!
She is not one for being told what to do
She just watches and in the beginning just watched and learned the behaviour of the house hold and kind of fitted in.
I suppose she has taught us that you don't always need to be telling a dog what to do and that if you try it and there's no apparent point then your request will be ignored.
Will try to post photo's as soon asap and further details
Thanks again
Lynne

Hi Lynne - we definitely need pics !!!!!

I too would like to see piccies

I have always thought Borzoi's are gorgeous, but a couple of times recenly I have seen two up the fields (the first time i'd seen a Borzoi in the skin) I haven't been close to them but watched them from a distance that Zeph won't kick off, they are totally stunning!

Although i said they are aloof I know one girl and she is as soppy a hound as i have ever met....I would def steal her if i was allowed!!

Shame Lovezois is not around to help ;-( she could have told you heaps

Hi,
Thank you for replying and trying to help
Have 3 photos for the moment that I'm going to try and upload
Sorry it's taken time, have had to open a Photobucket account and then I'm following instructions
Well here goes- let's see if it works!
Here are 3 photos of Lottie






:?

hey I did it!!
Isn't she gorgeous?
She's such a sweetheart too

I just want to know as much about her as I can

I don't know if part of her personality is down to what has happened to her in the past or her breed

She is approx 2yrs 6mnths
Came to us like a skeleton and she had been in a foster home for over 2 months-so goodness knows what she was like when they found her.
Must go - have just beeen found and need to take them out.
Will get back to you;-)

Definitely looks like a Borzoi. How on earth can anyone mislay a borzoi? However one of their less endearing traits is to chase a moving prey and not recall under any circumstances. so the owner may no0t realise she had left the district.
Ours was a delight and quite trainable -- won the best beginner at the local club. she lived with cats and was trained not to chase sheep. However she was a bit aloof and as she got older warned people off if they were likely to disturb her.
Regards Louise

Oh she is beautiful. How lucky she is to have been found before it was too late.

Don't know anything about Borzoi to be honest but they are a stunning dog and I love to watch them move.

We used to show our Beagles and every time we were near the Borzoi's I always thought how stunning they were. Yours it no exception, beautiful girl.

Hi, Honey's mummy, Berger, Greyhound k, and Baranduin, and anyone else who may like to help
Do you have any photos Baranduin of your Borzoi and Honey's mummy of your Saluki Cross. Would love to see them.

I will post Photo's of when we first got Lottie home-no long silky body hair then. It grew after we had her about 6months, she'd be about 18months then! Don't suppose that is normal?

She has changed so much over the time that we have known her. I don't put, own her, because I feel that she wouldn't ever like to think that she is owned, rather chooses to love us and live with us.

When I used to let her off lead-she would immediately run into the bushes, not to be seen again for 2-3hrs!
But now she will stay around even if I am standing about talking.
She's still got a powerful chase instinct, but she doesn't tend to go off looking now, more if the rabbits are playing on the field or she gets a whiff of a fox or hears a cat or squirrel in the trees.
She seems quite happy to just chase the ball and she now brings it back like a proper retriever-trotting with her head held high which is just like when she brought me a squirrel-the only time she's ever caught anything.
Now Leo, I don't think would ever catch anything- I used to show him bunnies and cats and tell him they were nice and not encourage his chase instinct-the tortoise at home is NICE-so he knows the word.
But when he's found a dead rabbit, then that is a prize and
he will run away until he has unfortunately eaten it, unlike lottie who brought her squirrel to us.

She is unlike any dog that I have ever known-she is so gentle, will always lie down and submit to other dogs even puppies of a few weeks old-although she is getting more inquisitive with pups.
If we are out and come across another dog or person that she doesn't know-she hides in the trees watching and comes quickly out when they've gone.
But once she's met them a few times she will trot over to say hello and expect a fuss from people.

She is magnificent when she runs fast or when kind of prancing almost like a horse with her tail in the air.
But will not join in boisterous play with a pack of dogs that Leo will be playing with even if she knows them-she will sit apart perhaps 100yds away and watch until we move on.

At home she wil get up and greet anyone that she knows but will go upstairs and hide from strangers

We can almost get her to do as we ask but only if she knows there's a treat in it. But she is quite stubborn if she wants to be.
She just kind of fits in and does only what she thinks is necessary.
She is also a great watcher. She often will sit across from us in the evening and with a regal pose almost, with her legs over the edge of the chair (often crossed) watching us for up to half an hour.

If she is laid on the sofa and I want to hoover it or on the floor in the way, I will say, excuse me and she rolls on to her back, wags her tail in a flirty way and covers her eyes with her front paws, she then covers both her ears and then both her eyes again. As if she's saying "I can't see you and I can't hear you"!! Well my reaction to that is hopeless-I just can't help tickling her tummy!
She is also very cat like with her paws and is often found licking and cleaning herself-she also trims her own dew claws.
She is also very protective over her own personal space and will not tolerate Leo or us sitting next to her-she will grumble and move. Unless she chooses to sit with you and then she will lay with her head on your lap or cuddle up to Leo - but fidget and she protests and moves

Do you see any of these traits in your dogs?

That's kind thank you.
She is not tall though- only about 27-28" to the shoulder. Is it perhaps that most people breed the taller lines?
Leo is a Deerhound cross 31" to the shoulder - I always thought Borzoi's were similar or taller.
Have you ever seen smaller ones - perhaps it's because she's female.

She's gorgeous, I don't have a Borzoi, but I do have a couple of hound crosses, saluki greyhound mix ( my longdog) and greyhound GSD mix (my little lurcher), I'm wondering if there is any chance that Lottie may have Greyhound in her, I have heard of a couple of Greyhound Borzoi mixes, but haven't seen any in the flesh. Whatever she is she is stunning though.

She could have?
Does she look at all like your Saluki greyhound - do you have any pics? We thought she was Saluki until she grew her long hair? Does her personality seem like your longdog?

Here is my Saluki Greyhound,





My girl is really small, 24 tts, and is not really the general thoughts of sighthounds, she doesn't know what aloof means at all, although no dog I have had really does, Honey is different though to a lot of hounds, there are no strangers in Honey's world, there are just friends you haven't met, she also lives to please people, and will do anything for a treat, or even just a hug, she lives to be around people, and will even ignore a lot of small furries esp if you get her at the right time (she is my second sighthound who is friends with a rabbit), she does love her home comforts though, espcially food and a comfy spot to lay Honey is very clever, and if you want to keep her out of somewhere you either have to lock the door, or even baracade it by putting a chair under the handle the other side of the door, as otherwise she will open it, she has before been put in a back garden, within two minutes she had opened up the back door, the door to the dogs room, the living room door, the two front doors and even the front gate and sat outside waiting for a walk, she does have fear aggresion, but not related to breeds in her, but she also knows what rules other dogs should follow around her even if they don't, and will tell off dogs that are humping her, or barking in her face, but will never break the skin, just get her point across. She is a very confident girl, and when she is happy prances instead of walks, which can make her look like she wants to be a dressage horse, but Honey is one of a kind, most sighthounds I have seen can be aloof, and prefer to be off chasing whatever they see (my lurcher is great at this) but Honey seems to be so different, people are better then anything else a lot of the time, and she will take instructions from anyone including children, I do very much see borzoi in your dog, I do know of a online rescue group that may be able to help ou identify your girl even more, but I would have to PM the link, and I did try but couldn't do it, I'll try again, but am not really sure how many number of posts you will need before you can recieve a private message.

Photos of Lottie when she first came home







and taken today with that tail in the air!

Bless her, she's gorgeous and lucky to find you, I see what you mean about the ears, but it may of been that there had previously been a problem with her skin and her fur was recovering too, and her ears grew back first, I'm not sure.

She is lovely!

I agree with chaz. She looks like a greyhound X Borzoi to me. Cos she has a greyhounds straight nose and Borzois have more of a "roman " nose.

Hi, Honey is just gorgeous and she sounds the best of dogs to share your life with.
Thank you so much for posting the pic and writing about her.
Lottie too barks in fear, especially in the dark-announcing she's out so you had better keep away, but again is it because of her time lost and lonely for perhaps weeks on the moors?
Honey does sound so clever- Leo is smart, not sure about Lottie, perhaps she just likes to hide the fact incase we ask her to do something!
The photos I have just posted-see how she didn't have her long silky coat
I have just read a great book, made me laugh so much because it is just so like my life (made me think that I might write a book) "Along came Dylan" Stephen Foster, He has a Lurcher called Ollie and decides he needs a playmate so he gets A Saluki pup Dylan! If you haven't read it please do, every Lurcher/Saluki fan should read, it's so true.

Thanks for trying to post the link - that would be great.
New member so haven't got to grips with the rules.
Perhaps you could post me the name and i could google it?