Page 129 - THE SLOUGHI REVIEW - ISSUE 13

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These abilities and characters were generally decisive for the expression of certain types
of sighthounds in the different landscapes. Let us briefly recall the witness A. Boldareff,
who in the Perchino Hunt speaks of the Borzoi of the Russian type as late as the 20th
century. As he writes, he was sceptical whether good borzoi could be found outside
Russia. “... were certainly far from being the best of the breed. This is quite explainable, for

no hunter or, what is the same, breeder (for there was no hunting in Russia without Borzoi
breeding and no Borzoi breeding without hunting) will easily part with a dog that is really
good. We have a saying at home that says: “A good dog is not for sale...” because it is not
given away.”

However, there have always been attempts to achieve “improvements” through
crossbreeding. Thus Boldareff writes of the famous breeder Matchévarianoff, who added
the blood to the Caucasian sighthounds in the 19th century. But because he was a very
experienced breeder, he succeeded in “... preserving the real type of the Borzoi in his dogs”
[75].

There were other cross-breeds, such as the English Greyhound.

Boldareff further:
“... the question arises of its own accord how it could be assumed that the Borzoi breed,

which had existed for centuries in Russia, was the same everywhere? This is inconceivable
in view of the enormous size of the country and its different climates. ... With the enormous
distances to be covered, which there were no means of transport at that time, it was of
course almost impossible to bring new blood into the kennels, which offered the prospect of
refining the breed. The breeders were dependent on their own material ... But the hunters,

both the earlier ones and those of our days, were not at all sorry if their dogs differed from
those of other breeders, provided the basic type was preserved.”

Boldareff continues: “Without knowing this old blood, it is not possible even for us today to

breed in a well thought-out way, ... ”

Boldareff lists various breeders after the abolition of serfdom and remarks, “...All these
types resembled each other little.” And not only cynologically, but also in terms of their
work performance. And yet they met scrupulously defined guidelines.