1953 BORZOI BREED STANDARD UNITED KINGDOM
CHARACTERISTICS
Alertness, dignity, courage.
GENERAL APPEARANCE
Very graceful, aristocratic and elegant, combining courage, muscular power and great speed.
HEAD AND SKULL
Head long and lean; well filled in below the eyes. Measurement equal from the occiput to the inner corner of the eye, and from the inner corner of the eye to tip of nose. Skull very slightly domed and narrow, stop not perceptible, inclining to Roman nose. Head so fine that the direction of the bones and principal veins can be clearly seen. Bitches’ heads should be finer than dogs’. Jaws long, deep and powerful; nose large and black, not pink or brown, nicely rounded, neither cornered nor sharp. Viewed from above should look narrow, converging very gradually to tip of nose.
EYES
Dark, intelligent, alert and keen. Almond shaped, set obliquely, placed well back but not too far apart. Eye rims dark. Eyes should not be light, round or staring.
EARS
Small and fine in quality; not too far apart. They should be active and responsive; when alert can be erect; when in repose nearly touching at the occiput.
MOUTH
Teeth even, neither pig-jawed nor undershot.
NECK
Clean, slightly arched; reasonably long; powerful. Well set on, free from throatiness. Flat at the sides, not round.
FOREQUARTERS
Shoulders clean, sloping well back, fine at withers, free from lumpiness. Forelegs lean and straight. Seen from the front, narrow, like blades, from the side, wide at shoulder, narrowing down to foot; elbows neither turned in nor out; pasterns strong, flexible and springy.
BODY
Chest, great depth of brisket, rather narrow. Ribs well sprung and flexible; neither flat sided nor barrel-shaped. Very deep, giving heart room and lung play, especially in the case of mature males. (It is from depth of chest rather than breadth that the Borzoi derives it’s heart room and lung play.) Back rising in a graceful arch from as near the shoulder as possible with a well-balanced fall-away. The arch to be more marked in dogs than bitches. Rather bony, muscular and free from any cavity. Muscles highly developed and well distributed.
HINDQUARTERS
Loins, broad and very powerful, with plenty of muscular development. Quarters should be wider than shoulders, ensuring stability of stance. Thighs long, muscular, stifles well bent, hocks broad, clean and well let down.
FEET
Front feet rather long, toes close together, well arched never flat, neither turning in nor out. Hind feet hare-like, i.e. longer and less arched.
TAIL
Long, rather low set. Well feathered, carried low, not gaily. In action may be used as rudder, but not rising above the level of back. From hocks may be sickle shaped but not ringed.
COAT
Long and silky (never wooly), either flat, wavy or rather curly. Short and smooth on head, ears and front of legs, on neck and the frill profuse and rather curly, forelegs and chest well feathered, on hindquarters and tail feathering long and profuse.
COLOUR
- In the opinion of the Club a dog should never be penalized for being self-coloured.
SIZE
Height at shoulder: Dogs from 29 inches upwards, bitches from 27 inches upwards.
FAULTS
Short neck, coarse and big ears. “Dish Faced”, coarse head, light or rounded eyes, straight shoulders, flat back, arch starting too far back, too narrow in front. Round bone, straight hocks, weak quarters coarse coat, splay footed, too close behind, also lack of quality and lack of condition.
Points decided on at the Club’s General Meeting in 1922.
Head complete (eyes and ears included) ………………………… 15
Neck …………………………………………………………………… 10
Shoulders and chest ………………………………………………… 15
Ribs, back and loins ……………………………………………………15
Hindquarters, stifles and hocks ……………………………………….15
Legs and feet ……………………………………………………………15
Coat, tail and feather ………………………………………………… 10
General appearance ……………………………………………………05
TOTAL ………………… 100