The Borzoi Club of Queensland Inc

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International Borzoi Council Standard ...

Adopted by the International Borzoi council at the International Borzoi Conference 2001.

GENERAL APPEARANCE
Well balanced, graceful, aristocratic, dignified and elegant flowing lines.

CHARACTERISTICS
A coursing hound which must be courageous, powerful and of great speed.

TEMPERAMENT
Alert, self assured with quiet dignity.

HEAD AND SKULL
Head long, lean and in proportion to dog's size and substance. In females, finer than in males. Well filled in below the eyes. Measurement from inner corner of eye to tip of nose equal to or very slightly greater than measurement from inner corner of eye to occiput. Skull very slightly domed and narrow, stop barely perceptible. Head fine so that direction of bones and principal veins can be clearly seen. Jaws long, deep and powerful. Nose large, black and slightly overreaching. From end of nasal bone, nasal cartilage slopes slightly down to nostrils. Lips black rimmed, thin well stretched along the jawbone. Viewed from above skull would look somewhat narrow and somewhat oval shaped, converging very gradually to tip of nose. Occipital process accentuated.

MOUTH
Jaws strong with perfect, regular and complete scissors bite, ie Upper teeth closely overlapping the lower teeth and set square to jaw. Full strong dentition desirable.

EYES
Relatively large, dark and expressive. Set obliquely and placed well back, not too wide apart. Eyelids black and forming an almond shaped opening. Eyes not bulbous, staring or sunken.

EARS
Small, pointed and delicate, set high. When in repose, folded back along the neck with the tips nearly touching the occiput. Should be active and responsive, may be erect when alert, tips sometimes falling over.

NECK
Slightly arched; reasonably long and well muscled widening gradually to shoulders. Free from throatiness, flattened laterally, set at an angle of 50-60 degrees to the longitudinal axis of body. Length of neck should be approximately equal to length of head.

FOREQUARTERS
Shoulders muscular but not loaded. Shoulder angle of 110-120 degrees. Fine at withers and not accentuated. Forelegs clean and straight. Seen from front, narrow like blades; from side wider at elbow narrowing down to pastern joint. Elbows in vertical line to withers and directly backwards, neither turning in or out. Pasterns slightly sloping, strong and flexible. The distance from withers to elbow is almost half the total height.

BODY
Chest, rib cage relatively long, of narrow oval cut, great depth of brisket reaching to elbows, giving great heart and lung room, especially in mature dogs. Breastbone slightly pronounced with adequate width between elbows and abdomen, very tucked up. Back rather bony, muscular and free from any cavity, rising in a graceful curve prolonged by a well balanced fall-away. Highest point of curve is situated over the last rib. Curve is more pronounced in dogs than in bitches. Loins broad and very powerful with plenty of muscular development. Fall-away long, broad and well muscled, widening over hip joints. Width between pelvic prominences at least 9 centimeters.

HINDQUARTERS
Quarters wider than shoulders, ensuring stability of stance. Thighs long, well developed with good second thighs; hind legs long and muscular; stifles and hocks well angulated, hocks broad, clean and low. Posterior line of hock vertical. Seen from side, legs slightly set back, where a line can be dropped from the end of the pelvis through the

FEET
Harefoot,  neither turning in nor out, hind feet longer. Toes close together and well arched over strong thick pads. Removal of dew claws optional.

TAIL
Long, rather low set, tailbone reaching well below hock joint, or measured between thighs reaches top of nearest hip bone. Well feathered, carried low in a graceful curve. From level of hocks may be saber or slightly sickle shaped but not ringed. In action, not rising above level of the back.

GAIT
Front, straight with long reach, pasterns springy. Hind, straight with powerful driving hocks. When trotting legs converge towards the centre line. Viewed from the side appearance in action should be that of effortless power with noticeable  drive and ground covering stride. A flexible back is desirable.

COAT
Silky in texture. Can be flat wavy, or rather curly. Short and smooth on head, ears and front of legs;  much longer on body with heavy feathering on backs of legs and hindquarters, tail and chest. Neck carries a large curly frill. More profuse in dogs than in bitches. Undercoat dense, soft, subject to seasonal and climate changes.

COLOUR
Any color of pattern acceptable.

SIZE
Desirable height at withers: dogs 32inches (81cm), bitches28.5 inches (75cm). Dogs and bitches which diverge from this ideal size are not to be penalized as long as balance and efficiency are maintained. Height at withers equals height at hips or withers slightly higher. Length index is about 105 for males and 107 for bitches.

FAULTS
Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree of functional significance.

NOTE
Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended.