A little more history on the Borzoi:
1.
http://www.solarnavigator.net/animal_kingdom/mammals/borzoi_dog.htm>>The Borzoi was probably first brought from Arabia to Russia in about 1600. There, this elegant sight hound was adopted by the nobility, crossed with longer haired sheepdogs and used as a fierce and brave wolf hunter, earning the name Russian Wolfhound. The Russian nobility bred and hunted with these dogs for hundreds of years. Eventually the Borzoi's popularity spread throughout Europe. Queen Victoria owned Borzoi's, and many of the British aristocracy soon followed suit. The breed became favored for gifts among royalty. The Borzoi became more docile as his use as a companion dog increased. The name comes from the Russian word 'borzii' which means swift. The Borzois talents include hunting, sighting and lure coursing. <<
2.
http://www.essortment.com/all/borzoidogsruss_rkmb.htm>>One of the main men who bred and hunted the Borzois before the Russian Revolution was the Grand Duke Nicholas, uncle to Czar Nicholas. It is said he would ship complete hunting parties that included up to a hundred dogs and horses to various areas of Russia to hunt a variety of game although his favorite was wolf. It was the job of the Borzois to follow the wolf by sight, not scent, trap it and hold it until the hunters following on horseback could catch up.
There was a time between 1815 and 1861 when some breeders were outcrossing to other breeds and the true Borzoi came close to being lost.
Thanks to the Grand Duke and a wealthy landowner Artem Boldareff, a Borzoi club was formed which advocated the breeding and protection of the Borzoi in its ancient type. It is due to these two men’s efforts that today’s Borzoi is of the type it is.
Although the first Borzoi to come to America arrived in 1889 and was owned by William Wade of Pennsylvania, C. Steadman Hanks imported the first Russian born Borzoi to his Seacroft Kennels in Massachusetts.
In 1903 another Borzoi fancier, Joseph Thomas imported several dogs directly from the Grand Duke’s Perchino Kennels and Artem Boldareff’s Woronzova Kennels. It is from these dogs the majority of today’s American Borzoi can be traced back to <<
3.
http://www.judgesl.com/Borzoi/history.html
