More About the Breed

A person with patience.  While they are absolutely stunning to look at, their brain chemistry isn't that of a typical Lab or Golden Retriever.  These are large prey-driven animals that, given the chance, will take every opportunity to chase after squirrels, birds, raccoons, and pretty much anything that moves.  They need an owner who is committed to a massive amount of exercise, not only for proper development, but also to mentally wear them out.  They need an owner who has time to commit to weekly brushing and can stand to be covered in hair most of the time.  When the shed or "blow coat" it can be intense and it will end up all over your house.  Training can be a challenge as Borzoi like to do things on their own terms.  They don't tend to do well with repetitive, long-winded  training sessions like a Lab or Border Collie might respond to.  It's better to break into 10-15 minute sessions and  it takes a lot of patience, but once you get the basics down they are fantastic companions.  If you have the time, commitment, resources and passion, they can be a wonderful addition to your home. 

Pros: Independent, Smart, can be very chill at home, easy to keep, quirky, funny, generally good with other household animals (medium to large size), can be good with cats if raised from young age, curious, trainable, great athletes and hiking buddies,  can fit into urban or rural settings easily! 

Cons: Can not be trusted off leash, high prey drive, howling, giant size (they require XXL crates, beds, etc), counter surfers, thieves - they can and will steal your food if tempted, requires consistent grooming, they can be very dramatic.  

At Luxor, we follow the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) CHIC guidelines, in addition to the Borzoi Club of America's suggested health testing which includes: 

- Cardiac Evaluation (Advanced Cardiac)

- 24 Hours Holter Testing 

- Autoimmune Thyroid Evaluation 

- ACVO Eye Exams

- Degenerative Myelopathy (DM) Testing

Borzoi have strong prey drives, meaning they can be prone to chasing after small animals/objects when they see movement.  Some borzoi have stronger prey-drive than others, but it's in their nature. Because of this instinct, Borzoi generally have a reputation for being less reliable off-leash, especially in unsecured areas.  While some Borzoi have excellent recall if trained from a young age, their independent nature can make them harder to control off-leash than other breeds.  If you want to let a Borzoi off-leash, it's important to ensure they are in a safely enclosed space or extremely well-trained in their recall commands.   This is something that a future Borzoi owner needs to understand and accept about the breed prior to taking one home! 

All of our Borzoi puppies regardless of being pet quality or show quality are $2000.  

Puppies come with:

- a full vaccination and worming schedule

-copies of all information on health testing and titling of parents

- microchip

-some starter food

-a puppy go-home bag full of goodies 

-a lifetime relationship with the breeder to answer any questions throughout the lifetime of the puppy

- AKC registration - limited (pet) or full registration (for show/performance homes)

- a folder with information on puppy from birth to pick-up 

When puppies are born, we have no idea what their future potential is going to be until they are between 8 to 12 weeks.  Their structure, whether they are missing teeth, their bite being correct, temperament and many other things are observed over the course of their early life to determine what puppy is going to be a great show dog or what puppy is going to be a great pet for someone.    When you fill out our puppy questionnaire, we take into account whether you want a pet/show/performance puppy and your preference of gender.  We know these puppies and have raised them from birth so we know which puppy is going to be the best fit for each home.  Many people would like to select their puppy based on color and we let people know we would like to do our best to give you that outcome, but can't guarantee it. 

For example, someone may really want the red boy dog BUT that puppy may be extra high-drive and have great potential for lure coursing and wouldn't do well in a pet home where they won't be able to exercise their natural gifts and might be an absolute terror to live with if you don't know how to handle that kind of drive. That's why we will help align your interests/wants with the puppy we feel is the best fit for you. 

In the contract signed prior to taking home a puppy, it is agreed that the puppy/dog will be returned back to Luxor Borzoi if there are any circumstances where a puppy/dog can't be kept.  Borzoi aren't a breed for everyone and we totally understand if a puppy/dog isn't working out for someone! We want to make sure that their second shot at a home is hopefully forever, so we want to assist in rehoming the dog to their next family to ensure that family understands their unique needs.  We are responsible for every dog we breed and want to stay in touch with that dog and their family for their lifetime!  We aren't here for just the first year of the dog's life, we are here for the lifetime of the dog and will always be available should that family have any questions or need anything - that is what a responsible, ethical breeder does. 

When you fill out your puppy questionnaire, please let us know if you have interest in a first time show puppy.  We believe everyone deserves the opportunity for a nice show dog and we will absolutely help in any way we can to get a person started on that journey.   The show world can be difficult to navigate and we can certainly be a resource to get people started.  That can look like helping you get started in classes nearby you, giving you pointers on stacking, doing video calls to help with training, 1 on 1 in-person training in Central Iowa, grooming help, helping enter shows, understanding which classes at the shows to enter, and much more! 

We travel to many shows throughout the year and can even handle the dog at a show, if you don't wish to handle the dog yourself! We also have many connections with professional handlers should you wish to hire a handler to show the dog.  We are happy to help in any way to get you started in the show world!