Whiteman Park - Dance of the Borzoi

We took the dogs for their weekly offleash burn at Whiteman Park this morning, and as we pulled around the corner I spotted two huge, beautiful furry sighthounds hanging out together. I didn't know what they were - I thought maybe Salukis, or Afghans, but since I have never come across these dogs in the flesh I didn't know for sure.

I took Barbie over to say hello, and then she got a small white and grey greyhound tail who followed her around the park - she seemed to barely acknowledge the other Greyhound and she certainly wasn't going to run with her right behind her. I chatted to the owner of the elegant furry sighthounds, and she told me they were Borzoi. She just told everyone they were hairy Greyhounds as it was easier. The Borzoi boy gave me a cuddle, leaning into me while I patted that luxurious coat, he was very tall, probably taller than the big Greyhounds I've met like Daddy and others. Barbie sniffed them but she didn't want to run with them, she knew they could easily keep up with her.

The Borzoi chased Bender a bit, and then spent a lot of time just gracefully gliding around the park. They are a sight to behold when they run, with all that beautiful silky hair flowing. Barbie did go for a burn, but only when she didn't think the Borzoi would come after her! Then she got chased by a small orange dog who was deceptively quick. She enjoyed the race with the little orange dog, and we ended up over near her owners. Her name was Ellen and she was an Italian Greyhound cross.

Ellen's owners asked me a bit about Barbie's recall. Ellen isn't keen on coming back when she is called. I told them we started at Whiteman and other safe places to practice recall. I told them that sighthounds often need some extra work and need to be well bonded to their owners. Ellen is three and they haven't had her all her life, so I think they will be OK if they keep working on it. She did seem to be a very dog-motivated dog, she wanted to chase other dogs but wasn't interested in me at all!

Bender, as usual, pretty much ignored all the other dogs and chased his ball. When we went to leave he didn't want to go home though - he decided he wanted to play with some labradors once we were outside of the park and on the wrong side of the fence. Cheeky dog!