The Borzoi, an exquisite creature if ever there was one, has an AKC breed standard in which its coat is described as being “long, silky (but not woolly), and flat, wavy or rather curly.” It adds that hair on the dog’s head, ears and front of legs should be short and smooth, while on the neck, “the frill should be profuse and rather curly.”
Those of us who exhibit our dogs often see Borzoi (the preferred plural form of Borzoi by both the Borzoi Club of America and the Borzoi Club of the UK) at dog shows, and for our part, “curly” is not the first word that comes to mind when seeing a Borzoi’s coat. Perhaps that is because a truly curly Borzoi isn’t just an uncommon sight, it’s very rare.
As is so often the case in many of our breeds, early breeder preference often dictated what was seen in show rings, and set the stage for what came after. A curly coat wasn’t as popular among Borzoi breeders who started selecting for bigger coats with a long neck and body fringe, and since a curly coat lies tight to the body, there aren’t as many furnishings.
Where did the curls come from? Difficult to know. The Borzoi has one of the first written breed standards that dates to about 1650, and after hundreds and hundreds of years, we don’t know if, or which, old tazi-type sighthounds appear in the breed’s gene pool, or if they were crossed with Russian pastoral breeds, let alone which ones. What we do know is that there were curly coated dogs of the sighthound type during the Middle Ages.
See dog at top left
All that said, the curly coat hasn’t entirely vanished in the breed. A Borzoi breeder acquaintance, “Danielle,” aways suspected that her foundation bitch was a “curly carrier,” particularly because one of the few kennels that consistently has curlier coats pop up in litters is her foundation line. We’ve always noted that dog people are perpetual students, so not surprisingly, “Danielle” got curious. So curious that she had her foundation bitch tested through VGL labs at the University of California at Davis.
Long story short: Danielle’s Borzoi is one of two Borzoi that are confirmed carriers of the KRT71 mutated curl gene, the same gene that causes a Poodle’s curly coat (the other “curly carrier,” a Borzoi named, “Bruce,” was tested through Embark, and Gensol Dx also sells the curly test).
The gene has been in the breed as long as it has been a known breed, and many feel it would be a shame to lose it. With no disqualifications in the breed (the standard is written for function), there’s no reason to lose this part of the breed’s genetic history.
The KRT71 mutated curl gene is intermediate dominance. This means that one copy has an effect, but one needs two copies to produce the full results. Both of the dogs that were tested are only carriers, so one can imagine what two copies would look like.
Breeders who have a curly puppy can tell pretty early that the youngster has a curly coat, the pup looks like he or she has “bed head:” Little curls that cause waves on the top of their head. They tend to be pretty fluffy as baby puppies. As “Danielle” explains, nearly every Borzoi puppy has a big curly puppy coat that they completely shed between 6-12 months – shed as in naked! The pups who get smaller, tighter curls back as an adult tend to be the “curlies” and the “curly coat” carriers.
Photo of “Skaya,” by Leigh Anthony Paintin. This is “Bruce’s” littermate
We are indebted to Danielle Steenkamp, DVM for sharing her knowledge and her photographs with us. We know our readers, also students of dogs, will find it as interesting as we did.
For more detailed information about Dog Coat Type results, visit this UC/Davis site.
Here’s a photo of my curly coated male. He’s not been tested yet but “Danielle” has met him and can confirm that he’s definitely got a coat like Bruce’s.
Even my guys whiskers are curly. He had tight curls on his head at birth and still has them.
Here’s the top of his head
And his curly whiskers
Sorry. The photo of whiskers didn’t seem to attach
Since this article ran and I replied, my boys test babe back and he is a homozygous curly coat (has two genes for curly). He had curls at birth. You can see his curly whiskers in the photo I’ve attached.
Thank you, Amy, for sharing your boy’s test result – and how interesting it is!!!
Wow, Amy, fabulous pictures!!
Taken today as we’ve been discussing this in a borzoi group in Facebook – wanted to share 🙂 got the whiskers photo to work.
Awesome, Amy, thank you again!
Who is the author of this article?
We are.
The Bruce mentioned in the article is Bruce
C.I.B., US CH, PanAm CH, PR GR CH, LatAm CH Avalon Dark Knight Willowind Del Sol FCh, SC, RN, BN, THD, CGCU, JOR, BCAT, TT, CGCA, FDC, TKN, NOFCA ptd
AKC Fit Dog
B.A.R.K. Ranger
Thank you Stephanie, for the full name and great pictures!
Thank you for the article! I hope everyone who got testing hoping they have curly end up getting positive news! I’m excited for all!
Bruce has been fully health tested also and is clear of everything
Bruce’s Embark results are public as well
https://www.ofa.org/advanced-search?quicksearch=Avalon%20dark%20knight
https://borzoi.breedarchive.com/animal/view/avalon-dark-knight-willowind-del-sol-453ee00e-78ee-45bc-a3c4-070f6a57cdc8
Bruce’s son with his Deerhound family
Bond!! Super curly too! Can’t wait for the results…..
Bruce’s daughter here with us, he also has another black brindle son that seems to be curly (awaiting testing) I will have to get a picture of
This is Bruce’s brother GCH DC Avalon Druid Dance Willowind SC SOR SORC2 GRC BCAT CGCA CGCU TKN THDN FDC TT at 12 month. We are planning on having him tested. He is no longer as curly as his brother.
So far as I know, the Borzoi is the only curly coated sighthound in modern times. It would be a shame to lose the trait.
Agreed, Vickie, and that’s a really interesting observation….
Stephanie Allen__ Great head on Bruce…!
My boy Lancie <3