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Bichon Bolognese is originated from Spain but Hortaya Borzaya is originated from Russia. Bichon Bolognese may grow 71 cm / 27 inches shorter than Hortaya Borzaya. Both Bichon Bolognese and Hortaya Borzaya are having almost same weight. Both Bichon Bolognese and Hortaya Borzaya has same life span. Bichon Bolognese may have less litter size than Hortaya Borzaya. Both Bichon Bolognese and Hortaya Borzaya requires Low Maintenance.
The Bichon Bolognese is one of 4 types of Bichon breeds the others being the Havense, the Bichon Frise and the Maltese. The Lowchen and the Coton de Tulear are also listed in this grouping at times. The Bolognese was developed in Italy and is a small, companion animal. They are named after the city of Bologna in Northern Italy. The Bichon Bolognese is considered a toy dog and are considered an ancient breed that lived with Italian nobility. Their precise ancestry is not known and the Maltese is considered its closest relative. They have been known to exist since at least 1200.
The Bichon Bolognese is found in many works of art throughout the centuries. They were the favorite of many an Italian artist since the 17th century including Titian, Watteau, Gosse and Goya. They were known to be owned by Duke Frederico Gonzaga, Madame De Pompadour, Catherine the Great of Russia and Empress Maria Theresa of Austria. Cosimo de Medici gave eight Bolognese to Belgian noblemen. The Duke d’Este was given two as a gift.
Of all the Bichon group – the Bolognese is the hardest to find and the best problem solver. They read body language amazingly well, stick with their owners and are attentive and devoted. Liz Stannard brought them to England in 1990 and they were entered in the breed registry that same year and joined the show ring cycle in 2001. By 2002 they were shown at Crufts, England’s International Dog Show.
The Hortaya Borzaya is an ancient sighthound from Asia with its origins in Kievan Rus = Grand Duchy of Lithuania = Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Empire of Russia. The Hortaya is a large dog, especially a long in body dog with a muscular build suitable for running fast. He is one of the most talented of sighthounds, able to track moving prey at quite great distances. He is an intensely active when running prey and quiet and well balanced when not working.
In Asia and Russia, it is still a working hunting dog, hunting a variety of game such as Saiga antelopes, wolves, foxes, and hares. With tremendous endurance, the Hortaya can run at great speeds and great distances on the hunt. The Hortaya Borzaya is a long distance runner rather than a sprinter like the greyhound we are all so familiar with. He also needs very little rest between runs of up to 4 km. The Hortaya uses his sense of smell as well as sight in the hunt. They hunt solo, in pairs or in packs.
It was not until 2004 that the Hortaya was first exported to Europe and given full breeding papers. They went to Germany, Slovakia and the Czech Republic in 2004. They went to Switzerland and Finland in 2005 and to the United States around 2005. Prior to this the Hortaya Borzaya was bred only in its original territory for thousands of years.
Unlike Western breeding programs, the Hortaya is not bred for the purpose of improving the breed. Like Asian thoroughbred horses the breed is considered “finished”. Because of this there was no inbreeding, linebreeding or incest. This is true for about 4-6 generations of a line. This helps the breed to stay healthy.
The breed was developed centuries ago being bred by many different groups of people throughout the region, making it impossible to say exactly where and how this Central Asian/Afghanistan/ southern Russian breed developed. The Russian Kynological Federation (RKF) member of the FCI, developed a standard for the Hortaya Borzaya, which unlike most breed standards, does not tell you what the Hortaya must be like. Instead it tells you what he cannot be.
It gives boundaries that the dog must fit inside in order to be considered a Hortaya Borzaya. This is because the breeds of these dogs in their native territories want to preserve as many different types and sub-types as possible under the banner of one breed. To most people these dogs would look like very different breeds. For this reason, they have not been accepted into International Breed Groups and Associations. The breeders of these dogs do not want to be tied down to one standard. They do not want the breed to be separated into western lines and the original line or show lines and working lines. They wish to keep all the dogs within one grouping.
The breed is recognized on the national level by the originating countries and federations, including Russia’s. There are an estimated 2500-3500 dog of this breed in existence to day. Only a few dozen of the breed exist outside of the original countries. In other Eastern and European countries, the dogs may be registered with hunting associations instead of a breed association.
The breed is held mostly by hunters in remote, local areas and villages that are fairly isolated. Here the Hortaya is seen as a partner in feeding the hunters family and the dog is invaluable. In these remote areas a good hunting dog is equal in value to the good horse. Both are essential to the hunter and his family’s livelihood.
The Hortaya Borzaya is a pack dog and does well with the family as well as an athletic hunter. They hunt in packs, small groups or alone and bring their catch back to the hunter for the family meal. No hunter had to go with the dog. In fact, the hunters would send the dogs several times for food. The Hortaya might travel for miles across tough terrain to get food for the family.
Like the other members of the Bichon group, the Bolognese is a compact, little white dog. It is considered a member of the toy group and is stocky in its build. It is a muscled, square dog of medium length with an ovoid skull and large, square, black muzzle. The jaw is well developed, and they have black lips, black nose and black eyelids. They have a straight muzzle with a strong, aligned bite and its eyes are round and wide. They have long, high set ears that hang down to a rigid base. The coat is white, long and shorter only at the muzzle. The coat is fluffy but not fringed.
This athletic sighthound is a handsome dog, ranging from large to giant. Remember there are many different ‘types’ of dogs within the one line/breed of Hortaya. Breed standards are exclusionary, and performance based rather than inclusionary, and appearance based. Still most of the breed lines share many of the same traits.
They are a long legged breed with a very deep chest and flexible spine. They have immensely strong lungs and a narrow but long skull. Their gait is fluid, effortless trotting when not hunting. When she is hunting, they gallop like a horse and cover a lot of ground.
There eyes are usually black but can be any color and their fur is also any color. It is thick and dense. Finally, in the 2000’s, there were some dogs in a subline exported to Europe and to North America. Here, for this subgroup, a standard was established based on appearance and the color or the coat was now set at only white, blue, black, cream, red, sable and brindle, and piebald. They might or might not have a saddle. Definition of this type is still going on and has not been entirely settled yet. This standard is only for the European and American market show dogs.
These dogs, bred for show, have the same ability to run like the wind and for a very long time with his muscled body and long legs. The breed has strength and stamina that will fool you. He also has a long neck and broad back. He has thin, short ears.
These little white dogs with the shaggy hair are intelligent, loving, playful, loyal, and happy to do whatever you ask them to. They are more reserved than their relative the Bichon Frise. They are great at obedience training and seem to love it. They learn quickly and love to please you, yet they can also be very stubborn. Like the Bichon Frise, they are difficult to housebreak. They need to be with their people who they will develop bad habits and a bad attitude. They are bred to be companion dogs. If socialized when young they are great with strangers after you have indicated that the strangers are ok. They are barking watchdogs but not continuous barkers. They get along with other dogs but are ok by themselves as well. They do get separation anxiety when their people are gone for extended periods of time. They can be very serious and docile, but they love to be with people. They are very loyal and very bonded to their family.
Be sure you are the pack leader as they can acquire Small Dog Syndrome. With this syndrome the dog comes to believe he is the alpha and the humans are his pack. This causes many kinds of problems with behavior including howling when not getting attention, their separation anxiety and destructiveness can also come from this.
Children friendliness - yes, they are very good with children and will play with them for hours.
They have tremendous stamina, speed and intelligence to hunt on their own without the hunter and bring the prey back in good shape for the hunter’s family to eat.
No they are not very adaptable in terms of living arrangements. They will not do well in an apartment and probably not in the city as they need land to run.
Learning ability yes, they are intelligent and learn easily.
Like others in the Bichon group, they have moving kneecaps (luxating patella’s). They also have some eye conditions. They should be tested for any genetic issues, although the breed is a very healthy one and they do not usually have major health issues.
As previously mentioned, the original breed is isolated and therefore has a pretty good health track record. Most of the breed specific illnesses or conditions that usually are inherited barely exist in this breed.
They have a propensity toward obesity and diet is essential to prevent other issues.
Chronic or acute pancreatitis is possible because the breed developed eating small meals and hardly any meat. Too much meat or fat could cause this.
No tolerance for high protein dog food. Can cause puppies to have life threatening damage to bones and cartilage that is irreversible.
Bloat – because of the deep chest and the intolerance for large meals they are prone to bloat.
Like other toy breeds do not overfeed the Bolognese. Feed them ¼ of a cup of high quality dry food once a day. Treats are often used for training just be judicious with them.
They are very healthy with a propensity toward: Moving kneecaps (Luxating patella)
Legg-Calve-Perthes Disease – This causes the thigh bones to shrink due to a loss of blood supply. It can be repaired surgically.
Periodontal Disease due to their small mouth size.
They need to walk everyday but they can be couch potatoes. One long 20-minute walk will do or a couple 10-minute walks.
While Bolognese are perfectly happy to lounge around the house, they should also have a daily walk.[7] A suitable walk would be around 20–25 minute a couple of times a day or substitute 10-minute walks a few times a day. They love to play off-lead, whether its in the house or in a fenced in yard or dog park.
As mentioned above do not overfeed a Hortaya Borzaya puppy. There is serious risk of irreversible damage if you do. Feed small meals 3-6 times a day with lower protein.
3 cups of an average protein high quality dog food served at least 3-4 times per day. To avoid bloat do not feed large meals before or after exercise and don’t let your dog drink a lot of water at one time.
This is an extremely active dog bred to hunt 5-6 times a day over wide expanses of various and rough terrain. They need exercise. If you run, they will run with you happily and they will outlast you. They are good at and enjoy fetch, chase, agility, and field trials. They will last hours at any game they play.