MyDogBreeds
Pekingese is originated from China but Hortaya Borzaya is originated from Russia. Pekingese may grow 30 cm / 11 inches shorter than Hortaya Borzaya. Pekingese may weigh 28 kg / 61 pounds lesser than Hortaya Borzaya. Both Pekingese and Hortaya Borzaya has same life span. Pekingese may have less litter size than Hortaya Borzaya. Pekingese requires Moderate maintenance. But Hortaya Borzaya requires Low maintenance
This is an ancient dog breed that originated in China. Known also as Lion Dogs, they are toy dogs that have always been a popular choice for Chinese royals.
DNA analysis tells us that these dogs are one of the oldest dog breeds there are and over the years, the dog has barely changed in looks.
The dogs found their way out of China, and as they started spreading to the USA and the UK, Pekingese clubs started emerging. A pekingese dog was registered by the American Kennel Club in 1906, and the Pekingese Club of America was formed in 1909.
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.
The Pekingese is a dog which stands at between 30 – 45 cm and weighs anything from 3 to 7kg.
His double coat can be fawn, cream, apricot, grey, or black or even a mix of some of these colors.
The Pekingese is known for its flat- or squashed face and his large, bulging type of eyes. His body is low to the ground and is somewhat longer than what it is tall. He has long, silky, feathery ears and his tail is plumed and essentially held over his back. The face usually has a black mask.
The Pekingese is a stubborn, independent, intelligent dog, but with his human family he is loving and loyal. People often look at the Pekingese and think that it is a delicate dog that just wants to sit on your lap and be cuddled. But this isn’t the case and the Pekingese is a dignified, robust, bold, confident dog. He is essentially an indoors dog though and will be content for a while to lie close to his human companion. He is calm and quiet indoors but is also game for some activity, being quite a playful dog.
The Pekingese is the kind of dog that will slot easily into city or country living. He gets on well with children but if he could choose, he would prefer to live with calm, consistent adults, as he doesn’t gel too well with raucous, undisciplined children.
He is a wilful dog and will require being trained and socialized to make him obedient and more amicable.
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.
Sometimes when his hair has grown long and he has a ribbon in it he may be looked upon as shallow, pathetic and nothing but lapdog. In reality his heart is brave, tough, dignified and confident.
All the Pekingese wants is to be a normal and loving pet for the right kind of person who appreciates all his strong characteristics.
He is capable of being quite lively and protective of his human family. Give him love and treat him kindly and firmly and you’ll find out why he is such a popular dog breed.
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.
The Pekingese can live to be between 10 – 15 years of age. One of the main medical problems with this dog is his squashed face which can be a source of breathing problems for him.
The large, bulging eyes can also cause quite a few problems such as glaucoma, cataracts and eye ulcers. With Entropion the eyelid of the eye rolls inward and irritates the eyeball.
Your Pekingese shouldn’t be left outside as with his breathing problems, he isn’t good with regulating body temperature and can overheat in hot weather.
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.
Nothing is set in stone when it comes to the diet of your Pekingese or any other dog for that matter. How much a dog eats will depend on his breed, his age, his size and his activity levels.
Every dog is an individual and your Pekingese is too. Good food however dictates a lot on how healthy your pet will be so it will be to his benefit to give him the best quality commercially manufactured food there is.
He loves a bit of variety too so if you chop up some boiled chicken, brown rice and some wholesome vegetables such as carrots, spinach and sweet potato and add this to his kibble occasionally he will be delighted. He doesn’t want anything unusual or spicy because he can’t bear to have an upset stomach.
He must never be without a continuous supply of fresh, cool water.
The Pekingese doesn’t have serious exercise needs, and a little bit of running and exerting himself can have him snorting and grunting. A slowish walk outside will satisfy his exercise needs.
The coat of the Pekingese is long and thick and if you choose to keep it that way it will require brushing at least twice a week. Some people prefer to have the dog’s hair cut professionally as then it is easier to manage.
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.