Borzois are beautiful dogs renowned for their luxurious silky coatings. These are the dogs with Russian heritage. The Borzoi, in Russian, translates to “swift.” The Borzois are known for their high speeds, being capable of running at up to forty miles per hour. Not only are Borzois fast runners, but they are also large dogs. In fact, a male Borzoi can be at least 28 inches tall at the shoulder and weigh up to 105 pounds.
Borzois can be found in any color or combination of colors. So, there is a lot of options when it comes to the color of a Borzoi coating. If you are in need of help with Borzoi grooming, you have come to the right place.
The Borzoi Grooming Process
1. Brush Your Borzoi’s Hair
Borzois have long and double coatings that makes them vulnerable to matting. So, that is something that you will need to deal with as an owner of a Borzoi. Mats can be painful for your Borzoi as they start to pull at his/her skin.
So, be sure to take care of the mats so that your Borzoi wouldn’t have to suffer from the skin pain that matting can cause. You can get rid of mats by brushing your Borzoi’s coating.
Borzois are considered to be moderate to heavy shedders of hair. They shed the heaviest in the lead ups to the winter and summer. With that in mind, you will want to brush your Borzoi’s coating in order to get rid of dead hair before they fall off.
If you don’t do that, all the hair that your Borzoi shed will end up on your floor or furniture and that can get messy. I recommend that you get the Hertzko Self-Cleaning Slicker Brush as it is effective at working its way through your Borzoi’s long and double coating to get rid of the mats and dead hair.
And the brush can do that without scratching your Borzoi’s skin. The brush also comes with a self-cleaning feature in which all you need to do is to press a button in order to clean the brush.
Before you brush your Borzoi’s coating, I want to point out that he/she has fine hair which means that his/her hair will break off easily if you brush his/her coating when it is dry.
So, with that in mind, you will want to dampen your Borzoi’s coating first before brushing it. In order to do that, all you need to do is to fill a spray bottle with water and then spray it all over your Borzoi’s coating in order to dampen it.
With your Borzoi’s coating dampened, proceed to brush it. For best results, you will want to brush in the direction that your Borzoi’s hair grows. For the most part, brushing your Borzoi’s coating once per week should be enough.
However, during periods of heavy shedding, you will want to brush your Borzoi’s coating daily in order to keep the shedding under control.
2. Brush Your Borzoi’s Teeth
Brushing your Borzoi’s teeth is an important part of the grooming routine. Brushing your Borzoi’s teeth is needed in order to prevent tartar buildup from developing on his/her teeth. Tartar buildup can result in tooth decay if it isn’t taken care of.
So, make sure that you brush your Borzoi’s teeth regularly – ideally on a daily basis. You will want to get the Virbac toothpaste for your Borzoi’s teeth because that is the one that veterinarians often recommend for a dog’s teeth. You can use a toothbrush to brush your Borzoi’s teeth.
3. Bathe Your Borzoi
Your Borzoi can be bathed once every couple months. But, be careful not to bathe your Borzoi too often as that can result in the loss of natural oils that nourishes your Borzoi’s skin and coating.
Once you are ready to bathe your Borzoi, here is how you can go about doing that. Start out by taking your Borzoi to your bathtub. Once there, fill a cup with warm water and then pour it onto your Borzoi’s coating in order to get it all wet.
If you aren’t sure about which shampoo to use with your Borzoi, I would go with the Buddy Wash Dog Shampoo and Conditioner as that is one of the best shampoos that I can find.
With the shampoo in hand, thoroughly apply it onto your Borzoi’s coating, taking care not to get it into his/her eyes. Now, rinse your Borzoi’s coating until every trace of the shampoo has been rinsed out.
With the bath over, dry your Borzoi’s coating with a bathing towel, but make sure that his/her coating is still damp as you will be re-brushing it. With that taken care of, proceed to re-brush your Borzoi’s coating.
4. Clean Your Borzoi’s Ears
Your Borzoi needs to have his/her ears cleaned out. That is needed in order to prevent your Borzoi’s ears from becoming breeding grounds for wax buildup. That is because wax buildup can cause ear infection if it is left alone inside your Borzoi’s ears.
So, be sure to check in on your Borzoi’s ears periodically and clean them out as soon as they start to look dirty to you. You will want to get the Virbac ear cleaner for your Borzoi’s ears because that is the one that veterinarians often recommend for a dog’s ears.
You can apply the ear cleaner onto cotton balls and then use them to clean out your Borzoi’s ears.
5. Clip Your Borzoi’s Nails
Your Borzoi also needs to have his/her nails clipped in order to keep them short. That is because you don’t want your Borzoi’s nails to be too long because that can cause paw pain which can lead to him/her experiencing discomfort when walking around.
So, make sure that you keep an eye on your Borzoi’s nails or listen for any clicking sounds when he/she is walking around. That way, you will know for sure when you need to clip your Borzoi’s nails.
You can use a nail clipper like Millers Forge Dog Nail Clip to clip your Borzoi’s nails. Be careful not to clip the quick part of your Borzoi’s nails as that can easily result in bleeding.
Borzoi Grooming – Conclusion
There you have it for Borzoi grooming. If you are wondering if you should trim your Borzoi’s hair, given the amount of shedding that Borzois do, I don’t recommend that you do so because that runs the risk of stripping your Borzoi’s ability to keep warm and cool during the winter and summer respectively.
The only exception to that is the hair under your Borzoi’s paws which could use a trim using a pair of scissors. Also, if you are struggling to get your Borzoi to cooperate with you while you are grooming him/her, this post will help you with that.
What are your thoughts? Have you groomed a Borzoi before? Feel free to leave a comment down below.