Hortaya Borzaya vs Bull Terrier Miniature - Breed Comparison

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.

Less well known than the Bull Terrier, the Miniature Bull Terrier which actually follows the same breed standard, has a height of 35cm. The Bull Terrier and Miniature are classified as the same breed. The weight of the smaller Miniature is only about 15kg.

It was in the early 1800s that the Miniature Bull Terrier was developed, descending from the English Bulldog as well as the White English Terrier which is now extinct. This blend produced the Bull and Terrier, which was later shortened to the Bull Terrier. They came in a number of colors such as pure white, white and tan as well as white-and-black-patched or tri-colored.

Breed fanciers wanted a compact dog which looked much the same as the larger Bull Terrier. It was in 1938 that Colonel Glyn founded the Miniature Bull Terrier Club in England and the Miniature Bull Terrier Club of America was formed in 1966.

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.

Miniature Bull Terriers, just like the regular Bull Terriers have short, glossy coats and these coats can be white, tan, brindle or tri-color such as black, tan and white. This is a muscular little dog, with the same very distinctive egg-shaped head and small, closely-set dark eyes and erect ears. The medium length tail is carried horizontally.

The Miniature Bull Terrier isn’t particularly good with small children, but he still makes a good companion for people, whether he lives in the city or the country. In fact, this smaller breed Bull Terrier makes a great pet for people with smaller spaces, and like the Bull Terrier, he is a loving, devoted pet. He has an entertaining personality, is playful and energetic, making him a good watch dog.

However, even though he is small, he is always more than ready to take on any larger pets and therefore isn’t considered the greatest pet to have if you have other animals in the house. However, with excellent training and socialization, this handicap can be overcome.

Children friendliness

Children friendliness - yes, they are very good with children and will play with them for hours.

Special talents

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.

Adaptability

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

Learning ability yes, they are intelligent and learn easily.

The attractive Miniature Bull Terrier is just a small version of the regular Bull Terrier, and many people are drawn to them because they have all the spunk of the larger breed but are easier to manage. He is such an entertaining little dog and guarantees to make an excellent family companion. He is just longing to be involved in every family activity happening around him.

He becomes attached to his human family, but this deep bond between him and his family can lead to separation anxiety. Never leave him alone day after day in the backyard. You wouldn’t to that to one of your children, and he is a family member, albeit a 4-legged one.

Just like the standard Bull Terrier, the Miniature Bull Terrier is going to need firm training from a young age. Then he becomes an exceptional pet as he understand the boundaries in your particular home.

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.

The Miniature Bull Terrier can live to be 10 to 12 years of age. Their most serious health issue is blindness which is caused by lens dislocation, showing up more or less after 3 years of age. With the white dogs, other breed health concerns can include congenital deafness and compulsive tail chasing.

Tail Chasing:

Some Bull Terriers develop a compulsive neurologic disorder where the dog turns round and round chasing his tail. As soon as you see this, try and distract him with an exciting game, because allowed to develop, it’s a habit that can become difficult to control.

Dental Disease:

This is a common problem with dogs and you need to watch that tartar build-up on the teeth which can lead to infection of the gums. Brush your pet’s teeth with special dog toothpaste and toothbrush 2 or 3 times a week so that he doesn’t lose any teeth. Bad teeth can affect other organs such as the kidneys and heart.

Feeding the puppy

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.

Feeding the adult

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.

Points for Good Health

They have tremendous stamina and speed.

Games and Exercises

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.

Grooming:

With his short, smooth coat, the Miniature Bull Terriers requires little grooming. He’ll need a good brush down twice a week to remove loose hairs.

Spaying or Neutering:

This is one of the best things you can do for your Bull Terrier if you don’t want them having puppies. Spaying or neutering decreases the likelihood of certain types of cancers too.

Diet:

Keep your dog’s diet consistent, varying between a top quality commercial produced dog food appropriate to his age. You can include home-made meat, vegetables and rice and some raw meat every now and then. Never feed him human-food such as peanuts, crisps and chocolate. Always have fresh, cool water available night and day.