Hi everyone

Last year in march i decided i wanted a borzoi, i had never seen one in real life only in magazines and pictures and i thought they were absolutely beautiful. I didn,t really know much about the breed and didn,t know any breeders, so ithought i would never own one.

One day i went to a companion show with my lurcher and to my delight i saw two gorgeous Borzois. I was smitten. I went straight up to the owner (without planning what i was going to do) and asked where she got her borzois from, i got chatting and got the breeders number.

Later that day i phoned the breeder and asked if she had any puppies available. She was very helpful and i was on the phone for about two hours. Her reason for breeding was for showing and her line is quite a popular one. She told me if i wanted a puppy, she had some due that early august. I asked if she could reserve a bitch puppy for me and she put my name top of her list (she always has people waiting for her pups). I was so excited that i was going to get a puppy. I phoned the breeder regularly to see how the mum was doing and i was planning everything for my pup, i had a name for it since the day i wanted a borzoi so that wasn't a problem.

On the day the pups arrived (august 8th 2004). The breeder phoned me and told me that she was terribly sorry but i couldn't have a puppy because she only had one bitch her litter and she was going to keep it. I was so distraught that day that day, i thought my life had ended, i didn't know when i was going to stop crying.

If that wasn't distressing enough i later found out that the breeder then gave my puppy to a lady in Germany! That made me so angry, how could a breeder do that, she made me wait all that time, getting my hopes up, then she tells me i couldn't haveone! 

Later that day i thought i am getting a borzoi. I looked in my dog magazine and found the breed adviser for the borzoi who is the breed club secretary and asked her if she knew of any borzoi puppies available. She said she knew of one, but the borzoi was six months old, before she could get another word in i asked for that breeders number.

I phoned that breeder and asked why she still had that pup and she said she kept three back and the one for sale is the one she dcided not to keep outof the three. She kept a brother and sister to mine. The breeder didn't really have much to say and i arranged to meet the borzoi.

When i got to the breeders i was greeted by a lovely big borzoi. When i went in the garden their was quite a few borzoi in kennels. I knew exactly who the three pups were and a very tall stern looking man went and got the one i was looking at. It was love at first sight, i couldn't leave her their. I paid the breeder the six hundred pounds and she signed relevant papers and gave me her pedigree and kc registration, and off i went.

When i got her home (nikita) she was scared of everyone and everything. I knew i had made a mistake but i didn't want to take her back. I know this sounds stupid but i did loads of research on the breed on the internet and actually found lots of brreders. Once i had read up and found out quite alot of info i knew i had a big problem on my hands. I had to act fast, as i wanted to show her. I started taking nikita out and socialising her like a puppy, but it was difficult. I am now fairly knowledgeble on the breed now and trying to socialise a six month old is nothing like an 8 week old. Her first trip down the high street to the vets was a nightmare she was like a bucking bronco! Once in the vets i had to help the vet pin her still just for a healthcheck and eventually found out she had a water infection, great start i thought. The vet told me she would never make a show dog as she was too nervous. But she is now 16 months old and i have concored most of her nervousness. Now she will let anyone touch her even know she doesn't really want them to! She has been to several and acheived many rosettes, even though only open. Unfortunately i cannot show her for the rest of the year as i have no transport till next year.

I keep in touch regularly with the breeder and she keeps in touch with me, but i feel that if the breeder had socialised nikita well while she was still owned by the breeder, then nikita would not have had these social problems. But then again if i hadn't been messsed around by the first breeder i could have had nikita when she was alot younger.

I have learnt my lesson and i will certainly never by a borzoi puppy over the age of 12 weeks ever again. I now know that they alot of socialisation when young to be fully adjusted adults, as they are not a social animal in the first place.

The moral of my story to other puppy buyers is please research your chosen breed well before plunging in to buy a puppy and if you buy an older dog make sure the breeder is responsible enough to socialise the pup. It could save you alot of hardwork and stress.

regards kayleigh

Well done for sticking with Nikita. They are a lovely breed. Keep us informed how you get on.