The above photo is of Argowan Maupassant at 12 mths (grandsire of our latest Borzoi litter) -  by BISS Ch Zefna D'Artagnan. This boy's pedigree contains some of the breed greats - Eng/Aust Ch Sholwood Sonnet (Imp UK), Eng/Am Ch Stillwater Virginia Reel, Eng/Am Ch Yadasar Black Orchid, Eng/Am/Can Ch Stonebar Sebastian and others.

 Dog Health

Having had borzoi for over 30 years, as well as scotties, deerhounds, salukis, whippets, westies and a kerry blue, I have been observing trends in health and diet for a long time - and have come to the conclusion that we are destroying our dogs' health with over vaccination, commercial diets, pharmaceuticals etc. The holistic approach really does work with animals, as we have proven with our dogs, cats and horses.

I studied homoeopathy for some time, and follow many of it's principles, including judicious use of vaccination. Hence my breeding program now contains many generations of breeding bitches who have only ever been minimally vaccinated - thereby greatly increasing their health and the immunity they pass onto their pups, and minimising the damage to their DNA which occurs through vaccination. Together with careful avoidance of genetic problems (eg vWD testing in scotties) and a diet of high quality food with raw meaty bones, I strive to produce healthy puppies.

After much research into scientific studies into topics such as early desexing, vaccination, drug reactions etc, I now make it a condition of purchase that no pup is to be desexed prior to puberty, otherwise all health guarantees are voided - especially in the case of borzoi, as hormones are crucial to the development of correct skeletal and muscular structure and health. As Osteosarcoma is known to occur occasionally in borzoi, borzoi owners should be aware that desexing can increase the risk of this by as much as 400%, so if desexing is to occur, the later the better. I am happy to board bitches for their first season so that they can be safely kept entire for a bit longer to allow full development. Annual boosters in dogs we send to new homes are seriously discouraged - there are far too many health problems caused by these, such as allergies, epilepsy, thyroid problems, Addison's disease, cancer, behavioural disorders, auto immune haemolytic anaemia, arthritis etc. Heartworm injections will also void our health guarantee - this product has been recalled in the US, and the Canadian manufacturer advises it's use ONLY in dogs that cannot have any other form of heartworm prevention. We are now using MMS to eradicate any heartworm microfilariae and intestinal worm infection - this has no toxic effects whatsoever.

There are links posted on the links page with information on these topics for anyone wishing to learn more.

Antibiotics are not used on any of our animals any more, as we find that colloidal silver does the same job, but without the side effects. Spot on flea treatments are also avoided to reduce chemical overload - there are plenty of natural alternatives.

All puppies are reared as naturally as possible, and in the house. This means that they are practically house trained by the time they leave, and they stay with their mums as long as possible to learn all the doggie essentials, like how to approach strange dogs correctly, how not to be mouthy, how to know when to stop being rough etc. Weaning is never forced, and all  pups are still feeding from and interacting with their mums, learning their manners, at 8 weeks, so you will have to wait a little longer before puppy can leave. Vaccinations are also delayed a little, to allow for the immune system to develop as much as possible first, and allow time for maternal antibodies to fade.

Over the years our dogs have been much cherished members of our family - here are some pictures of Michaela as a youngster, with the whippet Ch Riposte Statesman, learning to stack a borzoi pup, with deerhound pup Ch Argowan Angharad in Toddler/Child Handlers and then with Ch Argowan Ballarina.