Taken from a speech given by Francie Stull at the 2015 SilkenFest
Once the Lurcher base was established, it was necessary to bring in Borzoi to set many of the traits that the Lurchers were lacking, notably sound structure, elegant heads and bone density.
The diversity of Borzoi phenotype gives an idea that there is possibly some amount of desirable genetic variation within the breed.
WindnSatin Kristull Sunrise
~~and her daughter Kristull Sahara
Connoisseurs of Borzois see wide distinctions in their outward appearance. Borzois as a whole however, are probably more closely bred than we realize, as a breed. I believe that there were just a few male lines within the last century, indicating that their phenotype (or outward appearance) is much wider than their genotype (genetic variation).
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Kristull Decadence (Deco) ~~ Zee X Peacock, father of Nameless & Hannah |
The Silken Windhound currently exceeds the Borzoi model in having a very diverse phenotype, which gives an impression that the corresponding genotype may also be similarly varied. This is simply not the case.
Although all Borzois are somewhat related to each other, we don't have to look that far back to see that the Borzoi families in our Silkens are actually closely related right up front.
The Borzoi in our background
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Kristull Falcone (Birddog) ~~ Zee X Peacock |
As you can see, Peacock (top right) was the original foundation of the breed. She was the first Borzoi to be bred into the original Lurchers. That D litter, containing Decadence and Darque Decision, was such a success, that it was repeated, giving us Falcone and Fantasia. Without her contribution, there would be no Silken Windhound. While, only four dogs from her two litters, are still represented in the breed, that is far superior to the other Borzoi descendants that have been brought in.
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Kristull Fantasia (Bobbysocks) ~~ Zee X Peacock |
Jjuno, interestingly enough was chosen because of her heritage back to Peacock. Jjuno is a brother sister breeding of two dogs (Hhalcyon and Hheirloom) who came from a half brother, sister breeding (Ffax Similee and Xxtra Sauce), both out of Xxquisite Xxss, a Peacock daughter. So Peacock was the great grandmother four times, and shows up a fifth time another generation back behind Touch of Wind N' Satin. You can check out her pedigree to the right.
Sunrise was a granddaughter of Peacock, as well.
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Kristull Darque Decision (Darque) ~~ Zee X Peacock |
Both Silver Legend and Huntress were unrelated to Peacock, or to each other, to the extent that any Borzoi is unrelated to any other.
So, while there were 5 Borzoi bred into the breed, three of those were related to each other to a lesser, or greater extent.