Basins: description of the breed of dogs and nuances of content

Tazy is a unique and very small breed of dog, known in hunting circles as the Central Asian or Turkmen Greyhound. In its homeland in Turkmenistan, the breed was culted for several millennia, and its happy owners remembered by heart the entire pedigree of their pet. Animals are quite frequent characters of Turkmen folklore and the only dogs that were included in the owner’s personal tent.

Tazy - one of the oldest breeds, belonging to the eastern group of greyhounds. Specialists have repeatedly drawn attention to its close relationship with the Arabian Salukis and some other Eastern greyhounds: the Afghan archer and the Russian steppe greyhound. The history of the breed is rooted in the VIII century and is associated with the invasion of Arab-Muslim warriors on the territory of modern Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.

During the long wars, some territories of the Central Asian region became part of the Arab caliphate and were inhabited by Arab soldiers and Bedouin tribes. Strangers came to the Central Asian open spaces not empty-handed: they brought property, drove cattle and brought their own greyhound hunting dogs - direct ancestors of modern pots. Over time, the indigenous people learned to hunt with the help of a new breed and quickly appreciated and fell in love with these beautiful proud dogs.

Then, with the beginning of the Tatar-Mongol invasion of the XII-XIII centuries, the greyhounds were brought to the areas north of the Syr Darya and quickly spread throughout Central Asia from the steppes of Mongolia to the Crimea itself.This is due to the fact that after the conquest of Khorezm and the destruction of the Baghdad Caliphate, the Tatar-Mongols appreciated the breed they saw and began to take its representatives to their native places. This has led to on the territories of Central and Central Asia, 2 species of steppe greyhounds formed - Turkmen and Kazakh basins.

Some specialists tend to separate into a separate group Uzbek greyhoundshowever, in fact, the group is very heterogeneous and includes, rather, not a separate breed variety, but transitional types and local varieties of the two main groups. The formation of the basin was greatly influenced by climatic conditions and landscape, due to which it was possible to obtain the unique breed, whose representatives perfectly tolerated the hot steppe climate, felt great in the absence of humidity and did not pay attention to the hot sand.

Dogs were cared for and cherished, they were given the best place in the home and feeding from the master's table, and the pet often got the best piece. The housewives sewed soft mattresses and pillows for them, and in order to prevent the animal from suffering from cold and heat, they were dressed in carefully sewn blankets, decorated with ribbons and embroidered with beads.

During the hunt, in order not to expend the dog’s strength, the owner put her on the horse with him. For this purpose, a special basket was installed behind the saddle, in which the pots majestically sat. In addition, the owners were very proud of their pets and elevated them to the rank of family jewels.

This continued until the proclamation of Soviet power and the entry of the Central Asian republics into the Soviet Union. So, by the beginning of the 30s of the last century, the number of pelvis stocks in these regions had significantly decreased, and in some places the dogs had completely disappeared. However, worried admirers of centuries-old national traditions did not allow the breed to disappear, taking immediate measures to restore it quickly.

By the efforts of these people, by 1938, the number of pots in Kazakhstan alone was close to 7 thousand individuals. However, the breed could not return to its former glory and honor. This is primarily due to the departure of the classic hunting model using horses and dogs.

People began to engage in more poaching, using motorcycles and cars for this purpose and blinding frightened animals with a bright beam of a searchlight. Therefore, over time, the need for greyhounds disappeared, and the pots practically ceased to be used for their intended purpose. In this regard, most of the Kazakh pure breed lines were lost, due to the greater secularism of the society formed in the republic.

In a more conservative Turkmenistan, there were much fewer immigrants with a European way of life, and therefore it was possible to preserve most of the national traditions and relics. The Turkmen greyhound also remained among them, preserving the purity of blood and not losing the high working qualities of an unsurpassed hunter.

In connection with the rapid development of urbanization in the Central Asian republics, the pots "came" to the city. The dog began to grow as a pet and show at exhibitions. The debut of the Kazakh and Turkmen pelvic lines took place in 1958 at the I All-Union Exhibition, which was held in the capital. The event was attended by service and hunting dogs, among which were 12 Kazakh and 2 Turkmen greyhounds.

In 1959, the first All-Union standard of both breed lines was compiled - Kazakh and Turkmen, which for a long time remained unchanged. In 1995, a new standard for the Uzbek-Kazakh pelvis was approved in the Russian Federation of Hunting Dog Breeding.

In addition to the republics of Central Asia, pedigree greyhounds are located in the Baltic countries, Ukraine, Germany, Denmark and Finland. In Russia, breeders from St. Petersburg are engaged in breeding purebred pots.

Due to the fact that at the moment the breed is not recognized by the International Cynological Federation, the standardization of livestock is carried out taking into account the last approved standard of 1995. According to this document, basins are dogs of lean physique of two types. The individuals of the Kazakh type are taller than the Turkmen ones: the growth of males is 60-70 cm, the females are 55-65 cm. In the Turkmen branch, males grow to 55-65 cm, females - up to 53-60 cm. The weight of individuals depending on gender and type of breed is from 25 to 35 kg.

The description of the breed is as follows.

• The case of representatives of both species elongated, with an index of the ratio of the length of the croup to height at the withers - 100/103. Females, in comparison with males, are slightly more elongated, which is due to the need to feed several puppies at once. The muscles of the animals are rather dry, the skeleton is strong, and it is very well developed.

• Pelvis skin differs in high elasticity and, without forming folds, tightly fits a body.

• The head has a slightly elongated shape, it is quite dry, looking like a wedge from above. The occipital region is moderately expressed, in addition, there is a weak development of the sagittal crest. The stop is smooth, very weakly expressed.

• The expressive eyes are almond shaped, and the color of the iris is always brown, completely independent of coat color. The look is very confident and understanding.

• The pelvic lips are quite thin, tight to the teeth.

• The teeth are present in a complete set, white and strong, locked in a scissor bite.

• The nose in most cases has black pigmentation, however, in light greyhounds brown shades are allowed.

• The ears are covered with long and wavy hair, have a thin structure and hang freely, touching the corners of the lips with their ends. Most often, they are planted on the line of the eyes or slightly higher and rise above the head due to the elastic cartilage.

• The neck is set high has a rounded or slightly compressed shape on the sides, somewhat elongated. In some dogs, it bends slightly upward.

• The chest is wide and round, lowered to the elbow joint.

• The back is straight or with a slider. The loin is somewhat shortened, with well-marked relief muscles, often has a slight bulge. The croup is wide and moderately sloping, the stomach selected.

• The tail is thin, ends with a ring, lowered just below the line of the hull and resembles a saber. During the run of the animal, it rises slightly, but does not go above the line of the back.

• The front legs are straight, with well-developed muscles of the forearms, standing parallel to each other. The metacarpus has an elongated structure and is located slightly inclined. The hind legs are wider than the front legs, have long levers and sheer metatarsals.

• The coat is single-layered with a short, dense and very soft outer hair. On the ears there are burqa 6 cm long, on the front and hind legs - tows, on the tail - a beautiful fan-suspension.

• Color can be white and gray with a light speck of limbs and tan areas. And also black, dark gray and red shades with specks in tone of the main coat are allowed, and for black individuals - a white spot on the chest.

Describing the breed, it is impossible not to mention its achievements. So, despite its rarity and paucity, pots are listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the fastest dog, capable of speeds of 68.8 km / h. Thanks to high-speed running in the days of nomads, the pots independently caught the beast, killed it and brought it to the owner. However, with the advent of firearms, this need has disappeared.

Tazy is a calm and majestic dog, who treats his master with great warmth, but is absolutely indifferent to strangers. However, due to excessive independence, the dog will not relentlessly follow the owner, but will impressively settle in its place and will look down on what is happening.

Contemplating such a picture, it is very difficult to imagine that this proud and independent dog is an unsurpassed hunter, able to work not only in a pack with brothers, but also in conjunction with hunting birds. Tazy gets along well with other dogshowever, keeping very small breeds with him in the house is not recommended: a hunting instinct can play a trick, and a small pet runs the risk of becoming a prey.

But it should also be noted that, unlike other hunting breeds, which are not distinguished by high security and guard qualities, basins are an exception. Dogs do a great job as a watchman and bodyguard.without allowing attackers to even approach their master.

Despite some arrogance and imposingness, the pelvis often behaves like a cat. The dog enjoys basking at the owner’s feet and flexes his whole body when stroking it. As for the attitude towards children, the basins do not show any aggression towards them, they behave quite friendly. However, if a dog has not been socialized and adapted to children since early childhood, then it is not worth leaving a small child alone.

Despite the fact that the biological life expectancy of the breed is 13-15 years, basins do not survive very often until old age. This is especially true of urban dogs taken as companions in the family. There are several reasons for the early deaths of pets.

Dogs of this breed pursue any moving target, because of which the pet can easily run for a walk for an airplane flying in the sky. In addition, these dogs run at very high speeds, so it is often simply impossible to catch up and reason with them. This often leads to the death of the basin under the wheels of the car.

The second reason for early deaths is heart disease, which is often passed on to the puppy from its parents. So, among the most common diseases in the pelvis can be noted heart failure, congenital heart muscle defect, anemia and thrombocytopenia. Dogs are also often food allergies, dermatitis, pyoderma, alopecia and cancer, usually lymphoma.

The best place to live in Tazy is the countryside, where the pet will have enough space for games and fast long run.If the dog lives in the city, then the owner should take care of the place for walks in advance, where the pots can be worn for several hours a day and play with other animals.

Such dogs must travel several tens of kilometers every day, which is why they are the best companions for lovers of long hikes and bike rides. However, when traveling together, the dog must be kept on a leash. A pet that is carried away by a flying bird can rush after it and get lost.

In general, pots are ideal dogs for home keeping. For many centuries of life in the same tent with a man, they learned not to scatter food, eat neatly and behave very decently. In addition, basins cannot physically live on the street, as the pet’s coat does not have undercoat.

You can feed basins both with natural food and prepared feeds. If you decide to feed the dog with ordinary foods, you need to remember that the food from the human table is not suitable for the pet. The basis of the dog’s menu is lean meat, which is recommended to be given fresh, cut into pieces and doused with boiling water. It should be at least 60% of the total serving, and the remaining 40% should be in vegetables and cereals, flavored with a spoon of vegetable oil. Eggs should be given to the pet boiled and not more than twice a week.

And the dog is given boiled and stoned sea fish, seasonal fruits, cottage cheese and low-fat sour cream. 3It is forbidden to feed basins with sweets, pastries, salted, smoked and fried foods, as well as foods high in dyes and preservatives.

If the dog eats ready-made food, then it is better to opt for premium trainscontaining all the substances necessary for the body of the animal. Whatever the type of pelvis diet, the dog should have free access to fresh drinking water.

Caring for pots is quite simple and not much different from caring for many other breeds. The dog needs to be thoroughly combed a couple of times a week, thus preventing stalling. During molting, the number of combing is increased, and if necessary, even up to two times a day.

A pet should be bathed no more than 4 times a yearusing special dog shampoos for this. In case of slight contamination, the wool is wiped with a damp cloth or treated with a dry shampoo.

Teeth are cleaned every 2 weeks with toothpaste and a brush-brush on the finger. Ears and eyes are examined daily, if necessary, the discharge is removed with a damp cloth. When pus or an unpleasant odor occurs, the pet is immediately shown to the veterinarian.

Greyhounds are prone to otitis, therefore, the condition of the ears should be monitored especially carefully. And also you need to regularly cut the pet's claws, using special scissors or a nail clipper for this.

Basins are difficult for dogs to train and are not suitable as a first pet. Due to the proud and self-sufficient nature of any coercion, they respond with a protest. therefore dogs should be treated gently and at the same time very persistently. When raising a basin, it is worthwhile to stock up on considerable patience, since the dog is in no hurry to carry out the commands and will try to seize the initiative whenever possible.

The main thing is not to let the dog take the lead and show him who the boss is in the house. Before the occupation, it is advisable to tire the basins, otherwise the dog will be worn and will not want to train. To do this, you can apply apporting.No less important is the socialization of the pet, as an angry pelvis can be very dangerous for others.

For more information on breed features, see the next video.