Taigan 

History

For thousands of years Taigan of Kirghiz «catch up and kill  has been extremely helpful in hunting.  Now that hunting is no longer the way to survive Taigans are really close to sinking into oblivion.  The number of Taigans amounts to several hundred species.  The relic breed is on the verge of extinction.  The Taigan was developed to hunt on the rugged and steep terrain along the Russo-Chinese border. Some of the land has elevations of 7000 feet or more. For many years this dog was seen working his native land. Unfortunately progress in the area has brought the Taigan to near extinction. The Taigan is a beautiful dog who loves to lead the chase and has undying affection for his master. His wonderful traits make good reason to keep this animal from extinction..This site is olso dedicated to a unique breed of hunting dogs, the Kyrgyz taigan, whose origins date back a thousand years. Although this breed is from the age of antiquity, there is much information about it.  This site was developed in order to promote and inform the reader about the taigan and to correct any misinformation.   The taigan is a part of the group of eastern borzoi. This breed is inextricably embodied in the history of the Kyrgyz people.  The taigan has accompanied the nomad cattle herdsman and hunter from the first pages of Kyrgyzstan’s epic history: From the Altaian steppes through the taiga, to contemporaneous settlements in forests and in the high mountains. The taigan has served as the companion of the Kyrgyz. Every change of geography and climate posed demands on this breed. The ways of the Kyrgyz on horseback instilled speed.  From ages of selective breeding, we now have a unique breed of hunting dogs, the Kyrgyz borzoi: The taigan. A unique trait of the taigan is good eye sight, combined with a keen sense of smell. When a beast is out of sight, the taigan relies solely on smell to hone in on its prey. This is one of many distinctive traits of this breed. The taigan is an adept hunter in the harshest terrain, from mountains to thick forrest. Its physical beauty projects its lethal efficiency as a hunter and its unpretentiousness as a companion: chiseled legs, a tall figure, proud chest, a deer’s neck, a prominent and elegant head, slightly wavy fur with symmetrical and not spotty tones, and a straight noble gaze.

 

                                        

 
The   main features of the breed.  The Taigan is a dog of middle and above-middle height. The height of dogs varies from 65 to 70 cm, of bitches -- from 60 to 65 cm. Both dogs and bitches are 1-2 cm higher at withers than at sacrum. The index of length of dogs is 105%, whereas that of bitches is 107%. The behavior is balanced, active. The Taigan is usually calm, even phlegmatic, but is easily exited having seen the game.
The coat color: black, black with white spots (but not specks), red, gray, sand (of different shades), white, dappled. Any specks are considered to be a defect. Nose must be black at any color of the coat.

 

The coat is soft, silky, long, thick; on the muzzle, on the front surfaces of the skull, on the forelegs starting a bit higher wrists and to the down, is short. Long hair is developed on the back side of the head, on the neck, shoulders, sometimes coming down to the wrist. Long hair is sometimes wavy, and rarely -curly, developed on the back part of the skull, on the neck, and on shoulders, coming down almost to the wrist, well-developed on the thighs. Relatively hard hair is on the feet, which makes an impression of "shoes". So-called "bourki" (long hair on the ears) is developed on the ears (5-8 cm, sometimes longer.  

 

 
The skin is solid, elastic, without any folds. Muscular system is well developed, especially on the back legs, along the back and around the loin. The skeleton is strong but not heavy.
The head and neck. The head is long, "dry", somewhat massive, wedge-like at a look from up to down with somewhat massive skull part. Both the sinciput and occiput crests are slightly pronounced. The stop is hardly pronounced. The muzzle is straight, and, sometimes, a "Rome nose" is found. The lips are tightly adjoined to the jaws. The ears are hanging, thin, without any folds, rounded at the tips, located at the level of the eyes. The "bourki" must be well developed.

 

 

The   eyes are quite large, oval in shape, oblique, dark-brown at any coat color. The teeth are strong , white, large. The bite must be scissors-like.The neck is long, "dry", hold straight, somewhat narrow at the sides. The chest is wide, oval in shape, in a "cross-section" narrower at the sternum. The sternum must be at the level of the elbows. The back is either slightly arc-shaped or flat, wide, muscular. Behind the withers, so-called "pereslezhina" (a sort of a pit) is pronounced.

 

 

Legs. The forelegs are "dry", bony and muscular, straight and parallel at a look from the front. The elbows must be oriented exactly backwards. The postern is either slightly inclined or perpendicular to the ground. The back legs are straight and parallel at a look from the rear, standing backwards and a bit wider apart than the forelegs. The joints are well developed, especially the hock. The muscles must be well developed on the back legs. The paws are oval, the toes are tightly compact, the nails are oriented to the ground. Between the toes, hard hair is developed. The tail is "saber-like", neither thick nor long,. On the tip, there is a "ring", which cannot be unfold due to the three joint vertebras on the tip. The ring must not be lower the hock. The tale is hold hanging while standing and at the level of the back or higher while the dog is moving. Hair is not too developed on the tail

 

 
So    basically, this is the description of the Taigan. As you can see, the Taigan is fairly similar to the Afghan Hound, but bears a number of different features, such as remarkably shorter coat, the long hair does not grow below the hock nor the wrist. Some sort of "shoes" due to the long hair on the paws is noticeable in many Taigans. There is the ring at the end of the tail, which cannot be unfold, but I've seen a lot of dogs whose rings can be unfold, that is not essential at my point of view. The body is slightly longer comparing to that of the Afghan. This feature is thought to be significant due to the possibility to stop abruptly while chasing downhill having such a construction of the body. The hunting features of the swift dogs in the former Soviet Union are considered to be very important. Both the Afghan Hound and the Taigan are used to hunt in Kirgizstan. There are some Tazy as well. But unfortunately, the hunters do not like to attend dog shows for some reason. For example, there were only a couple of Taigans last show (June, 1997). I hope that it will be changed.

 

 
Some enthusiasts still keep breeding the Taigan and the breed is traditional in that region. Actually, the Afghan Hound used to have a similar appearance, as you know. It seems to me that the longer coat has been developed during the breeding in the West. I suspect existing some link among the Taigan, the Tazy the Saluki, and the Afghan Hound, it just gets obvious at a look at these breeds. Actually, as you certainly know, the Afghan imported from Afghanistan by the Englishmen in last century was very similar to the modern Taigan and to the aboriginal Afghan imported by the Russians 10-15 years ago.

 

 
Limbs Front legs as seen from the front the legs are parallel. Elbows sraightly pointing backwards. Breast usually broad and ovan. Shoulder angle 90 - 100 deg. Hindlegs seen from behind are parallel, broad apart with long bones. Joints well developed and prominent. Feet *Oval, back ones a little longer than the front, toes narrow and firm. Tail * thin and hanging like a sword, the tip curved in the form of a spiral. Bad points * Height less than indicated. Long hair on the body is bad. Long hair on the sides, the quarters, back of ear rims, or points. Head; prominent bridge from forehead to snout over developed. Forelegs; weakly developed joints. Feet; Coarse or hanging sideways. All these points would be graded as bad when being judged.

 

 
Skin  muscle and bone - Muscles and bone well developed, notably the hindquarters, bones very strong, the skin fine and elastic. Head-Straight and long, with medium sized skull. The stop is weakly developed, rear point moderate. The bridge from the forehead to the snout is flowing. The lips are fine. The ears lying well on the cheek are neither pricked nor dropped. The general appearance reminds one of the Irish Setter. Ears * hanging covered with hair, in a line fith the eyes or slightly higher, fine and about 11 - 14 cms in length. Eyes *Large and elelids slanted, of a brown colour, disregarding the colour of the coat. Neck * long, sometimes a little arched, held high. Body *Breast broadly formed and deep. Shoulders clearly well formed. Back straight can be slightly arched and broad. Rear and loins, broad and long hip bones rather prominent width between hip bones usually about 6 - 7 cms. Stomach * strong and fine.

 

 

 
General appearance  and type * Dog of average size or more, with great constitution, shoulder height for dogs 60 to 70 centimetres and for bitches 55 to 65 centimetres. Length * about 100 cms

Colour * White, brown, grey in all tones, black, spotted with or without sprinkling of basic colour. Nose black.

Hide * Short hair, soft and straight. On the ears long fine hair 5-6 cms from the ear rims, it forms a so called "Bourka" (felt coat). On the underside of the tail the hair is longer and forms a thin fringe.  Height    22 to 28 inches ( 56 to 71 cm). Coat type - thick and double, with heavy feathering on the ears, shoulders, thighs, and the tail.

 

 

 

Faults   Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousnes with which the fault should be regarded should be exact proportion to its degree.

Note * Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully decended into the scrotum.

 

 

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