Black Russian Terriers

To understand the history of the Black Russian Terrier you must begin with the difficult period immediately following WWII. Purebred animals had almost become extinct in the Soviet Union, but the need and desire for them remained. For those who wanted companion dogs there was the Moscow Longhaired Toy Terrier; for hunters the Russian Spaniel. But there was still a great need for working dogs. Red Star Kennel, the state operated organization chartered to provide working dogs for the armed services, offered several breeds: the Moscow Great Dane, the Moscow Diver, and the Moscow Watch Dog. Most importantly to us, Red Star was actively developing a new breed, the Black Russian Terrier, which would incorporate the best characteristics of several working dogs into a new breed conceived for the unique requirements of the Soviet Union at that point in time. No private kennel would have been able to conduct a breeding program of the scale undertaken by Red Star. Over one hundred dogs of at least seventeen different breeds were used during the development of the Black Russian Terrier. The original breeding material was far from perfect, but represented the best stock available to Red Star. The breeding experiment began in earnest around 1950 by crossing such breeds as Giant Schnauzer, Rottweiler, Airedale Terrier, Newfoundland, and Caucasian Ovcharka, with judicious introduction of some Great Dane and Eastern European Shepherd blood. The progenitor of this breed was the Giant Schnauzer, ROY. He was described as: “typical for the breed; dog of sturdy-dry constitution, proportionally built, with well developed bones and musculature. In the front limbs there was slight toes-out, in the rear, slight cow-hocks.” Roy’s bite was level. From the combination of Giant Schnauzer ROY, and Rottweiler UNA, sons VAKH and AZART were produced. These crosses were used in the breeding program. VAKH’s son FOKA was passing undershot jaw to his offspring. In spite of that, inbreeding on FOKA resulted in promising animals. TIZA, a Moscow Diver, was used. She had a white spot on her chest and white toes which were consistently passed to her offspring. Later, Giant Schnauzer littermates, DASSO and DITTER were used. DITTER was monochryptorchid. One problem with many early dogs was faults of the dental system; underlying that problem was inconsistency in head structure among the foundation stock. There were also dental conformation problems in the individual dogs used early in the breed development. From these examples, it is easy to see defects in the foundation stock that would terrify any breeder. But even with these less than perfect originators, the breed today draws admiration from dog people all over the world. Early generations of these crosses did not resemble our Black Russian Terrier. But they did meet objectives of the kennel. Red Star intended to produce a big, strong, unpretentious dog, not requiring extensive coat care, demonstrating trainability and aggression. Working ability was always the highest priority. By 1957, Red Star had begun selling puppies of the second and third generation to hobby dog breeders. A new stage in the development of the Black Russian Terrier, still a breeding group at that time, was initiated. Hobby breeders adopted a new goal: to improve the appearance of the rather plain animals offered by Red Star while preserving the working qualities. The breeding group began to change with each new generation, but maintained characteristics of the breeds which had been used in establishing it. In any litter, there might be individual puppies which clearly revealed characteristics of the Rottweiller, Airedale, or Newfoundland, and coat colors included blue, wheaten, and even brindle. Some of these characteristics were much prized by foreign lovers of exotics. Until now, documentation of the development of the breed has not been published in full. Extraordinary legends have been launched due to inaccuracies and disunities in what has been reported. One legend, absolutely unfounded, is that the Black Russian Terrier breed originated in Germany. The result of the Red Star Kennel breeding program became known as the Black Russian Terrier. By 1968 the FCI had approved the description of this very young breeding group. Popularity grew quickly in Western countries, perhaps in part because European dog people had always believed that there were big bear-like dogs in Russia, and the Black Russian Terrier successfully confirmed this legend. In 1981, breed status was officially granted to the Black Russian Terrier. Since then, its popularity has continued to grow. But what has been the secret of this young breed’s success? Why did the Black Russian Terrier become so quickly accepted alongside universally recognized breeds that have existed for hundreds of years? Popularity in a working dog depends first on utility qualities – its ability to protect the owner, his family, and his home. Great size, excellent working qualities, courage, sociability, elegant appearance, and the ability to get along with kids are attributes that have enabled the Black Russian Terrier to reach its current level of popularity. It is expected that continued development of these qualities will result in popularity that will continue to grow. The breed was moved from FCI Group III (Terriers) to Group II (Working). The standard today has very little in common with the typical anatomical structure of terriers. Airedales have completely different humeroscapular (between upper arm and shoulder blade) structure. Airedales have a long, well-pulled back shoulder blade with short, almost vertical, upper arm bone. His front limbs are almost plumb. High set of neck, breast-bone not protruding beyond the shoulder point, and almost plumb pastern result in the straight front typical for most terriers, but which is a very serious fault in the Black Russian, especially in combination with light bone and low-set hocks. In his working qualities, many trainers think that the fast learning Black Russian Terrier remembers material solidly and for a long time, but retraining him is an exercise in futility. As a result, some have come to the opinion that the breed is difficult to train. Black Russians never forget when they have been treated unfairly. Adapted from the book: Black Russian Terrier, Marina Gerasimova, Moscow, 1996, translated by Elena Brailovsky, edited by William L. Evans, March 23, 2004.