Original article included in the extinct Andreas Wagner web page. One of the first and best BRT web pages.
Artículo original publicado en la desaparecida página de Andreas Wagner. Una de las primeras y mejores páginas sobre el BRT.
 

(I have kept  the page in my Pc in it's original format, like a treausure -like some others Andreas pages- and that's why I maintain it's -original- design)
(He conservado la página en mi ordenador como un tesoro -como otras páginas de Andreas- y por esa razón la mantengo en su diseño original)
 

 
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The Black Russian Terrier

The destinctive, powerful built black figure of this all-round working dog is now quite common in Russia. This breed is becoming a very popular personal body-guard and is also well-known among dog-lovers. Sometimes it is difficult to believe that the Black Terrier was bred only in the 1960's and belongs to the youngest working breeds in the world. This dog is known in Russia as the Black Terrier or often simply "Blackie (Tchiorny = russian for Black therefor also Tchiorny Terrier)". The name "Russian" came to it later when breed specimens penetrated into some countries of Eastern and Western Europe. This dog, of course doesn't belong to the terrier group and has quite a different temperament.

The roots of this handsome creature originated in crossbred working stock of our military kennels. A number of big and ferocious mongrels had to serve in the army and prisons in Stalin's time.

To speak about the Black Terrier and not to mention the history of Russian military cynolgy is impossible. That is why this article is going to be a little bit bigger, but from my point of view, more interesting for Western readers who are not acquainted with the history of our working dogs in the middle of our century.

Thats why I start with a brief report about utility dog breeding in Russia after the Revolution and Civil War. In 1917-1923 all Russian private kennels were ruined and 90% of pure-bred animals were lost. The majority of people, who knew how to deal with dog breeding died or emigrated. Though the new regime, when established, needed utility dogs for police and army service, but had no source of such animals or qualified cynologists.

In 1924 the Central Army School of Cynologists was organized. In it's departments were trained professionals for army service and practical dog-breeders for state kennels. The biggest center of this school-system was the "KRASNAYA ZVEZKA" kennel (Red Star Kennel). It was a real giant among the others. They had to keep and train thousand of dogs at the same time and also had to breed them for army and police service. It is still working in the same way now, but its role in the Russian cynology now, of course is not so dominant as 30 to 50 years ago.

In the 1930's, Stalin's prisons and the fast-growing number of military objectors needed hordes of four-footed manstoppers. However, the army and the Gulag kennels were not able to breed enough pure-bred animals. The other reason for sometimes random crossing (of breeds) was that the responsible officers often were not really responsible and occasionally poorly educated. Conditions for the dogs were bad -- many female dogs were lost for breeding. Breed-crossings produced the so-called "Ruskar" (abbrev. for "Russkaya Karaulnaya" = Russian Guardian Dog). Ruskar refers to any product of a cross between big and agregressive canide, able for guarding. The majority of them were long-coated and well adapted to our severe winters.

Good for nothing than guarding, this sort of dogs were not known for hereditary working abilities. That's why for more "special" work, the military cynologists still needed pure-bred working-dogs. Before the second World War in "Krasnaya Zvezda" there were East European Shepherds (See Note), Caucasian Shepherds, Middle Asian and Mongolian Shepherds, South-Russian Shepherds, Airedale Terriers, Collies and even breeds rarely used for working such as Great Danes, St.Bernhards and Newfoundlanders. After World War II. we also took Giant Schnauzers and Rottweilers as trophies and here we come close to the origin of the Black (Russian) Terrier.
 

Note: Some Western Articles often use improper information about the East European Shepherd. Indeed it was an old-fashioned German Shepherd which was introduced into Russian dog breeding before the first world war and existed mainly in Central Russia, later spreading into other areas. The type of the breed changed and the East-European Shepherd became bigger with more bone and substance. The breed is registered in Russia and has official standards. It is still known for it's good working abilities.
 

The first stage of breeding the Blackies consited of the following crosses: Giant Schnauzers X Airedale Terriers and Giant Schnauzers X Rottweilers. Litters were crossed and Bred "in line". At the second stage some dogs from this line were mated with so-called "Moscow Divers". These were crosses among the Newfoundlanders, Caucasian Sheperd and the East European Shepherd and were working dogs with the appearance of a badly conformed Newfie with the temperament of a bad Caucasian. They were, like the Blackie, designed as a big guarding creature. The type, however, was difficult to establish and in the early 60's this breed was deemed "unprospective" and culled from the breeding program. Some Moscow Divers were occasionally used in kennels for matings with Caucasians and Moscow Watchdogs for the post-war restoration of the Newfies and the breeding of Blackies.

Another "unprospective" breed with the same history was the "Moscow Great Dane" (Great Dane X European Shepherd) and the progeny of one of these dogs was mated to a Rottweiler bitch. The resultant litter went into the Black Terrier's breeding program.

In conclusion, I can say that the Black Russian Terrier is 30% Giant Schnauzer, 30% Airedale Terrier, 30% Rottweiler and the remaining 10% is a combination of Newfoundlanders, Caucasian- and East European Shepherd and the Great Dane.

The first Black Terriers were used not only as guardians of prisons, but also as all-around army and police dogs. These dogs had to work in the far North and South of Russia and accordingly had to show great adaptability to any climatic condition and a tremendous level of reliability. Blackies were also tried as sled dogs and in this role had to show success, of course, not the same as huskies and other "sled professionals" but better than some other working breeds. A few representatives ot the breed were occasionally used as cattle-drivers and flock-herders. The above examples show how the Blackies could work in a wide variety of conditions, including those which would normally call for the use of another specialized breed.

The question is, why did Blackie, with his great working abilities, strength and courage, give up his army career in favor of domestic comfort ? It is an interesting question and I'll try to answer.

First of all, the Black Terrier needs regular grooming, especially the old fashioned wire coated type, who needed trimming. It is, to be honest, not the best quality for army dogs who live in kennel and expected to require minimal care. Next this dog is slow to mature and it makes it's upgrowing and training a little bit more expensive than the East European Shepherd or Asiatians for the same purpose. Also it seems that the Blackie needs more human contact than mountain shepherds who traditionally do all guarding job in our services. And least, the most important event that shaped the future of the Blackie was the All Russian Dog Championship Show in 1957. There were shown forty-three Black Terriers and they attracted interest of private dog-lovers from Moscow and St.Petersburg. At the same moment, Stalin's death and closing of some prisons allowed military kennels to sell litters to private owners.

To say that the first Blackies had some difference from modern dogs -- is to say nothing: the differences were quite remarkable, both physical and temperamental. In fact, the type was far from stable. The dogs in the 1960's and 1970's were bigger and sometimes had more bone. According to the first standard (adopted in 1979 when we had 4332 registered Blackies) they had a hard and wiry coat whereas a softer, longer coat was penalized as a bad fault. In comparison with modern show-champions the showdogs of the 1970's were common looking with rough and "bushy" expression. Temperament was also not a strong feature of the first working stock. The early Blackies usually were too sharp for the average owner.

However, the majority of Black Terriers had to live in flats in the big cities and that's why breeders selected the new type more suited for the modern way of living.

The breed's character changed, because dogs were bred for intelligence, trainability, discipline and loyalty to people. The modern dog is temperamentally sound and makes a lovely and devoted pet full of discipline and good with children, though it is still capable of taking on an intruder or stranger. These characteristics make the Blackie an excellent family guarding dog, but may not be suited for a home where strangers are very welcome.

Typical representatives of the breed are not known for their dominant nature and are normally suitable for a responsible novice owner. Some males may cause problems but the percentage of such specimens seems to be not higher than in Giant Schnauzer and lower than in Rottweilers.

The Blackie is not known as a dogfighter and usually never challenges others first. On the walk, Blackie behaves like a gentleman and sometimes you can see them in Moscow walking near the owners leg without a lead. But the same dog can act extremely fast, hard and fiercely in a dangerous situation and also on command. At home the majority of Blackies don't like visitors, have strong guarding instincts and need careful and firm socialization when young. It must be emphasized that whilst these dogs allow people to approach in normal circumstances, they need a great deal of training for a career of showing as they do not easily tolerate being handled by strangers, touched by judges or being petted by spectators.

Again, early socialization and careful show training are important, especially for those dogs who live in kennels while their relatives who live with families in flats usually go in the show ring a bit easier.

Any training for protective service is highly undesirable with immature dogs until they are 1 1/2 to 2 years old. All training must be done taking into account the slow maturation of the breed.

At home, the Black Terrier is quiet and not too active in spite of his size, greate strength and moveability. In Russia, he is known as a "Big Dog for a small appartment" and that seems to be true.

Blackie is always brave, self-confident and reliable. Shyness in this breed is extremely rare (I have not seen a single one !).

This dog is growing in popularity amongst farmers as a guardian. He is black, difficult to see in darkness, fast and silent like a ghost. That is why even an armed thief has little chance to prepare to meet fifty kilograms of iron musceled guardian who pins him down, awaiting the arrival of the owner. This dog is well suited for guarding big open territories, extremely watchful and it is unknown for it to attack people out of its "object" or to be cruel to cattle.

Obviously the task to breed the dog described above from the fierce manstoppers of the 1950's was not easy and the breed is not free from problems. The quickly growing popularity of the Black Terrier is, perhaps, the best recommendation of its character.

The appearance of a modern dog is also more attractive than the typical figure of an early specimen. In Russia, the breed is registered in many different clubs and we have no central organisation which is taking care of its breeding.

We have two main types of Black Terriers -- the old fashioned wire-coated type (also known among breed fanciers as the "short-coated Blackie") and the modern long-coated type with a softer, wavy hair. It's coat also must satisfactory protect the dog from weather and be rather rough -- soft or curly coat is highly undesirable and is going to be a disqualifying fault very soon. The two types may be either crossed or bred separately. The majority of show-champions are of the long-coated variety, though both types exist in our breeding programs.

The old fashioned dogs have dense and wiry coats and like schnauzers need trimming, are often taller than modern types (sometimes up to 80 cm at shoulders), have more bone and substance. This coat is recessive and not a show winner but a number of breeders uses them because of excellent bone and body quality. In the appearance of a modern dog one can see little outware resemblance to the original show-terriers. The coat is long, dense, very "rich" and wavy with plenty of undercoat and the decorative hair is well developed.

A good specimen must possess expression of great strength, substance and moveability. The dog is square, broad, deep-bodied and is well balanced.

Long-bodied, unsound or narrow dogs are highly undesirable and cannot be used for breeding.

Both varieties must have a dense and rich moustache and chin whishers, well developed decorative hair on neck, shoulders and legs. According to the standard, dogs in previous times had uprising hair on the brows, but modern breeders don't like it as a "movetone" and such dogs are not the best-dealers at the shows.

Dogs without decorative hair, beard or moustache are always penalized.

According to official standards, colour is only solid black without any marks; or black with some silver hair spread all-over the body. All other colours considered to be a disqualification. Recently, as an experiment, some clubs have bloodlines with a silver-grey colour or "pepper and salt". Breeders have no agreement what to do with such animals. They are mainly registered in the Club Harmony (Moscow) and some so-called "working kennels" -- those which are occupied in breeding of working dogs not for show-career. These dogs are sometimes very attractive and handsome, that's why many people feel sympathy toward them. But they are rare and not permitted by the breed standard and for this reason they cannot be shown at the majority of the breed shows.

Privately, I have seensome of these "silver giants" and have to think that this unusual variety really has its own beauty. Maybe in the future, breeders will come to some agreement about these variations in colour and it's possible that the beauty of such dogs would not spoil the name "Black Terrier".

A few words about height and size. The official height for male dogs is 66 to 72 cm and 64-70 cm for bitches, although blance and soundness in Blackies's conformation are always considered to be first.

Bigger dogs are very attractive but the Black Terrier should not be tall; he must also have weight and substance.

Breeders and dog owners sometimes prefer bigger specimens but it is difficult to achieve height, substance and soundness in one dog ! That is why the average height of the present-day show champions is about 71 - 72 cm. Taller Blackies are often show unsound movement as well.

The movement of the Black Terrier shows strenght and elasticity. Such is extremely necessesary for a creature of his size and weight. It moves freely, is able to jump high, quickly change speed and turn around on "one square inch".

There should be a typical gait -- trotting, fast gallop with sound elasticity on the topline and plenty of drive.

The head should be long, moderately broad. The toplines of the skull and muzzle are parallel and straight. The stop is slightly announced, ears triangular and set rather high, lying close to the cheek, hot hanging houndy. Eyes are to be of moderate size, oval-shaped and dark.

Blackie's teeth are described in the standard as big, white, even to each other with a scissors bite. However, the bite is one of the biggest problems in modern breeding, because among this breeds's ancestors, are many breeds that had teeth problems. Lower incisors often are not in line -- some sources point out, that this foult can be seen in many of the dog shows.

Breeders pay attention to this in connnection with the with the head quality and don't penalize it heavily. Level bites occur often and this is a more serious foult, permissible (but undesirable) only with excellent head qualities.

The nose is always black. The neck is rather long and strong, its angle with the topline is 40-50°. The withers should be well-pronounced and the topline strong, wide and level. The front is well-developed and the body deep. The fore- and hind-quarters are well-angulated with strongly developed muscles and should be parallel from front and back view. The tail is cropped (leaving 3-4 vertebrae) short and set high.

Among the most common of this breed's troubles are white markings, appearance of a Newfoundland (long body, absence of beart and moustache and big hanging ears), unsound movements and racy appearance. The latter is most serious because "racy" dogs are easier to go with at the shows. Some kennels are already producing a number of inproper dogs and it is important to remember that the Black Russian Terrier is neither a Giant Kerry Blue or a Bouvier des Flandres. Some people, especially those not experienced in the breed, often miss the difference between Blackie and such well-known show winners as Schnauzers and Bouviers. Fashion also helps them in making these mistakes, that's why the differences seem to be very important.

In comparison to Blackie, the Bouvier is more cobby and heavy with a broader skull and shorter muzzle with a more pronounced stop and brows. The cheeks are flat while Blackie's cheeks are more rounded. The Bouvier appears to have shorter legs and neck and its hocks seem to be set lower to the ground than the Blackie's. The Blackie NEVER has rear dewclaws.

The Giant Schnauzer on the other hand, has a narrower skull, more occipital protuberance and in general his conformation is more "dry" and "racy". The Schnauzer also appears as if he is taller with a longer neck and more "clean" outlines.

If we compare the Bouvier to a "heavy athlete" and the Giant Schnauzer to a "runner", the Blackie would be suited somewhere in the middle and seems to be an "all around sportsman", well suited both for a good run and for load-pulling. His conformation must be as close to the "best middle" of the working dog as it is possible. Modern breeders must understand that the Blackie is a utility dog in first and a show-star or anything else in the second.

The author would like to give great thanks to the medical doctor, Ian Peter Collins from Great Britain who helped me to look through mistakes in this article which was written (for me) in a foreign language.

Dr. Eugene Tisgelnitsky, M.D., Moscow

(Note: To prevent misunderstandings, the reader should know that A) in Russia even Great Danes are breeded in very small flats of about 35 m2 = 105 squareft. B) Because of the missing of a central register in Russia teethproblems are not the only problem, because x-raying of hips for HD-control is also not known. That means that the HD problem will be much more critical than the teeth problem, because a dog can grow old with teethproblems, but will have a life in pain with HD !!! C) A BRT should live in a familiy with house and garden, not in a kennel, not in a flat. Having BRT's in a kennel makes them often very agressive - because contact to humans is missed, that's why in Russia very often BRT's are not touched by judes in the rink !!)
 

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