Black Russian Terrier: Character, Care and Diseases of the Black Terrier

Black Russian Terrier

Russian Black Terrier - this breed was created basically in response to the needs of the Russian army, which was looking for dogs with specific utility values, such as resistance, endurance, obedience and ease of learning.

She had her native dogs at her disposal, but they were too aggressive, as well as service dogs imported from Europe - m.in. Dobermans, German Shepherds, Giant Schnauzers and Rottweilers, which in turn were considered too small and not adapted to the harsh climate there.

And in order to combine the features of the psyche of these two groups, obtaining an ideal dog, the "Czerwona Gwiazda" kennel was created, responsible for the appearance and character of the Russian Black Terrier today.

The standard was accepted by the FCI in 1987, qualifying the Blackbird to group 2, the first section - pinschers and schnauzers, and not to the group of terriers, because he is definitely not a typical terrier.

Today, these dogs also play the role of watchdogs, but mainly at home.

• Black Russian Terrier character
• Black Russian Terrier in appearance
• Russian black terrier care and nutrition
• Black Russian Terrier disease
  • Lens dislocation
  • Elbow dysplasia
  • Hip dysplasia
  • Bladder stones (uric acid)
  • Addison's disease
  • Juvenile laryngeal paralysis and polyneuropathy
• For whom the Russian Black Terrier will be the perfect dog?

Black Russian Terrier character

Black Russian Terrier character

As the breeding of Russian black terriers was focused on selection in terms of work in border services, guards, police and, above all, the military, their character traits fit closely to the profile of this type of utility dogs.

Therefore, they are intelligent, easy to cooperate, strong, composed, and when necessary, they can react quickly.

These dogs are faithful and devoted to their guardian or to the whole family they live with, showing cordiality at every step.

They like children to whom they have unfathomable layers of patience and tolerance, but due to the size of the dog, such games should be supervised.

They also get along very well with other pets belonging to our "herd", so they can be easily kept in a larger group.

They are suspicious and distant when dealing with strangers, and they can snap their teeth at an unwanted visitor.

In order for them to be able to distinguish situations requiring intervention from those that are completely harmless, they must be consistently trained from the puppy.

For such training to make sense, it must not be monotonous, because our dog will quickly get bored with it and will look for a more interesting activity.

Czernysze also need a lot of exercise - jogging, mountain hiking and various types of dog sports give them the most joy.

Due to the large size and so that our dog can fulfill the role of a watchman, the best home for him will be one with a large yard fenced with a solid fence.

Black Russian Terrier in appearance

Black Russian Terrier in appearance

CTR is a dog with an athletic build and strong bones, belonging to giant breeds.

The size of the Russian black terrier

The ideal height at the withers for a male dog is 72-76 cm, and for a female dog is 68-72 cm.

Black Russian Terrier Libra

The weight of these dogs ranges from 50-60 kg for dogs and 45-50 kg for bitches.

Russian Black Terrier breed description

• The head is long and massive, in proportion to the body.
• The forehead is flat, the superciliary arches and the occipital tumor are moderately developed.
• Stop visible.
• The muzzle is shorter than the skull and tapers towards the black nose.
• The hair on the head creates pronounced bushy eyebrows, a mustache and a beard, giving it an angular shape.
• A set of strong teeth set in a scissor bite.
• Eyes oval in shape and set wide apart.
• Medium sized triangular ears, set high.
• The neck is long and well-muscled.
• The back is straight with the withers clearly defined and well developed.
• The loin is strong and broad, the croup is slightly sloping.
• Chest broad and deep with well sprung ribs.
• The tail is thick at the base, set high.
• Pectoral legs parallel, muscular, elbows close.
  The hind legs are set wider and the feet are smaller and more oval than the front ones.
• The two-layer coat consists of a hard, wavy top coat and a thick and soft undercoat.
• Uniformly black coat with permissible screening of gray hair, on no more than 1/3 of the body surface.

Russian black terrier care and nutrition

Russian black terrier care and nutrition

The beautiful and dense coat of the black terrier requires systematic care.

The dog practically does not moult, we have to remove all the dead hair ourselves.

It is best to do this 1-2 times a week with a bristle brush or a wire brush, and to detangle the clumping undercoat you will use a rotating comb.

We trim the hair on an ongoing basis and in installments, rather than the entire body surface at once.

It is important to brush your dog with a conditioner, never dry.

A bath is recommended more often than usual - every one or two months.

Due to the density of the coat, care should be taken both to properly distribute the dog shampoo so that it reaches the skin, and to rinse it thoroughly.

After bathing, comb the hair and dry it.

From early puppyhood we get our dog used to all these care activities with small steps.

When it comes to nutrition, these dogs are best given dog food specifically designed for large and giant breeds that contains the correct proportions of nutrients.

You can also prepare meals yourself, but remember to supplement the diet with the right amounts of minerals and vitamins for dogs, which can be quite troublesome.

In particular, animals during the growth period should not be overfed to allow for the development of the musculoskeletal system over time.

The daily dose for adult dogs should be divided into a minimum of two meals in order not to provoke the possibility of gastric dilatation and torsion.

Black Russian Terrier disease

Black Russian Terrier disease

Lens dislocation

A lens dislocation is the displacement of the lens as a result of a rupture of the ciliary ligament that holds it in place.

The so-called. primary dislocation arises from hereditary causes, when the filaments forming the ciliary ligament are improperly built due to a genetic mutation.

Most often it is an acute condition and requires quick consultation at a veterinary office.

The doctor diagnoses a lens dislocation after an ophthalmological examination is performed.

In direct examination, the incorrect position of the lens is visible through the pupillary opening.

Mostly it is accompanied by corneal edema and iritis.

During the course of the disease, glaucoma may develop, vision loss may occur, as well as the necessity to perform eyeball extraction due to the increasing inflammation.

Elbow dysplasia

Elbow dysplasia is an inherited disease to which large and giant breed dogs are predisposed.

It consists in incorrect shaping of the articular surfaces that are part of this joint.

It includes several sub-units:

1. Unattached ulnar appendix.
2. Fragmentation of the medial coronary process.
3. Osteochondrosis of the medial condyle of the humerus.
4. Mismatch of articular surfaces.

These changes can occur singly or simultaneously.

This defect manifests itself in puppies several months old with lameness of varying degree affecting one or both of the pectoral limbs.

The elbows can be swollen and painful, especially after exercise, which sick dogs tend to avoid.

For diagnostics, an X-ray is necessary to detect the primary lesion and to determine the severity of degenerative changes resulting from dysplasia.

Treatment is usually surgical, possibly conservative, but the latter gives rather poor results.

The procedure is performed by arthrotomy or arthroscopy and depending on the type of the existing disorder, it consists in removing a free cartilage or bone fragment, or improving the alignment of joint surfaces.

Hip dysplasia

Hip dysplasia (HD) is a hereditary condition and consists in the abnormal connection and formation of the bone structures of these joints.

It can affect one limb as well as both.

Environmental factors also significantly contribute to its occurrence, mainly:

• incorrect nutrition ,
• too much exercise and intensity in dogs in the growing phase.

The first symptoms are seen in dogs as they age 6-12 months, but sometimes the breeder may notice them in younger ones - 2 - 3 - month old puppies.

The following is then observed:

• reluctance to move,
• difficulty getting up,
• preferring the lying position,
• the so-called. rabbit jumping.

If the repeated minor damage to the articular cartilage is not too severe, we may not notice any symptoms of dysplasia for the first few years.

This is due to the thickening of the articular capsule and secondary stabilization by the surrounding muscle mass.

In a clinical examination, the most common manifestation is pain when moving the limbs in the hip joints.

For the correct assessment of dysplasia with the determination of its degree, it is necessary to take an X-ray picture of the anesthetized animal.

In young dogs belonging to breeds predisposed to dysplasia, a prophylactic X-ray is performed to detect it early.

Treatment for HD may be operative or symptomatic depending on the animal's age, weight, and severity of the degenerative changes.

The most common surgical procedures are:

• anastomosis of the pubic symphysis,
• triple pelvic osteotomy,
• femoral head resection,
• pectinectomy.

Symptomatic treatment with anti-inflammatory drugs and analgesics is the most common treatment in advanced dogs.

Veterinary medicine, moving with the times, also uses innovative methods taken from human medicine, such as e.g. stem cell therapies.

Bladder stones (uric acid)

Black Russian Terriers, like Dalmatians, are predisposed to the formation of uric acid stones in the bladder.

The reason for their formation is a congenital disorder of purine metabolism, and more specifically a defect of the system transporting uric acid through the hepatocyte membrane.

Instead of allantoin, an excessive amount of uric acid accumulates in the urine, which precipitates in the form of crystals, which later form stones, which must be surgically removed.

Administration of an enzyme blocker in the form of allopurinol blocks the formation of uric acid.

Addison's disease

Adrenal insufficiency, also known as Addison's disease, is a disease consisting in deficiency of glucose and mineralocorticoids produced by the adrenal glands.

It can be primary - genetic or racial-related, or secondary - e.g. as a result of treatment of overactive adrenal cortex or in the presence of pituitary tumors.

The symptoms of this disease are very non-specific, making it difficult to recognize.

In sick animals, we observe:

• mild symptoms such as:
  • apathy,
  • diarrhea or vomiting that occurs repeatedly and often resolves with fluid treatment or steroid treatment,
• and severe symptoms such as:
  • collapse,
  • shock.

Blood tests reveal eosinophilia, lymphocytosis, anemia, azotaemia and electrolyte disturbances, mainly hyponatremia and hyperkalemia with sodium to potassium ratio < 25:1.

Basically the ACTH stimulation test is used for diagnosis.

The disease is incurable.

Treatment is carried out for life by replenishing the hormones secreted by the adrenal glands and limiting complications.

Juvenile laryngeal paralysis and polyneuropathy

Juvenile laryngeal paralysis and polyneuropathy (JLPP) is a relatively recently described condition that occurs in Russian Black Terriers.

It is an autosomal recessive genetic disease.

Puppies affected by it do not survive more than 6 months dying as a result of damage to the respiratory and muscular systems.

The disease manifests itself:

• difficult breathing,
• aspiration of food into the respiratory tract as a result of laryngeal paralysis,
• impaired coordination.

As the condition is inherited in an autosomal recessive manner, individuals who are asymptomatic (simplified - Aa) carriers when mated will produce offspring that will have a 25% chance of symptomatic disease (aa), a 50% chance of becoming a carrier (Aa), and a 25% chance of becoming a carrier (Aa). birth load-free (AA).

In breeding, genetic testing is therefore carried out to identify the carriers, which allows for proper mating of breeding pairs.

However, the complete elimination of the defect from breeding is possible only with the complete exclusion of carriers, which will result in 100% healthy offspring (no carrier).

For whom the Russian Black Terrier will be the perfect dog?

For whom the Russian Black Terrier will be the perfect dog?

Czernysze are dogs who like work and appreciate movement and occupation.

They are demanding not only in terms of care and training, but also in terms of premises.

Of course, a dog of this size can stubbornly live in a small apartment, but it will feel much better in an open space, being able to run freely.

Black Russian Terriers are purchased not only for their attractive appearance, but above all for their functional qualities.

In addition to guarding the house, they will be patient, stable and faithful companions for the whole family.

These dogs are not prone to aggression or domination, but nevertheless need an experienced and responsible caregiver.

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