Breed Standard

Official Standard of the Russian Toy Dog

History: The Russian Toy Dog began in the 18th century when the English Toy Terrier arrived in Russia. Socialites adored these tiny terriers due to their small size and lively temperament and it became stylish to appear with them at the opera and social events. In the 20th century, the number of English Toy Terriers in Russia had grown considerably and they began referring to them as the Russian Toy Terrier. Then in 1958, whether a mutation or the introduction of another unknown small breed, a unique long coated puppy was born to two smooth coated parents and became the progenitor of the modern day long coat variety. In the 1980’s, the new standard declared that the Moscow Long Haired Toy Terrier and the Russian Toy Terrier were in fact two varieties of a single breed. Eventually the word terrier was dropped from the breeds name and they’re now referred to as the Russian Toy dog with both long and smooth coat varieties.

General Appearance: A small elegant dog, lively, long-legged, with fine bone and lean muscles. Sexual dimorphism only slightly defined. Active, cheerful, possessing keen intelligence, slightly aloof to strangers but neither cowardly nor aggressive.

Size, Proportion, Substance: The Russian Toy has a square build; the height, when measured vertically from the ground to the highest point of the withers, is equal to the length, when measured horizontally from the prosternum to the point of the buttocks. The height at the elbows is only slightly more than half of the height at withers. The chest is sufficiently deep reaching to the elbow. Height at withers for both dogs and bitches: 8 inches to 11 inches. Weight for both dogs and bitches: up to 6½ pounds. Disqualifications - Height at withers over 12 inches or under 7 inches. Weight less than 2 pounds.

Head: The head is small compared to the body. Expression - The expression is bright, attentive with attitude. Eyes are quite large, rounded, dark, slightly prominent, set well apart and looking straight ahead. Eyelids are tightly fitting. Black and Tan dogs have eyes that are darkest brown to black with black eye rims. Chocolate and Tan dogs have eyes that are brown to light brown and eye rims that are brown to light brown (darker color preferred). Blue and Tan dogs have eyes and eye rims that are slate grey. Red coated dogs have eyes that are darkest brown to black with black eye rims. Red Sable dogs have eyes that are darkest brown to black with black eye rims. Red Brown dogs have eyes and eye rims that are brown (darker color preferred). Ears - Ears are big, thin, set high, erect and wider at the base tapering to a triangular shape. Semipricked ears in longhaired dogs with heavy fringes is permissible but not desirable. Disqualification - Hanging (completely down) ears. Skull - The skull is high but not too wide (width at the level of zygomatic arches does not exceed the depth of the skull). Stop - The stop is clearly pronounced. Muzzle - The muzzle is lean and tapered and is slightly shorter than the skull. Cheekbones - The cheekbones are only slightly pronounced. Nose - Black and Tan dogs have black noses. Chocolate and Tan dogs have noses that are brown to light brown (darker color preferred). Blue and Tan dogs have slate grey noses. Red coated dogs have black noses. Red Sable dogs have black noses. Red Brown dogs have brown noses (darker color preferred). Lips - Lips are thin, lean, tight-fitting. Black and Tan dogs have black lips. Chocolate and Tan dogs have lips that are brown to light brown (darker color preferred). Blue and Tan dogs have slate grey lips. Red coated dogs have black lips. Red Sable dogs have black lips. Red Brown dogs have brown lips (darker color preferred). Bite - The teeth should meet in a scissor bite. Russian Toy teeth are small, white. Absence of two incisors is permitted in each jaw. Faults - Level bite or incisors sloping forward. The absence of more than two incisors in either jaw is a serious fault. Disqualifications - Overshot, undershot. Absence of one canine.

Neck, Topline, Body: Neck - The neck is long, lean, carried high, slightly arched. Topline - The topline gradually slopes from the withers to the root of the tail. Withers - The withers are slightly pronounced. Body - The chest is oval, sufficiently deep and not too wide. Underline - The underline has a tucked up belly and drawn up flanks, forming a nicely curved line from the chest to the flanks. Back - The back is strong and straight. Loin - The loin is short and slightly arched. Croup - The croup is somewhat rounded and slightly sloping. Tail - Tails may be natural or docked (only two or three vertebrae are left), and is carried high. The undocked (natural) tail is a sickle tail. The tail should not be carried lower than back level when moving. Fault - Low set tail.

Forequarters: Shoulders - The shoulder blades are moderately long and not too sloping.
Upper Arm - The upper arm forms an angle of 105 degrees with the shoulder blade. The length of upper arm is approximately equal to the length of shoulder.
Elbow - The elbow is in line with the body.
Legs - Forequarters legs are thin and lean. Seen from the front, the front legs are straight and parallel. The forearm is long, straight. The carpus (wrist) is lean. Pasterns are almost vertical. Dewclaws may be removed or left natural. Feet and Toes - Forefeet are small, oval, turning neither in nor out with pads that are cushioned. Toes are well knit and arched. Hind feet are a little bit narrower than forefeet with pads that are cushioned and toes are well knit and arched. Pads and Nails - Black and Tan dogs have black nails and pads. Chocolate and Tan dogs have nails and pads that are brown to light brown (darker color preferred). Blue and Tan dogs have slate grey nails and pads. Red coated dogs have black nails and pads. Red Sable dogs have black nails and pads. Red Brown dogs have brown nails and pads (darker color preferred).

Hindquarters: Seen from the rear, the hind legs are straight and parallel, but standing a little bit wider than the forelegs. Stifles and hocks are sufficiently bent. Angulation - Hindquarters should be sufficiently angulated. The upper thigh muscles are lean and developed. The upper and lower thighs are of the same length. Hocks should be vertical. There should be no rear dewclaws. Serious fault - Short legs.

Skin: The skin should be dry and tight-fitting.

Coat: Hair - There exists two types for the breed: smooth-coated and long-coated. Smooth coat dogs have short, close-lying, shiny hair, without undercoat or bald patches. Long coat dogs have bodies covered with moderately long (one inch to three inches) straight or slightly wavy hair, close-lying, which does not hide the natural outline of the body. Hair on the head and on the front part of limbs is short and close-lying. There are distinct feathers on rear side of limbs. The feet have long, silky hair which completely hides the nails. Long coated dogs have ears that are covered with thick, long hair forming a fringe. Dogs of more than three years have such a fringe which should completely hide the outer edges and tips of the ears. Body hair should not look tousled nor be too short (less than ½ inch). Disqualification - Long coat dogs: absence of any fringes on ears and presence of curly hair. (Dogs younger than 18 months may have sparse or few fringes).

Color: Russian Toy coats may be Black and Tan, Chocolate and Tan, Blue and Tan, Red, Red Sable, or Red Brown. Black and Tan coats are jet black with rich, bright tan markings over eyes, on cheeks, inside ears, on chest, legs, and on underside of tail. Chocolate and Tan coats are rich chocolate brown with tan markings over eyes, on cheeks, inside ears, on chest, legs, and on underside of tail. Blue and Tan coats are blue based grey coloring with tan markings over eyes, on cheeks, inside ears, on chest, legs, and on underside of tail. Red coats are whole-colored red that may range from rich ruby to lighter hues, but deeper saturated color is preferred. Red Sable coats are red with black-tipped hair on body and ears. Red Brown coats are red with browntipped hair on body and ears. Faults - Presence of bald patches in smooth coat dogs. Too long or too short hair on body of long coat dogs. Small white spots under ½ inch on chest and toes. Solid black, brown and blue colors. Tan markings too large or with dark shadings. Any white spots on the head, abdomen and above metacarpus. Severe fault - Large white patches over ½ inch on chest and throat. Disqualification - Presence of brindle markings.

Gait: Easy, straightforward, fast. No noticeable change in the topline when moving.

Temperament: Active, cheerful, possessing keen intelligence, slightly aloof to strangers but neither cowardly nor aggressive. Fault - Timid behavior.

Faults: Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog.

Disqualifications:
Height at withers over 12 inches or under 7 inches.
Weight less than 2 pounds.
Hanging (completely down) ears.
Overshot, undershot.
Absence of one canine.
Long coat dogs: absence of any fringes on ears and presence of curly hair. (Dogs younger than 18 months may have sparse or few fringes).
Presence of brindle markings.

Approved July 14, 2017
Effective June 27, 2018