Hello all.
This is my story. I have been afraid of dogs since I was a kid. However, I was never attacked by a dog, accept maybe have been barked at by street mutts when walking home from school, back in my home town in Ukraine. Needless to say I would get scared . But, I always liked dogs ... and always wanted to own one, to be friends with and to have it obey, and most of all not to be scared. I always admired the relationships responsible owners had with their dogs, and always wanted to overcome this fear.. or rather distrust or complex. So since recently I decided that it's time for me to get a dog and I started to read up a lot about different breeds and training. I started to meet with the neighbor dogs and dogs of my freinds. And the more I learned about dogs and understood more, the less I had this fear. I ve decided that I don't want a small dog, I want a rather serious dog. Not necessarily a fighter, but a dog that would not hide under my leg if anything. However knowing my problem.. I was looking for a breed that is not too big but most importantly not too dominant and above all not aggressive, therefore able to be controlled by a super novice owner like me. And of course I had to like they way it looks. I wanted a classic terrier look ... like Airedale .. however after reading about his temperament I ve decided to research some more. I ve read character descriptions of almost all known breeds ... and my attention had caught this one dog - Black Russian Terrier. I started reading up online in the .com domain about this breed and was fascinated more and more about what people had to say about it. I even found the only book available about this specific breed (at least in English) - was a pretty OK book considering that it is its first edition. So all those sources suggested that even though the dog was bred strictly for army needs, and very successfully so ... when the breed first came out on 1930's or 40's it possessed all the qualities that you could wish for a strong big vicious guard and attack dog ... so despite that due to the fact that it also possessed very stable temperament and due to careful breeding since 1940s... the BRT of today is a perfect companion, has a VERY stable temperament, easily trained and controlled, dominance is not particular a factor (not like Mastiffs or Dobermans), and that the dog constantly seeks contact with humans, so defiantly not a kennel or yard dog. It also said that it can live in a not so small apartment despite its size.. and that for a responsible novice owner (that's me ), it is a perfect choice. Well and of course that the breed has kept all its initial guard instincts, however it was underlined extensively that the god is NOT aggressive not to humans for sure, and will not start with other dogs unless provoked. SO that's what I ve learned from browsing online. Well and the look of the dog I fell in love with . So I have decided that this is the dog of my dreams - except maybe its huge size. But, I'm thinking since Ive decided to have a serious approach to owning a dog and choosing a breed with the temperament I like, I will overcome my complex about the size. So I started looking for all possible resources to find out even more about the breed and training. I even saw once a guy walking one ... I asked him if it was a BRT and he confirmed, I wanted to hang out and ask some more questions.. but they seemed in a hurry and left without giving me a chance . Although I got a good look at the dog -it was huge.. and magnificent. OK so then recently I got a hold of this little book of Russian print (at my friend's house). It was a book about different breeds. And what it said about the BRT had stunned me and well.. broken my heart. Anyway ... in a very short non descriptive manner it stated the history and standard of the breed and when it came to temperament it simply said that the dog is exactly what it was bread like - very aggressive, vicious, not to mention probably the fastest to be able to kill and adult human. And unless super trained the dog is not a dog but a despot (uncontrollable). So after that I started browsing Russian sites in the .ru domain. And many confirmed exactly that ... in the least that the dog is NOT a walk in the park, and that a novice owner shouldn't even think about it. And in all teh Russian sourses I came across it said those things in teh same short non descriptive manner, as if - its a fact and tahst all tehre is to it! Also I have talked to people who claimed to know owners of BRT, and they also confirmed that the breed is SUPER serious. But when one takes a look at the American or British websites - BRT is not a dog but a teddy bear. I am completely confused.
I would love to hear from real owners of this breed and/or people who ve had close contact with these dogs. Shed some light my friends, and give an advice. Any comments will be appreciated and respected.
This is my story. I have been afraid of dogs since I was a kid. However, I was never attacked by a dog, accept maybe have been barked at by street mutts when walking home from school, back in my home town in Ukraine. Needless to say I would get scared . But, I always liked dogs ... and always wanted to own one, to be friends with and to have it obey, and most of all not to be scared. I always admired the relationships responsible owners had with their dogs, and always wanted to overcome this fear.. or rather distrust or complex. So since recently I decided that it's time for me to get a dog and I started to read up a lot about different breeds and training. I started to meet with the neighbor dogs and dogs of my freinds. And the more I learned about dogs and understood more, the less I had this fear. I ve decided that I don't want a small dog, I want a rather serious dog. Not necessarily a fighter, but a dog that would not hide under my leg if anything. However knowing my problem.. I was looking for a breed that is not too big but most importantly not too dominant and above all not aggressive, therefore able to be controlled by a super novice owner like me. And of course I had to like they way it looks. I wanted a classic terrier look ... like Airedale .. however after reading about his temperament I ve decided to research some more. I ve read character descriptions of almost all known breeds ... and my attention had caught this one dog - Black Russian Terrier. I started reading up online in the .com domain about this breed and was fascinated more and more about what people had to say about it. I even found the only book available about this specific breed (at least in English) - was a pretty OK book considering that it is its first edition. So all those sources suggested that even though the dog was bred strictly for army needs, and very successfully so ... when the breed first came out on 1930's or 40's it possessed all the qualities that you could wish for a strong big vicious guard and attack dog ... so despite that due to the fact that it also possessed very stable temperament and due to careful breeding since 1940s... the BRT of today is a perfect companion, has a VERY stable temperament, easily trained and controlled, dominance is not particular a factor (not like Mastiffs or Dobermans), and that the dog constantly seeks contact with humans, so defiantly not a kennel or yard dog. It also said that it can live in a not so small apartment despite its size.. and that for a responsible novice owner (that's me ), it is a perfect choice. Well and of course that the breed has kept all its initial guard instincts, however it was underlined extensively that the god is NOT aggressive not to humans for sure, and will not start with other dogs unless provoked. SO that's what I ve learned from browsing online. Well and the look of the dog I fell in love with . So I have decided that this is the dog of my dreams - except maybe its huge size. But, I'm thinking since Ive decided to have a serious approach to owning a dog and choosing a breed with the temperament I like, I will overcome my complex about the size. So I started looking for all possible resources to find out even more about the breed and training. I even saw once a guy walking one ... I asked him if it was a BRT and he confirmed, I wanted to hang out and ask some more questions.. but they seemed in a hurry and left without giving me a chance . Although I got a good look at the dog -it was huge.. and magnificent. OK so then recently I got a hold of this little book of Russian print (at my friend's house). It was a book about different breeds. And what it said about the BRT had stunned me and well.. broken my heart. Anyway ... in a very short non descriptive manner it stated the history and standard of the breed and when it came to temperament it simply said that the dog is exactly what it was bread like - very aggressive, vicious, not to mention probably the fastest to be able to kill and adult human. And unless super trained the dog is not a dog but a despot (uncontrollable). So after that I started browsing Russian sites in the .ru domain. And many confirmed exactly that ... in the least that the dog is NOT a walk in the park, and that a novice owner shouldn't even think about it. And in all teh Russian sourses I came across it said those things in teh same short non descriptive manner, as if - its a fact and tahst all tehre is to it! Also I have talked to people who claimed to know owners of BRT, and they also confirmed that the breed is SUPER serious. But when one takes a look at the American or British websites - BRT is not a dog but a teddy bear. I am completely confused.
I would love to hear from real owners of this breed and/or people who ve had close contact with these dogs. Shed some light my friends, and give an advice. Any comments will be appreciated and respected.