Family-friendly: | 4/5 |
Exercise needs: | 3/5 |
Easy to train: | 3/5 |
Tolerates being alone: | 2/5 |
Likes other pets: | 3/5 |
Energy level: | 3/5 |
Grooming needs: | 2/5 |
Shedding: | 2/5 |
- Dog suitable for non-experienced owners
- Basic training required
- Generally healthy breed
- Enjoys active walks
- Needs under an hour of walking a day
- Small dog
- Minimum drool
- Requires grooming once a week
- Chatty and vocal dog
- Barks and alerts to visitors/anything unusual
- Could have issues with unknown dogs but gets along with known dogs
- May need additional training to live with other pets
- Great family dog
- Can live without a garden
- Can live in semi-rural areas
- Cannot be left alone
The Russian Toy breed can suffer from:
- Patellar luxation
- Dental disease
Priority Kennel Club health schemes and testing:
None but there are several recommended schemes that the Kennel Club recommends which can be found here.
Personality
As with many small breeds, the Russian Toy has a huge personality, unsurprising given their ancestry lies in the terrier type. Active, cheerful and thriving on human companionship, the Russian Toy loves family life. They can be reserved with strangers and do require thorough socialisation from an early age, particularly with children, pets and other dogs. They are ever alert for anything they deem dangerous and will behave as a perfect watch dog, sounding the alarm should anything appear suspicious. This may not be peaceful or restful to live with, so take this trait into consideration. They are intelligent and will enjoy training, and any activity that involves being with their human family.
Did You Know?
- The Russian Toy has also gone by the names Russian Toy Terrier, Russkiy Toy and Toychik. They are one of the smallest breeds of dog weighing between 1-3kg and are often mistaken for Chihuahuas, however they are not closely related to Chihuahuas.
- Although toy terriers have existed in Russia since the mid 1700’s, the modern Russian Toy can be considered a relatively new ‘re-invented’ breed, with the original fore-runners being all but wiped out in first the 1920’s by Communism and the unfavourable link to aristocracy, and then again in the 1990’s when, following the fall of the Iron Curtain, there was an influx of foreign breeds and these were more popular than the Russian Toy.
Found your perfect breed?