STANDARD:
Black Russian Terrier
GENERAL IMPRESSION: Large, powerful, stable and alert. HEAD The head should be powerfully built with a broad skull and very blocky. A snipey head is not in character with this dog. The stop should be well-defined but not pronounced. The lips are full, rounded1 and black at the ridges. The nose is large, and fully pigmented, black in color. The mouth is very meaty1 not to be so is a major fault. The jaws are large and powerful. The mustache and beard add to the squaring off of the muzzle. Absence of the molars is disqualifying.: The bite should be scissors or level; scissors bite is preferred. The head of the Black Russian Terrier should be classic in appearance and is extremely important to the overall impression.
EYES: The eyes are medium sized and set apart. Rims should be black and almond shaped with sag or looseness of haw. Eye color should be dark.
EARS: The ears are triangular in shape with a rounded apex and pendular. Cropped ears are not acceptable. The length of the ear should reach the outside comer of the eyelids. The ears are set rather high.
NECK: The neck should be thick, muscular and powerful. Length is not excessive and is set into laid back shoulders. There should not be pendulous or excessive dewlap.
FOREQUARTERS: The forelegs should be set straight and well-boned. Shoulders should be large and muscular, well developed with blades broad and sloping. Elbows should be neither in nor out. The legs should be covered with 2 to 4 inches of coarse hair. The feet are very large, fully covered with hair and with large, black pads.
BODY: The body is well proportioned with the trunk outline lying within a rectangle. Length of the body should be in direct proportion to the height at the withers. Topline should be level but not appearing flat or straight.
HINDQUARTERS: The hindquarters are well-boned and muscular with a high degree of angulation. The hocks are large and developed for the spring and drive. The legs and feet are well covered. The appearance is full. The legs should be parallel to each other.
FEET: The feet are very large with pads thick, tough, and black, nails large and dark in color. They are bearlike in appearance.
GAIT: The gait is strong, powerful, fluid, and well coordinated. Light on their feet, the legs should converge toward the center with increased speed. The topline should appear level when gaiting and the tail should be elevated into an upright position. The rear assembly should be a driving force with the hocks doing their share of the work.
TAIL: The tail is cropped and set high. In profile, the tail should stand upright when gaiting and in conformation stance. An uncropped tail is not acceptable.
COAT: Coat should be black or salt and pepper. White or brown markings are disqualifying. A small amount of grey or white on the chest is acceptable as long as the area is the size of a quarter. The appearance of individual grey hairs within the coat is expected. The coat may appear full or hand stripped The texture of the coat should be somewhat coarse, the extent depending on whether it is full or hand stripped. The beard and muzzle should never be touched.
HEIGHT: Bitches from 25 inches at maturity and males from 27 inches at maturity. The height limitations should be 30 inches. Minimums do not apply to immature dogs. Males must be distinctively larger than females.
WEIGHT: The weight of the mature Black Russian Terrier will vary between dogs and bitches. However, the range at maturity is from 80 to 120 pounds.
FAULTS: Disqualifying faults are missing molars, lack of meatiness in mouth, color markings of brown or white, cropped ears or uncropped tails. Over grooming is to be severely faulted. The degree to which a dog is penalized depends on the extent to which the dog deviates from the standard and the extent to which the particular fault would actually affect the working ability of the dog.
Standard of the Black Russian Terrier Club of America
NOTE:This information has been contributed by, and is property of The Black Russian Terrier Club of America, and is gratefully used here with permission.
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