Russian Toy

The smooth, shorthaired coat should be gently brushed occasionally or simply wiped over with a damp cloth. The long coat should be brushed daily with a soft bristle brush. Bathe both types about once per month, taking care not to get water in the ears. Check the ears regularly and keep the nails trimmed. This breed is an average shedder.

The Russian Toy (also known as the Russian Toy Terrier, and in Russia as the Russkiy Toy, Toychik,Russian: Русский той, Тойчик) is a very small breed of dog originally bred in Russia from the English Toy Terrier which is known today as the Manchester Terrier. There are two types of coats in the breed: smooth coat and long coat. The smooth-coated variety was previously known as the Russian Toy Terrier and long-coated as the Moscow Long Haired Toy Terrier. Both were brought together under the same Russian Toy Terrier name in 1988 and the "Terrier" was dropped from the name when the breed was added in 2006 to the official list of breeds registered with the Fédération Cynologique Internationale[1] and has been registered in the Foundation Stock Service of the American Kennel Club since 2008, allowed to compete in AKC companion events since 2010. The first official breed standard of the two varieties was written in 1966 in Russia.

Active and cheerful, the Russian Toy was originally bred both as an anti-rat dog and a watch dog. The second quality is still active in the breed, and they can be very vocal. They can become quite attached to their family, regardless of the ages of the family members. Russian Toys are usually very reserved with strangers, but very loyal to their owners, always ready to protect them from any perceived danger.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the English Toy Terrier was one of the most popular decorative dogs in Russia. However, in the period 1920 – 1950, shipping of toy terriers was almost stopped and the number of dogs fell to a critical level. Only in the mid-fifties did Russian dog breeders begin the rebirth of the breed. Practically all dogs which were used in breeding had no pedigrees; many of them were not of pure blood. The standard established for the Toy Terrier significantly differed from the English Toy Terrier's standard in many aspects. From this moment, the evolution of the breed in Russia went its own way. On October 12, 1958, two smooth-haired dogs, one of which had a slightly longer hair, gave life to a male dog with a spectacular fringe on its ears and limbs. The decision was made to keep this characteristic. The male was mated with a female dog which also had a slightly long hair. So the longhaired variant of the toy terrier appeared. It was called Moscow Longhaired Toy Terrier. A dog breeder from Moscow, Yevgueniya Fominichna Zharova played an important role in creation of this breed variant. The long isolated evolution and specific selection process have resulted in the creation of a new breed, the Russian Toy of two types: longhaired and smooth-haired.