# Russian Toy Terriers? (wow they look like Paps)



## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

I just randomly stumbled upon this breed apparently called Russian Toy Terriers.

They look very much like solid or bicolored Papillons! Especially the ears, they have fringes! 

I wonder if they were bred from Paps? Anyone know anything about them?


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

To me, they look like a long haired Chi that was shaved on the body. Never heard of the breed though.


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## Shazamataz (Jan 23, 2010)

I agree with InkedMarie, they look like Smooth Coat Chihuahuas with long hair on the ears!
I've never seen one before, thanks for posting!


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## Laurelin (Nov 2, 2006)

They've been brought up a couple times on my pap boards and everyone has said they seem really prone to temperament problems. Then again the people on the pap board are biased lol, but they all say the temperament is very different from papillons. Also, they're teeny tiny dogs, a lot smaller than your average papillon.

I've heard they used paps but most sites list other breeds going into creating them.


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## Dogstar (May 11, 2007)

I've met ONE and it was much more like a Chih than a pap. The breed is apparently one that's still kind of under development. There are some being shown in IABCA.


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## Darla Giselle (Feb 19, 2010)

I love RTTs! But I do think they are more Chi in the face, and they are also very, very tin, like Chis. They're much more popular in Russia, only <5 known RTT breeders in the states.


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## PandaBear (Sep 6, 2009)

I have met RTT many times because I travel to Europe very often, and one of my relatives has the dog. OMG, I have never seen more annoying dog, he barks non stop,pees all over the place, nips, very protective, digs,very dog reactive. Now I know that these behaviors can be "cured",by training but still. They are true terriers.


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## LazyGRanch713 (Jul 22, 2009)

Michiyo-Fir said:


> I just randomly stumbled upon this breed apparently called Russian Toy Terriers.
> 
> They look very much like solid or bicolored Papillons! Especially the ears, they have fringes!
> 
> I wonder if they were bred from Paps? Anyone know anything about them?


They're cute, but not enough "fuzz" for me  They do remind me of a chihuahua who might have gotten his ears into some miracle grow


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## spanielorbust (Jan 3, 2009)

My understanding is that the current Russian Toy Terrier, the "Russkiy Toy", is a remake of the Moscow Toy Terrier that was developed throughout the 18th and 19th Century from English Toy Terriers with the help of other breeds crossed in. The Prazsky Krysarik, a tiny Czech ratting breed thats been around for many hundreds of years probably contributed.

Nonie Prazsky Krysarik - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1COnR7aKLY&NR=1

The breed was almost wiped out through the early 1900s due to politics and war and was redeveloped starting again in the late 50s. It is a popular small breed in its country of origin.

I talked with an American breeder about five years ago, and I understand it shows a lot of Terrier in its nature - a good watch dog, a good ratter, and a barker, but loyal and loving to its humans. I have also noted that, in the USA, someone has mixed up a couple of litters of Papillon x Russian Toys.

I happen to love the shorter coat on this dog and the coloring, and think it is a stunner but, just like a Chihuahua or many of the small Terrier breeds, I don't think it would be my kind of a dog to own.

SOB


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## lmnev (Apr 24, 2010)

This is my first post but I just had to give a first hand account of Russian Toy dogs because I own two a black tan female, Chloe, and a red male, Max. I have owned and loved Papillons as a child also as my grandmother bred a showed the breed.
Now... my experience with my Russian Toys is very different than posted here. True the are much tinier than my Paps but also much less vocal and only bark to alert our family that a stranger has arrived. They absolutely love everyone and I have truly never heard a or seen a snarl or a growl out of either of them. They get along great with our Siamese cat and use our Briard as a climbing toy, when they are not playing chase with her. She loves them right back. Yes, the big dog attitude is there, they are self confident and amazingly athletic and agile. But they are calm, playful, very intelligent at the same time. They actually remind me of a German Shepherd I had as a college student who was a retired seeing eye dog. I love my little ones and really can only say very positive things about the breed. Just one more opinion...


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## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

lmnev said:


> This is my first post but I just had to give a first hand account of Russian Toy dogs because I own two a black tan female, Chloe, and a red male, Max. I have owned and loved Papillons as a child also as my grandmother bred a showed the breed.
> Now... my experience with my Russian Toys is very different than posted here. True the are much tinier than my Paps but also much less vocal and only bark to alert our family that a stranger has arrived. They absolutely love everyone and I have truly never heard a or seen a snarl or a growl out of either of them. They get along great with our Siamese cat and use our Briard as a climbing toy, when they are not playing chase with her. She loves them right back. Yes, the big dog attitude is there, they are self confident and amazingly athletic and agile. But they are calm, playful, very intelligent at the same time. They actually remind me of a German Shepherd I had as a college student who was a retired seeing eye dog. I love my little ones and really can only say very positive things about the breed. Just one more opinion...


My Pap never barks other than people coming into our yard or someone ringing the doorbell. They aren't barky dogs at all in my experience and many other Pap owners' experiences. Paps are not snarly or growly dogs either, mine is super friendly. I've never ever met a Russian terrier though. They look quite interesting but I can't say anything about their temperaments.

By the way, do you have pictures of your two? We love pictures here!


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## lucidity (Nov 10, 2009)

Oh yeah, I second what Michi said.. my Pap NEVER barks ever. I've never heard him snarl or growl at anyone either. No idea about Russian Toy Terriers, though. Never seen one before..


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## lmnev (Apr 24, 2010)

I have lots of pictures but I am not great at downloading onto the computer... I will have to wait until my son or daughter come home from college!

My Paps were never aggressive at all either, and really not terribly vocal, but these two Russian Toys would actually be best described as very quiet vocally, but active physically. Cloe the female can easily jump up onto a very high raised bed in my daughter's dorm room (now avoided in fear of her hurting herself!). 

My description in general was not comparing them to Paps but contrasting them to Chihuahuas. Yes, and disputing the second hand "bad temperament" reports about the Russian Toys. They are a very rare breed in the US and most people will likely never meet one in person, so I feel it is important to give first hand reports from owners and fanciers of the breed.

The reason I ended up with our Russian Toys was because my daughter wanted a very small Chihuahua who was a "deer head", because this dog was so off the Chi standard and at a pet store I was worried about genetic problems.I also cannot support pet stores because in doing that I would feel as if I was contributing to a puppy mill somewhere indirectly.

So after tons of research we compromised on the Russian Toys. Having been brought up with my grandmother and her show Paps next door my first choice would have been a Pap, but I have been pleasantly surprised by these little guys. But even so, I do think a Pap will eventually be added to the clan in the future again because I do love the breed and think one would get on wonderfully with the Russian Toys!


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## briteday (Feb 10, 2007)

We almost adopted a RTT here. Someone had gotten it from a breeder in the mountain west area. The dog had been through two owners due to temperment problems. In the end a friend of ours adopted the dog instead. Since we live nearby we see the dog at least weekly. She is very small, has tons of ear, allergy, and skin problems. the latest health issue is a very serious (perhaps eventually fatal) kidney problem. She does seem to love the large breed dogs in her household as well as the cats. However she would prefer to literally bite the hand that feeds her rather than ever become a cuddler. She is impossible to groom. Her temperment is so poor that the previous owners considered having her euthanized by the age of two.

Perhaps this dog was poorly bred. I sure hope she isn't representative of the breed as a whole.


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## lmnev (Apr 24, 2010)

When I was researching the breed the only reputable breeder of Russian Toys that could be found was Anki Larson in Ohio her kennel name is "Arlette". She does have a partner who has shown Cotons in the past but other than that, I am quite certain there are no other legitimate breeders of registered Russian Toys in this country. 

What I did find in my research were surprising number of scammers who tried to past mixed breed dogs off as RTT's. Russian toys are expensive ranging between 1,500- 2,500 dollars and there are those who try to capitalize on this fact. Some of the dogs looked somewhat like Russian toys, but most were larger and heavier boned.

My dogs were imported from Russia by a dog show friend of my gram's who picked them up at the world show in Bratislava Slovakia last year. They are excellent representatives of the breed in both type and temperament.

Anki's website: http://www.arelette.com is a good source of information on this breed in the US. Many happy owners can be seen on her "happy tails" page. So, if anyone really wants to know more about the breed this may be a good site to visit.


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