ABOUT US
A short overview of my history with dogs
Although my history with Black Russian Terriers isn't long, I have had dogs almost all my life.
At the moment three BRTs live at my home (two males and one female). They are all imported from three European countries to get more genetic material to the Finnish BRT breeding.
Typically with dogs, there has been an equal amount of success and misfortune, and not all of the imports have been fit for breeding. However, for me, they are my family members, and their value for me lies elsewhere, and I love them all dearly.
Picture coming
Shortly about my history with dogs before I had my first BRT:
My first dog was a wire-coated dachshund, and she arrived in our family in the year 1996. Since then, I have shared my home with one or more dogs almost invariably. The step that transformed me from a regular dog owner to a real dog person I took in the year 2007. I got interested in dog training with my petit basset griffon vendeen female. At first, the training included fun tricks and obstacle courses in our backyard, but in two years, I found us in an agility competition. We weren't the best or the fastest in any way, but we had truly fun!
Gradually the hobby turned in to a profession when I started to study canine studies in Kannus (Keski-Pohjanmaan Maaseutuopisto). I graduated after 2,5 years of studying. I started my own business and worked as a professional dog groomer over five years until I was hired by a pet shop to continue my career.
Besides my work, dog training has stayed with me all the way. I'm not a competitive person and have only competed in agility and once or twice in other trials. Now I'm training obedience and Nose Work with my dogs.
From the beginning of the year 2018 to the end of the year 2019, I have been Finnish Black Russian Terrier association's board member and actively taken part in organizing different mentality tests, shows, and a Nose Work trial among other things.
My thoughts on breeding BRTs
My keywords in breeding are honesty and the dog's overall health, which includes the dog's temperament in addition to the health and transparency with possible problems that might happen. Information can not be used if it isn't available.
That's why I will publish all the health results of the dogs that I've bred (good and the bad). Every single dog breeder has had unexpected problems that no one hopes for. The breeder is the one to decide if the information will be kept a secret or given forward to help other breeders' work. Unfortunately, many think that their reputation is on the line. However, I sincerely hope that modern puppy buyers understand that sometimes things happen, and nobody wants to breed sick dogs.
My greatest wish is that the dogs I breed will live a long life and don't suffer from any illness that will degrade their quality of life. Also, I hope that they can live mentally balanced in their everyday life and can encounter new situations with curiosity and excitement rather than with fear and suspicion. Everything after this goal is a bonus!
My thoughts of the Black Russian Terrier
BRT is a nice mix of independence and will to work with humans. They are aware of their territory but especially fond of their families. They might be tended to be unconcerned or suspicious towards new people, and it's a part of the breed's history. In the Soviet Union, BRT was created to be a guard and a protection dog for the army.
However, the modern BRT isn't the same dog as 30-50 years ago, and the breed has developed to fit better to the current demand of the society. Nowadays, BRT is more soft and open, and its temperament is much calmer, which makes it easier to live in day-to-day life. On the other hand, this development can be seen negatively in their courage and ability to recover from stressful situations.
BRT is a family dog that you can mostly see in a yard of a house with no near neighbors and lots of room to run. Rarely can you see them in an urban environment, but they can be used to it also. In Finland, their number is decreasing, and there are under 50 puppies registered yearly.
BRT is a breed with quite a healthy body structure, but some features may cause problems. Typical faults are narrow lower jaw and ribcage, and unbalanced angulation of the limbs. Stucturewise I don't expect perfection from my breeding dogs as long as it can provide them health and ability to move with ease.
My biggest concern with BRT as a breed is the small gene pool, which in the long run, causes many health issues like allergies, autoimmune diseases, and problems with breeding. At this point, the overall vitality of the breed will suffer.
We try to focus on the quality of the dogs rather than the quantity. This means in this point that we have puppies quite infrequently, but we consider the pairing of the dogs with care. I'm willing to take risks and try to see the dogs before the statistics. My decisions are based on their overall health and balanced temperament.
Thank you for reading!