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Black Russian Terrier?
Has anyone dealt with this breed? I've got a tough case tomorrow, and I
wanted to get a better picture of the baseline of what's normal for this dog. I have a call out to the rbtc, but am not expecting to hear back before I go in. The standard says "The character and temperament of the Black Russian Terrier is of utmost importance. The Black Russian Terrier is a calm, confident, and courageous dog with a self-assurance which sometimes is rather aloof toward strangers. They are highly intelligent, extremely reliable. They were bred to guard and protect. The behavior in the show ring should be controlled, willing, adaptable, and trained to submit to examination." (pretty standard stuff for a guarding breed), but I've come across other descriptions that include labels like "ManStopper". I've ..gotten a good overview from the research I've done, and I suspect that this dog has really not received the intensive socialization that many of the sites stress is necessary for the proper adjustment of this kind of dog, but there are often chasms between the description of what the standard should be, and what those traits can actually look like in a developing pup. I'm used to the stable guarding breeds that approach people cautiously or indifferently, but are pretty balanced about it. But then if someone saw their first GSD during one of their developmentally hinky phases, they'd be thinking "uh oh, this could be trouble", unless they understood what those phases are about. While I have zero idea of what would make an inexperienced home import a dog like this, I have even less idea what would make an importer of rare breeds actually sell a dog like this to a first time home. Ok....besides greed. Anyone? Tara |
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Black Russian Terrier?
TaraG wrote:
While I have zero idea of what would make an inexperienced home import a dog like this, I have even less idea what would make an importer of rare breeds actually sell a dog like this to a first time home. Ok....besides greed. I think you are very justifiably wary. BRTs are one of the Russian breeds coming out of the cold war era. I have not personally met any, but their rep is that of a very hard, very tough dog. While I've not met any BRTs personally, I have met a number of imports of guarding breeds. I would suspect the BRT to be more like a Doberman in temperament than, say, a GSD. In that sense, I would expect a HIGHLY suspicious dog, one that is very quick to alert and growl (and hackle) with little provocation. A high level of suspicion is pretty endemic in import Dobermans. It's counted as a strike against them because it is not GSD-like. I think it's part of the breed and just deal with it. In Dobermans, patience is often rewarded with tolerance, and almost all of them grow out of the suspicious stage easily if it's pretty much ignored. Also with Dobermans getting the dog off his home turf can make a huge difference, ditto getting the dog away from the owner in many cases. I've also found in these highly suspicious dobermans that a busier location is actually better than a more isolated one. Viva is always quite calm at shows and in busy, hectic places. It is the single person popping around a van or into an empty room that triggers her suspicion. At this point though, you, a stranger, would have no idea it was there. Now it's just that when we walk at night she's always on her toes and alert to her surroundings--which I consider perfect behavior in a guard dog. Of course everything I'm telling you could be total BS, but it's just something to keep in mind... |
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Black Russian Terrier?
"Robin Nuttall" wrote in message news:T9vRg.203717$1i1.67921@attbi_s72... TaraG wrote: Of course everything I'm telling you could be total BS, but it's just something to keep in mind... Not at all. Helps in fact. This dog is a 7 month old female. The owners are fist timers. They need to have a dog walker come in and walk the dog a few days a week. They spent about a week acclimating the dog to the walker, and as long as the *owner* puts the leash on and hands it to the walker, the dog is "fine" (though there is some question in my mind as to whether this fine really means "shut down" which would NOT be good). The walker has been coming in alone for the last week or so, and as soon as the she lets the dog out of the crate, the dog runs upstairs, gets cornered and then growls. I'm glad to hear the dog isn't reacting immediately and is, in fact, looking to get away....but given the nature of the breed, I was concerned about fear issues present in a breed with this level of aggression. If its a hinky fear period, that's one thing. If its a screwed up head on a dog who was bred to rip people apart....well, that's another can of bananas. A big difference from what you describe though, is that she hasn't yet really adjusted to the busy city streets. She's extremely noise sensitive and possibly reactive to people moving too quickly near her. The breed sites I'm reading keep saying that they need HEAVY exposure until 6 months of age if they are going to be comfortable with things later....and this dog was only placed two weeks ago. Not sure if she got any exposure at all, at this point I appreciate your input. I'll let you know how it pans out. Tara |
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