Black Russian Terrier Facts You Should Know (with Pictures).

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Black Russian Terrier Breed Overview

The Black Russian Terrier is a giant-sized dog.

The adult Black Russian Terrier stands 26 to 28 inches at the shoulder.

The Black Russian Terrier belongs to the Working Dogs group.

Dogs in the Working Dogs group, like the Black Russian Terrier, were developed to assist humans in some capacity – including pulling sleds and carts, guarding flocks, guarding homes, and protecting their families.

Breeds in the Working Group are known for their imposing stature, strength, intelligence, and fearless.

Because of their size and strength, working dogs require a structured home life and firm, fair, consistent training by someone who can provide leadership without resorting to anger or physical force.

The fact that Black Russian Terriers belong to the Working Dogs group is one of the reasons why Black Russian Terriers have the personality and temperament that they have.

The temperament of the Black Russian Terrier is generally described as:

  • Brave
  • Confident
  • Energetic
  • Hardy
  • Lively
  • Stable

History of the Black Russian Terrier Breed. Where Black Russian Terriers came from

The Russian army decided to employ its Red Star Kennels in the early 1940s to create a canine that was both alert and obedient and one made for their harsh climatic circumstances.

They produced a big, robust, and clever dog, a willing worker, and a dog that could resist tough winter circumstances by working under a breeding program that a Soviet breeder and specialists developed.

Due to the mass slaughter of purebred animals during the Russian Revolution, the War, and Economic Decline, it was difficult to obtain purebred stock.

The quality stock of the Giant Schnauzer emerged from their breeding effort following the end of World War II.

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What the Black Russian Terrier Looks Like

The Black Russian Terrier is a muscular, sturdy dog larger than a medium-sized dog.

They have a square appearance with a high set tail because the length of their bodies is equivalent to their height at the withers.

Despite being level, the back doesn`t look flat.

Straight, well-formed forelegs with broad, sloping shoulders are ideal.

The Black Russian Terrier has amazing, bear-like feet with robust, thick, black pads and long, dark nails.

Their heads are long and wedge-shaped, with a wide cranium.

They are cute dogs with a waterproof coat that is slightly coarse.

They look light on their feet and walk with a strong, coordinated pace.

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How Much is the Black Russian Terrier Puppy?

How Much Black Russian Terriers Cost

The average price of a Black Russian Terrier puppy is $3050. The price of a Black Russian Terrier puppy ranges from $2600 to $3500.

A lot of factors determine the price of the Black Russian Terrier. These factors include what health records the Black Russian Terrier puppy has, the lineage of the Black Russian Terrier puppy, the US state the breeder is located in, etc.

To estimate how much you can expect to pay for a puppy Black Russian Terrier based on the many factors that determine the price of the Black Russian Terrier puppy, check out our calculator that lets you estimate how much you should expect to pay for the Black Russian Terrier puppy based on what you want in the puppy.

When looking to buy a puppy, look at buying a puppy only from well-established breeders that breed puppies primarily for the love of the Black Russian Terrier breed, and secondarily for profit. Do not buy a puppy from a puppy mill. Puppy mills mass-produce puppies in bad living conditions for maximum profit.

You may also consider adopting instead of buying a puppy. Adoption costs are very low compared to the price of a puppy.

Best Black Russian Terrier Breeders

Black Russian Terrier Breeders in the United States

We have researched reputable Black Russian Terrier breeders that you can buy a puppy.

Go to this page for our complete list of reputable Black Russian Terrier breeders in various states in the United States.

On this page, you will see how much these breeders sell their puppies for, and how many puppies they have available.

A few of these breeders are listed below.

  1. Michael Tallon

    Puppy Price: Check with breeder

  2. Elena Lyubnitskaya

    Puppy Price: $2k-$25

  3. Tri State K9 Services

    Puppy Price: Check with breeder

  4. Nightwatch Black Russian Terriers

    Puppy Price: Check with breeder

  5. Black Powder Kennel

    Puppy Price: Check with breeder

How Fast Black Russian Terriers Can Run

How fast a dog breed can run is a good measure of how athletic the dog breed is.

The American Kennel Club (AKC) regularly conducts dog running competitions. The AKC records the running speed of competing dogs in these competitions. These competitions are open to all dog breeds.

Based on our analysis of the speeds of 12 different Black Russian Terriers, the average speed of the Black Russian Terrier is 19.9 mph (32.0 kmph).

The fastest speed on AKC record that the Black Russian Terrier ran in a race is 24.01 mph (38.6 kmph) and the minimum speed on record in a race for a Black Russian Terrier is 12.15 mph (19.6 kmph).

Click here to see how the speed of the Black Russian Terrier compares to the speed of other dogs and other mammals such as cats, horses, humans, etc.

How fast Black Russian Terrier can run compared to other mammals

Good Names for Black Russian Terriers

Here are some really good names that are typical for the Black Russian Terrier ranked by popularity:

  • Jet

How Popular are Black Russian Terriers with New Dog Owners?

Every year, the American Kennel Club (AKC) publishes information on how popular a dog breed is in that particular year. The AKC gets the popularity information of a breed from how many dogs of that breed the owners register with the AKC every year. The AKC collects this data for about 200 dog breeds.

The graph below shows the popularity trend of the Black Russian Terrier.

The popularity of the Black Russian Terrier averaged over the years is Number 120 out of about 200 dog breeds.

Popularity of Black Russian Terrier

Do not get a dog breed just because it is a popular dog breed. And do not reject a dog breed just because it is an unpopular breed.

Health Problems in Black Russian Terriers and How to Prevent Them

Every dog breed has its own set of health problems that it tends to develop. There is nothing like a perfect dog breed.

The Black Russian Terrier is prone to certain genetic health conditions. The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) is an organization that keeps track of genetic health problems in dog breeds.

From the extensive records that the OFA keeps, the OFA knows what health problems each dog breed is naturally prone to develop.

Hence, the OFA recommends which health screening breeders should perform on a dog breed to make sure that the breeders won`t breed `defective` dog parents that can pass down defective genes to their puppy offspring.

If you want a Black Russian Terrier puppy that will grow up to be healthy, make sure that your Black Russian Terrier breeder screens your puppy or your puppy`s parents for the health problems that the OFA recommends for your puppy`s breed. This will increase the chances that your puppy is free from genetic defects.

The following are the health tests that Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) recommends that breeders should screen Black Russian Terriers for:

  1. Agouti DNA Test
  2. Cardiac Evaluation
  3. Dominant Black DNA Test
  4. Elbow Dysplasia
  5. Eye Examination
  6. Hip Dysplasia
  7. Juvenile Laryngeal Paralysis & Polyneuropathy

You can find out more about OFA`s recommended tests for Black Russian Terriers here.

Dog Breeds That Are Similar to Black Russian Terriers

If you have not made up your mind on which dog breed to get, you may also want to consider some other dogs similar to the Black Russian Terrier.

We crunched the numbers and found that the following dog breeds that have similar behavior and temperament as the Black Russian Terrier:

  • Bouvier des Flandres (77 percent match with Black Russian Terrier). Learn more about the Bouvier des Flandres here.
  • Boerboel (75 percent match with Black Russian Terrier). Learn more about the Boerboel here.

Other Things to Know About Black Russian Terriers

Here are some of the very important characteristics of the Black Russian Terrier that you need to know about the Black Russian Terrier breed:

  • Black Russian Terriers are not the best dogs for new dog owners.
  • Black Russian Terriers do not like to be left alone.
  • Black Russian Terriers do not get along well with other dogs.
  • Black Russian Terriers are not very friendly towards strangers.
  • Black Russian Terriers require a lot of grooming and are not very easy to groom.
  • Black Russian Terriers have a very low prey drive. This means they get along well with other pets.
  • Black Russian Terriers are easily disturbed by noise in their environments. They are sensitive to human tone. They will understand the tone of your voice when you try to correct their behaviors with a firm tone.
  • Black Russian Terriers can tolerate cold weather.
  • Black Russian Terriers are great family dogs. They are very affectionate with family.
  • Black Russian Terriers are very easy to train.
  • Black Russian Terriers are highly intelligent.
  • Black Russian Terriers are prone to nip and chew at things.
  • Black Russian Terriers require a lot of exercise. They are good for owners who like to exercise.
  • Black Russian Terriers get along well with kids. They are kid-friendly.
  • Black Russian Terriers do things with high intensity. They can be very forceful.
  • Black Russian Terriers are very playful.
  • Black Russian Terriers weigh 80 to 140 pounds when fully grown.
  • Black Russian Terriers are 26 to 28 inches at the shoulder when fully grown.
  • Black Russian Terriers have a lifespan of 10 to 11 years.