KENAI
Russian Toy

The breeds · companion

AKC Toy · UKC Companion · FCI standard 352

Russian Toy.

FCI 352: companion dog. RKC: originally bred as a watchdog and ratter; loyal and eager to please; suited to agility and obedience. AKC page: a toy breed with lineage in the Russian aristocracy; smooth coats tend to be more terrier-like. UKC: from the English Toy Terrier, a new breed formed by the mid-20th century. Wikipedia: originally bred as a rat fighter and watchdog; can be very vocal. Russian Toy Club of America: a good little watch dog; suitable for performance, therapy and service work..

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

0INHeightall null. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
3–7LBWeight, all linesbreed 3 to 6.6 lb.
1HRSExercise, every dayRKC: up to 1 hour per day; suits a flat or apartment; town or country; small to medium garden.. The constraint most homes get wrong.

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

7.9 to 11 in

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club, 2018

One breed-wide range counted in both sexes (sexual dimorphism is slightly defined in every standard). Low is Wikipedia's 20 cm (7.9 in), high the AKC and UKC 11 in. The UKC and FCI print different single ideals (10 in; 25 cm = 9.8 in), so center is blank. All shown, never averaged.

Weight

3 to 6.6 lb

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2017

Low and high span the standards and Wikipedia's low end (UKC eliminating fault under 3 lb; FCI disqualification under 1.5 kg = 3.3 lb; Wikipedia 3 lb) up to the FCI ceiling of 3 kg (6.6 lb). Wikipedia's upper 4 kg (9 lb) is in the text only: every standard caps the dog near 6 to 6.6 lb and the FCI disqualifies over 3 kg, so it is a plain conflict, not ordinary disagreement (Chad's Oct 9 ruling). The UKC and FCI print different single ideals (5 lb; 2.3 kg = 5.1 lb), so center is blank.

Coat

AKC: two coat types, smooth and long. Colours black and tan, chocolate and tan, blue and tan, red, red sable, red brown. Brindle is a disqualification; long coat without ear fringes or with curly hair is a disqualification. UKC and FCI 352 describe the same two coats; FCI colours include fawn and cream. AKC page: long coat does not reach its adult coat until over a year and full fringing until about three years. RKC: smooth and long-haired; colours as the standard. Wikipedia: four main colours.

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2017

Smooth and long are two coat varieties of one breed in AKC, UKC, FCI 352 and RKC.

Shedding

RKC: sheds. AKC breed page band: shedding level 3 of 5.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

Registry statements; no study opened.

Heat tolerance

4 of 5 · AKC standard: smooth coat short, close-lying and shiny, without undercoat; long coat 1 to 3 inches, close-lying. FCI: smooth short close-lying hair without undercoat; long coat 3 to 5 cm. UKC: same. Muzzle lean and pointed; not brachycephalic.

DerivedAKC breed standard, 2017

Derived from coat. A short single coat sits at 5; the long-coated variety has fringes, and the dog is tiny and fine-boned. Held at 4 as a flagged judgement. No heat-illness study was opened.

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Exercise need

RKC: up to 1 hour per day; suits a flat or apartment; town or country; small to medium garden.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC is a UK registry band, mapped by the library rule (up to 1 hour = 60). The AKC page calls the energy level moderately high but gives no minutes.

Exercise need

AKC breed page: moderately high energy; need regular exercise, but a regular yard or long run is usually sufficient; love walks and running and playing until they collapse in your lap; use a harness rather than a collar because small dogs have fragile necks and tracheas. AKC bands: energy level 3 of 5, mental stimulation needs 3 of 5, playfulness 4 of 5, barking level 4 of 5. RKC: up to 1 hour per day. FCI 352 temperament: active, very cheerful, curious.

Breed clubAKC

AKC bands are not mapped to minutes; RKC supplies the minutes figure.

Energy

3 of 5

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Grooming load

4 of 5 · RKC: grooming every day; coat length short; sheds. AKC breed page: long-coated variety brushed two to three times per week with a monthly bath; smooth-coated variety brushed weekly with a soft brush, occasional baths, and an optional daily shammy wipe-down. AKC band: coat grooming frequency 2 of 5. AKC standard: smooth coat short, close-lying, no undercoat; long coat 1 to 3 inches with ear fringes. FCI: long hair 3 to 5 cm. Russian Toy Club of America: low coat maintenance.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band mapped by the library rule (every day = 4). The AKC page and the club say far less (weekly to two or three times a week; frequency 2 of 5), so the mapped figure is the high reading. Disagreement stands in the text.

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

FCI 352: companion dog. RKC: originally bred as a watchdog and ratter; loyal and eager to please; suited to agility and obedience. AKC page: a toy breed with lineage in the Russian aristocracy; smooth coats tend to be more terrier-like. UKC: from the English Toy Terrier, a new breed formed by the mid-20th century. Wikipedia: originally bred as a rat fighter and watchdog; can be very vocal. Russian Toy Club of America: a good little watch dog; suitable for performance, therapy and service work.

Breed clubFCI-Standard N 352, 2017

A companion breed today.

Primary game

RKC: originally bred to be a watchdog and ratter. Wikipedia: originally bred as an anti-rat dog and a watch dog.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

History only, not a current use.

Field trial standard

FCI 352: Group 9 Companion and Toy Dogs, Section 9 Continental Toy Spaniels and Russian Toys, without working trial. AKC page: agility and trick-dog competition suit the breed.

Breed clubFCI-Standard N 352, 2017

No field test applies.

How common the problems are

Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.

Most common disorders

AKC breed page: an overall healthy breed; the primary concern is the teeth (retained deciduous teeth often need removal by nine months; periodontal disease can begin by one year); breeders screen for PRA and patellar luxation; owners should watch for eye injuries such as ulcers. Wikipedia: retained deciduous teeth, patellar luxation, bone fractures in a delicate small dog. RKC: eye testing under the BVA/KC/ISDS Eye Scheme (Good Practice); a breed club health scheme exists. Wikipedia notes that few health details are known because the breed was almost unknown outside Russia until the 1990s.

Breed clubAKC

Registry and editorial agree on dental and patella. No VetCompass or breed health survey was read.

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 3; Mental Stimulation Needs 3; Trainability Level 4; Barking Level 4; Watchdog/Protective Nature 4; Good With Young Children 3; Openness To Strangers 3; Good With Other Dogs 3; Shedding Level 3; Coat Grooming Frequency 2; Drooling Level 1; Affectionate With Family 5; Playfulness Level 4; Adaptability Level 4.

Breed clubAKC

Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.

What to ask a breeder for

The health clearances the breed’s own club and registry name. Reference only: what to ask for, never a statement about any dog’s health.

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 5 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
Russkiy Toy, Russian Toy Terrier, Moscow Long-Haired Toy Terrier

Every breed, read the same way.

The breed index grows as entries clear the standard. Gun dogs first.

All published breeds

Your russian toy, on the record.

Log the days, the miles and the birds, and the KENAI app keeps the dog’s story beside the breed’s. Free to start.

Get the app