Description of a Russian Toy Terrier.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the English Toy Terrier was one of the most popular toy dogs in Russia. However, in the period 1920 – 1950 the breeding of pure toy terriers was almost stopped by new Soviet authorities and the number of dogs fell to a critical level. Only in the mid-fifties did Russian dog-breeders begin the revival of the breed. The Standard drafted for Toy Terriers was significantly differed from that of the English Toy Terrier in many aspects. From this moment, the evolution of the breed in Russia went its own way. A little bit later, the longhaired variety of the Russian Toy appeared. It was called Moscow Longhaired Toy Terrier and the Russian Toy Terrier happened to be of two sub-breeds: Longhaired and Smooth-haired.