Difference between a Black Russian Terrier and a Bouvier des Flandres

As an owner of a Black Russian Terrier (BRT), how many times your BRT has been mistaken for a Bouvier des Flandres?

Yes, walking down the street, you can hear the whispers of a young person telling his mother or father, there’s a Bouvier, or even an adult stopping to complement you on you Bouvier. Yes, and then you have to explain to them that your Black Russian Terrier is not a Bouvier. They look at you at amazement and try to explain their mistake. Well you cannot really blame them, can you? If you do not know the breeds, they look alike, however, at first glance you can recognize that both dogs are completely different.

Black Russian Terrier courtesy Iz Teremka BRT Kennel

Bouvier des Flandres

All pure breed dogs throughout the world are classified into Groups. The Black Russian Terrier belongs to the Working Group in North America and is classified by the Federation Cynologique Internationale under Group 2. The Black Russian Terrier originates from Russia. The Bouvier des Flandres originated from Belgium and is classified in the Herding Group in North America and belongs to Group 1 of the Federation Cynologique Internationale.

The male Black Russian Terrier when fully mature can reach a weight of 150 lbs (68kgs). The females are much lighter and can reach a weight of approximately 105 lbs (48kgs). The Bouviers male and female can attain a weight of 60 lbs to 90 lbs (27kgs to 40kgs). Comparing a mature Black Russian Terrier male against a mature male Bouvier, the Black Russian Terrier is a much larger and heavier dog.

The Skull of the Black Russian Terrier is somewhat wide and round, but not too pronounced cheek bones. The ears are medium in size, triangularly shaped, set high, but not above the level of the skull. The ear leather is dense, rounded at the bottom, hanging with the front edge lying against the head and terminating at approximately mid - cheek  muzzle is broad with a slight tapering towards the nose. A moustache and beard emphasize volume and give the muzzle a square shape. Viewed in profile, the topline of the muzzle is parallel to the topline of the backskull. The nose is large and black.

The Skull of the Bouvier is well developed and flat, slightly less wide than long. When viewed from the side, the top lines of the skull and the muzzle are parallel. It is wide between the ears, with the frontal groove barely marked. The Ears placed high and alert.  If cropped, they are to be a triangular contour and in proportion to the size of the head. The stop is more apparent than real, due to upstanding eyebrow. The proportions of length of skull to length of muzzle are 3 to 2. The Muzzle broad, strong, well filled out, tapering gradually toward the nose without ever becoming snipy or pointed. The Nose is large, black, well developed, round at the edges, with flared nostrils. The jaws are powerful and of equal length. The teeth are strong, white and healthy, with the incisors meeting in a scissors bite.

The aforementioned are just examples of the differences between the Black Russian Terrier and the Bouvier des Flandres. For additional differences and information, the author suggest that you read the breed standards of both the Black Russian Terrier and the Bouvier des Flandres.

Make Your Own Home Made Organic Baits For Dogs.

The term bait or baiting is synonymous  with fishing, however in the doggy world, bait is used extensively for training dogs. Bait is usually a piece of food, usually biscuits and raw food that dogs like.

In the conformation ring where dogs are professionally shown by handlers, you will find that most of the handlers are using some type of bait to entice the dog in doing what the handler wants the dog to do. 

At Iz Teremka BRT Kennel we try our best to use organic raw food as bait whenever it is necessary and when time permits for our dogs. Now a raw dog food diet typically consists of: muscle meat, often still on the bone. Bones, either whole or ground. Organ meats such as livers and kidneys. The problem we have here is that on most occasions, if we are purchasing from a butcher or grocery, we are not sure if these foods contain any chemicals in the food. We have to take the word of the butcher or meat cutter from the grocery that the food does not contain any chemicals that has passed down the animal chain.

Chicken Hearts Bait 

In preparing our bait,  we purchased baby beef liver (if available), chicken liver (if available), chicken hearts (if available).
Once we make our purchase and take it home, the work starts on how you prepare your bait. The process that I am going to tell you about is the same process that is applied to the baby beef liver, chicken liver and chicken hearts.For the purpose of this writing I am going to use the chicken hearts. Once I get home, I am going to:

1. Remove the hearts from the grocery packaging and place it in a colander  and thoroughly wash the chicken hearts. After washing let the colander drain for about 15minutes to get all the water out. 
2. After the water is all drained, place contents in a large bowl to accommodate the hearts.
3. You are going to take about 3 to 4 garlic bulbs, separate them into cloves and remove the shells. Once all the shells are removed, crush the cloves in a mortar and pestle.  If you do not have a mortar and pestle, use a food processor or blender. Once it is crushed, let it stand for about 10 minutes. Why 10 minutes?, you want the allicin in the garlic to do it’s magic. This is applicable to all foods when garlic is used.
4. Add to the bowl of hearts about 3 tablespoons of soya sauce, 1 table spoon of Lea and Perrins Worcestershire sauce, 2 tablespoons of Hoisin Sauce, 2 tablespoon of salt and any other marinade that you want to use. I leave that up to your discretion. After the garlic has completed it’s 10 minutes rest, add the garlic to the bowl and mix all the  ingredients together.
5. Once it is all mixed, put all the ingredient including the “sauce” into a ziplock bag and let stand in the refrigerator overnight.
6. The next day, get a pot that will hold all the hearts, open the ziplock bag and pour all the contents into the pot. Fill the pot with water that will just cover the hearts, add 1 tablespoon of salt. Bring to a boil and let it simmer for about 1 hour. The smell will be nice. 
7. After 1 hour, remove and drain in a colander. Let all the water drain. Please do not do what I do. It smells so good that I start to eat the hearts. They taste good. Once the water has drained, spread the hearts out on a paper towel and pat them dry. This is important. It must be dried. If you are using baby liver, this is the time that you will cut up the liver into bait bite sizes. Again here, use your discretion.
8. Once the hearts are throughly dried, preheat your oven to 375F. You are going to take all the hearts and spread it on to a cookie sheet. Make sure that the hearts do not touch each other. One the oven has reach it’s temperature, place the cookie sheet into the oven and bake for 1 hour. I like my bait to be a little crispy, however some people like their bait to have a little moisture in it. With this said, you should check the bait in the oven to see if it is to your liking.

You may have to do this several times before you get the hang of it in making you very own bait. If you have make batches of bait, you can try freezing them.

If you get a chance, please visit our website at: https://www.izteremkabrtkennel.dog.

Happy Baiting.

Buying A Puppy

Buying a puppy is a very serious commitment that anyone can make. For some people it can be very stressful filled with anxiety and for some people it can be a very normal thing and for people who have never owned a pet it can be quite exhilarating experience. A new puppy introduced into a home where there are children, the experience could be from apprehensive to joys of exuberance and effervescence.

Before purchasing a puppy you have probably made up your mind on the breed of dog you are attracted to. Others may desire a dog but cannot decide on a breed and then there are others who will purchase a puppy spontaneously without any notion of the characteristics of the puppy. In 1997 there was a huge backlash to the Disney movies 101 Dalmatians whereby people seeing the movie when out and purchase Dalmatians for themselves or children. After the novelty had worn out, lots of Dalmatians were abandoned in dog pounds.

Here is a list of things that one must take into consideration before buying a puppy.

• Housing Requirements. Is the puppy when full grown would be able to be accommodated in your living abode?
• Food costs. Budget for a small breed or large breed and for premium dog food.
• Veterinarian bills for example yearly inoculation costs and other expenses. 
• Insurance costs (optional).
• Leashes, feeding bowl, water bowls, collars.
• Obedience classes.
• Dog Shows (optional).
• Bathing and Grooming.
• Do you have a backup person you will be able to take care of the puppy when you are not at home?

Mother and Puppies

Once you have passed the evaluation above and would like to continue, the next step involves the selecting the breed of dog that you are interested in. There are many websites on the internet that are breed specific, however, I will share with you some sites that will give you intimate details about all the dog breeds. You can visit the sites that are applicable to where you live. Here they are:

• American Kennel Club (USA)
• Canadian Kennel Club ( Canada)
• United Kennel Club (USA)
• The Kennel Club (England)
• Federation Cynologique Internationale (Europe and Worldwide)
• Australian National Kennel Council Limited (Australia)

The next step is to find a reputable breeder. A reputable breeder is a breeder who has the following qualities:

• Will have an updated website that will show a list of all litters whelped.
• Will allow to visit their kennel show you their breeding dogs.
• Will allow you to see medical records.
• Will allow you to see pedigrees and registration of dogs.
• Will allow you to see a contract or take home a contract for perusal.
• Will give a written guarantee with respect to purchase of puppy.
• Will give references, providing privacy laws have been approved by references.
• Will not calumniate other breeders.
• Observe the premises on how it is kept.
• Observe how the dogs interact with their owners.

Keep away from backyard breeders, puppy mills and pet stores that are selling puppies. Lately the authorities have been abrogating pet stores from selling puppies.
Do not buy from sites that shows you puppy photographs where the photos have been photoshopped. These photos have been enhanced and do not show the true photo of the puppy

Breeders on the other hand may want to find out more about you and will ask you questions that will enable them to also evaluate you because they do not want their puppies to go to a home where their puppies will not be taken care off.

There are some breeds of dogs that a breeder may not want to sell you and that is based on your experience with dogs. Black Russian Terriers for example is a breed that needs an experienced owner. The Black Russian Terrier is what is considered an alpha dog and working dog thats needs handling skills. So if a breeder rejects you, do not be surprised.

If you and the breeder can come to a mutual understanding of purchasing a puppy, the breeder will ask for a deposit, a contract will be signed and a delivery date (usually 12 weeks) the puppy will be released to you.

If you are interested in a Black Russian Terrier puppy, please contact lana@izteremkabrtkennel.dog or visit us at https://www.izteremkabrtkennel.dog/contact

SHAMPOOING AND CONDITIONING YOUR BLACK RUSSIAN TERRIER

The aim of Black Russian Terrier handlers and owners is to have a dog that has a nice coat so that when the dog is seen, the dog can be admired and complemented. To accomplish this, one must be very prudent in this undertaking.

Coat

The Black Russian Terrier has two coats, an overcoat and an undercoat, composed of a coarse, thick, slightly waved outer coat and a soft, short and dense undercoat. The outer coat covers the whole body.

Shampoo

The dog shampoo business is a multi millionaire business ranging from chemical to organic. When you visit a pet store there are so many shampoos on the shelves to choose from that you do not know which one to choose from. You go to a dog show where there are booths set up with all types on shampoos each booth telling you that their product is the best. So what do you do? I have personally spoken with some professional handlers to get some advice on the types of shampoo that I should use and in one case was told to use a dish detergent! Oh my! There are waterless shampoos specially made for persons showing their dogs at dog shows were washing areas are not available.

Shampoos range from the cheap to the exotic and fits all types of budgets. It is my understanding that the exotic dog shampoos are really shampoos that have been discontinued from the human shampoo and passed down to the dog industry.

There are some things that you can do to make sure that you choose the correct shampoo for you dog. This applies to everyone who owns a dog. You go to Federation Cynologique Internationale FCI), American Kennel Club, Canadian Kennel Club, United Kennel Club websites. If you live outside North America, then go to your governing dog body for information. Look for the breed standard for your dog. Then look for what your the dog's coat should be like. Once you get an idea of what your dog coat should be, you can go ahead and look for a good shampoo. A lot of shampoos may have chemicals in it that is harmful to your dog. In fact, your dog can and may be allergic to some shampoos. It is very prudent to do a spot shampoo on the dog to see if the shampoo is allergenic.


My advice to you is to do your homework, talk to "dog people" or even your breeder, about their experiences with dog shampoos in your breed. If you use the wrong shampoo on your dog, you may alter the coat of the dog, for instance, in the Black Russian Terrier, the coat has to be coarse. I do not want to use a shampoo that will make to coat soft. Always read the instructions on the label of the product.

With all this said, I would like to share some information with you. I am not receiving any compensation for this and accordingly, I will not be divulge their name. If you need this information, use our contact information at our website.There is only one manufacturer in North America whom I am aware of that classifies their shampoo into three different grades. Their grades are  1, 2 and 3. Under each grade, the company lists the dogs that can use this shampoo. Their shampoo is expensive, however, it is sold as the concentrate and it will last you a long time.

Conditioners

Like shampoos, dog conditioners comes in a variety of forms. You can get shampoos and conditioners all mixed into one, so there is no need to apply conditioner to a dog.

Since I am responsible for bathing our Black Russian Terriers, I go the separate way, I shampoo and then I condition.

If you purchase a brand shampoo, always get the same brand conditioner. Always read the instructions on the label. Some conditioners can be applied immediately on the wet dog, while some conditioners, like I use, instructs you to remove all excess water and then apply the conditioner. Some conditioners you can rinse right away while some conditioner instructs you to allow the conditioner to remain on the dogs coat for a period of time and then you can rinse. There are many methods of applying conditioners. Some persons will use the "bucket" method where the conditioner is mixed with water and then poured all over the dog, some will use the "bath" method where the dog is placed in a bathtub, where the bath tub is plugged and the mixed conditioner is pored all over the dog and the dog is allowed to soak in the tub. My method is to use a "spray" pump. The conditioner is poured into a pump bottle and air is pump into the container. On release of a trigger, a projectile spray is made onto the dog. The dog is completely soaked.

Again, when introducing a new conditioner do a spot condition to see if there is any allergenic reaction. If there is, discontinued use and try another conditioner.

Like I said in discussing shampoos, you do not want to get a conditioner that will alter the dogs coat. The aim is to keep the dogs coat as what is in the dog standard breed.

Talking to people who owns the same breed as yours will give you very good insight as to what conditioner and shampoo to use. Talk to your breeder also.I can assure you that you will get all types of suggestion.

If you would like to know what conditioner to use, drop as an email at lana@izteremkabrtkennel.dog

Thank for reading and remember to visit our website at https://www.izteremkabrtkennel.dog

Your comments will be appreciated.

PRESERVING THE NORTH AMERICAN BLACK RUSSIAN TERRIER BREED

Black Russian Terrier Puppies

The Black Russian Terrier (BRT) Breed is relatively a new breed to the North American Market including The United States of America and Canada.

As with anything new, there are unscrupulous persons who are trying to financially gain by backyard breeding or selling dogs without health checks and even by the Russians who are trying to make money because of the low value the Russian Ruble. 

First of all, let’s examine the “modus operandi” of Russian sellers of the Black Russian Terrier. Breeders of Black Russian Terriers in Russia will first of all make contact by joining Facebook communities dealing BRTs.They will make their presence know and sooner of later they would start advertising their litters for sale. In most cases their litters are very much underpriced, no health tests, no pedigree information, absolutely no warranty information and sometimes email addresses which cannot be verified.

My wife who was born in Russia tells me, that the Russians will not sell you the best of litters, because they keep the best puppies for themselves. People who have purchased puppies from the Russians were sold dogs that were not good and had lots of health issues. These North American buyers also complained about warranty problems. How are you going to take action against a persons who is living thousands of kilometres away?. In addition, although these dogs may costs 500.00USD, one has to pay for transportation and any additional costs. In the long run, the price may have escalated to more than what you may pay for a dog purchased in the USA.

Some inexperience breeders have brought in puppies from the overseas market only to learn that some of these puppies have been plagued with medical problems and have not been good for their breeding program. Now with that said some of the most experienced breeders who have built up a good relationship with their Russian counterparts or contacts  may be able to obtain a line of a reputable breeder.

In conclusion, for both breeders and buyers, "buyer beware"of purchasing Black Russian Terriers from abroad. Support your local experienced breeders who would be able to sell you a Black Russian Terrier, with a contract, with a warranty and most important, a breeder who would be able to support your questions and answers for the lifetime of the Black Russian Terrier. I have often heard from owners of Black Russian Terriers that once they purchase a BRT, they have never ever from the the breeders or are afraid of approaching their breeder due to a conflict situation.

Support your North America market.

The Best of Breed

To the persons who are interested in showing dogs what does the Best of Breed also known in the dog world as BOB mean?

Well, to give you a better insight, there are certain things that you should know. Most well governed countries have instituted organizations that govern dogs breeds. In the case of Canada, the Canadian Kennel Club (CKC)is responsible for registering pure breed dogs. I should mention that in Canada not to register your pure bred dog is felony. In the United States of America, it is the the American Kennel Club, in Great Britain it is the Kennel Club, in Australia it is the The Australian National Kennel Council and so forth. When you register your dog, your dog is placed into a predetermined classification. Each breed falls into a particular classification where other pure dogs may be. For example The Canadian Club has seven classification or groups as they are called and they are listed as:

Group 1. The Sporting Group - some examples are Barbet, Spaniels, Griffon. Check with the CKC for the complete list.

Group 2. Hounds - some examples are Afghan Hound, Beagle, Borzoi. Check with the CKC for the complete list.

Group 3. Working Group - some examples are Akita, Black Russian Terrier. Check with CKC for complete list.

Group 4. Terriers - some examples are Airedale Terrier, Bull Terrier, Skye Terrier. Check with CKC for complete list.

Group 5. Toys - some examples are Coton de Tutelar, Chihuahua, Pug. Check with CKC for complete list

Group 6. Non-Sporting Dogs - some examples are Tibetan Terrier, Chow Chow. Check with CKC for complete list

Group 7. Herding Dogs - some examples are Border Collie, Puli, Briard. Check with CKC for complete list

Miscellaneous Class are breeds of dogs that are awaiting to be recognized by the Canadian Kennel Club.

Once Registered and assigned a group, your dog will be placed into the category of your breed. So for example if your dog was a Barbet, your dog will be placed in Group 1, and into the Barbet breed. (Using the Canadian Kennel Club Specifications).

If you decide to show your Barbet, you will of course make your entry for confirmation and at the time of competitive showing one dog has to be chosen by the judge as the best of breed. The best of the breed is supposed to be the dog that comes closest to the breed standard in comparison to others dogs of the same breed.

Now if your dog is the only dog in the breed, your dog may be given the best of breed after going through the motions of showing. This in my opinion is a flaw in the rules. The question that really has to be asked is how can you give an only dog the best of breed where there is no comparison? In fairness to this situation, a dog being entered does not know how many dogs are being entered.The only way of knowing in advance is when the entry catalogue is sent out or on the day of competition. With that said, it should also noted that some owners deliberately go to shows, knowing that no other dogs in the breed would show up.In these cases where the dog is judged the best of breed with no competition, the dog is not awarded any points. 

Once you dog has been given the title of best of breed for that particular event, the dog goes to compete for the best of group which will entail all the best of breeds in that particular group.

A good Canadian website for checking on show confirmation result is Canuck Dogs.com

The Black Russian Terrier Colour Controversy

The United Kennel Club (UKC) based in the United Staes of America with outlets in Canada recently inaugurated and ruled that “coloured” Black Russian Terriers could be shown under their auspices. 

There has been backlash from the Black Russian Terrier community some crying foul and some agreeing with the UKC ruling. In order to understand this dispute, one has to go back in time to understand the origins of the Black Russian Terrier.

The Black Russian Terrier was created by the Soviets under the USSR era when the Russian Military lost most of their dogs during the World 1 and World 2. As a result of this, the Russian Government made and edict that a new breed of dog should be introduced and that this dog should be a guard dog and be able to withstand the cold and frigid temperatures of the Siberian weather.

"Coloured"Black Russian Terrier

Normal Black Russian Terrier

The Red Star Kennel began their experimentation  and came up with breeding a Rottweiler with a Giant Schnauzer. To get what they were looking for, other crossing breedings took place between Airedale Terriers, Caucasian Ovcharka ( Caucasian Shepherd Dog), Newfoundlanders, and other varieties of unnamed dogs. With a limited amount of dogs, the  breed was finalized as a Black Russian Terrier and introduced to the Russian public around 1953.

With this information, one can quickly  deduce that the gene pool and genetic information was rather limited to a few dogs and because of inbreeding anything was possible from their offsprings. What is rather interesting is the way the Red Kennel scientists were able to get the colour of the dog black.

As these Black Russian Terriers were made available to breeders across the Soviet Union, inbreeding was common resulting in off coloured puppies. In 1958, a breed standard was put in place and throughout the years revised and in conjunction with the world organizing body, Federation Cynologique Internationale, a proper breed standard was approved. For the purpose of this blog, I shall only deal with the colour. The breed standard colour for the Black Russian Terrier is Black, black with insignificant intermingling gray hair is permissible. 

As breeders continued to breed Black Russian Terriers, puppies were whelped with colour variations of the original dogs that were used as the foundation stock. The breeders who cared about the Black Russian Terriers made notes of such breedings and stopped breeding those dogs. The resultant puppies of these litters were either neutered and spaded so that their genes pools would be terminated. The breeders who did not really care, sold these puppies without have these puppies fixed.

The owners of these off coloured puppies in Russia wanted the same privileges as owners of the Black Russian Terriers namely, to compete in the same confirmation  ring.

The International Black Russian Terrier Club of Russia conducted an experiment prior to 2006 where these off coloured were shown at specialized shows. No titles were awarded. The experiment was called off since some of these dogs had the appearance of the Airedale Terriers and some dogs were extremely aggressive.

In North America, breeders had similar situations as to their counterparts in Russia. Breeders who cared for the breed made sure that the off coloured puppies were fixed so that their gene pool would not spread. Unscrupulous breeders who did not care about the breed continue to breed dogs that will produce off coloured puppies and are intent on competing with the true Black Russian Terrier.

It is a concern and the fight has only just begun  between as to who will be the winner in the long run. I am afraid that in order to enrich their coffers, the national breed clubs are going to eventually  approve and allow colour variations of the Black Russian into the show rings.