SMOOTH AND LONG THE TWO COAT TYPES OF THE RUSSIAN TOY
by Jennifer Grebinoski
T he Russian Toy comes in two different coat types; however, the long coat type is more frequently seen in the United States. What some people may be surprised to know is that the smooth coat variety was the original coat of the Russian Toys. In the 18th century, the English Toy Terrier was popu - lar among the Russian socialites, and in the 20th century, the breed had grown considerably, and they began to be referred to as the Russian Toy Terrier. Num - bers decreased significantly between 1920 and 1950, but Russian breeders then started reviving the breed. In 1958, the two smooth coat parents with slightly longer coats gave birth to a long coat dog, and the Russians decided to keep this variety and began breeding for it as well. The long coat variety was originally known as the Moscow Long Hair Toy Terrier, but in the 1980s the breeds were merged and became the Russian Toy, which comes in the two coats that we see today. The structure of both coat varieties should be the same as described in the stan - dard for the Russian Toy, with the key proportions of: the length of the body should be equal to the height at the withers; the height at the elbow is only slightly more than half the height at the withers; and the length of the muzzle is shorter than the length of the skull. Essentially, if you shaved a long coat Russian Toy and placed it next to a smooth coat dog, you should be looking at the same silhouette. While some people have described a difference in temperament between the two coats, this is not found in the standard or my personal experience. Smooth coats and long coats fall along the spectrum of temperament for the Russian Toy and there is not a difference between the coats when you consider the breed as a whole instead of just individuals. All Russian Toys should have the same active, cheerful, intelligent temperament without being cowardly or aggressive.
44 • T op N otch T oys , J une 2022
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