Among the things that don’t always make sense to someone outside the dog fancy is why some dogs are given the names they have. The Black Russian Terrier is a good example because this working breed isn’t a terrier.

To make sense of it, we go back to the beginning when Soviets in Russia determined the need for a working breed. Their options were limited. So many working dogs in Russia had been killed during the war that the state-owned kennel, the Central Military School of Working Dogs (aka the Red Star Kennel) which had been charged with providing working dogs to the military was forced to work with what they could get. To that end, the kennel was able to secure some seventeen to twenty different breeds to create the BRT: The now-extinct Moscow Water Dog, the Caucasian Ovcharka, East European Shepherd, Great Dane, and German Shepherd Dog. Also included were the most heavily “used” breeds that would bring specific physical and temperamental qualities: The Giant Schnauzer, Airedale Terrier, Rottweiler and Newfoundland. We even have their names:

Giant Schnauzers: Sires – Zorab (Reg.7411D), Roy (Reg.U720P);

Shaitan Airedale Terriers: Dams – Sotta (Reg.4U78C), Sima (Reg.47U3C), Sembi (4942C), Salma (Reg.48U6C);

Rottweilers: Dams – Uda (Reg.59UOY), Una (Reg.58UOY), Femka (Reg.7OU5OP), and Urma (Reg.73UOY).

Despite the breed name, Black Russians have very little terrier in their genetic makeup. Some have speculated that the remaining “recipe” to develop the breed was 30% Giant Schnauzer, 30% Airedale Terrier and 30% Rottweiler, with the remaining 10% made up of Newfs and the other breeds.

It’s speculated that the misnomer of a name may have come from the Airedale Terrier which has a relatively long history in Russia. They were hugely impressive war dogs during World War I, and Russia had imported many Airedales for the Russo-Japanese War in the early 1900s. It is, however, speculation, and we’re always on the lookout for more definitive answers. Because the breed was developed by the government in the former USSR, the exact history of the breed name may stay a secret.

Image: Black Russian Terrier by Eugene/ARTCANVAS is available in print here

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