RUSSIAN TOY STANDARD AND COLOURS

As per the Canadian Kennel Club

GENERAL APPEARANCE

A small elegant dog, lively, long legged, with fine bone and lean muscles. Sexual dimorphism only slightly defined.

TEMPERAMENT

Active, very cheerful, neither cowardly nor aggressive. The behaviour is significantly different between males and females.

SIZE

Square build. The height at elbows is only slightly more than half of the height at wither; the chest is sufficiently deep.

Height at withers: Dogs and bitches: 20-28 cm (tolerance +/- 1 cm)

Weight: Dogs and bitches up to 3 k

COAT AND COLOUR

HAIR: There exists two types for the breed: smooth-haired and longhaired

SMOOTH-HAIRED: Short, close-lying, shiny hair, without undercoat or bald patches.

LONG-HAIRED: body is covered with moderately long (3-5 cm), straight or slightly wavy hair, close-lying, which does not hide the natural outline of the body. Hair on the head and on the front part of the limbs is short and close-lying. which does not hide the natural outline of the body. Distinct feathers on rear side limbs. The feet have long, silky hair which completely hides the nails. Ears are covered with thick, long hair forming a fringe. Dogs of more than 3 years have such a fringe, which should completely hide the outer edges and tips of the ears. Body hair should not look tousled nor be too short (less than 2 cm.).

COLOUR

Black and tan, brown and tan, blue and tan. Also red of any shade with our without black or brown overlay. Richer shades are preferable for all colours.

SKIN

Thin, dry and tight-fitting.

HEAD

Skull: High but not too wide (width at the zygomatic arches does not exceed the depth of the skull). Stop: Clearly pronounced.  Nose: Small, black or matching the coat colour. Muzzle: Lean and pointed, slightly shorter than the skull. Lips: Thin, lean, tight-fitting and dark or matching the coat colour. Jaws/Teeth: Small, white. Scissor bite. Absence of 2 incisors permitted in each jaw. Cheekbones: Only slightly pronounced, Eyes: Quite large, rounded, dark, slightly prominent, set well apart and looking straight ahead. Eyelids are dark or matching the coat colour, tightly fitting. Ears: Big, thin, set high, erect.

NECK

Long, lean, carried high, slightly arched.

FOREQUARTERS

Thin and lean; seen from the front, the front legs are straight and parallel. Shoulders: The shoulder blades are moderately long and not too sloping. Upper arm: Forming an angle of 105 degrees with the shoulder blade. The length of upper arm is approximately equal to the length of shoulder. Elbows: in Line with the body. Forearm: Long, straight. Carpus (Wrist): Lean. Metacarpus (Pastern): Almost vertical. Forefeet: Small, oval, turning neither in nor out. Toes well-knit and arched. Nails and resilient pads are black or match the coat colour.

BODY

Topline: Gradually sloping from the withers to the root of the tail. Withers: Slightly pronounced. Back: Strong and straight. Loin: Short and slightly arched. Croup: The croup is somewhat rounded and slightly sloping. Chest: The chest is oval, sufficiently deep and not too wide. Underline and belly: Tucked up belly and drawn up flanks, forming a nicely curved line from the chest to the flanks.

HINDQUARTERS

Seen from the rear, the hind legs are straight and parallel, but standing a little bit wider than the forelegs. Stifles and hocks are sufficiently bent. Upper thigh: Muscles are lean and developed. Lower thigh: The upper and lower thighs are of the same length. Hock: Sufficiently angulated. Metatarsus (Rear Pastern): Vertical. Hind feet: Arched, a little it harrower than forefeet. Nails and pads are black or match the coat colour.

TAIL

Docked (only two or three vertebrae are left), carried high. In countries where tail docking is prohibited by law. it is left in its natural state. Undocked: sickle tail. It should not be carried lower than back level.

GAIT

Easy, straightforward, fast. No noticeable change int he topline when moving.

FAULT

Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog.

DISQUALIFICATION

N.B.

Only functionally and clinically healthy dogs, with breed typical conformation should be used for breeding.

THE AMERICAN KENNEL BASICALLY SAYS THE SAME, BUT THEY JUST PRESENT IT IN A DIFFERENT FORMAT

THE OFFICIAL STANDARD OF THE RUSSIAN TOY AS PER THE AKC

General Appearance: A small elegant dog, lively, long-legged, with fine bone and lean muscles. Sexual dimorphism only slightly defined. Active, cheerful, possessing keen intelligence, slightly aloof to strangers but neither cowardly nor aggressive.

Size, Proportion, Substance: The Russian Toy has a square build; the height, when measured vertically from the ground to the highest point of the withers, is equal to the length, when measured horizontally from the prosternum to the point of the buttocks. The height at the elbows is only slightly more than half of the height at the withers. The chest is sufficiently deep reaching to the elbow. Height at withers for both dogs and bitches: 8 inches to 11 inches. Weight for both dogs and bitches:  up to 6.5 pounds. Disqualifications - Height at withers over 12 inches or under 7 inches. Weight less than 2 pounds.

Head: The head is small compared to the body. Expression - The expression is bright, attentive with attitude. Eyes are quite large, rounded, dark, slightly prominent, set well apart and looking straight ahead. Eyelids are tightly fitting. Bland and tan dogs have eyes that are darkest brown to black with black eye rims. Chocolate and Tan dogs have eyes that are brown to light brown and eye rims that are brown to light brown (darker coloured preferred.).  Blue and Tan dogs have eyes and eye rims that are slate grey. Red Coated dogs have eyes that are darkest brown to black with black eye rims. Red Sable dogs have eyes that are darkest brown to black with black eye rims. Red Brown dogs have eyes and eye rims that are brown (darker color preferred). Ears - Ears are big, thin, set high, erect and wider at the base tapering to a triangular shape. Semi- pricked ears in long haired dogs with heavy fringes is permissible but not desirable. Disqualification - Hanging (completely down) ears. Skull - The skull is high but not too wide (width at the level of zygomatic arches does not exceed the depth of the skull). Stop - The stop is clearly pronounced. Muzzle - The muzzle is lean and tapered and is slightly shorter than the skull. Cheekbones - The cheekbones are only slightly pronounced. Nose - Black and Tan dogs have black noses. Chocolate and Tan dogs have noses that are brown to light brown (darker color preferred). Blue and Tan dogs have slate grey noses. Red coated dogs have back noses. Red Sable dogs have black noses. Red Brown dogs have brown noses (darker color preferred). Lips - Lips are thin, lean, tight-fitting. Black and Tan dogs have black lips. Chocolate and Tan dogs have lips that are brown to light brown (darker color preferred). Blue and Tan dogs have slate grey lips. Red coated dogs have black lips. Red Sable dogs have black lips. Red Brown dogs have brown lips (darker colour preferred). Bite - The teeth should meet in a scissor bite. Russian Toy teeth are small, white. Absence of two incisors is permitted in each jaw. Faults - Level bite or incisors sloping forward. The absence of more than two incisors in either jaw is a serious fault. Disqualifications - Overshot, undershot. Absence of one canine.

Neck, Topline, Body, Neck: The neck is long, lean, carried high, slightly arched. Topline - The topline gradually slopes from the withers to the root of the tail. Withers - The withers are slightly pronounced. Body - The chest is oval, sufficiently deep and not too wide. Underline - the underline has a tucked up belly and drawn up flanks, forming a nicely curved line from the chest to the flanks. Back - The back is strong and straight. Loin - The loin is short and slightly arched. Croup - The croup is somewhat rounded and slightly sloping. Tail - Tails may be natural or docked (only two or three vertebrae are left ) and is carried high. The undocked (natural) tail is a sickle tail., The tail should not be carried lower than back level when moving. Fault - Low set tail.

Forequarters: Shoulders - The shoulder blades are moderately long and not too sloping. Upper Arm - The upper arm forms an angle of 105 degrees with the shoulder blade. The length of upper arm is approximately equal to the length of shoulder. Elbow - The the elbow is in line with the body. Legs - forequarters legs are thin and lean. Seen from the front the front legs are almost vertical. Dewclaws may be removed or left natural. Feet and Toes - Forefeet are small, oval, turning neither in nor out with pads that are cushioned. Toes are well knit and arched. Hind feet are a little bit narrower than forefeet with pads that are cushioned and toes are well knit and arched. Pads and Nails - Black and tan dogs have black nails and pads. Chocolate and Tan dogs have nails and pads that are brown to light brown (darker color preferred). Blue and Tan dogs have slate grey nails and pads. Red coated dogs have black nails and pads. Red Sable dogs have black nails and pads. Red brown dogs have brown nails and pads (darker color preferred.)

Hindquarters: Seen from the rear, the hind legs are straight and parallel. but standing a little bit wider than the forelegs. Stifles and hocks are sufficiently bent. Angulations - Hindquarters should be sufficiently angulated. The upper thigh muscles are lean and developed. The upper and lower thighs are of the same length. Hocks should be vertical. There should be no rear dewclaws. Serious fault - Short legs.

Skin: The skin should be dry and tight-fitting.

Coat: Hair - There exists two types for the breed: smooth-coated and long-coated. Smooth coat dogs have short, close-lying, shine hair, without undercoat or bald patches. Long coat dogs have bodied covered with moderately long (1-3 inches) straight or slightly wavy hair, close-lying, which does not hide the natural outline of the body. Hair on the head and on the front part of limbs is short and close-lying. There are distinct feathers on rear side limbs. The feet have long, silky hair which completely hides the nails. Long-coated dogs have ears that are covered with thick, long hair forming a fringe,. Dogs of more than three years have such a fringe which should completely hide the outer edges and tips of the ears. Body hair should not look tousled nor be too short (less than 1/2 inch). Disqualification - Long coat dogs: absence of any fringes on ears and presence of curly hair (Dogs younger than 18 months may have sparse of few fringes)

Color: Russian Toy coats may be Black and Tan, Chocolate and Tan, Blue and Tan, Red, Red Sable, or Red Brown. Black and Tan coats are jet black with rich, bright tan markings over eyes, on cheeks, inside ears, on chest, legs and on underside of tail. Chocolate and Tan coats are rich chocolate brown with tan markings over eyes, on cheeks, inside ears, on chest, legs, and on underside of tail. Blue and Tan coats are blue based grey coloring with tan markings over eyes, on cheeks, inside ears, on chest, legs, and on underside of tail. Red coats are whole-colored red that may range from rich ruby to lighter hues, but deeper saturated color is preferred. Red Sable coats are red with black-tipped hair on body and ears. Red Brown coats are red  with brown-tipped hair on body and ears. Faults - Presence of bald patches in smooth coat dogs. Too long or too short hair on body of long coat dogs. Small white spots under 1/2 inch on chest and toes. Solid black, brown, and blue colors. Tan markings too large or with dark shadings. Any white spots on the head, abdomen and above metacarpus. Severe fault - large white patches over 1/2 inch on chest and throat. Disqualification - Presence of brindle markings

Gait: Easy, straightforward, fast. No noticeable change in the topline when moving.

Temperament: Active cheerful, possessing keen intelligence, slightly aloof to strangers but neither cowardly nor aggressive. Fau8lt - Timid behaviour.

Faults: Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded would be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog.

Disqualifications:

Approved July 14, 2017

Effective June 27, 2018

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