MyDogBreeds
Russian Toy Terrier is originated from Russia but Mudi is originated from Hungary. Russian Toy Terrier may grow 19 cm / 7 inches shorter than Mudi. Russian Toy Terrier may weigh 11 kg / 24 pounds lesser than Mudi. Both Russian Toy Terrier and Mudi has almost same life span. Russian Toy Terrier may have less litter size than Mudi. Russian Toy Terrier requires Low maintenance. But Mudi requires Moderate maintenance
The Russian Toy Terrier is one of the dog breeds that hails from Russia in the 20th century. The Russian nobility fancied these little dogs as companions but also as they were useful for catching rats and being watchdog.They would set off an alarm with their barking.
It is believed that the Manchester Terrier and the English Toy Terrier were the foundation breeds for this dog.
They are available in smooth and long-haired varieties. The breed has recently been recognized by the UK Kennel Club but is not yet recognized by the American Kennel Club.
Sometime between the 4th and 6th centuries, the Great Migration – a variety of dogs came to live in the Carpathian Mountains on the Great Hungarian Plain. This migration period brought sheepdogs and herders brought by shepherds. These dogs were of two sizes both small and large. The smaller ones were bred together – Pumi, Puli, and Mudi. Because of this, these breeds share the same history, with the Mundi being the oldest of them all.
The Mundi was finally separated from the other breeds about 1930 when Dr. Deszo Fenyesi began to breed them. It was in 1966 when the F.C.I. finally approved the standard for the breed. Still then as today, there were not many breeders developing the Mudi. They are working dogs – farm dogs – herders, guard dogs and ratters. He is also known as a tracker, with the majority of the breed living in Hungary.
As the Mudi was bred separately from the Pumi and the Puli, differences between the breeds became clear. Many Mudi are born with a stump or no tail at all. The Mudi is not a great dog for the first timer. He is stubborn, assertive and needs a lot of socialization and exercise. In 2004 breeders in the United States created the Mudi Club of America to preserve the breed and foster responsible ownership. This is a clever, active and keen breed, very loyal to his family but wary of strangers. The United Kennel Club recognized the breed in 2006.
In Hungary, these are still a breed of herding dogs capable of running 500 sheep at a time. They are versatile, courageous, intelligent and agile. They are great in obedience trials, agility, and flyball. In Finland and the United States, they also work as search and rescue dogs.
The Russian Toy Terrier is a petite dog and is inclined to be a fragile dog breed. It belongs to the toy group. It is also known as the Russian Toy Terrier or the Russkiy Toy.
The dog’s small size means it is ideal for living in the city or the countryside.
He measures between just 20 and 28cm and weighs between just 1kg and 3kg.
The dog has a small head with big eyes and ears which are large ad erect. The tail was always traditionally docked to give it a cute, compact look, but these days it is left long.
You also get a long-coated dog and the smooth coated dog. The long coated variety has a lot of feathering around the tail, legs and ears. Colors of the coat can be solid red, brown and tan, black and tan or greyish and tan.
This little dog is full of character and is bold and cheerful. He is such a loyal, devoted little dog and small though he is he is territorial, protecting and guarding his owner. It is such a sociable little dog, devoted to his human family, while being wary of strangers.
Even a small dog like this will need training and socialization as he can become yappy and clingy if he is constantly piked up and petted.
This is a medium size dog with an almost square profile. They have erect ears on wedge-shaped heads. He is not a strong boned but medium boned. That square profile is based in large part on their very square stance. Their muzzle is about half the length of their head and they have what is considered a “dare devil” expression in their dark, almond-shaped eyes. The color of the eyes is important and must match with the color of the dog or the standard is not met.
Merle fur – brown, brown speckled, blue eyes.
Brown or gray-brown fur – Brown eyes
Gray fur – gray eyes
What is not acceptable is having yellow eyes and black fur; pink eyes and white fur. The lips, eye rims, and nose must all have the same pigmentation. This should be black in all but the brown and brown-grey dogs. These dogs have brown noses, eye rims, and lips. The tail can be almost anything from full to bob. All are considered to be natural lengths for a Mudi.
Their coat is self-cleaning and won’t mat. It is on the long side. In fact, a short, flat, smooth coat is a disqualification from the standard. The color of the coat ranges from white to brown to gray, gray-brown, merle, golden, cream and white. Very little markings of any kind are usual.
The Russian Toy is a small, feisty dog with long legs and huge upright ears. He is intelligent too. Don't let his fine structure deceive you as he is far more robust and tough than he looks.
He is a great playmate for disciplined, respectful children who know how to be kind to animals. Wild, unruly kids could so easily accidentally break one of his tiny little legs during rough play.
He loves his human family though and is guaranteed to make you an excellent little pet and companion.
Yes, they are great with children and love being a part of a large family or “pack”.
They are extremely versatile and great at herding and guarding.
They are adaptable if you are. They don’t need to live in the country, but they need space to run and play.
They are highly intelligent but a little stubborn. Their ability to learn is high but you have to be the boss.
There isn’t too much information about inherited health problems with this dog and he can live to be 11, 12 or 13 years of age, maybe even longer.There are one or two health problems to be aware of -
This condition occurs with the knee caps of the dog and either one or both back legs can be affected. Sometimes surgery will be required to help the dog.
Little dogs always battle with their teeth, and the Russian Toy Terrier can experience problems when the puppy or ‘milk’ teeth don’t fall out. It affects the development of adult teeth. Sometimes the vet even has to have the teeth removed.
The Mudi does face several of the problems that medium to large dogs often face and some eye issues as well.
The Russian Toy Terrier is a small breed and isn’t going to need too much exercise. However it will do him good to get out to sniff around, and a walk every day will be recommended.
Your Russian Toy Terrier is a fairly low maintenance dog and isn’t going to require specialist grooming. The little dog will simply require some occasional brushing to remove loose hair.
When you brush him, check inside his mouth for bad teeth as small dogs like this can suffer from pain with overcrowding of teeth.
Tiny though he is, the Russian Toy Terrier will need good food. It will be tempting to pop sugary treats into such a tiny little dog’s mouth. This can in fact be seriously dangerous for him, not to mention that he can become obese. This opens up anew set of health problems.
You can feed this little dog commercially manufactured food but it should be the best quality one for small breeds.
Give him some tasty homemade food too. Simply add into one big pot chicken, brown rice or pasta and spinach, sweet potatoes and carrots. This food can all be chopped up, refrigerated and added warmed up and in small portions to your tiny pets dry kibble once or twice a week.
A tiny bit of raw meat can also go a long way to ensuring his skin stays healthy and free of skin infections.
Ensure that there is always a bowl of fresh, cool water within his reach.
The Mudi needs a high quality, medium breed puppy dry food and should be fed 3 or 4 times a day for a total of 1 and ½ to 2 cups.
The adult should be fed at least twice a day with an adult medium breed high-quality dry dog food. Don’t overfeed as the breed can have a tendency toward obesity.
They have great stamina and agility.
This is a working dog and like most herding dogs, they need a job and a lot of activity. Long walks every day and either a large yard or visits to a dog park. Involve them in herding activities or Barn Hunt if you can. Playing is their way of working when they are not herding real animals. So, if you want this breed, be sure you have time for playing with them. They are great at agility, flyball, obedience, frisbee trials, tracking and of course herding