How to care for a black Russian terrier puppy?

How to care for a black terrier puppy?

The first days of puppy in the new house is a very difficult period, both for the puppy and for the owner. It is easy at this time to make mistakes that can have unpleasant consequences.

Astra Fidelis ALEXANDER, age 4 months. Author: Carmel Patterson, Ireland.

The first moments - distrust.

Your black Russian terrier puppy has just arrived at his new home. What to do next?

First of all, remember that the black terrier is inherently distrustful of strangers. At first you will be a stranger to your puppy, this is normal. This is not a Labrador, which immediately wolf down everyone it meets.

Black Russian Terrier is a working dog, created to work with a man and to guard. Already as a puppy he shows the characteristics of a guarding dog - he doesn't trust strangers and keeps his distance from people he doesn't know. Let's not try to forcefully embrace the puppy, if we see that he feels uncomfortable with this. Let's give him time to get to know us. Sometimes it happens that a black terrier puppy will like us at once and will demand petting from the first moment. There is no rule here and it does not have much influence on our future relationship with the dog. It's just that some puppies need some time to accept a new owner and others accept him right away. That's just the way it is and we have to accept it.

The puppy meets his new home.

Immediately after arriving home give the puppy water and then go outside "for a toilet". If we live in a house with a garden, let's take this opportunity to walk slowly around the garden so that the puppy has a chance to get to know his new property. Let's not rush, give the puppy time to get familiar with the new place and to thoroughly sniff everything. Sniffing is very important for a dog, this is how the dog gets information about the place.

If during a walk outside we go with the puppy outside the area of our property we must constantly watch that the dog does not take something into the mouth and if it takes it immediately we have to pull it out of the mouth.

After the first walk we come back home and after a moment's rest let's familiarize the puppy with the house. But nothing by force, if the puppy will not feel like visiting the house is not to force him to do it, everything will come in time. It often happens that the puppy lies down in one quiet place, often in a corner and just watches. When it is ready, it will come to us or will start to explore the house.

Food and drink.

The puppy's first meal upon arrival at its new home should not be lavish. Half of a single dose is enough (that is, about 60-80 grams). If the puppy does not want to eat immediately after arrival, do not insist. Puppy may feel the stress of changing homes and then will not want to eat. We must provide a bowl with fresh water.

The next meals follow the pattern below:

A Russian terrier puppy eats 4 times a day:

  • After first going to the toilet, about 6-7 a.m.
  • About 11 a.m.-12 p.m.
  • About 5 p.m.
  • Before bedtime, usually about 8-9 p.m.

The puppy has a week's supply of existing food. Do not change to another food right away. A sudden change in diet usually causes stomach problems and diarrhea.

What food do we give a black Russian terrier puppy?

Proper feeding of puppies and juniors is essential. It's very easy to make many mistakes here, for example, disturb the proportions of calcium and phosphorus in the diet which can cause bone decalcification resulting in brittleness or the other way round - excessive calcification which inhibits the growth of the puppy.

If we want our Russian terrier puppy to grow properly we can not feed him poor quality food. Best at the very beginning to use food that we get from the breeder, which is accustomed to his stomach.

If you change the food for some reason, remember to use only premium or super premium food. Russian Terrier is a heavy dog, puppy in the growth period needs a very good quality food with a whole range of nutrients, trace elements and vitamins. If we use food of low quality which does not contain all the necessary ingredients, we can lead to various health problems.

Breeder knows what works with his puppies and will advise the correct feeding at puppy stage as well as junior so that, among other things, thanks to a balanced diet (which changes with the subsequent stages of growth because at each stage of growth the dog will need different ingredients in different proportions) the puppy grew up to be a handsome and healthy dog.

Feeding a puppy - how much and how often?

A Russian terrier puppy eats four times a day. If we can't provide four meals a day, we can feed the kid three times a day.

Daily dose.

In general, we follow the nutritional chart that you will find on the package of food. In the case of a bitch, we look at the target weight of 50 kg, and in the case of a dog - 60 kg. Divide the given daily amount of food into four. The food should be given in equal amounts four times a day.

However, the nutritional table from the bag of food is only a reference point. Every puppy is different. Some are very active, constantly willing to play, while others like Garfield from the cartoon prefer to lie down most of the time. This translates to the need for energy, which provides food.

If we will feed the same, recommended in the table amount of food both types of puppies, both the active and the quiet ones, the effect will be easy to predict, those overactive will be undernourished, with protruding spine and ribs, the average active will have the correct weight and the calmest will be obese.

So how to choose the correct individual dose for a Russian terrier puppy? The starting point is a nutritional chart with manufacturer's recommendations, which should be corrected for our black Russian terrier puppy.

How to do it? Once a week you should check if our Russian terrier puppy is not obese or too skinny. The best indicator is our dog's ribs. In order to check we run our fingers over the ribs of our puppy. The ribs should be clearly felt. Our fingers should jump slightly when sliding over the ribs. But be careful - your fingers should jump minimally, if the ribs are felt too much and additionally the spine starts to be felt clearly, it means that the puppy is too thin and we need to increase the dose of food immediately.

If during the weekly check it turns out that we are not able to feel the ribs of the dog, or we feel them weakly it means that our dog is overweight.

And here is an important note. Obesity in a black Russian terrier puppy or junior is a simple recipe for joint damage and dysplasia. Black Russian Terrier is a wide and strongly built dog (at least it should be...). His heavy body puts a lot of strain on his joints. If we add extra kilograms by being overweight, it increases the load on the joints very much.

During puppyhood, it often happens that the body grows at an uneven pace, e.g. the muscular system doesn't keep up with the rapidly growing skeletal system.

Of course, not every obese black Russian terrier puppy will have problems walking in the future. Just as not every puppy running up and down stairs, running on slippery surfaces, or rampaging with adult Labradors will become crippled. But all these factors influence very negatively on joints of young Russian terriers, especially the biggest and the widest ones and due to accumulation of factors negatively influencing joints, unfortunate accident or coincidence, acquired dysplasia (not genetically determined) may appear in the future. So let's be careful on opinions like "my puppy was fat, he was running on stairs like crazy and he was playing all day with neighbor's sheepdogs and nothing happened to him". On the same principle you can say "and my grandmother smoked cigarettes like a locomotive and lived to be 100 years old".

So let's take care of our terriers diet, especially when they are puppies or youngsters if we care about their health and good condition in later years.

New food.

If we want to change the food we have to do it gradually. The transition should take 10 days. The change to the new food is done by mixing the old and new food according to the following scheme:

  1. day 90 % of the current food mixed with 10 % of the new food.
  2. day 80 % of the current food and 20 % of the new food.
  3. day 70 % of the current food and 30 % of the new food.
  4. day 60 % of the current food and 40 % of the new food.
  5. day 50 % of the current food and 50 % of the new food.
  6. day 40 % of the current food and 60 % of the new food.
  7. day 30 % of the current food and 70 % of the new food.
  8. day 20 % of the current food and 80 % of the new food.
  9. day 10 % of the current food and 90 % of the new food.
  10. day only the new food.

Safe haven.

Black Russian terrier puppy, despite the fact that he is a sociable dog loving to be with his family, still needs a safe asylum, a place where he can rest in peace.

Young puppy for a large part of the day is sleeping or resting. The younger the puppy, the greater part of a day is occupied by sleep.

A puppy needs his "asylum", a safe place to go when he feels like taking a nap. It must be a place out of the way, but not in total distance. Place from which the puppy will be able to observe or hear what is happening in the house, but not in a place where there is all the time traffic. This can be for example a compartment under the stairs or a small room. However, it is best to buy a large cage with a comfortable bed inside. The cage does not close, it should be only a separate place where the puppy will feel "at home", where children will not bother him when the puppy wants to nap.

First nights in the new house.

A puppy usually does not sleep the first nights after moving to a new home. Sometimes he will wake up several times during the night "for the toilet". Stressed puppy may have diarrhea, so he will squeal signaling that he wants to go outside

The first nights are the most stressful for the puppy so we should not leave him alone at night. Dog from the first day should know his place in the house and should also know where he can enter and where not. If we don't want the dog to enter the bedroom in the future we shouldn't let him into our bedroom even at the very beginning so that he won't be confused why sometimes he can enter the bedroom and sometimes not. If ultimately we want the dog to stay for example on the ground floor of a two-storey house, the puppy should be there from the first day. So to save the puppy stress during the first nights it's best if for those few nights we move to that part of the house or to the room where the dog is supposed to stay.

We can lie down on a mattress, on the floor next to the puppy. Puppy will feel safe if after every waking up he will feel our presence and we will hear when the dog wakes up and react.

After the first few nights, usually no more than three, our puppy should start sleeping through the night.

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Is the black Russian terrier a good dog for a family?

When choosing a breed of dog for your family, you should focus first and foremost on the character of the pet. Wiele osób szukając rasy dla swojej rodziny bierze pod uwagę wyłącznie wygląd zewnętrzny, ulegając stereotypom. Uważają oni, że dla rodziny lepszy będzie mały piesek który będzie spokojny, cichy i niekłopotliwy, a duży pies na pewno będzie głośny i niebezpieczny. But what is it really like?

Not every large dog is loud and imposing, and not every small dog will be a quiet little cuddler. When choosing a breed of dog, first of all you should look at the character of the dog.

When talking to people who call me, I often hear that, for example:

the family has not yet made a decision and is hesitating between a black Russian terrier, a Husky and a Caucasian Shepherd

Knowing the characters of these dogs, knowing what to expect from them, I try to explain that they are diametrically different dogs, often with behavioural traits that exclude them from living in a house full of small children.

Some people don't think about whether a dog of a given breed is gentle and patient with everyone, even the smallest members of the household. Instead, the family discusses whether the new dog should be black, white or brown. But the argument should be about whether you want a dog that loves being with its family members or one that doesn't need people and prefers the outdoors.

If we choose a dog whose character is not suited to our lifestyle, then in the future, when the dog grows up, we will tire not only ourselves but also the dog. This is when we often think of giving the dog away because "Honey, there is something wrong with our dog". Maybe everything is fine with the dog, we just chose a dog whose character is not compatible with our expectations. We will not make a Husky a patient dog to play with children by the fireplace. I would not dare to leave an adult Caucasian Shepherd alone with children. We cannot expect that every German Shepherd will be able to lie down quietly for a few hours when we need silence (although there are exceptions).

In this article I wanted to focus on the character traits that a dog should have for a family.

The family dog prefers to stay indoors rather than outdoors, such as Husky.

If there are children in the house, the family dog shouldn't be aggressive, should be able to control itself and patiently endure games invented by children. We are not always able to provide constant supervision over children playing with dog and believe me, children's creativity in inventing various games with big, shaggy dog is unlimited and the level of creativity could amaze everyone.

The family dog should also prefer to stay with the family rather than run off into the distance whenever the opportunity arises. However, when we want to rest, the family dog should be able to calm down, lie down and just lie quietly for a few hours rather than run and bark for hours.

And finally, if an intruder tries to enter our home or a closed area of our property, the family dog should not hesitate to try to protect its family.

Now that we have listed the character traits that the ideal universal family dog should have, let's see if the black family terrier is such a universal family dog.

Does a black terrier prefer to live indoors or outdoors?

The black Russian terrier breed was created to work with humans. The Russian Terrier needs frequent and close contact with its owners. It is not a dog that can be locked in a pen outside. A black terrier living outside will be unhappy and will bark or even howl. A dog of this breed feels good when it can live inside, at home with its family.

Is the black Russian terrier aggressive?

In general, the character of the black Russian terrier can be summed up in two words "strength of calm". We are, of course, talking about a standard, correctly managed black terrier assuming that no upbringing mistakes were made in puppyhood and adolescence.

I have never had any concerns leaving my children with my black terriers. In the worst cases, when one of my terriers got fed up of playing with the children he would just go away to another quiet place. But these were rare cases, most black terriers really enjoy playing with children.

I have also not had any of my dogs attack or behave in an unexpected or disturbing way towards any member of the household.

However, please remember that there are different black terriers. There are calmer lines but there are also more lively ones. Some may accidentally push a small child through their exuberance and size. A dog is a living creature with behavioural differences between individuals. Although in general the black Russian terrier is a calm and composed dog, there are still some more or less aggressive individuals. It should be remembered that our puppy came from a breeder which we trust, that will not use for breeding aggressive dogs.

Does the black Russian terrier prefer to be close to the family or does it prefer to play alone?

The owners say that the black Russian terrier is like a shadow, always by the owners' side. His favourite activity is to lie on the floor and watch what the household members are doing. Family is all that interests the black Russian terrier. The black terrier does not impose itself when we do not want it to. It is one of the few dogs that can lie down or sleep peacefully for long periods of time when nothing is going on.

The black Russian terrier as a defence dog.

Safety and defensive qualities are one aspect rarely considered when choosing a dog for a family, but there may be times when this is one of the most important qualities. This is not usually taken into account for the simple reason that defence dogs are rarely suitable for families, especially those with small children.

Typical defence dogs are difficult to train and can be dangerous even to their owners, especially if vetting or training mistakes have been made.

And how does the Black Russian Terrier perform as a family defence dog? First of all, it is a relatively young breed, so it is closer to the standard for which it was created.

The black Russian terrier was created to cooperate with man. BRT can lie for hours observing its surroundings and analysing. It reacts only when it is really necessary. The black terrier does not run amok no matter what happens but adapts its reaction to the degree of danger.

So is the black Russian terrier a good dog for a family?

If we have clearly defined expectations and we are looking for a dog for our family which will be both patient and gentle to the family members, which will always be nearby, which will be interested only in us but also will not impose itself when we want to rest, and when it gets dangerous it will react according to the danger without hesitation, then it will be difficult to find another breed than the black terrier.

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Feeding the Black Terrier

Feeding a black terrier is one of the most important aspects when it comes to keeping our dogs in excellent condition until old age.

 

The Black Terrier has a fairly sensitive digestive system, so any novelty in food must be introduced in small quantities and gradually. The quality of food has a very large impact on the appearance of the robe of the chernysh as well as on its health. Therefore, when choosing a method of feeding, this should be taken into account. Currently, we have a huge selection of dry food on the market, manufacturers outdid each other in promoting their products. And we, wanting to choose the best for our wards, sometimes spend hours at computer screens studying the composition of individual feeds. It should be remembered that the fewer artificial additives the better. For those who like to prepare meals for their dogs themselves, a good way of feeding is the BARF diet or Biologically Appropriate Raw Food - a biologically appropriate raw diet. BARF was developed by Australian veterinarian Ian Billinghurst. The information that has appeared in the books "Give Your Dog a Bone", "Grow Your Pups With Bones" and the latest "Dr. Billinghurst's BARF DIET" have had a big impact on the way many dogs around the world are nutritioned. I refer you to the page where you can find more information on this subject:  barfworld.  

Black terriers belong to large breeds that grow very quickly at puppy age. Therefore, the composition of the individual nutritional values of the food of young chernysh is very important. A poor diet can lead to curvature, poor build, etc. Gains and weight should be monitored on an ongoing basis, in case of disturbing symptoms, it is best to seek the advice of a specialist. The combination of the demand for individual ingredients in different periods of development of the Black Terrier has been equally thoroughly explained on the pages of the Black Terrier World www.swiatczarnegoteriera.pl

My Black Terriers in addition to the basic meal (which they eat 2 times a day) love fruits and vegetables. Older puppies often pick delicacies straight from the garden: they love raspberries straight from the bush ;-). My Katja can be cut for an apple or a plum. Masha is more fond of raw carrots. And they are all waiting for their piece as I cut a watermelon.