S maonodt hL o n g
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 peo- ple may be surprised to know is that the smooth coat variety was the original coat of the Russian Toy. In the 18th century, the English Toy Terrier was popular among the Russian socialites, and by the 20th century the breed had grown considerably and they began to be referred to as the Russian Toy Terrier. Numbers decreased significantly between 1920 and 1950, but Russian breeders then started reviving the breed. In 1958, 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.
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