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The Black Russian Terrier, which is a dog, is not
to be confused with the Black Russian, which is not a
dog at all, but a cocktail of vodka and coffee liqueur,
sometimes topped up with cola and traditionally
poured over crushed ice in an old-fashioned glass.
The Tall Black Russian is prepared in the same
manner as the Black Russian, except that it is served
in a taller glass. The Black Russian Terrier is also quite
tall, standing at 25-29 inches (64-74 cm). But the size
is just a coincidence; the tall working dog should never
be confused with the tall coffee cocktail.
One quick and dirty tip for making the distinction
is to remember that the Black Russian was
invented by a Belgian barman, while the Black Russian
Terrier was developed by the Russian military after the
Second World War.
 There are only three Black Russian Terriers
in the Caribbean: their names are ‘Liticia’, ‘Evredika S
Zolotogo Grada’ and ‘Polonais Van Dog Polonica’. Their
owners, Chris Sharpe and Jinnah Mohammed simply
call them – Kiska, Devka and Aleksei.
The dogs’ Russian Kynological Federation
(RKF) Pedigree Certificates detail their impressive
breeding line – sires, dams, grandsires and granddams
traced back to three generations. They are all champions
and international champions. Indeed, all three
are following in the large footprints of their sires and
dams, promising to join the ranks of Champion dogs
by winning Challenge Certificates.
The process of importing these rare champion
specimens from Eastern Europe to Trinidad & Tobago
took about two years, Chris recalled, as he recounted
how he spent months researching breeders on the
internet before eventually contacting one breeder in
Russia and making arrangements to import the 12-
week old pups. The pups arrived in A pril 2005, and
after a mandatory six-month quarantine period,
Chris and Jinnah finally took them home.
Their genealogy is also digitally captured
in an encrypted barcode tattooed inside the ear,
as well as in an encoded transmitter injected
just under the skin. M ore impressive, perhaps,
is the fact that each dog responds individually
to his or her own name. And Chris and
Jinnah insist that, beyond the nuances in their physical aspect, Kiska, Aleksei and
Devka have three completely different
personalities.
“Kiska is such a diva,” Jinnah said. “If she doesn’t know you, she can just look
at you – like, almost look down her nose at
you. But Aleksei is our extremely affectionate
dog. And Devka, the youngest, is still
our little play-with-me, super high-energy
puppy dog.”
The words ‘little’ and ‘puppy’ are
his, not mine. Devka is huge. If I stood
up and Devka stood on her long, straight
hindquarters, she could probably look me
dead in the eye. And she’s the smallest of
the three. When she came galloping into
the house to join us in the living room, she
made a beeline for me and within seconds,
she was basically frisking me with her nose.
Discerning my mild unease, Chris smiled
and threw a knowing glance at Jinnah. “We call that ‘the pat-down’. That’s
just her way of checking you out,” he explained. “We get that too, every time we walk
through the door.”
 The Black Russian Terrier, or ‘BRT ’
for short, was developed through selective
breeding of the R ottweiller with the now
extinct Moscow Water Dog, the Airedale
Terrier and the Giant Schnauser, from which
the BRT gets its imposing height. The adult
BRT is only fractionally shorter than a Great
Dane. And their commanding physical presence
is matched by a very strong personality,
which is in turn balanced by a very stable
temperament.
“They are brilliant with kids; they
have the kind of temperament that allows
you to feel safe to have them around children,”
Jinnah observed, adding that from
his first-hand experience, he knew Kiska,
Aleksei and Devka to be quite affectionate,
emotionally sensitive, highly intelligent,
obedient, confident (to the point of sometimes
being aloof towards strangers), and,
most notably, loyal to and protective of
their owners.
“There’s a difference between a
protective dog and an aggressive dog. Protection
is inherent to every dog: it’s a natural
characteristic. They react only to perceived
threat to themselves, their owners and their ‘space’,” Jinnah said.
This breed is wonderful, but is highmaintenance
and is not for everyone. The
two most important requirements for this
breed are training and socialisation with
people and other dogs. Properly trained
and socialised BRT ’s make wonderful, loving
family pets.
“You don’t want a 130-pound dog
who is not willing to listen to you, but you
can’t lock these dogs up in a kennel all day.
That would kill their personality because
they’re very tied to their owners, and that
personal connection is part of their training,”
said Jinnah.
“Ask any trainer, they will tell you
that 80 per cent of the dog training is not
for the dog, but the owner. For example,
we had to learn to groom these three once
a week,” said Chris, explaining how that ‘major commitment’ boiled down to many
small practical things, like grooming the
large, long-coated Black Russian Terrier on
a regular basis, which, by the way, is no small
task. The BRT ’s tousled, low-shedding outer
coat is so profuse that its eyes are invariably
completely covered!
“You know, you
say, ‘I want a dog, I want
a dog.’ But then you get a
dog and suddenly realise
that it is a major lifestyle
commitment for the next
ten or fifteen years of their
[the dogs’] life,” Jinnah
remarked. Speaking of which,
Chris is currently in the
process of compiling a
database of suitable, interested
potential owners of
BRT ’s, with a view to lining
Aleksei to sire pups with
Devka and/or Kiska.
 Gerard A. Best a
graduate of The University
of the West Indies (UWI), St.
Augustine Campus (2003),
holds a BA (Hons) in French
and Linguistics. Following
a brief stint as a features
reporter at a local daily
newspaper, he has returned
to The UWI as a Marketing
and Communications
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