Before you begin the search for a a new puppy you have to think about what kind of dog is best for your family and for you. Then - what kind of dog do you need. Do you need one as a protection dog or just for the family as a pet? Will you be able to be with your puppy several hours a day or will you leave him at a kennel? Will you take vacations with your new family member or leave him behind? Do you have lots of neighbors, extended family or relatives that just "drop in" without knocking? Are you able to devote the amount of time needed to properly socialize your new family member to everything you enjoy doing and to new things as well? Can you spare the time and energy needed to train with your dog?
BRTs are an absolutely wonderful family dog and natural protector - but they require time and effort to make them controllable in this way. They are a slow maturing breed that grows quickly. They are very smart, but can also be stubborn. They like nothing better than to lay at your feet like a rug, but they are fast as lightning when they feel they are protecting you, your family or your property. They are NOT big hairy labs or golden retrievers. They were bred specifically to stop men and guard and they will - in a split second. Is this what you need or truly want? If so, be prepared for a love and devotion few around you will ever see - they relax and play with you and your family and show a tenderness and devotion not easily replicated by any other breed. But your friends and neighbors will only see a watchful, protective dog that is on alert. This does NOT mean they walk around snarling and snapping at strangers (or they shouldnt if you raised them correctly), but it does mean if you go to the park or a dog show or out for walks they will allow strangers to approach you or them but they will not go running up to strangers wagging their stubs and asking to be petted and loved.
They are HAIRY. They can be left ungroomed and leave tufts of hair around (the natural look). Or they can be groomed every 6-8 weeks by you or a professional groomer. They have different coats - some thicker, some longer, some never tangles or creates a problem, some that make you think you are raising a sheep. They do shed and it can be controlled.
They LOVE water. In the toilet, in their water dish, in a rain puddle, in lakes, pools, rivers, you name it they love it. They also want to share that love with you and will bring buckets of it in their beards to you to rub on you or your furniture or shake on you. Be prepared to have towels under their water dishes, on hand where you sit by the TV and handy when friends come by.
They are naturally obedient and very easy to train. They do not need force methods or harsh equipment. Food or ball motivation with positive reinforcement gets the absolute best results and has your dog working for you because he wants to not because he is afraid of you or fearful of a harsh correction. We would take all of our adults to the local dog park and all behaved and obeyed without leashes or collars around other dogs and distractions. Our dogs rarely have a leash on them unless at shows or in a new place. Training clubs are in all areas and we highly recommend Schutzhund clubs for a good all around training.
They are NOT outside dogs. They are a FAMILY dog and will not do well unless in the heart of the family. This means on the sofa, on the bed, on the floor around you while on the computer (as I am typing this I have four within arms reach). They DONT have to be on the furniture - they DO have to be with you. Our dogs are excellent with our horses, our chickens, our cats - anything that is introduced to them that is yours is theirs as well and they will guard it - this includes VEHICLES - they love to ride!!
Because they grow fast, but mature slow some people are surprised when they are challenged by their BRT for head of household. This little uprising - if dealt with swiftly and correctly - is usually no more than a blip in the normal everyday running of the house. Some people are not made aware that this WILL happen and because they are surprised or not prepared a problem is created that is not always easily solved. This occurs in all working breed dogs.
There are health problems with this breed as with most any purebred dog. The Russians have had the attitude "no test no problem" and we Americans tend to "overtest overanalyze". We believe there is a happy medium. We will temper our breedings by analyzing all the factors, health tests, dogs temperament, dogs conformation and his family background, history, health, etc. . Breeding is not yet a pure science, but indeed is a crap shoot no matter how well researched or tested or bred or shown the dog. Our goal is well balanced, temperamentally sound, conformationally correct, healthy dogs that will work as intended.
If you have any questions feel free to contact me.
