Identifying A Black Russian Terrier

• 1). Begin by looking at the dog’s shape and size. It should be large, between 25 and 30 inches high at the shoulder and weighing between 80 and 150 pounds. The males are much higher up on this scale than the females. The dog should be very square and heavyset in build, with a short stump of a tail, deep chest, straight back, and thick limbs.
  
  
• 2). Examine the dog’s coat. It should be made up of uniformly black, curly, wiry, weatherproof hairs between 1.5 and 4 inches in length depending on where they are on the body. The sides of the dog are reminiscent of a sheep’s fur in texture.
  
  
• 3). Look at the dog’s head. It should seem a little too small compared to the rest of the body and be rectangular and blocky in shape. Their fur covers the head as thoroughly as it does the body, making the eyes often hard to see. The ears are short, rounded, and flopped over. The jaw should be thick and strong. The most defining part of the species are the eyebrows framing the top of the skull and the long black beard growing down from the lower jaw. If the dog matches this description then it’s a Black Russian Terrier.