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Russian Tsvetnaya Bolonka

playful / charming / inquisitive
Miscellaneous Class >>

Average sizes and life
expectancy of the breed.

Height

11 inches

Weight

6 – 9 pounds

Life Expectancy

14-20 years

Breed Traits & Characteristics

Affectionate With Family
  • Independent Lovey-Dovey
    100% 100%
How affectionate a breed is likely to be with family members, or other people he knows well. Some breeds can be aloof with everyone but their owner, while other breeds treat everyone they know like their best friend.
Good With Young Children
  • Not Recommended Good With Children
    100% 100%
A breed's level of tolerance and patience with childrens' behavior, and overall family-friendly nature. Dogs should always be supervised around young children, or children of any age who have little exposure to dogs.
GOOD WITH OTHER DOGS
  • Not Recommended Good With Other Dogs
    100% 100%
How generally friendly a breed is towards other dogs. Dogs should always be supervised for interactions and introductions with other dogs, but some breeds are innately more likely to get along with other dogs, both at home and in public.

Shedding Level

  • No Shedding Hair Everywhere
    60% 60%
How much fur and hair you can expect the breed to leave behind. Breeds with high shedding will need to be brushed more frequently, are more likely to trigger certain types of allergies, and are more likely to require more consistent vacuuming and lint-rolling.

Coat Grooming Frequency

  • Monthly Daily
    60% 60%
How frequently a breed requires bathing, brushing, trimming, or other kinds of coat maintenance. Consider how much time, patience, and budget you have for this type of care when looking at the grooming effort needed. All breeds require regular nail trimming.

Drooling Level

  • Less Likely to Drool Always Have a Towel
    20% 20%
How drool-prone a breed tends to be. If you're a neat freak, dogs that can leave ropes of slobber on your arm or big wet spots on your clothes may not be the right choice for you.

Coat Type

Corded
Curly
Double
Hairless
Rough
Silky
Smooth
Wavy
Wiry
Canine coats come in many different types, depending on the breed's purpose. Each coat type comes with different grooming needs, allergen potential, and shedding level. You may also just prefer the look or feel of certain coat types over others when choosing a family pet.

Coat Length

Long
Medium
Short
How long the breed's coat is expected to be. Some long-haired breeds can be trimmed short, but this will require additional upkeep to maintain.

Openness To Strangers

  • Reserved Everyone Is My Best Friend
    60% 60%
How welcoming a breed is likely to be towards strangers. Some breeds will be reserved or cautious around all strangers, regardless of the location, while other breeds will be happy to meet a new human whenever one is around!

Playfulness Level

  • Only When You Want To Play Non-Stop
    60% 60%
How enthusiastic about play a breed is likely to be, even past the age of puppyhood. Some breeds will continue wanting to play tug-of-war or fetch well into their adult years, while others will be happy to just relax on the couch with you most of the time.

Watchdog/Protective Nature

  • What's Mine Is Yours Vigilant
    20% 20%
A breed's tendency to alert you that strangers are around. These breeds are more likely to react to any potential threat, whether it's the mailman or a squirrel outside the window. These breeds are likely to warm to strangers who enter the house and are accepted by their family.

Adaptability Level

  • Lives For Routine Highly Adaptable
    100% 100%
How easily a breed handles change. This can include changes in living conditions, noise, weather, daily schedule, and other variations in day-to-day life.

Trainability Level

  • Self-Willed Eager to Please
    100% 100%
How easy it will be to train your dog, and how willing your dog will be to learn new things. Some breeds just want to make their owner proud, while others prefer to do what they want, when they want to, wherever they want!

Energy Level

  • Couch Potato High Energy
    60% 60%
The amount of exercise and mental stimulation a breed needs. High energy breeds are ready to go and eager for their next adventure. They'll spend their time running, jumping, and playing throughout the day. Low energy breeds are like couch potatoes - they're happy to simply lay around and snooze.

Barking Level

  • Only To Alert Very Vocal
    20% 20%
How often this breed vocalizes, whether it's with barks or howls. While some breeds will bark at every passer-by or bird in the window, others will only bark in particular situations. Some barkless breeds can still be vocal, using other sounds to express themselves.

Mental Stimulation Needs

  • Happy to Lounge Needs a Job or Activity
    20% 20%
How much mental stimulation a breed needs to stay happy and healthy. Purpose-bred dogs can have jobs that require decision-making, problem-solving, concentration, or other qualities, and without the brain exercise they need, they'll create their own projects to keep their minds busy -- and they probably won't be the kind of projects you'd like.

Affectionate With Family

  • Independent Lovey-Dovey
    100% 100%

How affectionate a breed is likely to be with family members, or other people he knows well. Some breeds can be aloof with everyone but their owner, while other breeds treat everyone they know like their best friend.

Good With Young Children

  • Not Recommended Good With Children
    100% 100%
A breed's level of tolerance and patience with childrens' behavior, and overall family-friendly nature. Dogs should always be supervised around young children, or children of any age who have little exposure to dogs.

GOOD WITH OTHER DOGS

  • Not Recommended Good With Other Dogs
    100% 100%
How generally friendly a breed is towards other dogs. Dogs should always be supervised for interactions and introductions with other dogs, but some breeds are innately more likely to get along with other dogs, both at home and in public.

Shedding Level

  • No Shedding Hair Everywhere
    60% 60%
How much fur and hair you can expect the breed to leave behind. Breeds with high shedding will need to be brushed more frequently, are more likely to trigger certain types of allergies, and are more likely to require more consistent vacuuming and lint-rolling.

Coat Grooming Frequency

  • Monthly Daily
    60% 60%
How frequently a breed requires bathing, brushing, trimming, or other kinds of coat maintenance. Consider how much time, patience, and budget you have for this type of care when looking at the grooming effort needed. All breeds require regular nail trimming.

Drooling Level

  • Less Likely to Drool Always Have a Towel
    20% 20%
How drool-prone a breed tends to be. If you're a neat freak, dogs that can leave ropes of slobber on your arm or big wet spots on your clothes may not be the right choice for you.

Coat Type

Corded
Curly
Double
Hairless
Rough
Silky
Smooth
Wavy
Wiry
Canine coats come in many different types, depending on the breed's purpose. Each coat type comes with different grooming needs, allergen potential, and shedding level. You may also just prefer the look or feel of certain coat types over others when choosing a family pet.

Coat Length

Long
Medium
Short
How long the breed's coat is expected to be. Some long-haired breeds can be trimmed short, but this will require additional upkeep to maintain.

Openness To Strangers

  • Reserved Everyone Is My Best Friend
    60% 60%
How welcoming a breed is likely to be towards strangers. Some breeds will be reserved or cautious around all strangers, regardless of the location, while other breeds will be happy to meet a new human whenever one is around!

Playfulness Level

  • Only When You Want To Play Non-Stop
    60% 60%
How enthusiastic about play a breed is likely to be, even past the age of puppyhood. Some breeds will continue wanting to play tug-of-war or fetch well into their adult years, while others will be happy to just relax on the couch with you most of the time.

Watchdog/Protective Nature

  • What's Mine Is Yours Vigilant
    20% 20%
A breed's tendency to alert you that strangers are around. These breeds are more likely to react to any potential threat, whether it's the mailman or a squirrel outside the window. These breeds are likely to warm to strangers who enter the house and are accepted by their family.

Adaptability Level

  • Lives For Routine Highly Adaptable
    100% 100%
How easily a breed handles change. This can include changes in living conditions, noise, weather, daily schedule, and other variations in day-to-day life.

Trainability Level

  • Self-Willed Eager to Please
    100% 100%
How easy it will be to train your dog, and how willing your dog will be to learn new things. Some breeds just want to make their owner proud, while others prefer to do what they want, when they want to, wherever they want!

Energy Level

  • Couch Potato High Energy
    60% 60%
The amount of exercise and mental stimulation a breed needs. High energy breeds are ready to go and eager for their next adventure. They'll spend their time running, jumping, and playing throughout the day. Low energy breeds are like couch potatoes - they're happy to simply lay around and snooze.

Barking Level

  • Only To Alert Very Vocal
    20% 20%
How often this breed vocalizes, whether it's with barks or howls. While some breeds will bark at every passer-by or bird in the window, others will only bark in particular situations. Some barkless breeds can still be vocal, using other sounds to express themselves.

Mental Stimulation Needs

  • Happy to Lounge Needs a Job or Activity
    20% 20%
How much mental stimulation a breed needs to stay happy and healthy. Purpose-bred dogs can have jobs that require decision-making, problem-solving, concentration, or other qualities, and without the brain exercise they need, they'll create their own projects to keep their minds busy -- and they probably won't be the kind of projects you'd like.

About the Breed

Bolonki, also known as Russian Colored Lapdogs, was developed as the ideal indoor pet for apartment living and goes by the name Russkaya Tsvetnaya Bolonka. He is nice to everyone and has no signs of violence. He is kind, loving, intelligent, and eager to please.

 

The Tsvetnaya Bolonka, also known as Bolonka in Russian, is a member of the Bichon family, which was on the verge of extinction until the end of the Cold War. It is a tiny companion dog that is hypoallergenic, hilarious, incredibly intelligent, and fiercely devoted to its family. Others are pleased to sit by the door and watch who is let in and out; other people are good mimics. The Russian Tsvetnaya Bolonka is spirited but also laid-back and friendly, and she gets along well with kids. Even though they are fast to alert, early instruction in suitable conduct will prevent them from constantly barking. They need early interaction with people and are rather independent for a toy breed. They are quite intelligent and cunning, and when trained with a firm but gentle touch, they perform well in formal training including obedience, rally, tracking, and agility.

 

What To Expect When Caring For a Russian Tsvetnaya Bolonka

Owning a dog is not just a privilege; it’s a responsibility. They depend on us for, at minimum, food and shelter, and deserve much more. When you take a dog into your life, you need to understand the commitment that dog ownership entails.

Health

Exams of the heart, patella, and eyes should all be part of regular health checkups. Young dogs shouldn't be encouraged to jump until they are adults to prevent patella injuries. Topknots should always be tied up to protect the eyes' corneas. Responsible breeders also examine their stock for diseases including liver shunt, Legg-Calve-Perthes disease, and PRA even though these disorders are uncommon in Bolonki.  
Recommended Health Tests From the National Breed Club:
  • Patella Evaluation
  • PRA Optigen DNA Test
  • Cardiac Exam
  • Ophthalmologist Evaluation

Grooming

Regular cleaning and normal maintenance of the eyes, ears, teeth, and nails are required for the Russian Tsvetnaya Bolonka. To avoid mats from forming, comb or brush the coat frequently (a few times each week) with a wide-tooth comb. Dogs kept in full coats may require daily washing of their face, mustache, and beard. No extra trimming, besides the feet, is allowed for show purposes, and the coat on the back shouldn't be purposefully separated; it should fall naturally. It is important to regularly check the eyes and ears for foreign objects, damage, and irritation. Infections can be stayed away from by maintaining clean eyes. Hair in the eyes can irritate the eye, resulting in painful corneal ulcers and scratches. Keep your ears clean and dry since drop ears are vulnerable to infection, especially after bathing or swimming.

Exercise

Bolonki are typical lapdogs who like walks and fun but don't need a lot of activity. But because of their playfulness and energy, they should romp around at least twice a week. Exercise can also take the shape of indoor games like hide-and-seek, chasing a ball tossed across the floor, or practicing new tricks, in addition to outside activities like hikes.

Training

Bolonki needs early human socialization because they tend to be more independent than typical for a toy breed. Nevertheless, they get along well with kids and other animals, though it's always a good idea to have adult supervision. Bolonki may also wish to alert you to everything that is going on around them, therefore it may be necessary to train them to know when vocalizations are suitable. This breed responds well to training with a firm but gentle touch and excels in obedience, rally, tracking, and agility.

Nutrition

Because of their tendency to be more autonomous than is common for a toy breed, Bolonki requires early human socialization. However, they get along well with youngsters and other animals, so parental supervision is always a good idea. Bolonki might also want to let you know what's going on around them, therefore it might be important to teach them when vocalizations are appropriate. This breed excels in obedience, rally, tracking, and agility and responds well to training with a firm but gentle touch.

History

The French king Louis IV gave a little Maltese-like dog as a gift to the Russian nobility in the early 18th century, which may have been the origin of the Russian Tsvetnaya Bolonka. Later, more canines known as the French Bolonka (ancestors of the Russian Tsvetnaya Bolonka) went to Russia with Napoleon’s army.

 

Due in part to the country’s harsh terrain and its necessity for working dogs for economic reasons, Russia was never known for its toy breeds. Smaller breeds were viewed as redundant and unnecessary, which was amplified during Stalin’s Soviet-era when only labor breeds were essentially bred.

 

The ban on breeding toy breeds was loosened substantially after Khrushchev came to power in 1960, and the market for these tiny dogs increased. Since dogs were not being imported into Russia at the time, new breeds were created by mixing small, local, fluffy mongrel dogs from the Moscow and St. Petersburg region with existing breeds like Lhasa Apsos, Toy Poodles, Shi Tzus, French Bolognese, and Pekingese. Due to the lack of water and high-quality shampoos and conditioners in the Communist States, the soft looping silky curls of modern Bolonki were created in reaction to and within the confines of those conditions.  A social toy breed was specifically developed in response to the housing shortage and rise of apartments, where it was impractical to keep huge working dogs. The Russian Tsvetnaya Bolonka was given guardianship of its region as a way to develop certain “working” traits into the breed.

 

Following the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1991, interest in the Russian Tsvetnaya Bolonka increased once more. In the summer of 1997, the Russian Kennel Federation (RKF) approved the breed standard. The Russian Tsvetnaya Bolonki, often known as the dogs of the twenty-first century, is currently enjoying rising popularity. Before 2002, the first Bolonka was imported from Russia by Candace Mogavero of Fairyland Kennel, following extensive discussions and agreements with the Russian Kennel Federation and the President of the National Russian Bolonka Club to honor and maintain the standard of its home country.