Russian Salon Dog Breed Standard 

General Appearance: The Russian Salon Dog is a small, well-balanced dog, proportionally built with a slightly elongated format, never appearing too high or too low on the legs. This dog breed stands out due to its elegant appearance, characterized by an abundant long straight coat that evenly covers its body, parting and hanging down each side from the occiput along the spine. With small, erect pointed ears and sparkling eyes, the Russian Salon Dog conveys a lovely expression.

Important Dog Breed Standards:

• Length of body is 6-8% longer than height at the withers.

• Length of foreleg from elbow is about 50% of height at the withers.

• Length of muzzle is about 1/3 of the length of the head.

Behavior/Temperament: This cheerful, balanced, and tender dog has an open character, making it a delightful companion.

Head: The head is in proportion to the body, with a well-developed long coat, including a “beard and mustache.” The coat on the skull should also be long.

CRANIAL REGION:

Skull: Rounded but not very broad, with a moderately rounded top. The forehead is rather high, and while superciliary ridges are slightly pronounced, the frontal furrow is not. The occipital bone is scarcely visible.

Stop: A well-pronounced, short, medium-depth stop may exhibit a longitudinal furrow.

FACIAL REGION:

Nose: This dog features a small, rounded, shiny nose that matches the coat color; flesh-colored or “winter” noses are tolerated but undesirable.

Muzzle: The muzzle is approximately one third the length of the head, with medium depth and width, well filled under the eyes, slightly tapering to the nose. It should not be overly massive or light, and its nose bridge is straight and wide enough, approximately at the same level as the lower eyelids.

Lips: Lips are closely fitting and not very thin, typically black or dark. While lighter pigmentation is tolerated, it is not desirable.

Jaws/Teeth: The jaws are well-developed, ideally with a scissor bite, although a pincer bite or close undershot is acceptable. The bite may change towards an undershot as the dog ages, but an undershot with a gap is discouraged. A set of 6/6 incisors is desirable with all canine teeth present, and the teeth should be small and white.

Cheeks: Cheeks are rather flat.

EYES: Medium-sized, shiny, not too bulging, they are straight and widely set, oval in shape with dark or matching rims. Preferably, the eye color is darker or corresponding to the coat color. Merle dogs may exhibit partially or fully blue eyes.

EARS: The ears are erect, not large, and set high. They should resemble an isosceles triangle, with tips that are not rounded. The ear leather is medium thickness and dense to the touch, naturally covered with long hair. The upper third should be clipped short to clearly show the tip shape.

NECK: The neck is lean, relatively long, high-set, and gradually widens to the shoulders. The dog carries its neck proudly while moving, with a moderately pronounced nape.

BODY: The body is compact and moderately ample. 

Top Line: The back line is straight, slightly sloping from moderately pronounced withers to the croup. The distance between the withers and the croup should be minimal.

Withers: Quite pronounced, slightly rising above the back line.

Back: The back is straight, strong, and rather broad.

Loin: The loin is short, slightly convex, and medium width.

Croup: Rounding at the back, the croup is wide, slightly sloping, and long enough, with the sacrum slightly inclined towards the tail.

Chest: The chest is well-developed, quite deep, and oval in section, extending slightly in front of the shoulder-scapular joints with the false ribs being rounded and long.

Underline and belly: The belly is rather tucked up, and the skin is thin and not loose.

TAIL: The tail is sickle-shaped, set high or medium-high, and covered with long hair. In motion and stance, it can rise above the back line or be carried level with the top line, possibly twisting at the end. It may be docked, leaving at least two-thirds of its length.

LIMBS:

FOREQUARTERS:

General appearance: From both the front and side, the forequarters are straight and parallel, set not too wide.

Shoulder: Of medium length, the shoulder is rather laid back.

Upper Arm: The upper arm is of medium length with a medium slope.

Elbow: The elbow points straight back.

Forearm: The forearm is straight and parallel when viewed from the front.

Carpus (Wrist): Joints are well-developed.

Metacarpus (Pastern): The pastern is strong and of medium slope, preferably parallel to each other.

HINDQUARTERS:

General Appearance: They are well balanced with the front and are seen from the rear as parallel to each other, with moderately pronounced angulations.

Thigh: The thigh is slightly oblique, with strong, well-developed hip joints.

Stifle (Knee): Angulations are moderately pronounced.

Lower Thigh: The lower thigh is medium length, approximately the same length as the thigh.

Hock Joint: Lean and well-shaped with strong ligaments.

Metatarsus (Rear pastern): Medium length, vertical, and parallel when viewed from the rear.

Hind and Front Feet: Not large and oval, with toes that are rather arched, and claws and pads pigmented according to coat color or flesh color.

GAIT / MOVEMENT: During a trot, movement is light, free, covering ground well and straightforward.

SKIN: The skin is elastic, flexible, and without folds. Any pigmentation is allowed, contributing to the overall dog grooming standards.

COAT:

Hair: Ideally, the coat is as long as possible in natural condition, straight or almost straight, evenly covering the body, head, and limbs. It separates along the spine and hangs down the sides of the body. The coat is quite soft, shiny, and of medium volume, with a small amount of undercoat, effectively hiding the dog's natural silhouette. Grooming or clipping is necessary for show presentations, but this does not affect the evaluation of coat structure.

Colors:

Red: All shades from rich red, sable and red to light fawn and cream. Bright and clean colors that cover the dog's body evenly are most desirable. With all red colors, a mask may occur on the muzzle, and there are no preferences for colors with or without masks. The sable color features dark-tipped hairs. Young dogs under 1.5 years may exhibit more dark hairs than adults and could also have darker hair on the tail. While separate darker or lighter hairs than the main coat color are allowed, they are not welcomed. The coat color may be lighter at the roots, and in cream-colored coats, no black inclusions can occur.

Red (including red-white and white-red) dogs are shown in a separate ring and bred strictly among themselves.

Other Colors: Black, blue, brown, Lilac. Light markings are permissible around the lips, above the eyebrows, on limbs, and under the tail in these colors. There may be separate white hairs (grey hairs) along the body.

In any solid color, white markings covering no more than 10% of the body surface are allowed.

Merle and brindle colors feature any distribution of spots in merle on any background color. Dogs with partially or completely blue eyes are considered merle, regardless of the presence or absence of spots on the body. Brindle colors can be of any variety, with or without a mask and with various combinations of dark and light stripes. Mating two merle parents is prohibited and will not be registered.

Pied coloring allows for white spots of any shape and size on any of the aforementioned colors, covering 10% of the body surface or more, occasionally resulting in almost completely white dogs. Preferably, colored areas should be present on the ears and eyes.

SIZE AND WEIGHT:

Height at the withers: 7-11 inches

Weight: 4-9 pounds should be proportional to size, with plus or minus 1 pound tolerated.

FAULTS:

Any deviation from the aforementioned dog breed standards should be considered a fault. The seriousness of the fault is proportional to its degree and its impact on the dog's health and welfare.

• Round, too bulging or close-set eyes.

• Ear cartilage not firm enough.

• Too high on legs.

• Sloping croup.

• Too much or too little weight.

SEVERE FAULTS:

• Undershot with a gap.

• Lack of at least one canine tooth.

• Low set ears.

• Crooked or too short forearm.

DISQUALIFYING FAULTS:

• Aggressive or overly shy dogs.

• Any dog that clearly shows physical or behavioral abnormalities.

• Lack of coat on the muzzle, or a harsh, coarse coat.

• Hanging ears.

• Saddle color with blue lightening in Yorkshire-type colors.