Socialization
One of the things you always read about when discussion of the BRT starts is how important proper socialization is to a young BRT.
I will maintain that a good temperament is a product of both genetic factors and environmental ones. I know of whole lines of genetically "sharp" (and read that aggressive) BRTs. Luba, my first BRT, is genetically prone to be aggressive. There was no amount of socialization in the world that would fix her defective genetic temperament. She was socialized the same way my others have been. But in her heritage is her sire who probably has the dubious honor as having have been disqualified not once, but twice, from AKC competition for aggression, first towards a judge, then a fight with another dog that escalated into a handler being bitten. Her full litter mate brother was euthanized at the age of slightly over a year old for biting a niece of the owner who was known to the dog. She has had family relatives re-homed at various ages for demonstration of aggressive behavior towards both animals and humans. You just can't fix that. We tried numerous types of trainers, various methods, and nothing fixes it.
So the first thing you need is a good genetic temperament. Most people who have been in the breed for any length of time know the sharper lines. Avoid them unless that's what you want, because no amount of socialization will corrected a genetically defective temperament.
Assuming you have the good genes, the next step to a good temperament is a good environment. I know when I heard the term "socialization is important", having no experience with a working dog, I had no idea what that meant. I thought that you raise them like I've always raised my dogs...live with the family, other dogs. I never went out of my way to socialize any other dog I owned, we just lived our normal lives and they all turned out just fine. But with a dog raised to guard and protect, you have to go WAY outside of your normal life and give them as many experiences as possible for the first 2 years of their life.
When Zilya was a puppy, he was given a very good foundation by his breeder, who made great effort with the litter to expose them to noise, kids, inside and outside environments before I even met him. As soon as I got him we started obedience classes with a private trainer, so that he was not exposed to other dogs with no natural immunity until he was 4 months old. A puppy has the attention span of a gnat, but brts are exceptionally smart dogs, they want to please, and they learn very quickly. But not only did we go to obedience classes, but we made an adventure at least 4 times a week to one of several different parks, different scenery. I made sure that we went places where we were likely to run across people of different types, colors, kids, teenagers. But above all I made sure that the experiences were good. We went, we walked around, people petted him, we did obedience drills right there in the middle of the park. If a situation looked like he was becoming uncomfortable, I removed him.
Pet owners should know that once a puppy or adult dog has been attacked by another dog, it will become a dog aggressive animal itself. This only has to happen one time for a permanent temperament change to occur in some animals. You will quickly find that dog aggression is a real pain in rear. You have to protect your dog from unknown dangers and it is much better to err on the side of caution when placing your dogs with unknown dogs. While socialization with other dogs is very important, my primary concern is that your dogs knows how to act when he sees other dogs and never includes the opportunity that he learns the hard way that dog interaction involves survival of the fittest. If a strange dog is approaching I will pull my puppy close in to me and stand between them, so that the puppies know that I am there to protect them. Believe me that after your Black Russian reaches maturity, he will stand between you and anything coming towards him as part of his natural defense.
Once, for instance, we went to the park and there was some kind of kids event going on to the tune of several hundred of them in this one square block park. I should have kept going and come back another day but he was about 7 months old, solid and I thought it would be ok. As you know, or will find out, a BRT under any circumstances is a people magnet (so if you are still looking for a significant other, walk your BRT around in public and see how much attention you get). We were immediately almost surrounded by 30 kids. And how kids are inclined to do sometimes, they started trying to pet him, and also as they are inclined to do, many of them would reach toward him and scream when he moved. He sat by my side, but I could see how uncomfortable he was and before the situation got bad we left the park. But we didn't go home. We went to another park where it wasn't so hectic and did our normal walk around. I didn't want to bring him home after having had a bad experience to think that the house was his safe haven, so we worked it out before we came home. That was our only really bad experience...that's how concerned I was that Zil turn out "right".
I think that part of the socialization process is to try from a young age to in a positive manner make them understand that they are to do what you want them to do. I would never use a harsh training method on a puppy because they don't require it. But from when they first come home and they are eating, I make it known that I can take away from them anything that I want at will, including food. I start by just stirring their food when they are eating it. Then I'll stick my hand in their food bowl to add more food while they are eating to get them used to me being by their bowl and realizing that they will not go hungry because I'm by their food. I will also pick up their food bowl and exchange it for a treat when they are eating. Not for long, but just long enough to know if it is removed it is coming back soon and they will get something in return. I'm really doing it because I don't want them food possessive and have someone accidentally walk by their food bowl and get bitten because the dog thinks it's the end of the world when someone comes by their food.
I also make it a point to walk over them when they are sleeping, move them out of the way with my foot, make them get up and move when they are in my way. When they are old enough to get on the furniture or bed they get off with an "off" command.
I don't believe in harsh methods, or have a big "alpha" thing going on. As youngsters it's all a game, and training is done with a lot of "good out", "good off" and treats. Nothing but treats and praise! I just look at it all as common sense training. I don't want my 130 pound dog jumping on people, so I don't let my 20 pound puppy jump on people. My dogs get excited when I come home and they do jump and dance and I certainly won't say that they never touch me, but they do not jump on me or anyone else.
The one thing I never did was take my dogs to a dog park. We don't have any around here, but even if we had, we wouldn't have been there. I believe that no matter how well I might know my dog, I don't know the other idiots and what dog they might bring and turn loose. Now Zil did have dogs to play with. Once we started going to group obedience classes there was always time to play before and after, with KNOWN friendly dogs. So he had dog friends and I think that's part of good socialization that they learn to be on good terms with other dogs, and gentle with smaller ones. Zil and Dani both seem to know inherently that they can't play with small dogs like they play with each other. But I also don't let them out in the backyard with my mom's Yorkie mix because the size differential is too great and the yard is too big to have a full running BRT and a Yorkie together. The Harpers routinely had Zil, Cam (the Brittany Special), and Kahuna (the Sheltie), all intact males, all running loose together at their house with no problems. Part of the socialization process is getting to know your dog and what situations you can put him in. These 3 all had solid temperaments and were safe with each other.
Expose them to everything you think they will encounter in real life so that they can master the experience. Teach them proper reaction to strangers at the door. If it's someone I want in my house I go outside and bring them in. If it's somebody I don't want in my house I stand inside my door with my dog there because if I don't bring them in, they are not coming in. Zil was also exposed to the sound of guns and fireworks in a controlled setting at home, so that when we are someplace and some sudden noise comes up, he is not rattled by it. In the ATTS they will encounter gun fire - they don't need to like it, but they do need to accept it without going crazy.
This rural area in South Mississippi is not known as a dog friendly area. Dogs aren't invited into restaurants, and very few stores allow them in so socialization is something that requires creativity and effort to accomplish. Pet Smart of course allows them, and I never had any problem walking them around an open shopping area, not going in stores, but giving him the encounters of an urban area.
Another part of the socialization is formal obedience classes. BRTs are very large and powerful dogs. At the very least you don't want them dragging you down the street. I use "gentle leaders" on both of my dogs. Started them young with them, so as they got older they just thought that was the way their collar works. It gives better control to me and I prefer it rathar than a choke collar or pinch collar. But regardless of what type of collar you use, you have to have a dog that will sit, stay, and walk with you. I think the two of the most important commands are "out" (which means whatever you have in your mouth turn it loose) and "leave it" (which means what ever you are doing stop it). Dani knows all of those even as young as she is and we haven't done obedience classes yet (it's my experiment with not doing formal obedience automatic sits when I stop or heeling to see how it translates in the conformation ring).
So if you are new to working dogs, don't think socialization is something to be taken lightly and that your dog will just "get it". It requires hard work, many hours and dedication to raise a well rounded guard dog. You don't have to teach them protection - that will come instinctively. You need to teach them control, and give them enough experiences repeated over time that nothing shakes or rattles them and that every situation you could conceive them experiencing they have already done and mastered.
You really need to be well committed to spending a lot of time with these dogs especially the first two years and you should well consider if you have that amount of time to dedicate. If you don't, I would suggest a different breed for you.
Additional Resources
Interesting Article: Rethinking Puppy Socialization
I will maintain that a good temperament is a product of both genetic factors and environmental ones. I know of whole lines of genetically "sharp" (and read that aggressive) BRTs. Luba, my first BRT, is genetically prone to be aggressive. There was no amount of socialization in the world that would fix her defective genetic temperament. She was socialized the same way my others have been. But in her heritage is her sire who probably has the dubious honor as having have been disqualified not once, but twice, from AKC competition for aggression, first towards a judge, then a fight with another dog that escalated into a handler being bitten. Her full litter mate brother was euthanized at the age of slightly over a year old for biting a niece of the owner who was known to the dog. She has had family relatives re-homed at various ages for demonstration of aggressive behavior towards both animals and humans. You just can't fix that. We tried numerous types of trainers, various methods, and nothing fixes it.
So the first thing you need is a good genetic temperament. Most people who have been in the breed for any length of time know the sharper lines. Avoid them unless that's what you want, because no amount of socialization will corrected a genetically defective temperament.
Assuming you have the good genes, the next step to a good temperament is a good environment. I know when I heard the term "socialization is important", having no experience with a working dog, I had no idea what that meant. I thought that you raise them like I've always raised my dogs...live with the family, other dogs. I never went out of my way to socialize any other dog I owned, we just lived our normal lives and they all turned out just fine. But with a dog raised to guard and protect, you have to go WAY outside of your normal life and give them as many experiences as possible for the first 2 years of their life.
When Zilya was a puppy, he was given a very good foundation by his breeder, who made great effort with the litter to expose them to noise, kids, inside and outside environments before I even met him. As soon as I got him we started obedience classes with a private trainer, so that he was not exposed to other dogs with no natural immunity until he was 4 months old. A puppy has the attention span of a gnat, but brts are exceptionally smart dogs, they want to please, and they learn very quickly. But not only did we go to obedience classes, but we made an adventure at least 4 times a week to one of several different parks, different scenery. I made sure that we went places where we were likely to run across people of different types, colors, kids, teenagers. But above all I made sure that the experiences were good. We went, we walked around, people petted him, we did obedience drills right there in the middle of the park. If a situation looked like he was becoming uncomfortable, I removed him.
Pet owners should know that once a puppy or adult dog has been attacked by another dog, it will become a dog aggressive animal itself. This only has to happen one time for a permanent temperament change to occur in some animals. You will quickly find that dog aggression is a real pain in rear. You have to protect your dog from unknown dangers and it is much better to err on the side of caution when placing your dogs with unknown dogs. While socialization with other dogs is very important, my primary concern is that your dogs knows how to act when he sees other dogs and never includes the opportunity that he learns the hard way that dog interaction involves survival of the fittest. If a strange dog is approaching I will pull my puppy close in to me and stand between them, so that the puppies know that I am there to protect them. Believe me that after your Black Russian reaches maturity, he will stand between you and anything coming towards him as part of his natural defense.
Once, for instance, we went to the park and there was some kind of kids event going on to the tune of several hundred of them in this one square block park. I should have kept going and come back another day but he was about 7 months old, solid and I thought it would be ok. As you know, or will find out, a BRT under any circumstances is a people magnet (so if you are still looking for a significant other, walk your BRT around in public and see how much attention you get). We were immediately almost surrounded by 30 kids. And how kids are inclined to do sometimes, they started trying to pet him, and also as they are inclined to do, many of them would reach toward him and scream when he moved. He sat by my side, but I could see how uncomfortable he was and before the situation got bad we left the park. But we didn't go home. We went to another park where it wasn't so hectic and did our normal walk around. I didn't want to bring him home after having had a bad experience to think that the house was his safe haven, so we worked it out before we came home. That was our only really bad experience...that's how concerned I was that Zil turn out "right".
I think that part of the socialization process is to try from a young age to in a positive manner make them understand that they are to do what you want them to do. I would never use a harsh training method on a puppy because they don't require it. But from when they first come home and they are eating, I make it known that I can take away from them anything that I want at will, including food. I start by just stirring their food when they are eating it. Then I'll stick my hand in their food bowl to add more food while they are eating to get them used to me being by their bowl and realizing that they will not go hungry because I'm by their food. I will also pick up their food bowl and exchange it for a treat when they are eating. Not for long, but just long enough to know if it is removed it is coming back soon and they will get something in return. I'm really doing it because I don't want them food possessive and have someone accidentally walk by their food bowl and get bitten because the dog thinks it's the end of the world when someone comes by their food.
I also make it a point to walk over them when they are sleeping, move them out of the way with my foot, make them get up and move when they are in my way. When they are old enough to get on the furniture or bed they get off with an "off" command.
I don't believe in harsh methods, or have a big "alpha" thing going on. As youngsters it's all a game, and training is done with a lot of "good out", "good off" and treats. Nothing but treats and praise! I just look at it all as common sense training. I don't want my 130 pound dog jumping on people, so I don't let my 20 pound puppy jump on people. My dogs get excited when I come home and they do jump and dance and I certainly won't say that they never touch me, but they do not jump on me or anyone else.
The one thing I never did was take my dogs to a dog park. We don't have any around here, but even if we had, we wouldn't have been there. I believe that no matter how well I might know my dog, I don't know the other idiots and what dog they might bring and turn loose. Now Zil did have dogs to play with. Once we started going to group obedience classes there was always time to play before and after, with KNOWN friendly dogs. So he had dog friends and I think that's part of good socialization that they learn to be on good terms with other dogs, and gentle with smaller ones. Zil and Dani both seem to know inherently that they can't play with small dogs like they play with each other. But I also don't let them out in the backyard with my mom's Yorkie mix because the size differential is too great and the yard is too big to have a full running BRT and a Yorkie together. The Harpers routinely had Zil, Cam (the Brittany Special), and Kahuna (the Sheltie), all intact males, all running loose together at their house with no problems. Part of the socialization process is getting to know your dog and what situations you can put him in. These 3 all had solid temperaments and were safe with each other.
Expose them to everything you think they will encounter in real life so that they can master the experience. Teach them proper reaction to strangers at the door. If it's someone I want in my house I go outside and bring them in. If it's somebody I don't want in my house I stand inside my door with my dog there because if I don't bring them in, they are not coming in. Zil was also exposed to the sound of guns and fireworks in a controlled setting at home, so that when we are someplace and some sudden noise comes up, he is not rattled by it. In the ATTS they will encounter gun fire - they don't need to like it, but they do need to accept it without going crazy.
This rural area in South Mississippi is not known as a dog friendly area. Dogs aren't invited into restaurants, and very few stores allow them in so socialization is something that requires creativity and effort to accomplish. Pet Smart of course allows them, and I never had any problem walking them around an open shopping area, not going in stores, but giving him the encounters of an urban area.
Another part of the socialization is formal obedience classes. BRTs are very large and powerful dogs. At the very least you don't want them dragging you down the street. I use "gentle leaders" on both of my dogs. Started them young with them, so as they got older they just thought that was the way their collar works. It gives better control to me and I prefer it rathar than a choke collar or pinch collar. But regardless of what type of collar you use, you have to have a dog that will sit, stay, and walk with you. I think the two of the most important commands are "out" (which means whatever you have in your mouth turn it loose) and "leave it" (which means what ever you are doing stop it). Dani knows all of those even as young as she is and we haven't done obedience classes yet (it's my experiment with not doing formal obedience automatic sits when I stop or heeling to see how it translates in the conformation ring).
So if you are new to working dogs, don't think socialization is something to be taken lightly and that your dog will just "get it". It requires hard work, many hours and dedication to raise a well rounded guard dog. You don't have to teach them protection - that will come instinctively. You need to teach them control, and give them enough experiences repeated over time that nothing shakes or rattles them and that every situation you could conceive them experiencing they have already done and mastered.
You really need to be well committed to spending a lot of time with these dogs especially the first two years and you should well consider if you have that amount of time to dedicate. If you don't, I would suggest a different breed for you.
Additional Resources
Interesting Article: Rethinking Puppy Socialization