The schedule for a Russian Toy
One routine checkup a year is right for a healthy adult Russian Toy. Puppies begin with a series of visits in the first months, spaced a few weeks apart, to complete vaccinations and let the vet follow growth, heart sounds, and tooth changes in a breed that matures into one of the smallest dogs in the world. A senior Russian Toy, and this is a long-lived breed, is usually better on six-monthly visits, when heart, kidney, eye, and dental changes can be tracked closely. Because the dog is so small, a year is a long stretch for a problem to develop unseen, so keep the annual appointment even when everything looks fine.
Baby teeth that outstay their welcome
Russian Toy puppies are known for baby teeth that linger while the adult teeth push through, leaving two rows crowded into a narrow jaw. At the puppy visits the vet will check which teeth have shed and which are retained, because retained teeth trap food, distort the bite, and set up early gum trouble. As an adult, the same small mouth still needs a graded dental look at every checkup, with tartar, loose teeth, and gum redness recorded so changes year to year are visible.
Bring specifics if you have noticed dropped food, chewing on one side, or new bad breath. In a dog this size, mouth pain shows up as small behaviour changes long before it shows up as refused meals, and those observations help the vet judge whether the mouth needs attention between routine visits.
Knees, bones, and a fragile frame
The vet will also feel how the kneecaps sit and move, since small toy breeds can have kneecaps that slip, and will run careful hands over slim legs that fracture more easily than a big breed's. Mention stairs, jumping from sofas, and any episodes of a leg being carried briefly. Weight matters in both directions here: an overweight Russian Toy loads delicate joints, while an underweight one has almost no reserve if illness interrupts eating for a few days, so the scale reading at each visit is worth recording precisely.
Coat type changes the skin check slightly. Long-coated Russian Toys can hide irritation under ear and leg feathering, while smooth-coated dogs show every scratch, so tell the vet which areas your dog has been nibbling or rubbing.
Signs a tiny dog should not wait
See the vet promptly if a Russian Toy puppy or adult becomes wobbly, unusually sleepy, or goes off food for more than a day, since very small dogs lose energy reserves quickly. A cough that keeps recurring, a hind leg that stays lifted, a fall from furniture followed by limping, or a mouth that suddenly smells strong and bleeds at the gums all justify an earlier visit. Note when episodes happen and what the dog was doing, because a clear timeline is often the most useful thing you can hand a vet examining a very small patient.
One tidy record for a very small patient
Tooth charts, kneecap grades, and a weight line measured in small increments only make sense when they can be compared across visits and clinics. KinsLe's Pet Passport keeps a Russian Toy's records gathered in one portable file, so the next vet reads the whole story instead of starting from scratch.