The Moscow Vodolaz is also known as Moscow Diver, Moscow Retriever, Moskovsky Vodolaz and Mascow Water dog. This now extinct breed was a mastiff type dog that was built from NewFoundland, East European Shepherd and Caucasian dog breeds to act as service dog. After WWII, there was shortage of working dogs in Russia as most of the dogs were claimed by war. This breed was developed by Red Star Kennel, an state operated organization chartered to provide working dogs to armed forces. Initially developed to rescue drowning people, this big dog with well developed body became very popular but the experiment of using this dog as a service dog failed because, though the dog loved to swim, it was reluctant to save the people, rather it was more eager to bite due to its highly aggressive nature towards strangers. All training failed and the breed eventually became extinct as it was unable to serve its purpose of development but not before becoming progenitors of another Russian breed, the Russian Black Terrier.
The dog had a well built, strong body that came with thick water proof coat and webbed feet that allowed the dog to swim in the water. As this breed is now extinct, it is not recognized by any kennel club and very little information is available about this large dog.
