Putin rolled out one of his bigger dogs when Merkel visited him. Merkel is quite afraid of dogs. It's disputed if Putin knew it. I had no problem with him doing so, am German, am glad that we finally got rid of Merkel after 16(!) years.
But after all it was a labrador, one of the kindest dog breeds.
As I scrolled down, I was expecting to see a snarling, intimidating, Black Russian Terrier
https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/black-russian-terrier/
and not a Labrador Retriever