Jack Russell Terrier

The Jack Russell Terrier is a small British terrier, mostly white, with a smooth, rough or broken coat. It comes from the fox-hunting terriers bred in North Devon in the early 19th century by a country parson, Jack Russell, and shares its origins with the modern Fox Terrier. It is closely related to the Parson Russell Terrier but is a separate breed.

History

The Reverend John Russell, born in 1795, was a keen hunting man. Hunters wanted a mostly white terrier that could not be mistaken for the fox, and in 1819, in his last year at Oxford, Russell bought a white and tan terrier named Trump from a local milkman. She became the basis of a breeding program for terriers with the stamina to follow a hunt and the courage to drive a fox from its earth without harming it. By the 1850s his dogs were seen as a distinct type. Russell died in 1883.

Afterward Arthur Blake Heinemann wrote the first breed standard and in 1894 founded the Devon and Somerset Badger Club, later renamed the Parson Jack Russell Terrier Club.

Demand for hunting terriers fell after World War II, and Jack Russells were increasingly kept as family dogs. Breed clubs formed in the 1970s, including the Jack Russell Terrier Club of America in 1976 and the Jack Russell Terrier Club of Great Britain. Both resisted kennel club recognition in order to protect the breed’s working ability. Other breeders did seek recognition, and the dogs accepted by The Kennel Club in 1990 and the American Kennel Club in 2001 became the Parson Russell Terrier.

Appearance

Jack Russells are sturdy, tough little dogs. The working clubs’ standard gives a height of 25–38 cm at the withers and a weight of 6–8 kg; the FCI standard asks for a smaller dog, ideally 25–30 cm and 5–6 kg. The coat is more than half white, with black, brown or tan markings. A broken coat is a mix of smooth and rough.

The head is fairly flat between the ears, with a defined stop, a black nose, strong jaws and dark almond-shaped eyes. The small V-shaped ears fold forward. The dog has to be small enough to follow a red fox underground.

Temperament

This is a working terrier, used on foxes, badgers, groundhogs and other animals that live underground. Jack Russells are very intelligent, athletic, fearless and vocal, and they need a great deal of exercise and stimulation. Their energy suits them to sports such as flyball and agility. They can be stubborn, and may be aggressive toward other animals and people if not properly socialized.

Care and health

UK studies have found a life expectancy of about 12.7 to 13.3 years, among the highest of any breed studied. Inherited conditions recorded in the breed include primary lens luxation, patellar luxation, Legg–Calvé–Perthes disease of the hip, a form of ataxia that may come with seizures, a severe type of ichthyosis and, rarely, severe combined immunodeficiency. Deafness and mast cell tumors are also mentioned.

Facts on this page were checked against Wikipedia and may have changed since.