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Breeds 101: The Jack Russell Terrier

By Wesley Coburn

LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 21: A "Voted" sticker is placed on scraf around the neck of Jack Russell Terrier named Fiona after her owner Deborah Murphy (not pictured) voted in the Los Angeles Mayoral run-off race at Allesandro Elementary School on May 21, 2013 in the Silver Lake area of Los Angeles, California. In what could be a record-low voter turnout, Los Angeles City Councilman Eric Garcetti is up against Los Angeles City Controller Wendy Greuel for the seat held by two-term mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 21: A "Voted" sticker is placed on scraf around the neck of Jack Russell Terrier named Fiona after her owner Deborah Murphy (not pictured) voted in the Los Angeles Mayoral run-off race at Allesandro Elementary School on May 21, 2013 in the Silver Lake area of Los Angeles, California. In what could be a record-low voter turnout, Los Angeles City Councilman Eric Garcetti is up against Los Angeles City Controller Wendy Greuel for the seat held by two-term mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) /
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Independent and full of energy, Jack Russell Terriers are some of the cutest dogs around.

The American Kennel Club refers to the breed as the “Parson Russell Terrier,” which is rather confusing.

They are small dogs, standing 10-12 inches at the withers and weighing 9-15 pounds. Their coats may be either smooth, rough, or broken (somewhere between smooth and rough).

The AKC Breed Standard states that “the Russell Terrier is a strong, active, lithe, predominately white bodied working Terrier of character with a flexible body of moderate length and rectangular profile. The overall dog must present a balanced image with no one part exaggerated over another.”

After that fairly straightforward ideal standard comes the tricky subjective part: “The Russell Terrier is full of life, and moves with confidence that matches his keen expression.”

The snout is mostly square in shape, and the ears small and triangular – making the breed excellent for drawing purposes.

They live fairly long lifespans for dogs, averaging 12-14 years, and are classified into the Terrier Group in AKC dog shows.

The breed was named after the breeder who laid the foundation, an English preacher named John Russell, born in 1795.

In seminary in 1819 he purchased a small female dog named Trump, who became the matriarch of the breed he would develop.

Reverend Russell was a follower of fox hunting, and set out to produce a terrier that would excel at this task.

Following Russell’s death, the sport of fox hunting fell out of favor, and badger hunting took its place, which required different skills than chasing down foxes. As such, various strains of the JRT developed, each retaining the same name, making things fairly confusing.

Things began to steady out with the founding of the Jack Russell Club of America in 1976, but a controversy between the club and the AKC resulted in the breed not being recognized by the AKC until 2001.

JRTs are athletic, intelligent, intelligent and persistent, and they love chasing things or running in general, so they aren’t recommended for apartment dwellers.

They might excel at agility, flyball or hurdle racing, should owners be inclined to try any of those sports.

Eddie from Frasier, Skip from the film My Dog Skip and Wishbone are all famous onscreen Jack Russells, as was Friday in the 2009 film Hotel for Dogs and Earl of Patrick McDonnell’s comic strip Mutts.

Next. Puppy Bowl 101: Everything you need to know. dark

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