Jack Russell Terrier

History

As many of you may not know, post death of Reverend John Russell, any white working dog was called a "Jack Russell Terrier". It wasn't until Australia in the mid 1800's that they decided to drop the "Jack" from this name, and officially make this specific terrier, the "Russell Terrier". Used as a hunting dog to hunt similar sized prey such as fox and rabbits, this breed was excellent at digging in den holes and would travel along side of hunting hounds. This breed does very well today in hunting, agility and trick preforming.

Appearance

The Russell Terrier is a thick, sturdy small breed dog, that is built of muscle and self confidence. Their legs are short and stocky and fade effortlessly into their square chest. Their head is triangular shaped, causing their muzzle to form into a scissor bite. Their ears are firm and pendant shaped, falling along side of their face. The Russell Terrier has a short, very thick and hard tail (some breeders prefer to crop their puppies tails) and a square built body. Both males and females measure 10-15 inches in height and weigh in around 15-18 pounds. White should make up more than half perfect of the color on their coat, followed by black, brown or tan markings on top. Their hair comes in rough or smooth coat, and is very firm to the touch.

Temperament

Strong, fearless and friendly describes the Russell Terrier best. Very active dogs, they need to be walked daily and endure other physical activities with its family. It is important to socialize the Russell Terrier as it is a puppy to ensure it remains friendly with family and friends as it grows up. This breed has extremely strong hunting senses and is not recommended in a home with any small animals. This breed can live with other dogs if it is properly raised with them as a puppy. Best suited for a home with adults only due to their strength and activeness. It is important to know that this breed loves to jump and climb, so a proper installed fence is a must to own this breed. Russell Terriers are very determined individuals so they require a firm and confident owner that sets rules and boundaries early on.

Grooming

This breed requires brushing and bathing when needed. This breed is an average shedder.

Special Notes

The Russell Terrier lives an average of 15+ years, and is a strong headed breed to own. Due to their jumping and climbing abilities, it is highly recommended to have a proper and safe fence installed prior to adding this breed to your family. Please fully educate yourself about the Russell Terrier before deciding if this breed is right for you, so you are able to make a life long commitment to your pup! A properly fenced in area is highly recommended for this breed while outdoors. Do not add a new dog to your household unless you are able to provide both physically and financially for the life of your new pet. All dogs originate from wolves (Canis Lupus). Each breed of dog was originally created by mixing different breeds together in an effort to bring forth certain characteristics. Once a breeder has created acceptable “breed characteristics” within their bloodline and these “breed characteristics” have shown to be reliably reproduced in the offspring for three (3) generations, the bloodline may be upgraded from the category of “foundation stock” to “pure-bred”. The same “pure-bred” breed standards vary from different continents, countries, territories, regions, breed clubs, and canine pure-breed registries depending on the goals of their breeders. Dog DNA testing companies can have accurate results for a specific bloodline of a small colony of dogs. However, there are tens of thousands of different bloodlines in the world which have not yet been tested for marker baseline results by Dog DNA testing companies as of 2017. For this reason Dog DNA testing companies do not guarantee the 100% accuracy of their breed lineage results and will also show different marker results for the same pure-bred breed in different continents, countries, territories, regions, breed clubs, and canine pure-breed registries depending on the goals of their breeders.