|
BREED INFORMATION:
~The JRTCA Jack Russell Terrier~
When speaking about the Jack Russell Terrier there is a great deal of confusion among much of the general public. You have the JRTCA Jack Russell terrier, the AKC Parson Russell Terrier, the UKC Jack Russell Terrier(now the Parson) and the AKC Russell Terrier. The JRTCA was the first registry for Jack Russell Terriers in America, “we” are also the largest. The AKC dogs and the UKC dogs have stemmed from the JRTCA or English GBJRTC (Great Britain jack Russell Terrier club) lines. They have made changes to the original standard and are therefore considered separate breeds of dog.
The JRTCA maintains the Jack Russell as a strain or type of working terrier, not as a breed. A dog must have proper physical characteristics, as well as pass a veterinary exam in which the dog is given a thorough inspection, the dog is also required to provide a pedigree, although the dog need not be full Jack Russell. Most of our founding dogs were crosses from the great terrier kennels in England. Terrier men in England and Europe still breed their dogs this way. Most Jack Russells, can trace their pedigrees back to Lakelands, Fells, and a Border Terrier here and there.
The JRTCA does not allow heavy line breeding as the other registries do. The JRTCA does not allow more than 16% inbreeding in any registered dog. the other Kennel Clubs allow mother/son and father/ daughter breedings. Kennel Clubs are closed registries, meaning no new blood is allowed into the gene pool. As dogs die and are lines are inbred the gene pool gets tighter and tighter. As a result many kennel club bred dogs ( in general, not parsons specifically) have a very small gene pool. The pug population for instance in England is roughly 50,000 dogs, yet they have become so inbred they have the gene pool of a breed with just 50 dogs in it. This is the problem with a closed registry system. The gene pool doesn’t get bigger as the number of animals increases. As a general rule dogs that are heavily inbred have more genetic and congenital defects than dogs that aren’t as tightly bred.
The early history of these breeds is the same, and so for now we will refer to them as Jacks.
The Reverend John Russell (1795-1883), bred one of the finest working terriers to fox in Devonshire, England in the mid-to-late 1800's. Keep in mind that the white fox-working terriers predate the Reverend John Russell. And that the young Russell bought Trump from a milkman who had her tied to his cart. The Parson did have a passion for fox hunting and breeding dogs. He is also said to be a rather flamboyant character, probably accounting for his strain of terrier's notability and the name of our terrier today. Trump, is said to be the foundation of John Russell's strain of working terriers. Although he was a bit of a dog dealer and had to sell off all of his dogs more than once for money. At the end of his life he had already given up his hounds and had only 4 old non breeding terriers.
the Rev. Russell refused to register his dogs with Kennel Club, which was founded in 1873. He judged one terrier show for them, and did not like what he saw in the show ring, so he refused to judge another. Near the end of his life the kennel club fox terrier had already become drastically different from the fox hunting terriers of the country side, and those the Rev. himself bred. "True terriers [my own dogs] were, but differing from the present show dogs as the wild eglantine differs from a garden rose." John Russell once said of Kennel Club dogs. Keep in mind the KC fox terrier history notes that “One of the first records of the breed was made in 1790, when Colonel Thornton's "Pitch" - a smooth-coated white Fox Terrier - was immortalized in print and paintings.”
INSERT PICTURE OF PITCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AND PICTURE OF FOX TERRIER
The Jack Russell has survived the changes that have occurred in the modern-day Fox Terrier because it has been preserved by working terrier enthusiasts in England for more than 100 years; it has survived on its merits as a worker. It is the foremost goal of the JRTCA that the Jack Russell continues in that tradition.
Everything about the Jack Russell is foxhunting .... coloring, conformation, character, and intelligence. The body is compact, and balanced proportions, the shoulders flat, the legs straight, and most importantly, the chest small (easily spannable by average size hands at the widest part behind the shoulders). The Jack Russell must also be flexible, this allows the terrier to follow his quarry down narrow earths. The fox is a good model for the Jack Russell-where the fox can go, so must the terrier. Although originally bred for fox hunting, the Jack Russell is a versatile working terrier to a variety of quarry including red and grey fox, raccoon and groundhog, and possum, as well as badger in the UK.
So Where did the Parson Russell Terrier come from?
In 1990 the Kennel Club admitted on to its roles a dog they called the "Parson Jack Russell Terrier,". In 1999 The Kennel Club changed the name to the "Parson Russell Terrier," a name invented by Arthur Heinemann, for his badger digging club in 1914 ( the dogs he used were already called Jack Russell Terriers).
The American Kennel Club followed the U.K. Kennel Club in embracing both the 12-15 inch standard and the various names and name changes.
In 2005, The U.K. Kennel Club added a bit more confusion to the story by changing the standard for the dog they were calling the Parson Russell Terrier, extending it to encompass dogs ranging from 10 to 15 inches tall at the shoulders, the same height standard as the JRTCA and GBJRTC.
The American Kennel Club has NOT followed the U.K Kennel Club in changing the standard, instead chose to create ANOTHER breed of dog (now in its Foundation Stock Service) called the "Russell Terrier."
The breed description of this dog claims it "originated" in the United Kingdom, but that it was "developed" in Australia -- a country which John Russell never visited, which had no Jack Russells at all until the very late 1960s, and where the dog in question remains a pet and show dog that never sees a moment's work. The AKC "Russell terrier" standard calls for a dog standing 10-12 inches tall at the shoulder, and to be longer than tall. It is said these dogs were bred for this look because it allowed them to work the piers for rats, however, an 11 inch balanced jack russell could do the same. One has to wonder about kennel club histories, which are typically romanticized by breed clubs.
How do we sort them all out?
there are two types of white terriers: The white ones that can and do work are called Jack Russell Terriers, and they are called that out of respect for the working standard that the Reverend John Russell himself honored. Many of these white-bodied working terriers are not registered, but neither were any of the Reverend's own dogs.
non working kennel club dogs that happen to be white are not Jack Russells. They may be simularly bred, and go back to working dogs long past, but they themselves are not the type of dogs the Reverend strove to breed.They are another white terrier being combed out, powdered, and fussed over by Kennel Club patrons.
The Kennel Clubs have at least for now maintained the chest size in their breed standard, although there is talk of removing the need to span a Parson in the show ring, and alas, most judges don’t understand the importance, as most Kennel Club judges have never hunted or owned the breeds they judge.
Eddie Chapman( foxwarren kennels), a working Devon hunt terrierman for more than 30 years, agrees that 14 inches is the maximum chest size for a fox. He writes:
"I am a small man and have reasonably small hands, but in more than 20 years in which I have handled well over 1000 foxes, I have never handled a full grown fox which came anywhere near the span of my hands. The biggest I can remember was a South Hereford fox that was one and a half inches smaller than my hand span, and that without my squeezing him. It therefore follows that if I can pick up a dog and just span him with a squeeze, then the dog cannot get to the fox in a tight place and a dog that cannot get to a fox cannot be considered a Jack Russell. Either you are breeding a terrier suitable to work fox or, if he is too big to get to a fox, you are just breeding for looks. This is, of course, what happened to the pedigree Fox Terrier and look where that has got him!"
14 inches is approximatly the size of a 2 liter soda bottle… think about that!
BASIC BREED STANDARD:
(Per the JRTCA)
The terrier should be fearless, confident, alert and happy. A dog that is nervous, cowardice or overly aggressive should be discouraged.
A tough terrier always on its toes, should present a balanced image, being solid, compact and conditioned for work. Height measured at the wither must be no less than 10 but no more than 15 inches.
The head should eb of quality and well balanced. Moderate width between small “V” shaped ears( carried forward and close to the head) narrowing to the eyes. A defined but not over pronounced stop. The nose black. The jaw must be well boned and powerful. The teeth are large for the size of the dog, slightly overlapping the lower set.
The chest should be shallow, narrow and the front legs not too widely apart, giving an athletic, rather than heavily chested appearance. The chest should be small enough to be easily spanned behind the shoulders, by average sized hands, when the terrier is in a fit, working condition. The back should be strong, straight and, in comparison to the height of the terrier, give a balanced image.
Hindquarters Should be strong and muscular, well put together with plenty of drive and propulsion.
Feet should be round, hard padded, wide, of cat-like appearance, neither turning in nor out.
Tail set should be rather high, carried gaily and docked in proportion to body length, usually about four inches long, providing a good hand-hold. Docking is done for terrier breeds that have earth worked due to the tight turns in settes, and long whip tails are easily broken.
Coat Smooth, without being so sparse as not to provide a certain amount of protection from the elements and undergrowth. Rough or broken coated, without being woolly. All types should be weather resistant and tight to the dog’s body when groomed.
Color White should predominate (i.e., must be more than 51% white) with tan, black, or brown markings. Brindle markings are unacceptable.
Old scars or injuries, the result of work or accident, should not be allowed to prejudice a terrier's chance in the show ring unless they interfere with its movement or with its utility for work or stud.
Faults: Shyness, Disinterest, Overly aggressive, Defects in bite, Weak jaws, Fleshy ears, prick ears, Down at the shoulder, Barrel ribs, Out at elbow, Narrow hips, Straight stifles, Weak feet, Sluggish or unsound movement, Dishing, Plaiting, Toeing, Silky or woolly coats, Too much color (less than 51% white), Shrill or weak voice, Lack of muscle or skin tone, Lack of stamina or lung reserve, evidence of foreign blood( ie: brindle markings, brown noses, rose ears, drawrfism, etc)
There is a great deal of information here, but I would also suggest checking out the terrierman and the JRTCA (on my links page) for more information of the history and breed we know and love.
To clear up some confusion...
OR, add to it..........
i get many calls from people looking for "shorties" or puddin' jacks, SO, I have included here the reason they are short legged...
A shortie or puddin a dog that is suffering from achondroplastic dwarfism (a genetic defect that is also seen in people). The visual signs of this genetic condition are a large chest on short, benched or "Queen Anne" legs( also like some human drawfism genes). These dogs are also referred to as "Irish Jacks" or "English Jacks", typically by breeders of the sort. It makes the dogs sound more "original", though they aren't, as you will never find a victorian era painting of a short legged "jack/fox hunting terrier".
An achondroplastic dwarf is an animal that cannot move like a well built dog, and it's chest is too large for them to go to ground, no matter how much prey drive they may have in there.
Achondroplastic dwarfs are not smaller dogs. An achondroplastic dwarf terrier may only be 9 or 10 inches tall, it may be anywhere from 15 to 20 pounds due to the huge chest, big bones, and large head, which is much larger than most FULL SIZED Jack Russell Terriers. my 13 1/4 inch boy who has a lot of "bone" is around 17 pounds when fat!
Breeds associated with achondroplastic dwarfism are basset hounds, dachshunds, shih-tzus, pekingese, and English and French bulldogs. These dog always have limbs that are shorter than their body and often have over-large heads as well.
Achondroplastic dwarfism is a genetic defect and shouldn't be bred for. Some ill-informed breeders are intentionally breeding achondroplastic dwarf dogs because they think they are "cute." The UKC dogs being bred as "Russell Terriers" are often (though not always) achondroplastic dwarves. These dogs should not be confused with the balanced and proportioned russell or Aussie jack russell( the legs and chests are dead give aways).
This is a dog with non-proportional limbs and very clear symptoms caused by a genetic defect.. "Achondroplasia" literally means "an absence of good shape" and refers to a distortion of the legs or head. Achonodroplasia is associated with back problems, weight problems, and patella problems, as the short legs make it more difficult for the dogs to run, while any added weight further compromises an already unsound skeletal system.
A "puddin" Jack Russell terrier does NOT have a different nature or temperament than a regular Jack Russell terrier and will do just as poorly in a home where training, exercises, and physical activity is not provided. The defective gene that causes achondroplastic dwarfism is not tied to temperament or personality in any way.
Please do not breed more achondroplastic dwarfs. There are more than enough "real" Jack Russell Terriers in the world looking good homes( see russell rescue on my links page). The world does not need more "cute" dogs and it does not need more dogs with genetic problems. there are enough dogs being put down in shelters because they were bought for cute faces, and sold by breeders that don't care.,br>
Be as informed as you can be when picking a breed, breeder and puppy.
|
The Guys
The Girls
| |
