The Long and Short of the Jack Russell Terrier

You'll notice the difference between the Parson Russell and the Jack Russell and again the Russell Terrier. While the Jack Russell and the Russell Terriers are very similar in shape and size, the Parson Russell is obviously taller and maybe not so obviously (in this picture) square. They are as long as they are tall where the other two versions of this breed are slightly longer than they are tall. So the latter two are known as rectangular instead of square. Each parent club believes their standard is best for a dog to be able to go to ground after its quarry whether it be a Badger, a Fox or a Rat..

The two-three varieties or breeds are similar and vastly different all at the same time! As shown in the pictures above, the Parson Russell Terrier is very tall and due to the fact that they are bred for hunting, are high-energy dogs. These dogs are much like your upland game bird dogs like the Brittany, the German Shorthair, the Pointer and the Setter crowd. To the laid-back owner, these dogs are typically labeled "hyper" but if that owner is a hunter and he is hunting on the back of a horse and expects his dog to keep up with him well then, he's happy his Parson Russell has tons of energy and stamina and can keep up! So the Parson is hyper and square or much taller than the other two types.

The Russell, on the other hand, has an "off" button. They too have high-energy BUT they seem to know or understand how to turn it off! Their prey drive is just as high as their cousin, the Parson, but when it's time to come inside and settle down... they can! Their bodies are much more stout from the influence of the bulldog and other breeds that have been bred in to the breed to preserve the working capability.

As shortie breeders, we believe the rectangular shape with a chest that is flexible and spannable to be correct. (A spannable chest is measured when a man with average hands can touch his middle finger tips and his thumbs together just behind the front legs and around the chest of a dog or bitch. The chest is then slightly squeezed to mimic being underground to determine it is flexible. This is the way we measure a spannable chest.) The Parson Russell is typically a bigger dog so they would have to be slighter in build to have a spannable chest. This is the one category that separates the Jack Russell Terrier from other terriers is his ability to move underground safely as he was bred to do so many years ago. This is important to us as breeders because we strive to preserve the working terrier in our breeding pairs. We also strive to only breed those dogs with excellent temperaments so that they can function in any setting and then conformation falls in at a close third priority when breeding. Coat and color are insignificant as long as the terrier follows the standard of being more than 51% white in color. Some terriers are loudly colored and have perfect conformation with a wonderful temperament and an awesome chest but a dog such as this would not do well in the show ring. In any event, the dog would do well in a breeding setting to add color to a mostly white stud or bitch dog.

Jack Russells come in Brown/White, Black/White, Tri-Color (Brown, Black and White) and Lemon/White. Again, the standard says that the dogs' color must be more than 51% white on the dog's body. This goes back to the beginning when the Jacks were bred to be amongst the foxhounds so the huntsman could differentiate between the hounds and the terriers. Foxhounds are usually darker in color and so the huntsman could pick out the terriers not only by size but also by color. In other words, instead of relying on the size difference of a hound and a terrier, the huntsman could easily pick out the terrier because it was more than 51% white.

It's all in the balance. I don't believe there is a perfect dog which is why it is fun to breed these dogs because we are always striving to get close to that perfection. And because the temperament is a top priority, the resulting pups do well in any home setting... as long as their needs are met. The needs that I mention are exercise, challenging games and love from an individual or family.

So the Jack Russell Terrier is not a dog for everyone. But as long as the pup is given the proper food and water at all times and is met with lots of love from the family and is offered classes or challenges to keep his mind active and regular exercise of some sort, you will have a well-rounded smaller dog that can literally go anywhere and do anything you ask of him.

I wanted to include a picture of each coat so that you'd have a better understanding of them. The smooth, broken and rough coats are acceptable. You'll commonly hear someone say the dog has a wire-haired coat and that may be the name for other breeds' coat types, it is not a type of coat in the Jack Russell Terrers.

Commonly, the smooth coat is what Jack Russell newbies often think of when they hear "Jack Russell Terrier" because there have been several Jacks used in commercials and movies that are smooth coats. As a result of this, I think most, if not all, Jack lovers start out loving the smoothies and not liking the other coat types just because they haven't been exposed to them. My husband was a good example of this. He now likes the brokens and the roughies too but I think he is still partial to the smoothies.

As far as coats, there are three different recognized coats.

1. Smooth coat dogs have short hairs that lay flat on the body of the dog. Commonly because the hair is not long, people incorrectly assume the dog doesn't shed, or sheds the least of the three types. WRONG! This type sheds the most, I would say because there isn't a season that this coat type sheds... they shed all year 'round. The hair itself has a tapered end and it seems to weave itself into fabrics such as clothing and upholstery and it takes aggressive action to get them off. In other words, you can't just expect to be able to brush the hair off of your clothes, car seats or couches. You'll need to get a product such as a "Mr. Sticky Lint Roller" or tape that will pull the hair off!

2. The broken coat is slightly longer in length and loses the tapered end in most instances. This coat type may show itself by growing a little longer on the dog's face or on its neck and again on the top of its back. It may have "feathers" coming off the legs at the elbows as well and then again, it may show very little in either of these locations. The facial furnishings is how it is referred to in the standard. A broken coated dog also tends to be a bit gamier than his smooth coat cousins but then again, that depends on the dog.

3. The rough coat reminds me of a dog who starred in a movie I saw when I was a child named "Benji". This coat type is the longest hair and it shows its length on the face, neck and body. The coat can be plucked back to a broken length if being shown or left long. Amazingly, this coat type sheds the least amount and when they do shed, the hair falls out much like yours and mine does. So it's far less noticeable than that of the smooth coat hair type. This coat type is longer on the feet as well and will ball up with snow or ice or mud in the springtime. It doesn't require grooming, unless, of course you want to groom it by brushing it and making sure the feet are clear of any debris.

Let me be the bearer of good news... the smoothies are great but the brokens and the full rough coats (roughies) are wonderful too! Each coat-type seems to have their own personality that is generic. For example, the smoothies tend to be very loving, non-aggressive dogs. The brokens seem to be a bit more gamey. In other words, they seem to be more "in" to the hunt whether it's birds, rats or rabbits. And the rough coats seem to be the cuddlers and more laid back. And then there are exceptions to every rule but for the most part, this has been my experience.

When you put a bunch of different coat types together to play, the rules are thrown out of the window and they are all ready to do whatever it is that needs to be done... hunt, run, chase a ball or flying disc or whatever it is that the group is doing.