As stated by the Jack Russell Terrier Club of
America (JRTCA), the largest breed club devoted to this breed, “Jack
Russell Terriers are a type, or strain, of working terrier. They are not
considered purebred in the sense that they have a broad genetic make-up, a
broad standard, and do not breed true to type. This is a result of having
been bred strictly for hunting since their beginning in the early
1800’s, and their preservation as a working terrier since. The broad
standard, varied genetic background based on years of restricted
inbreeding and wide outcrossing, and great variety of size and type are
the major characteristics that make this strain of terrier known as a Jack
Russell such a unique, versatile working terrier.”
Still, there are physical characteristics
every Jack Russell should have in common, and these are described in the
breed standard. The Jack Russell must be compact and in totally balanced
proportions. The shoulders should be clean, the legs straight, and the
chest easily spanned by average-sized hands at the widest part of the dog
behind the shoulders. The chest must be compressible. This required conformation
allows the terrier success below ground, where he must be able to maneuver
underground in narrow dark tunnels to get to the very flexible fox.
In the following section, the words in quotes
are taken from the breed standard written by the JRTCA. It begins by
saying the Jack Russell “should impress with its fearless and happy
disposition.” The Jack Russell Terrier is “a sturdy, tough dog, very much
on its toes all the time. . . . The body length must be in proportion to
the height, and it should present a compact, balanced image, always being
solid and in hard condition.”
The dog should not be slack of muscle or
overweight. Nothing should be exaggerated about the dog’s appearance. A
dog with a long back and stubby, crooked little legs is not acceptable.
The dog should be a nice-looking, harmonious package, with everything in
proportion.
He should move effortlessly, with both pull
from the front end and drive from the back end. The topline of the dog
(that is, the line of the back) should move smoothly when viewed from the
side. The legs should be straight, without turned-in hocks or turned-out
front feet.
The Jack Russell’s head “should be well
balanced and in proportion to the body. The skull should be flat, of
moderate width at the ears, narrowing to the eyes.” There should be a
defined but not overly pronounced stop—the area where the muzzle meets the
skull. “The length of the muzzle from the nose to the stop should be
slightly shorter than the distance from the stop to the occiput,” which
is the back of the skull. “The nose should be black. The jaw should be
powerful and well boned with strongly muscled cheeks.”
The dog’s eyes should be almond-shaped, dark,
and “full of life and intelligence.” The ears are “small, V-shaped drop
ears carried forward close to the head.” The ears should not stand up
straight nor be thick and large like hound’s ears.
The mouth of the Jack Russell Terrier has
strong teeth and a scissors bite, which means the top teeth overlap the
lower ones. A level bite, where the upper and lower teeth meet, is also
acceptable. The neck of the Jack Russell is “clean and muscular, of good
length, gradually widening at the shoulders.” The good neck allows the dog
to spar with quarry below ground and adds to his athleticism while at
work.
“The chest of the Jack Russell Terrier should
be shallow and narrow and the front legs not set too widely apart, giving
an athletic rather than heavily chested appearance.” The chest needs to be
flexible and compressible to enhance the dog’s ability to work up close to
the quarry in bending and winding narrow tunnels below ground. A large chested
dog is limited in hunting below ground because he cannot fit in a narrow
earthen den.
“The back should be strong, straight and, in
proportion to the height of the terrier, giving a balanced image. The loin
should be slightly arched.” In other words, the entire structure of the
dog is designed for strength, to able to hold up under hard work and move
efficiently. The feet of the Jack Russell Terrier need to be “round, hard
padded, of cat-like appearance, neither turning in or out.” The dog needs
strong feet for digging and crossing varied terrain.
The tail “should be set rather high, carried
gaily and in proportion to body length, usually about four inches long,
providing a good hand-hold.” The tail is cropped at about three days old
so it does not break while backing out of earth, and the dewclaws are
removed. The tail is sometimes used as a handle of sorts to extricate the
dog from the earth. It usually requires holding the dog’s tail and
hind legs to dislodge him from work below ground.
The coat is “smooth, without being so sparse as
not to provide a certain amount of protection from the elements and
undergrowth.” The coat is so very important as the dog’s protection.
Sometimes JRTs are in the damp ground working long hours. The coat makes
an enormous difference to the protection of the dog at work. The coat
seems to resist thorns and burrs, and the dog can easily shake out loose
dirt. The Jack Russell Terrier may wear a rough or a smooth coat, or it
could be a combination of both, known as a broken coat. A broken-coated
dog may have some tail or face furnishings (longer hairs).
As for color, the dog must be more than 51
percent white, with solid tan, black, or brown markings. White is handy to
see when working in dirt with a dog who is face to face with a critter who
is earth-colored. Brindle markings, made up of several different colors of
hair, are not allowed because they indicate the blood of another
breed.
