Do Jack Russells shed?

Yes, they shed a lot. The broken-coated type of Jack Russell also requires professional grooming in order to keep his coat looking tidy.

What kind of coats do Jack Russells have?
This depends on the breed standard of each of the two Jack Russell Terrier clubs. The Parson Russell Terrier Association of America (PRTAA) recognizes a smooth-coated and a broken-coated Jack Russell. The PRTAA describes the smooth coat as coarse and waterproof, and flat but hard while being dense and abundant. The club describes the broken coat as a double coat that is coarse and waterproof, with a short, dense undercoat covered with a harsh, straight, tight “jacket” (the area covering the upper back and rib cage) that lies flat and close to the body and legs of the dog.

The Jack Russell Terrier Club of America ( JRTCA) also recognizes a smooth coat, and describes it as smooth without being so sparse as not to provide a certain amount of protection from the elements and undergrowth (brush). They also recognize a rough or broken coat, and describe
it as rough without being wooly.

What is a breed standard?
Each Jack Russell club has a blueprint of what a perfect Jack Russell Terrier should look like. Of course there is no such thing as a perfect Jack Russell or a perfect anything, but the standard provides something for breeders to shoot for.

The breed standard is used in dog shows to help the judge determine if the dog he or she is judging is a good example of the breed. A judge will look at the part of the breed standard that describes coat, for example, and then decide if the dog in the show ring adequately fits the description in the standard for coat.