Page 196 - (DK) The Dog Encyclopedia

CATALOG OF BREEDS | TERRIERS

Parson Russell Terrier

HEIGHT WEIGHT LIFE SPAN White
13–14in 13–18lb 15 years
(33–36cm) (6–8kg) May have black markings.

This energetic dog, with a strong hunting instinct,
needs firm handling and an active lifestyle High-set,
white tail
This foxhunting terrier was one of two Kennel Club finally recognized the Parson with tan base
strains previously classified together as the Jack Russell Terrier as a breed in 1984.
Jack Russell Terrier. Today the longer-legged The name Parson Russell Terrier was
type is known as the Parson Russell Terrier, established in 1999.
while the shorter-legged dog retains the The modern breed is a workmanlike
name of Jack Russell Terrier (see p.196). dog with longish legs and a narrow chest
The breed was created in England’s (easily enclosed by average-sized adult
West Country in the early 19th century hands). Intelligent and high-spirited, the
by a cleric, the Reverend John Russell. breed needs plenty of company and daily
Like many clergymen in the late 18th and exercise or it will become yappy and
early 19th centuries, he enjoyed hunting. In destructive. It is good with people
1876 Reverend Russell, a founding and horses, but its hunting drive
member of the Fox Terrier Club, may make it a risk to small animals.
helped to write a breed standard for The weatherproof coat has a
an ideal type of Fox Terrier (see dense undercoat and a coarse outer
p.208). However, the existing fox layer, which may be either smooth
hunting terrier with the shape “of or rough (broken). Both types are
an adult vixen” persisted, too, and easy to groom.
eventually gave rise to both the
Parson Russell Terrier and the
smaller Jack Russell Terrier.
After many years of work by
Parson Russell enthusiasts,
SMOOTH-HAIRED
particularly in the 1980s, the UK PUPPY

EARLY HISTORY

While studying at Oxford in 1818, John
Russell bought a small, predominantly
white terrier bitch with tan markings from
a milkman. He wanted a dog that was fast
enough to keep up with the horses when
hunting but small enough to go down
burrows after foxes and flush them out.
Named Trump, the terrier became the
foundation bitch of the breed. By the
1890s the Jack Russell type was well
established and seen in the paintings Lower legs short
relative to upper legs
of the famous English dog artist John
Emms (right), but it was not until the
1980s that the Parson Russell Terrier
was officially recognized.

A JACK RUSSELL BY
JOHN EMMS, 1891

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