Russell Terrier
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| Other names | F.C.I. Jack Russell Terrier | |||||||||||||
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| Origin | England | |||||||||||||
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| Notes | Country of Development: Australia. The U.K.C. and A.K.C. Russell Terrier was accepted into both kennel clubs based on the F.C.I. Jack Russell Terrier standard. | |||||||||||||
| Domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris) | ||||||||||||||
| Classification / standards | |||
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| FCI | Group 3, Section 2 #345 | standard | |
| AKC | Misc | standard | |
| UKC | Terriers | standard | |
The Russell Terrier is a predominantly white working terrier with an instinct to hunt prey underground. The breed was derived from the Reverend John Russell's working terrier strains that were used in the 19th century for fox hunting. The Reverend's fox working strains were much smaller than the Show Fox Terrier and remained working terriers. The size of the Russell Terrier (10″ to 12″) combined with a small flexible, spannable chest makes it an ideal size to work efficiently underground. Their unique rectangular body shape with the body being of slightly longer length than the leg makes them distinctly different from the Parson Russell Terrier and the JRTCA Jack Russell Terrier.
The Russell Terrier originated in England, but the country of development was Australia.
The name "Jack Russell Terrier" was never used to describe a breed of dog. Rather, it became a common name for any predominantly-white earth-working terrier after the death of the Reverend John Russell. The only requisite was color, the instinct combined with the will to employ earth-work, and the size to work efficiently underground. Still today, the name is widely used for working terriers of the Parsons Reverend's style. It was in the country of development, Australia, that this 10-12 inch dog was first standardized by Kennel Club recognition with the official name "Jack: Russell Terrier" applied to the breed. This ultimately led to recognition of the breed by FCI (Fédération Cynologique Internationale) countries including Ireland and most recently the USA. Unfortunately, due to the previous use of the name in the USA and England, the name Jack Russell Terrier is conflicting. In the USA, a Terrier conforming to the Australian/FCI standard is simply called a Russell Terrier.
The Russell Terrier is a very popular companion breed in the US. First and foremost the breed is a working breed not a companion breed. They are bred by dedicated fanciers to preserve their working functional conformation and the instinct to employ their original purpose as earth terriers. This makes them an excellent performance breed participating in a variety of events; natural hunting which includes earthwork, agility, rally, obedience, tracking, go-to-ground, and conformation, just to name a few. They are also found as therapy and service dogs.
In the early 1970s, the Jack Russell Terrier Club of Great Britain was formed, and this body instituted a very primitive form of registration. Soon, Jack Russell Terrier Clubs were being formed worldwide, including Australia. The Jack Russell Terrier Club of Australia was formed in 1972. This national organization set up a particularly comprehensive registration system, along with a formal breed standard. This club also initiated discussions with their KC regarding the possibility of the breed being accepted for registration as a pure breed. The ideal height for the Jack Russell Terrier in Australia was to be 10″ to 12″.
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