The Breed

Riplington Daffy Defreitas (Daffy)
and Rocky Hill at Riplington (Rocky)

Brief History of the Breed

The Parson Russell Terrier was developed and established in the 18th Century in Devon by the Reverend John Russell. John Russell was born into a fox hunting family in 1795, where his love of hunting was nurtured. He wanted a dog that could keep up with the horses, run with the foxhounds and was small enough to flush the foxes from their dens.

While studying at Oxford he saw, and bought, the perfect dog for his purposes, belonging to the milkman. This dog was called Trump. It is thought that this was this was the first dog to be known as a Jack Russell. During his time as a clergyman, John Russell devoted himself to both the church and breeding terriers suitable for fox hunting.

Parson Russell was a founder member of the kennel club and spent most of his time living in Swimbridge, Devon where the local pub is still named after him.

Breed Standard

General Appearance
Workmanlike, active and agile; built for speed and endurance.
Overall picture of balance and flexibility.
Honourable scars permissible.

Characteristics
Essentially a working terrier with ability and conformation
to go to ground and run with hounds.

Temperament
Bold and friendly.

Head and Skull
Flat, moderately broad, gradually narrowing to the eyes.
Shallow stop. Length from nose to stop slightly shorter
than from stop to occiput. Nose black.

Eyes
Almond-shaped, fairly deep-set, dark,
keen expression.

Ears
Small, V-shaped, dropping forward, carried close to head,
tip of ear to reach corner of eye, fold not to appear above top of skull.
Leather of moderate thickness.

Mouth
Jaws strong, muscular. Teeth with a perfect,
regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. upper teeth closely
overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws.

Neck
Clean, muscular, of good length,
gradually widening to shoulders.

Forequarters
Shoulders long and sloping, well laid back, cleanly cut at withers.
Legs strong, must be straight with joints turning neither in nor out.
Elbows close to body, working free of the sides.

Body
Ribs not over-sprung. Chest of moderate depth, not to come
below point of elbow, capable of being spanned behind the
shoulders by average size hands. Back strong and straight.
Loin slightly arched. Well balanced. Overall length slightly
longer than height from withers to ground.

Hindquarters
Strong, muscular with good angulation and bend of stifle.
Hocks set low and rear pasterns parallel giving plenty of drive.

Feet
Compact with firm pads, turning neither in nor out.

Tail
Customarily docked.
Docked: Length complimenting the body while providing a good handhold. Strong, straight, moderately high set, carried well up on the move.
Undocked: Of moderate length and as straight as possible, giving a
general balance to the dog, thick at the root and tapering towards the end. Moderately high set, carried well up on the move.

Gait/Movement
Free-striding, well co-ordinated; straight action front and behind.

Coat
Naturally harsh, close and dense, whether rough or smooth.
Belly and undersides coated. Skin must be thick and loose.

Colour
Entirely white or predominantly white with tan,
lemon or black markings, or any combination of these colours,
preferably confined to the head and/or root of tail.

Size
Ideal height: at withers: Dogs: 36 cms (14 ins);
Bitches: 33 cms (13 ins). 2.5 cms (1 in) above or below is acceptable.

Faults
Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a
fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded
should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the
health and welfare of the dog.

General Appearance
Male animals should have two apparently normal
testicles fully descended into the scrotum

Breed Health - inherited diseases

Primary Lens Luxation (PLL)
Lens luxation is when the lens either dislocates or is displaced within the eye. Normally the lens is suspended between the iris and the vitreous and is held in place by small fibres called zonules.

Primary Lens luxation is an inherited condition in which these zonules degenerate over time and the lens can move around the eye. It is unusual for it to occur before the age of three.

Most cases of lens luxation cannot be prevented in the dog and so ideally affected stock should not be bred from.

By screening breeding stock for diseases such as PLL, responsible breeders can use the information to eliminate or reduce the frequency of eye disease being passed on to puppies. A scheme is offered to do exactly this, through the Kennel Club.

Dogs should be tested from two years of age and at least every two years thereafter until they reach older than 7-8 years.

Rocky Hill at Riplington (Rocky) gardening!

Breed Temperament

Parson’s can be intelligent little dogs but do also have a tendency to be rather stubborn.

Training should be fun, when you have their focus, but owners must be consistent and firm. They do have a tendency to turn a deaf ear when on the scent of something, (they have a strong hunting instinct), and so recall is an extremely important area of training.

They can be quite dominant over other dogs, particularly other terriers, so should be properly socialised and trained as puppies. Training / Puppy Socialisation classes are always a fantastic idea – we would recommend contacting the APDT (Association of Pet Dog Trainers) to find a good class near to you.

The Parson is a high energy character who will need plenty of exercise and training to prevent issues such as boredom occurring. They can often have a bit of a tendency to be vocal – for example when visitors arrive at the front door. Due to their origins most of these terriers also enjoy digging!!

These terriers thrive with owners who will be firm with them – laying consistent ground rules and giving clear boundaries at every stage.
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In other words whilst they can be fantastic loyal pets, they can also be very cheeky and give them an inch, they may take a mile and definitely should not be overly spoilt.

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