Jack Russell Terrier: An Owner’s Guide. Robert Killick

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      Today’s Jack Russells are all descended from the original Terriers owned by the Reverend John Russell in the nineteenth century. Feisty and fun-loving, these dogs make great family pets as well as being superb workers.

      At Oxford University, Russell was not interested in cock fighting and heavy drinking like the other young gentlemen undergraduates. Instead, he used every opportunity to hunt with the best packs. Foxhunting became the story of his life, and he was obsessed with hunting until his eighties, riding phenomenal distances to join a famous hunt.

      The Jack Russell Terrier

      The tale of how Russell found his first Terrier is well known, but it will lose nothing in re-telling. He was taking an early morning walk in Oxford when he saw the local milkman delivering milk with a white Terrier at his heel. Russell fell for the dog and could not rest until he had bought her. Her name was Trump and she became the foundation bitch of his kennel.

      A famous Terrier man

      In 1873, Russell became one of the founder members of the Kennel Club, but although he showed dogs for a short period he believed that dogs bred for the show ring would lose their working characteristics and he was only interested in function. Writing about him in 1904, H. Compton stated, ‘For where shall you find any Terrier strain, or for that matter any strain of dogs, as honoured and renowned as that of the Devonshire Parson whose distaste for show dogs was almost as profound as his admiration for working ones’.

      Although he was said to be ‘the father of Fox Terriers’, which he kept within his own stud, there were some people who claimed he would buy up any likely looking Terrier and breed him or her. Unfortunately, we will never know the full truth because few of his records have survived, but, to use a stockman’s expression, ‘he had an eye for a dog’ and by a process of selective breeding became the most famous Terrier man in Britain. His fame extended far and wide, not only for his hunting prowess but also for his knowledge of country matters.

      The Reverend John (Jack) Russell died on 28th April 1883, and, to illustrate how greatly he was esteemed and loved, over 1,000 people attended his funeral, including 24 clergymen, the mayor of Barnstaple and many hunting celebrities. Even the Prince of Wales sent a wreath of wild flowers celebrating Parson Jack’s love of the countryside.

      Supporters of the breed

      Two other men who should be named because of their support of Parson Jack and his strain of Terriers are Arthur Heinemann and Squire Nicholas Snow of Oare. Heinemann acquired his original stock of Jack Russell Terriers from the squire, and his kennel woman, Annie Rawle, was the granddaughter of the Parson’s kennel manager, Will Rawle. It was Annie who managed Heinemann’s kennels when the master was serving in World War I. Heinemann was also an obsessive huntsman and a student of Parson Jack’s breeding methods. He wrote the original Standard for the breed, which has been preserved virtually intact to modern times. He also built up a strong kennel of Terriers, and on his death in 1930 his stock passed to Annie Rawle, thereby ensuring the continuation of the type.

      Using the Parson’s dogs as their patterns, the early show enthusiasts began to ‘improve’ on the originals. They developed their dogs to win in the show ring, but, in the view of many hunting people, they changed the priorities, making perceived beauty the most important criteria instead of function. They thought that the show Terrier would never be called upon to prove his metal in the field and therefore was not worthy of consideration.