Origin of the Jack Russell Terrier
The origins of the jack russell terrier date back to 18th-century United Kingdom Between 1795 and 1883, Reverend John "Jack" Russell, passionate about hunting foxes, bought a female fox terrier, which he named Trump, while he was a student at Oxford. To the Reverend, Trump was an ideal working dog, so he began breeding a line of terriers with great abilities for foxhunting, which would pass to be called "Jack's Russells" ("Jack's Russell", in English).
In this way, crossed various types of terriers with other hunting dogs in order to obtain dogs with improved hunting skills of the fox John Russell, who would later be considered "the father of the jack russell terrier breed", did not care so much about achieving a homogeneous physical appearance in this new breed, but about getting a perfect line of dogs for work in the den..
However, although the history of the Jack Russell Terrier dates back to the United Kingdom, it was Australia that contributed to its international recognition. In the 1960s, various Jack Russell Terriers began to be shipped from the United Kingdom to Australia. A few years later, in 1972, the Jack Russell Terrier Club of Australia was formed, where they registered the specimens and a formal standard for the breed was drawn up. Finally, on October 25, 2000, just 20 years ago, the International Cinological Federation (F. C. I.) definitively and officially recognized the jack russell terrier dog breed using the standard created in Australia.
Characteristics of the Jack Russell Terrier
According to the official breed standard, the Jack Russell Terrier should be longer than it is tall, being the ideal height at the withers 25-30 cm and weight between 5 and 6 kg. Thus, the main characteristics that will allow us to differentiate the Jack Russell from the Parson Russell will be its short legs and slightly elongated trunk. To know if our jack russell is at its ideal weight, we only have to take into account the following equivalence: 1 kg for every 5 cm of height. In this way, if our dog measures 25 cm at the withers, it should weigh around 5 kg. Although the Jack Russell Terrier is one of the most popular small dog breeds, its short stature should not deceive us, since its legs, chest and back are usually strong and muscular.
As for the other physical features, the Jack Russell Terrier has a slightly wide snout, with nose and black lips De In this form, his jaw is deep, wide, and strong. Their eyes are usually dark, small, almond-shaped and with a black rim, like the nose and lips. His long ears are always drooping or semi-drooping, covering the ear canal.
Types of jack russell terriers
There are two types of jack russell terriers depending on their coat:
- Jack Russell Terrier Short and Wirehaired: This is the most popular coat type for this breed of dog.
- Jack Russell Terrier with smooth or brittle hair: Jack Russell Terriers can also be found with smooth or brittle hair, since both coat types are accepted for the jack russell terrier.
Jack Russell Terrier Colors
The base color and, therefore, the predominant color must always be white On it, stains usually appear that can be of color black or tan, regardless of the shades of the latter color. In general, the marks appear on the dog's face in the form of a facial mask, but they can also appear on other parts of the body and can even be of various shades.
The jack russell terrier puppy
The Jack Russell Terrier is a very energetic breed of dog, so it will be important to introduce your dog to physical activity as a puppy. On the other hand, the socialization process of the Jack Russell puppy is very important to ensure that as an adult it is a balanced, sociable and friendly dog with others. To learn more about jack russell terrier puppies, we encourage you to read this other article on Jack russell terrier puppy care.
Jack Russell Terrier character
Like many hunting dogs, the Jack Russell is temperamental, hard-working, bold, intrepid, curious, very active and always is alert. Likewise, it is intelligent, very faithful and brave despite its small size. If we socialize him correctly, he can become very friendly, fun and sociable. Having so much energy and being so active, loves to play, so if we have children or younger siblings he can become his ideal companion. In fact, due to the temperament of the Jack Russell Terrier, its coexistence with children is highly beneficial, as long as they know how to treat and respect it properly, because it is a dog that rarely gets tired and needs to play to burn off energy. In the same way, if there are no children at home and we are not active people, it is not recommended to adopt a Jack Russell, since, as we mentioned, it requires owners who can help it get the amount of exercise it needs.
The jack russell terrier is an excellent working dog, to which we can teach techniques related to the land due to its tracking ability such as the search for truffles, and it is the best companion animal. Its training for guarding is not recommended, since although it is a very brave dog, it does not have enough capacity to act as a guard dog.
In general, if we are constant in his education, consistent and use positive reinforcement from puppyhood, the jack russell rarely adopts a bad behavior. In this way, if we carry out the minimum established walks, he will never relieve himself outside the home, except for the first few times when he is still in the learning period. It is also not a destructive dog, with an eagerness to bite furniture or other objects if we provide it with teething toys for when it needs to play or relieve the pain caused by the growth of the teeth. Of course, being so excitable, active, energetic and temperamental, if we have a garden and do not offer him enough exercise, it is possible that we find some holes dug by him. Likewise, this same character of the Jack Russell can lead him to be a dog that needs more time than others to learn an order. Although he may not be very obedient in this regard, if we work with him on a daily basis and reward him every time he does something well, he will end up learning and internalizing the orders we want to give him.
On the other hand, the jack russell terrier is a dog with a tendency to bark a lot Being always alert and so curious, it doesn't no wonder he barks when he hears a strange noise or a stranger knocks on the door. In this way, we will have to educate him to know when to bark and when not, as well as teach him to channel these types of emotions to prevent them from generating stress or anxiety.
Jack Russell terrier care
Being a small breed dog, the Jack Russell is ideal for living both in small apartments and in larger apartments and houses. It adapts to all spaces as long as it has a minimum time of exercise per day As we saw at the beginning, the Jack Russell is of hunting origin, therefore what is in his instinct and his nature the need to run and exercise. However, until the puppy is properly dewormed and vaccinated we will not be able to go for a walk with it, so we must also encourage play and dedicate part of our time to this practice. When the dog can go outside, we will start with short walks and let it get used to both the environment and the noise, other dogs and unknown people.
As the dog grows, the walks should also increase and be longer and longer. Although the time varies, both during the puppy stage and once it reaches adulthood, we will have to be constant with the exercise and establish a routine. Being a dog with such short and delicate limbs, we cannot perform a low-intensity exercise one day and very high-intensity activities in two days because we would only be able to damage its joints. The ideal is to take the Jack Russell Terrier for a walk between three and four times a day, following a fixed schedule and offering the same intensity of exercise every day. What it is advisable to vary is the route to follow, avoiding doing the same path during all the walks. Within the number of outings, two of them should be dedicated to walking more calmly and the other two to offering at least an hour of exercise, in which we include games that make him run and activities that help him burn off the accumulated energy..
Like many other small and medium breed dogs, the Jack Russell is prone to obesity if his diet is not taken care of, as as osteoarticular problems due to its rapid growth. Hence, also, the importance of exercise. In this way, we will offer the Jack Russell puppy quality feed from the junior range until he is 10 months old, which is when he reaches adulthood. Then, we will go on to use feed from the adult range, also quality and adapted to the nutritional needs of this breed. To avoid obesity, we advise you to read this other article on Amount of food for a jack russell terrier.
As for other care, the Jack Russell Terrier does not require anything more specific. We will have to bathe him once a month or when we consider that he is dirty, taking the opportunity to clean his ears following the instructions of the veterinarian. On the other hand, we will have to brush it twice a week and increase brushing during the moulting season, with a soft carding brush for short hair and wetting all its fur beforehand to avoid breaking the hair. Likewise, we will keep your nails in perfect condition and regularly empty your anal glands.
Jack Russell Terrier Education
After knowing the character and behavior of the jack russell terrier, we see how proper training is essential to make it a balanced and he althy dog. Not educating him properly can lead to the Jack Russell becoming unstable and very difficult to control. For this reason, is not recommended for beginning owners, since it requires owners experienced in canine education and training, who know how to stand firm and guide the temperamental character of this breed of dog.
We will start the education of the jack russell from puppy, which is when he learns the fastest. So, after choosing the best name for him, the first thing we will have to teach him is to come to our call. And when the dog can go outside, we will begin socialization and begin to train him to walk calmly, without escapes, or stress to discover everything at once. Being such a curious and active dog, it is important that we spend time on his walks, let him sniff and play. Once the dog has learned to come when we call him, we can start working on the rest of the basic commands, such as sit, lie down or stay still.
A very effective way to educate the Jack Russell Terrier is through prizes or treats. Although positive reinforcement encompasses multiple techniques to obtain good results, this is undoubtedly one of the most efficient with this breed of dog. His curious snout will quickly identify the treat hidden in our hand, so using it to teach him commands will give us excellent and fast results. Of course, we will not carry out training sessions that exceed 15 minutes. It is always advisable to do several sessions a day with spaces of time between them, since we do not want to harass the dog or overwhelm him.
Jack Russell Terrier He alth
Although the Jack Russell Terrier is a strong and incredibly he althy breed of dog, which can save us many visits to the vet if we offer it the exercise it needs and a proper diet, it is also true that there are a series of pathologies, especially hereditary, more common than others in it. The most common he alth problems in jack russell dogs are as follows:
- Terrier Ataxia and Myelopathy: Being a direct descendant of the Fox Terrier, the Jack Russell may suffer from hereditary ataxia or myelopathy in the highly strung. They can develop both during the first months of life and once old age is reached, the main symptoms being lack of coordination, difficulty walking and even standing up.
- Patella dislocation: occurs when the patella, the bone located just in front of the knee joint, is displaced, causing the animal pain and, therefore, difficulties to walk. It can be an inherited disease or occur as a result of trauma.
- Lens dislocation: occurs when the lens is not held to the eye by the zonular fibers and therefore moves and move from its natural position. This dislocation may be hereditary or caused by other eye problems, such as glaucoma or cataract.
- Deafness: Problems in the Jack Russell's auditory system are usually closely related to ataxia, although they can also occur in isolation as a consequence of age.
In addition to the diseases and disorders mentioned, if we do not exercise the jack russell it will end up developing stress, anxiety or depression. In case of detecting any physical or mental anomaly, it is advisable to go to the veterinarian as soon as possible. Likewise, to keep a better control and avoid the development of the previous pathologies, we will have to carry out the routine exams that the specialist determines.
Where to adopt a jack russell terrier?
If you are thinking of giving a jack russell terrier up for adoption a second chance, but you don't know where to find it, we encourage you to ask at the animal shelters and associations of your area. On the other hand, it is also possible to find a non-profit organization in your city or country that is dedicated to the recovery and adoption of this particular breed. An example of this is "Save a Jack", a Facebook page in which various dogs of the jack russell terrier breed are posted for adoption, as well as some dogs mestizos.
