JRT-PRT Position Paper October 2, 2008

Posted on 10/09/2008

The United Kennel Club has aligned the breed names and breed standards for the Parson Russell Terrier (formerly the UKC Jack Russell Terrier) and the Jack Russell Terrier (formerly the UKC Russell Terrier) with the Federation Cynologique Internationale (FCI) names and standards for those breeds. Virtually all European registries are members of the FCI including those in England, Ireland, and Australia.

The Parson Russell Terrier and the Jack Russell Terrier of today are the descendants of dogs bred by Parson John (Jack) Russell in the United Kingdom in the 19th century. While the individual dog’s sizes, proportions and coats varied even between littermates (and still may), they were bred by Parson Jack for their ability to hunt and for a specific color (predominately white).

The dogs of Parson Russell were bred to hunt and became a favorite of hunt kennels in the UK. Dogs of varied leg length were used in the hunt, depending on the size of the dens and the type of terrier that worked best for the hunt terrier man.

The dogs have evolved over the years into two distinct “types” of hunting terriers. The dog registries of the world have done their best to sort the descendants of Parson Jack Russell’s terriers into two breeds; a square, leggier version, and a longer, shorter-legged one.

The United Kennel Club is an international registry, registering dogs from many countries around the globe. We are the world’s largest performance registry, recognizing dogs that still the function for which they were bred. The UKC’s position is to recognize the Jack Russell Terrier and the Parson Russell Terrier as they have been developed throughout the world and to respect the shared history of this remarkable breed. To that end, we have aligned our standards and breed names for these two closely intertwined breeds with the nomenclature and breed standards accepted and recognized by the FCI.

There are several key issues surrounding these breeds. They include the history of the breed, the names assigned to the breeds, and the belief that there is only “pure” style of each breed.

The Jack Russell Terrier, meaning the squarer dog, was first recognized and registered by the Jack Russell Terrier Club of Great Britain and the Jack Russell Terrier Club of America more than 30 years ago with the 10-inch to 15-inch height standard. There were a few people who were disgruntled with the Great Britain and American JRT clubs and wanted a different breed standard. This resulted in a split of the breed clubs in the 1990s. In England they named the club the Parson Jack Russell Terrier Club and in the US the name of the club was the Jack Russell Terrier Breeders Association (called the BA for short).

The English off-shoot club convinced the Kennel Club in England to recognize the 12- to 15-inch standard dog as the Parson Jack Russell Terrier Then the BA in the US petitioned the AKC to recognize the Jack Russell Terrier with the English kennel club standard of 12 to 15 inches. The UKC had been registering the Jack Russell Terrier with the original breed standard used by the JRTC of Great Britain and the JRTC of America. This was a long standing breed standard, much older than that the Kennel Club in England adopted.

At any rate, the Kennel Club (England) first registered the Parson Jack Russell Terrier, and the AKC followed in 1999. In England the name was changed from Parson Jack Russell Terrier to Parson Russell Terrier. In the U.S. the AKC was still using the name Jack Russell Terrier. The AKC parent club voted to change the breed name from Jack Russell Terrier to Parson Russell Terrier to fall in line with the kennel club in England. In 2008 the UKC changed the name of the Jack Russell Terrier to the Parson Russell Terrier to be consistent with the majority of other registries, but allowed that the standard would include the dogs measuring from 10-12 inches, but maintaining the “square” build, a hallmark of the breed.

The Jack Russell Terrier Club of Australia had been using the breed name Jack Russell Terrier for many years, both for the 10- to 12-inch and the 12- to 15-inch dog, just as the JRTC of Great Britain had. Those in Australia decided that the height standard was far too broad. So that club also split with one club continuing to use the 10- to 15-inch height standard, and the other club adopting the 10- to 12-inch height standard. The JRTC of Australia tailored their breed standard entirely for the smaller 10- to 12-inch terrier, and for almost 20 years bred and promoted what we today in the U.S. know as the Russell Terrier. When the breed was recognized in the Australian National Kennel Council, it was taken in as the Jack Russell Terrier with the 10- to 12-inch standard. That standard, of course, was the breed standard adopted by the FCI countries as well.

The difficult range of changes in the recognition and registration of these breeds demonstrates the need for universal nomenclature and standardization of terms and breed standards.

Accordingly, the longer, shorter-legged dogs that the UKC registered as “Russell Terriers” will be recognized Jack Russell Terriers, effective January 1, 2009. The UKC will also, at that time, correct some minor changes that had been made to the UKC Russell Terrier breed standard, bringing that standard back in accordance with our original standard and that of the ANKC and the FCI.

Dogs currently registered with UKC as Parson Russell Terriers will continue to be registered and shown as such. Dogs registered with UKC as Russell Terriers will now be recorded as Jack Russell Terriers. Dogs from both breeds will no longer be single registered according to phenotype. They will be registered as the same breed as their sire and dam based on the pedigree. Dogs from cross-bred litters will be denied registration.

When Parson Jack Russell developed his beloved breed, he did so with the goal of a hardy dog that was capable of bolting a fox from its den. The breed had dogs of different sizes and coats then, as it does today. As anyone who has been breeding dogs for many years knows, different bloodlines produce distinct styles within that breed. Because a dog from one kennel differs slightly from a dog from another kennel does not mean one is correct and the other incorrect. Further, the internationally accepted breed standard, the standard many times from the country of the breed’s origin or development, is the standard that best defines proper type for that breed. A dog either meets the breed standard to some extent or that dog does not possess breed type. Even dogs that only marginally meet a breed standard may possess some traits worth preserving.

Parson Jack Russell wanted a terrier that worked. UKC wants terriers that work and standards that correctly describe that historical working terrier. We believe that UKC’s alignment with the FCI breed names and standards best serves that end.

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