Preserving the Jack-Russell Terrier
^{my rant on the AKC
by Tracy Smith}

After I got Molly, I started looking for information about the Jack Russell terrier breed. I had a lot of questions and I discovered a lot of very interesting facts about these high energy dogs. For one thing they are not considered a pure breed. They are a strain of terriers. The reason they are not considered a pure breed is because of their broad based gene pool. I also ran across a huge soap box about the breed standards and the AKC's determination to change this terrier strain into a pure bred dog with a limited gene pool.

Broad Standards allow for Optimum Health and Intelligence

The reason why the Jack Russel terrier has such a broad standard is because of their varied genetic background. This varied gene pool has been maintained because inbreeding has always been restricted and wide outcross breeding has always been encouraged. The result is a strain of terrier with the greatest variety of size and type, which is necessary for the terrier to continue doing what it was bred for in the first place, hunting burrowing creatures both small and large. The difference in the size of Molly and Jake is a normal occurance in this terrier strain. Another very positive difference between this strain of terrier and most pure bred dogs is their general good health. What I mean is that there are no genetic problems that are predominent in the strain. The only such problems ever listed are ones that occur in every domesticated dog and they do not occur as often as they do in pure breed lines.

The AKC has Transformed breeds in the Past

Why do I say that the AKC is determined to change the strain into some pure breed? Because they listed the strain as Parson's Jack Russell in their registrar and they list different standards than the ones that have been followed since the Reverend (he was NOT a Parson) Jack Russell first bred the working dogs. The AKC actually changed this terrier strain into a pure breed once already. The Fox Terrier was a strain of terrier that looked just like the modern Jack Russell Terrier in the late 1800's when it was first accepted as a kennel club breed. It was one strain of the terrier that was raised by hunters all over England. Now it's skull is shaped so that the snout is convex instead of slightly curved concave and it's scapula has been rotated so that it cannot actually work in the field in the practical and useful way that it did before it was transformed. In fact the Rev. Jack Russell was a memeber of the AKC and even judged conformation competitiions. And....he refused to register his own dogs. He liked the dogs that had been working the English country side so well for so long and he wasn't going to let a select few transform them into another dog.

According the AKC standards for the Parson's Jack Russell, neither Molly nor Jake conform to the breed, which is nonsense. According to the AKC, Jake's legs are too short for his body and neither of them have markings near the base of their tails. This AKC preference for markings near the base of the tail is an attempt to change the breed, as well as the height purportions. In 20 or 30 years, Parson's Jack Russells will be limited as to the size game they can flush safely and if they all end up with markings on their rears they will ALL be more difficult to pull out of a burrow. Even though the JRTCA does not state a preference for where markings are, the people who work them know that it is easier to find a white hind end in a burrow of dirt than one with markings that help camouflage it. The JRTCA only state that the terrier should be at least 51 percent white. This helps allow for a broad based gene pool that has kept the strain exceptionally healthy and independently intelligent. Those breeders who are only concerned with winning AKC competitions will only breed dogs with markings on their rear ends, severly limiting the gene pool in a very short time.

Even though the JRTCA standards are broad based, they are also inforced in a way that the AKC has never done with any breed. The JRTCA will not allow a terrier to be registered until after it is one year old and passes a strict exam by a veterinarian. Dogs who do not meet the health and broad based standards are not registered but they are recorded and allowed to breed if there are no genetic health problems. And the recorded dog's puppies can be registered if they meet the standards after they reach 12 months of age. Why? Because they are a strain, not a breed. They do not all look alike. Even the shapes of their heads vary somewhat as is demonstrated in Jake and Molly. This is why they are so healthy and long lived, compared to many pure breeds. Again this is because of the AKC's passive influence toward inbreeding. AKC breeders will call it line-breeding, but don't let that fool you - it's illegal for humans to mate in such a fashion and there is good reason for it. The reason humans don't marry relatives is genetic illnesses and a marked lack of intelligence that is sometimes extreme. The AKC allows whole litters of puppies to be registered as soon as the owner signs the papers, writes a check and sends it in. No one knows what the dog looks like or if it's healthy. As far as genetic problems are concerned, they have to be ignored because such problems usually do not present themselves until after a dog has reached maturity. In fact the dog may be bred before any such problems become apparent. The JRTCA, on the other hand will not allow a dog with genetic problems be registered or bred. Which is another reason why the strain is so healthy and intelligent. The JRTCA is really protecting these high energy, independent dogs in a way that the AKC cannot so long as puppies are being registered through them.

About the Jack Russell Coat

I'm not done ranting about the AKC yet. One more thing I'd like to gripe about is the coat standard they created for this very varied terrier only a few years ago when they first added the terrier to their registrar. The JRTCA recognized there are (and always were) three types of coats on these terriers. Any litter of puppies can have all three. This includes the ones that have recently been registered in the AKC. The three types are Smooth, like Miss Molly Good Girl, Rough, like the terrier that plays Eddie on Fraiser, and Broken, which is a combination of the other two, like Jake. The AKC only recognizes the Smooth and Broken coated JRs. It appears they are trying to breed the rough coat out of existence, but I think they are going to have some trouble. I wonder how they think they can control that, because if you breed two Smoothies there is still a fifty percent chance that all the puppies will be rough coated. Since the AKC allows whole litters to be registered at birth they will end up with fifty percent of their registered Parson's having the Rough coat they don't acknowledge. And those Rough coats won't really be rough until the dogs are about half grown. So someone could win a puppy AKC conformation and then not quality to compete a few months later. By the way, the Reverend Jack Russell's first Terrier, who is considered the foundation of all JRs, name was Trump and she was Rough coated.

The JRTCA has been dedicated to preserving this hard working strain of terrier and they have done it very well. These dogs look and behave like they did over 100 years ago. If you decide you want to share your home with a Jack Russell, please look for a JRTCA breeder and help protect this hardy, healthy, intelligent terrier from being bred into something else. The JRTCA home page has a lot of good information about the strain.