Past History:

The country of origin of the Jack Russell Terrier is undoubtedly England. This white bodied terrier was used to dispose of vermin in the barns and chicken houses and chase the fox back up above ground from out of his den where he would hide from the hounds and hunters who were chasing him. While white bodied terriers had been used for years, it was the Rev. John Russell who is acknowledged as the one who made this breed popular. His first terrier of this type was Trump, who he aquired from the milkman and considered perfection.

The country of development, however, is acknowledged as Australia. While it may be, but is not recorded, that British settlers took white terriers with them during colonization in the late 1700's to early 1800's, we know as a fact that the Rev. John Russell sent at least two of his own terriers, Grove Tartar and Grove Willie, to Australia in the late 1800's. No records of the Parson's dogs exist past their leaving England, but it is known that several other Jack Russells were imported to Australia in later years; and records do exist from those dogs. From the Duke of Beaufort's and Duchess of Bedford's hunt kennels in England came Hardy, Kiss Me Kate, Shandy and Judy.

In the 1970's imports from England's working kennels to Australia included Beau, Bim, Brighthelms Alice Springs and Fern. Following them came the English imports from Edie Chapman's, Foxwarren and Ann Brewer's, Tarsia working kennels; Foxwarren Tommy, Foxwarren Tag, Tarsia Fly and Tarsia Monocle. These dogs can all be found in the pedigrees of Australian Jack Russells today.

The first documented club and registry being formed was the JRTCGB (Jack Russell Terrier Club of Great Britian) in the early 1970's. This club and registry recognized two varities for the purpose of showing within their working based standard - 10" to 12" and over 12" to 15". The JRT Club of America was formed soon after and modeled itself after the JRTCGB. These two clubs believe that the (Parson) Jack Russell Terrier, no matter what height division, is a type of white foxing terrier and not a purebred.

In 1972 the Jack Russell Terrier Club of Australia was formed. The founding members gathered pedigrees, put together a comprehensive database, formalized a breed standard and initiated talks with the kennel club on the possibility of the breed being accepted as a purebred. The ideal height was to be 10" to 12" which was the common height in Australia. The Jack Russell Terrier was soon known and accepted across the world (FCI countries) in this height range.

Present:

Today you will find the Jack Russell Terrier with a height of 10" to 12" accepted by Kennel Clubs across the world , except the country of origin, England. Thanks to the forsight of the Jack Russell Club of Australia, and other breed enthusiasts across the globe, this breed has been saved from obscurity and has been preserved for generations in the future. Here in the US the Jack Russell Terrier was accepted into the UKC registry in 2001 and AKC's Foundation Stock Registry in late 2005 as the Russell Terrier.

(Jack) Russell Terrier vs. Parson Russell Terrier:

The Parson Russell Terrier, using the height range of 12" up to and including 15", is a more recently recognized variant of the old white bodied foxing terrier. In England, during the early 1980's, Jack Russell Terrier people had formed a club and were working toward recognition of the 10" - 12" terrier with the Kennel Club. In 1983, the PRT people learned of this and hastily reformed the old defunct Devon and Somerset Badger Club which had been started by Arthur Heinemann, a badger digger, and renamed it the PJRTC (Parson Jack Russell Terrier Club); using this club they blocked the recognition of the 10" - 12" terrier by the Kennel Club. The Kennel Club of England recognized the 12" to 15" variant in 1990 and the AKC recognized the Parson Russell in 2000.

The Parson Russell Terrier and the Jack Russell Terrier, while sharing many of the same ancestors gotten from the old working kennels in England are definitely NOT the same breed. They are both, however, variants of the old white bodied foxing terrier that developed in different ways according to the need of their respective jobs. The Parson Russell was developed in England and the Jack Russell in Australia. The Parson Russell is a taller squarer dog with a shorter length of back, while the Jack Russell is slightly more rectangular, shorter dog that has maintained the length of back necessary for flexibility. Today you will find the old Jack Russell type still in use by some of the hunts in England, while the Parson Russell is primarily a show dog.