Westminster Welcomes New Breed – Russell Terrier
Photo By Lisa Croft-Elliott
by Amy Fernandez
The Westminster Terrier Group welcomes a new breed this year. Technically, you really can’t call the Russell Terrier new. It’s been around longer than its famous Fox Terrier cousins. And don’t worry if its debut gives you a feeling of déjà vu. A previous incarnation of the breed made a brief appearance in 2000. It was replaced by the Parson Russell in 2003. Before you get too confused, let me start at the beginning.
Both the Parson Russell Terrier and the Jack Russell Terrier/Russell Terrier trace their origin back to the distinctive terrier strain developed by the Reverend John Russell (1795-1883). Russell’s tough as nails working terriers were legendary in Devonshire. By the late 1800’s they had generously contributed to the development of the far more popular Fox Terrier. After Russell’s death a small but loyal group of fanciers ensured the breed’s continuation as a working terrier. In 1894, Arthur Blake Heinemann authored the first Parson Russell standard and founded the Devon and Somerset Badger Club to promote the breed’s working abilities. It’s generally accepted that his stock descended from Russell’s dogs. Historical opinion also supports the theory that some were subsequently interbred with short legged breeds to better adapt them for underground prey. The resulting low stationed, rectangular type came to be called Jacks. These were primarily working terriers bred for performance rather than consistent appearance, and the club supported both varieties with a generous height allowance of 10-15 inches.
Both types earned a strong following. By 1972, an Australian Jack Russell club emerged as the major promoter of the short legged type. In 1983, a British club petitioned for Kennel Club recognition of the shorter backed, leggier hunt terrier type. It was Kennel Club recognized as the Parson Jack Russell Terrier in 1990. In 1997, AKC accepted the Jack Russell Terrier, which kind of, sort of, maybe…. included both types. It entered Miscellaneous in 1998, and after April 1, 2000- you weren’t imagining things, some Russells competed in the AKC Terrier Group.
Unfortunately, by then both types had been carefully cultivated into distinct breeds for at least 15 years. Whoops!
Two years later, the British club officially revised the breed’s name to Parson Russell Terrier. Subsequently, FCI recognized the Parson Russell in 2001, and by 2008 Parson Russell was the internationally accepted name for the hunt terrier type.
In 2003, AKC also made the switch, revising the standard in 2004, to make a clearer distinction between the shorter, more rectangular Jack and the taller, squarely built Parson Russell. Its short-legged cousin entered the AKC FSS Program that year , moved to Miscellaneous on January 1, 2010.and the Russell Terrier became AKC’s 175th breed in 2012.
The American Russell Terrier Club has been designated as the official parent club and the studbook remains open until July 1, 2017. The standard calls for a dog measuring 10-12 inches at the shoulder, and smooth, broken or rough coats are equally acceptable.
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