What do we mean by Breed Type?
It is not just that which distinguishes one breed from another, but is the small, almost indefinable points which, when put together, produce a dog that is uniquely and unquestionably of that breed.

What are those points which add together to constitute Breed Type?
OUTLINE comes first, because it is this which gives the initial impression of the breed.  The Parson Jack Russell, unlike many of other long-legged terriers, should never present a square, compact outline. Type and function are inextricably linked, and a breed designed, as was Parson Russell's Terrier, to traverse the bleak Exmoor countryside in winter, needs more the suppleness and curves of a Foxhound than the terrier front and short straight back of the Lakeland or Fox Terrier. 

Sufficient forechest, good angulation (both fore and aft) and a slight arch over the loin (always as a result of strong musculature, never caused by a roach back) are required in the Parson Jack Russell Terrier.  The correct rib is equally important.  It should be ovoid in shape, never round, and the dog must be well-ribbed back to give both room and protection for heart and lungs.  The rib should be spannable (not always easily assessed with the eye, as a larger, more flexible dog will often be far more spannable than a smaller, solidly-built animal).

Closely allied to the correct outline is the breed's typical MOVEMENT.  Bearing in mind that the Parson Jack Russell was expected to cover many miles in a day's hunting (no Land Rover for the terrier man in his era) the traditional « triangle and once up-and-down » is scarcely enough to see a Russell get into what should be a ground-covering stride.  Often called a « hunting gait », this should be (but sadly all too often is not) a free and easy movement, very economical in action, conserving the terrier's energy for his traditional work-that of bolting a fox from his earth.  Short-stepping action and extravagant flinging around of the front legs are both equally incorrect and should be penalized in the show-ring.

Many people feel that it is the HEAD that is most important in defining breed type.  The head of the Parson Jack Russell is best thought of as a blunt wedge.  Whilst the shape should never be that of an equilateral triangle, and the muzzle should not be snipy, equally the head should never be boxy.  Teeth are important to a working terrier.  Obviously, a complete scissor bite is required, but the teeth must also be large-small, weak teeth are an anathema.

Typical points of the breed include the size and set of the ears:  not forward - facing like the Fox Terrier, and not as small either (but equally not large and rounded like a hound).

COAT and COLOUR add not just the finishing touches.  Coat, in particular, is extremely important for the breed's function.  I've referred several times to the working terrier - and many people may argue that terrier work is irrelevant to the vast majority of today's owners and exhibitors.  Irrelevant it may be, but unimportant it is not.  The points mentioned in the Breed Standard are there not just to give a pretty picture, but are essential to keep the dog alive in a working situation.  To ignore them is to betray the legacy handed down by the Parson.  The terrier needs a thick, loose pelt and a harsh double coat.  The ideal coat is broken - the Parson Russell should never need the extensive barbering of the trimmed terrier breeds.  Because the mode of coat inheritance is polygenic there will always be a variety of coat length. 
 
The important point is the texture of the coat (harsh but not wiry is the ideal) not the length.  Out in the field, a rough-coated working terrier will have its coat naturally stripped, and the exhibitor will probably do the same with the show dog, but there must be evidence of a double coat which will keep the dog warm in wind and rain, and when underground.  A really good harsh smooth is totally dense and waterproof, and far preferable to an open rough coat.

Finally colour - and you may question its relevance in a working terrier.  But there is much evidence that both Parson Russell, and those Devonshire Terriermen who admired his type of Fox Terrier, placed some emphasis on the position of the markings.  Russell described the bitch Trump as his ideal.  She was a rich tan (not red, not lemon) with a badger marked head and a tail spot.  There is much evidence that many of the terriers he later bred were tricolour, but in all cases, the tail spot was a very desirable point.  The distribution of the markings is perhaps the least important point in considering breed type, but whilst I  am not suggesting that a tail spot is an essential, it would be a sad day for the breed if it were totally disregarded. In general, a Parson Jack Russell Terrier with an undesirable coat  colour tends to have poor quality texture of coat also.

It is easy to find fault, but good judging should be about seeing the dog as a whole, and the overall impression of the Parsons Jack Russell Terrier is summed up in almost the first word of the Breed Standard - workmanlike.


Sheila Atter, Adapted from an article Dog world 1997   Breed Type   by Sheila Atter

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