7-Things That You Must Know About Jack Russell Terrier

Muhammad Asim Khan
5 min readJul 4, 2022

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The Jack Russell Terrier is also known as the Parson Russell Terrier. It is one of the most popular dog breeds due to its adorable appearance and the large number of personalities that are stored in their small bodies. The Jack Russell Terrier is a type of dog that athletic, is intelligent, fearless, and is on top of everything above all that happens in his environment. We can also call the Jack Russell Terrier a small-sized Pitbull because they are very aggressive and athletic and is part of the Terrier category as the Pitbull Terrier. They are fast runners and can run miles to hours.

The Jack Russell Terrier is a brilliant, highly friendly, and very loving breed of dog that was created in the 19th century in England to hunt foxes both below and above the ground. The Jack Russell Terrier breed is not suitable for apartments and overworked people. They are very protective of their families despite their size. They are very friendly, they play with children. They can build strong relationships with their owners. They are amazing jumpers and one of the most amazing things about the Jack Russell Terrier is that it can jump. They have an average jumping ability of up to 5 feet.

They are active dogs that need a lot of exercises which is why they are not good for small apartments. They are very smart and will not take much time to train and associate with them. They have a lot of energy and love to play and are the perfect pets suitable for families and children

Origin

The Jack Russell Terrier was founded by the Rev. John Jack Russell, an enthusiastic fox hunter in Southern England in the 19th century. This breed of dog is designed to hunt foxes, voles, and farm rodents. It was John Russell’s first hunting dog. After his death, this breed emerged or evolved as the Parson Terrier. This breed has 10 to 15 inches longer legs compared to the original Jack Russell Terrier which is 10 to 12 inches. This breed of dogs was specially designed to better explore the hilly areas where they hunt.

There is little difference between the Parson Terriers and the original Jack Russell Terriers regarding body height and shape. Parson Terriers have longer legs and square bodies and Jack Russell Terriers have rectangular bodies and relatively short legs.

Screen appearances

The Jack Russell Terrier has appeared on screen many times. One of the most important reasons they are so popular worldwide is their on-screen appearances in movies such as The Mask, Beginners, My Dog Skip, Beethoven, etc. The Jack Russell Terrier is regarded as Hollywood’s favorite dog.

This breed is one of the most successful dogs in Hollywood and plays the role of Milo in The Mask, Eddie in Sitcom Freasier, and in the 2009 movie Hotel for Dogs, Jack Russell Terrier plays the lead character.

Physical characteristics

The Jack Russell Terrier is a confident, courageous, and friendly dog ​​who weighs between 5 and 6 kg. A healthy Jack Russel Terrier with all health needs can live for 12 to 16 years. Jack Russell has short legs and a slightly longer nose. They have a surprisingly strong jaw with amazingly deep muscles. Like many other hunting dogs, they display bold, active, curious, and alert characters.

Jack Russell has a double coat, mostly white with tan patches, black patches, or white with black and tan spots. They are available in three types of waterproof coats such as rough, smooth, and broken coat which is a combination of rough and smooth.

Training and education

Proper education and training are essential to ensure that the Jack Russell Terrier is a balanced and healthy breed of dog. If left unmanaged and untrained, they can cause serious behavioral issues and lose the right path. If you do not have an active lifestyle and a lot of time and patience then the Jack Russel Terrier is not the type of dog you want.

Their education and socialization with other animals and their environment are essential and must be started from their puppy stage. Being active and cautious dogs is important to give them time for their walking needs to keep them healthy and mentally fit.

The Jack Russell Terrier is not a dog destructive dog that many people believe. If you properly and consistently educate and train them, they can make wonderful pets.

Care

Like other medium-sized dogs, Jack Russell can suffer from obesity if his dietary needs are not met. The Jack Russell Terrier needs to be washed once a month or if it is considered dirty. They need a little grooming but don’t forget that they can shed a lot so be prepared if you have this type. The more you brush the less they will shed.

They had to be brushed once or twice a week especially depending on the length of the coat and the molting period. Always use soft, well-moistened brushes to avoid damaging the coat.

Another very important thing that every owner should know about this type is that they shed a lot of time to keep their coat healthy. So they need to brush regularly to deal with this problem.

They like to dig

The Jack Russell Terrier is a very intelligent, very active, extremely reliable, and very intelligent dog. Their greatest asset is their ability to work followed by good qualities as companions.

They like to dig. Being small in size they are ready to chase deer out of their underground homes to chase them away. If you think it is bad behavior and you can easily train them, but it is not the way you think, this process is very difficult as digging is their natural feature. They also start digging when they are bored or neglected. Make sure your dog is happy and exercises all day.

Health concerns

Although the Jack Russell Terrier is a healthy dog ​​breed however the most common health conditions are listed below.

  • Allergies to the skin
  • Ear infections
  • Hypothyroidism
  • Arthritis
  • Benign tumors
  • Deafness

Most of these diseases are rare. Patellar luxation can occur when your dog is older. In addition, you should also keep an eye on your dog to check for eye infections. If you are the owner of the Jack Russel Terrier, it is recommended that you regularly check your dog to ensure its quality of life.

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Muhammad Asim Khan

Zoologist, Writer, SEO Expert, Graphics Designer, and Video Editor