The Jack Russell Terrier: Energetic and Lively Dogs

The first time I met a jack russell terrier, I was amazed by its extreme gentleness. I immediately realised that, although I had always been surrounded by dogs of all kinds, I had never seen such an affectionate and playful animal.

I felt the need for an active and affectionate dog and I had never dealt with a small dog, let alone a hunting dog. Eventually I made up my mind, bought several books on the jack russell terrier and after some time contacted a couple who would later give me a beautiful puppy.

A little history on the Jack Russell Terrier

First of all, in order to get an idea of what the Jack Russell Terrier is, I think it is only right to mention its origins by telling what is considered by many to be the official story. In fact, it is almost certain that the breed originated in Great Britain. In the 1800s, hunting was a widespread custom in Britain. The story goes that the Reverend John Russell, nicknamed Jack, in the Devon region, felt the need to create a new breed of terrier to help him with fox hunting.

Legend has it that the reverend fell in love with the milkman's dog and managed to win him over. Trump, as this dog was called, was crossed with other hunting dogs such as the beagle. The result was an intelligent, active and confident dog. In reality, the breed was formalised in Australia and became official in 2000, therefore relatively recently.

The official enci standard is available on the website and does not need to be repeated in this article. Of course, during the selection process, Trump was mated with the fox terrier, the priest's favourite breed. Later generations were then crossed with Beagles, Border Terriers, and Lakeland Terriers.

Some claim that the Jack Russell Terrier also has ancient bulldog blood, very different from that of today, or pit bull blood. In reality, whatever the past mating, it is more plausible that the strong character is due to the terriers. This small dog was carried in a bag by hunters on horseback. Once the fox was sighted, it was released.

The character of the Jack Russell Terrier

When discussing the character of dog breeds, one is confronted with different points of view, but we will discuss this in another article better. As far as the genetic predisposition aspect is concerned, it is undeniable that the Jack Russell Terrier is a very intelligent, vocal, lively and courageous dog.

Although it is one of the most affectionate breeds ever, one should never be fooled. The Jack Russell Terrier is not a dog to be kept indoors constantly and is not a dog made to spend its days on the sofa or in the kennel. On the contrary, this is a truly dynamic dog that suffers greatly when it is not free to run around in the meadows.

So if you are a person who tends not to have time to take him out for long walks on a daily basis or if you are a lazy person, it is best to avoid getting this breed.

The Jack Russell Terrier is also a dog with a very strong character, which does not mean, as many people think, that it is fearless. There is first of all a distinction to be made between fearlessness and courage.

Fearlessness is a condition, often pathological, which, due to a malfunction, does not allow the organism to perceive the stimulus of fear. Any animal with this malfunction could never have evolved due to the fact that fear serves precisely to protect itself from danger.

Courage, on the other hand, means overcoming our fears in order to achieve a goal. In fact, this animal is aware of its size and reacts in a very particular way to fear. Being a very shrewd dog, when faced with danger you will see it retreat but not flee.

It will try to understand the situation and assess whether or not to move forward. This particular characteristic is fundamental in a hunting dog because it must be able to protect itself without losing sight of its prey.

Although I personally am against hunting, I will use an example to make you understand the necessity of this behaviour. Imagine that your Jack Russell Terrier has spotted possible prey in a fleeing fox. The first and irresistible impulse he will have if he sees it running away is to chase it by vocalising as much as possible.

Next the poor fox will try to hide in a burrow but here too it will be chased by our dog. The prey being unable to escape any longer and finding itself cornered inside its burrow will then try to attack the dog. At this point, with the same size prey being a wild animal, it could undoubtedly inflict mortal wounds on our animal.

If, however, you were able to slip into the fox's den with your dog, you would notice a peculiar behaviour in it. You would see the Jack Russell Terrier stiffen and swell its fur, a characteristic common to many animals. The animal would begin to tease its prey by advancing and retreating while with lightning-fast side leaps, always facing the target, it would avoid most attacks.

A very unpleasant scene certainly, but when this breed was selected, at a time when human sensibility was not as evolved as it is today, it served to keep the prey busy to give the hunter a chance to come over. Fortunately, fox hunting has been banned in many countries and breeders have greatly mitigated the predatory tendency of the various breeds, but it is still very much present in this dog.

Another characteristic that hunting dogs should have is that of creative thinking. There are in fact other types of dogs that when confronted with the scene I outlined above would not know what to do and would therefore flee.

The dog that is used for this purpose must also be perfectly able to have a marked social and emotional interdependence with humans. It will in fact be very difficult for a Jack Russell Terrier to bite a human being.

The situation is different with other dogs. Due to the fact that these dogs must recognise their own pack, it is necessary for them to socialise with other dogs from an early age. A properly socialised Jack Russell Terrier will have no problem playing happily with other dogs, but take care to ensure that the animals he comes into contact with are well-balanced.

In fact, it takes nothing to make the Jack Russell Terrier react and if he comes face to face with a dog of any size that growls at him, he will most likely not back down.

A high aptitude of this breed is the fact that it is not particularly intimidated by large animals. This kind of behaviour is important if we consider the fact that the kind of hunting for which it was selected was done on horseback.

Lately, this breed has become very popular in cities as a matter of fashion and because of the great affection and powerful vitality of this animal. However, the city is not ideal for this kind of dog, which would undoubtedly enjoy itself much more in the countryside. In this regard, being a very active dog and eager for company, if you have enough space, I always recommend getting two puppies rather than one.

At the risk of sounding repetitive, I repeat that this is a dog that needs to play and move around all the time. If he is always found alone in a tight, enclosed space, he will inevitably develop destructive behaviour with the furniture or he may irrationally run from one end of the house to the other for no reason as if driven mad.

Don't worry, this kind of behaviour is normal and can be cured with good walks in the open air, which is undoubtedly also good for us humans.

Intelligence of the Jack Russell Terrier

As is also the case with humans, every dog has its own degree of intelligence, but it is undeniable that the fruit of the marriage of two Nobel Prize winners will most likely give rise to a creature that is at least fairly intelligent. Generally speaking, we can say that all Jack Russell terriers I have had to deal with are extraordinarily intelligent.

We will discuss canine intelligence in more detail in another article, but for now we can define two main schools of thought. The first states that a dog's intelligence is measured by functional intelligence and the second states that intelligence is not necessarily functional.

Functional intelligence in dogs (a definition that does not do them justice anyway) is that predisposition to understand and respond appropriately to certain stimuli.

I have heard some Jack Russell Terrier owners claim that they are a stupid breed of dog because they do not understand commands. If only they knew how wrong they are. In fact, this breed, beyond definition and laboratory tests, is exceptionally intelligent on the basis of its own breed attitudes.

As it is a dog with a dominant character, it will always be willing to subtly challenge its owner when it does not want to do something. The inherent curiosity in the breed in fact drives these dogs to be very distracted and because of their innate tenacity, they are unlikely to abandon an activity that they find to their liking in order to puppet their owner.

There are indeed breeds that are prepared to do anything and at any time for the satisfaction of their owner. But the Jack Russell Terrier is certainly not to be treated as an inferior being.

I consider the Jack Russell Terrier to be a very proud dog and with time I have learned to respect it without losing sight of the fact that I am the pack leader.

Agility and aptitude for movement of the Jack Russell Terrier

If you are looking for an agile dog and are willing to give your dog the necessary care and attention, this breed will never let you down. As I have also written before, the Jack Russell Terrier is a dog that needs to move, it has to get tired otherwise it gets depressed, nervous and frustrated.

Since we do not want our four-legged friend to feel frustrated, we must plan to give him attention daily and more than once a day. However, pay close attention to the type of games you play. Since we must all live in a civilised and modern environment, I would avoid those games that encourage predation.

It is always beautiful to see a dog running happily on the lawn playing with its own kind, but watching a dog of this breed is an unforgettable experience. It is like watching a small hovercraft with a jet engine skimming the ground.

If you are able to indulge your friend's daily needs, you can be sure that you will always feel in perfect shape. For this reason, it is a dog that I do not recommend for elderly people who are alone or handicapped because it suffers a lot from standing still and also has a tendency to eat and put on weight.

Another aspect that should not be underestimated is the time that we must dedicate to it, although this is an animal that is always ready when it comes to going out for a run or a walk, it is a good idea to always get it used to going out at a certain time.

This good habit should be followed for all breeds but especially with this one because being a very intelligent and emotional dog, if at that time he expects to go out he will tend to get frustrated and if left alone, he may get into the bad habit of relieving himself indoors.

A very common stereotype states that the Jack Russell Terrier is the ideal dog for competitive jogging or cycling. Once again, I must dispel this stereotype. Obviously in general any dog can run faster than any human, covering much greater distances.

In my case, if I were to run with my dog on a leash as the law in my country requires, after a few metres he would turn behind me and ask: When do we start? The discourse changes, however, if the dog has to follow a marathon runner or even worse a cyclist.

Reiterating that in some countries it is rightly forbidden to keep a dog tied to a moving bicycle and it is illegal to leave a dog loose on public land, I would also like to point out that this is a dog that does not have very long legs and is not made to run at the same pace for many kilometres.

In the past it was carried in a hunter's shoulder bag travelling on the back of a horse, it is not the kind of hunting dog that follows equines all day long. Remember that any dog must be at your side when you are walking and that in any case it must never run distances in excess of 25 kilometres.

Although it sounds strange, dogs like humans must start running gradually. I can understand that this may sound strange, but it is not uncommon for an apparently happy running dog to suddenly collapse to the ground due to cardiac arrest.

However, you should not think that this is a delicate dog, in the vast majority of cases it will be perfectly capable of matching and exceeding your performance if you are on foot.

The Jack Russell Terrier ‘s aptitude, however, is to sprint. In fact, it is capable of covering short distances at an impressive speed in relation to its size. In fact, there are specific sporting specialities that enhance this peculiarity such as agility dog, the pursuit of a mechanical fox surrogate and obstacle racing to name but a few examples.

Predisposition to home defence in the Jack Russell Terrier

A great asset of this dog is the fact that it is one of the best home defence systems in existence. Regardless of whether you like it or not, at the slightest suspicious noise it will start barking. When a dog of this breed starts barking, its owners know it well, it will certainly wake up the whole neighbourhood.

I wrote alarm system because this is not a dog that normally bites humans even if they are strangers. Another characteristic due to the purpose for which this breed was selected. A hunting dog in fact has to be able to work with all members of the hunting party including people it has never seen before.

It is not acceptable for a dog to bite an unknown hunter when retrieving its prey in what it considers its own territory.

The fact that it does not bite the thief is a good thing, however, because I have never looked favourably on the use of trained guard dogs even though I respect the needs of those who do.

In my country, moreover, if a dog bites a thief, even though this may seem ridiculous to many readers who do not live in my country, the owner gets into a lot of trouble, many times more than the potential booty the thief would have stolen. Having a ruthless guard dog among other things is dangerous for the dog itself because the hypothetical thief would come better equipped.

The Jack Russell Terrier and children

Personally, I have found that the Jack Russell Terrier is suitable for children over the age of five if they are in the family and under adult supervision. The Jack Russell Terrier is not an aggressive dog, it will not tend to bite humans whether they are adults or children.

However, when dealing with children, one must bear in mind that it is a very affectionate and rustic dog. It could therefore unintentionally injure the infant with its claws or in an attempt to play, make it fall over. For this reason, due to the lively nature of this dog, I do not consider it to be the classic breed for nannying or pet therapy.

I do not want to be misunderstood on this point, although this dog has the disposition to be gentle and affectionate, the way in which it manifests this affection may be too impetuous.

Training predisposition in the Jack Russell Terrier

Before we talk about training, and this applies to any animal, we need to talk about behaviour and education. There is a lot of confusion around from self-styled animal lovers who claim that dogs are educated and not trained.

In reality, serious animal lovers know that education and training are two separate and distinct things. Education represents the set of habits that are encouraged or discouraged in the dog. This is a phase that must necessarily be done when the dog is a puppy.

We speak of basic habits such as eating at a certain time, doing the business outside, avoiding begging for food, walking on a leash and the like.

Specialised books on dog education, experienced dog trainers, or preferably both, can help with this. Should the dog have problems at this stage, which in almost all cases are due to humans, a behaviour expert must intervene, which in some cases can be an experienced vet.

Training, on the other hand, is a totally different practice, except in rare cases, it generally starts after the education phase and must then be repeated continuously. The major difference between education and training lies in the fact that education is necessary for all animals, training is an accessory that may or may not be done.

If I, for example, have to become a civil defence operator, it is only right that I train myself by taking courses and maintaining the qualification continuously for as long as it is necessary for me to perform my function. In the same way, police dogs are continuously trained.

I understand that some of you might misinterpret the word training because with modernity, a kind of problem has arisen in the context of awareness-raising, but we say training because we train the dog in the same way as we train a human being and there is nothing wrong with this term.

The methods for training a dog are diverse and we will talk more about this in a future article on dog training methods. Suffice it to say at this juncture that for this breed, the help of a professional trainer is strongly recommended, that it is understood that no dog should ever be beaten and that you should never shout at a Jack Russell Terrier to avoid having the opposite effect to the one desired and as a matter of intelligence, civilisation and humanity.

This breed adapts to any type of training that does not involve specific physical skills as opposed to its morphology. For example, one should not educate a Jack Russell Terrier to the command ‘ground or down’ for the simple fact that he does not fit in that position and has objective physical difficulties in performing it.

One should not attempt to educate or train this dog to tasks that force it to stand still for long periods of time on its own. For all other purposes, with a little patience, quite satisfactory results can be achieved.

Always remember that a Jack Russell Terrier gets nervous when he sees you disappointed and that the only way to calm him down is not to shout at him but to approach him and distract him. After twenty minutes at the most always play and cuddle.

Learn not to be fooled by your dog, as I have already said dogs of this breed are extraordinarily intelligent. They will try to tease you, if you go along with their demands they will assume that particular behaviour that made you give in. In short, they will try to manipulate you, they will be pandering and insistent.

You will be amazed at the quantity and quality of things this dog can do if it realises that it has no chance of ignoring or manipulating you. However, always be gentle and modulate your tone of voice well. A lower tone of voice tends to attract his attention much more positively than a shrill, inarticulate howl.

Coat and grooming the Jack Russell Terrier

Referring to varieties and disregarding the various local breed standards we can have different types of coat and here I will list the most common. The so-called broken or broken hair, is essentially shaggy hair with the exception of the paws where the hair is smooth. In some areas there may be differences in growth, it never shears and is still quite strong.

The birth of this hair type was due to the fact that another variety, the rough-coated one, was too delicate. Therefore two specimens were mated, one rough-coated and one smooth-coated, in order to have a variety with a much thicker coat.

This particular exception produces a dog with an exceptionally soft and thick coat but which loses hair continuously. Both the broken and the rough coat require only minimal grooming called striping due to the fact that they have a moderate growth contrary to the smooth coat, which should not be subject to shedding.

Then there is the teddy bear variety. I know it sounds like a joke but it really exists. As the name implies, it has a smooth, thick and hard coat like a teddy bear. It gives a similar sensation to the touch.

There are particular mixes that can generate a wide variety of types derived from the ones shown above. For example, the one I have at home is a smooth-haired teddy bear, the result of a mating between a broken male and a smooth female. It has an exceptionally thick coat, longer than the smooth-haired one, much more pleasant to the touch but with a small problem. It loses hair continuously and must be brushed at least three times a day.

Predisposition to owner defence in the Jack Russell Terrier

No dog should ever be trained to attack a fellow dog or a human being.

Never and for no reason whatsoever. There are, however, some breeds that are more protective than others, this one in particular is not particularly suited to the purpose even though when it sinks its teeth for playfulness and only for playfulness on the appropriate sleeve it will not come off, even if it is lifted off the ground.

Feeding the Jack Russell Terrier

Someone once recommended the barf diet to me, which would be a diet of raw meat specifically designed for the health of one's dog. I did a lot of in-depth research into this diet. It is basically based on the principle that the dog is derived from the wolf and the wolf is carnivorous.

This type of diet has never convinced me, but I still respect its proponents. I am convinced that a dog on this diet can live a long and healthy life. And that obviously raw meat is always better from a taste point of view than kibble or canned food.

Someone else, on the other hand, gave me examples to help me better understand his point of view on the barf diet. One of these argued that even for humans it is always better to have fresh food and fruit grown in a natural environment than canned or industrially processed food.

Now, however, I will explain what is my personal point of view. First of all, wolves are omnivores tending towards carnivorous. In fact, it is precisely for this reason that canids managed to survive when the large, purely carnivorous felines of the past became extinct.

Subsequently, the wolf approached humans who shared their food and this special bond was established that has lasted for centuries if not millennia.

At present I use specially designed food for my dog, I favour dry kibble and the occasional tin can. Obviously it would be better for the dog to eat specially prepared food at home, because even in terms of quality, food prepared from fresh food and then cooked may be preferable.

Unfortunately, if I were to cook for the dog as well, I would have to cook twice and I would not be able to do so while maintaining the theoretically correct nutrient intake that he needs and which is very different from mine anyway.

It is a good idea not to get the dog used to eating while you are eating otherwise it will be impossible to eat without the dog begging for food from everyone and sometimes demanding it.

Most frequent diseases of the Jack Russell Terrier

This dog requires very frequent teeth cleaning, unlike other breeds, the help of classic fluoride splints is not sufficient as it is very prone to tartar build-up.

Due to his temperament, especially if he is not fit and late in life, he may develop heart disease and even hernias. In some cases, a fairly frequent predisposition to musculoskeletal diseases such as knee dysplasia and Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease has been observed.

Sometimes there is also a predisposition to certain diseases involving the visual apparatus such as glaucoma and dislocation of the crystalline lens.

As far as the auditory apparatus is concerned, some specimens have presented and still present a form of congenital deafness that some associate with a genetic predisposition relating to the white colour of the coat. The particular conformation of the ears serves specifically to protect it from any external elements present in the bush.

Another pathology that may occur and that has also been observed with some frequency in this breed is cerebral ataxia, a fatal disease that causes the destruction of cells.