THE OFFICIAL JOHN EVANS WEBSITE

FOX TERRIERS - JACK RUSSELL TERIERS - PARSON RUSSELL TERRIERS

The earliest illustration of a Fox Terrier, Colonel Thornton's, smooth coated terrier, Pitch, by Sawrey Gilpin (1790) Historians record that all the Fox Terriers, and indeed all the white terriers in England, are descended from him. In the terrier world, John's main is interest lays with the original, “old-stlye” Fox Terrier - a breed of dog who’s origins are in the 19th Century, and who’s history and development are very closely tied to the type of terrier which today has come to be known as a Jack Russell, or Parson Russell, Terrier. John is interested in breeding and preserving this original, old-style, of smooth coated Fox Terrier. Here is a history of the breed, by John, which traces the development of the Fox Terrier, from it's early beginnings, right up to the present day. Hunt Terriers - History and development of the Fox Terrier, Jack Russell Terrier and Parson Russell Terrier The early 1860's may be fixed as the approximate starting point in Fox Terrier history (and so alsothe history of both the Jack Russell Terrier and Parson Russell Terrier). Undoubtedly the leading dogs were the smooth coated dogs originating from the hunts, notably the Grove, Oakley, Quorn and Belvoir. These hunts had maintained strains of terriers for many years prior to this period, but no record was kept of their breeding, every terrier simply had to be a workman. When the dog show movement began these hunt clubs brought to the shows those of their terriers which they believed would most nearly meet the fancy of the judges The names of the dogs bred by these hunts lie in the remote generations behind the terriers exhibited today (and all sadly now far removed in appearance from their ancestors). Amongst these leading names, four standout as being the “best of the best”: Old Jock, Old Trap, Old Tartar, and Grove Nettle. These were “the unbeatables”. Old Jock, who is considered to be the the progenitor of the Fox Terrier, Jack Russell Terrier, and Parson Russell Terrier, was born in 1859 at the Grove Kennel. Old Jock Grove Nettle Another of the earliest known breeders of Fox Terriers in the world was the Rev. John Russell, or “Parson Jack” as he came to be known, of Devonshire, England. He started to breed while a student at Oxford when 18 years of age. Old Jock, Grove Nettle and Tartar were three terriers of particular importance to Jack Russell’s own kennel, and all three appear in the pedigrees of terriers bred by him. Old Jock and Tartar spending some time in his kennels so that they could be conveniently mated to his bitches. Indeed, Jack Russell said, Old Jock was “as near perfections as we poor mortals are ever allowed to feast our eyes on”. It is a mistake commonly made that Jack Russell bred a different type of terrier, (although he was also known to buy any terrier that took his fancy), he was quite simply a breeder of Fox Terriers, and it was simply the case that given that he was a well known, larger-than-life, character, a hunting Parson, some people began to use his name to denote a Fox Terrier.         Old Jock, Grove Nettle, and Tartar, by Arthur Wardle - note the smooth coats and narrow muzzles on all three. At this time, all the Fox Terrier breeders mentioned based their breeding programme on the desire to develop a terrier with high stamina for the hunt as well as the courage and formation to chase out foxes that had gone to ground, but without the aggressiveness that would result in their harming the fox, which was considered "unsporting". The Parson condemned "riotous behaviour" in his terriers and expected them to bolt the fox from its earth, or hold him at bay, rather than kill. According to the obituary notice in the “Kennel Gazette” of May, 1883, Russell was said to have prided himself that his terriers never tasted blood. The terriers they all produced were notable for the following characteristics in appearance and temperament. They were long-legged for speed, so that they could keep up with the hounds, standing at about 14” in height, with a narrow chest, and flexible frame in order to follow a fox below ground. Given that the terrier's primary role was not to fight with it's quarry, but rather to locate it below ground and bark at it continuously, either causing the fox to leave the earth, or alternatively to indicate where it was located in order it could be dug to, a dog with a loud, baying “voice” was also important. For the same reason, the vast majority of the terriers produced had quite narrow muzzles as can clearly be see in the pictorial evidence - think about it, there was no desire to punish the fox, or involve the terrier in a fight with it’s quarry so it was found that this type of muzzle would be suitable and was an excellent indication that the dog did not have an over abundance of the blood of the more aggressive, stronger jawed, Bull Terrier breeds. Parson Jack Russell himself was extremely careful to avoid dogs of this type. A good “nose” was also highly prized as this gave excellent finding ability. Also, of vital importance in the temperament of a terrier were the intelligence, tenacity, and independence to work alone with only its instincts to guide it. The terriers predominantly also had smooth coats which are dense, straight, harsh and tight, so as to require little maintenance. On occasion, broken, or rough coated terriers were produced, but it is bewildering why people today would think that these high maintenance, difficult to clean, coats would find high regard back then!? Although it defies all logic, largely, it would seem to be a myth perpetuated by some people in the Kennel Club, or the various Jack Russell, or Parson Terrier Clubs, who enjoy practising their beautician and hairdressing skills on their dogs. As regards to coats, it is also interesting to note that the pictorial evidence shows us, absolutely categorically, that although the terriers at this time were predominantly white, with their markings mainly confined to the head (combinations of black, tan, or brown were the aesthetically preferred colour choice, so as to complement the colouration of the hounds) the vast majority of Fox Terriers also had patches of body colour! Of course some dogs, like Tartar, had only slight colouration, confined to the head, and there were also some first class all white Fox Terriers produced, but that we should find today within the circles of the K.C. "Parson Russell Terrier" an active breeding prefrence for dogs with no body markings is strange indeed. Again, it is another unfounded myth, which has now become a dogma - I’m not sure these people could have ever looked at pictures of those original Fox Terriers, the dogs they claim they are attempting to breed! Oe of the very few illustrations of Jack Russell and his Fox Terriers, by Nathaniel Baid (1902) - again note the smooth coats In the present day, we find that the so-called “working terrier” people have also been equally guilty of promoting all kinds of misinformation, and inaccurate myths both about the Fox Terrier and Jack Russell Terrier. They are often heard to say that a terrier should be large headed, and with a strong, vicious bite. These are the kind of people who drive their terriers to a fox's earth in a van, or pickup truck (after all their terriers are so far removed from the original conformation, they couldn’t “run with the hounds”, nor smell a trail), where they then dig a hole which is large enough for their terriers to get through so as to enable it to be involved with a vicious fight to the death with a fox. Thus, for these people, the more stronger jawed and Bull Terrier headed their dog may be is regarded as an asset to this vicious kind of fox killing - not that they seem particularly bothered about the bites, and cuts received by their own dogs and they regard these as "badges of honour". I wonder how these macho types, who somehow claim to be “working terrier” people, would feel if they had received the same types of injuries to their own faces, heads, and throats, as their dogs!?! A “sport” it is not! The truth is, if Parson Jack Russell were alive there is no doubt that he would regard these people with contempt and disgust. Indeed, it is an activity more akin to such heinous, and outlawed, practices as dog fighting, or badger baiting, and it is very far removed to the original type of hunting mentioned here earlier and the types of dogs required to carry it out. Fox Terriers at Newstead Abbey, by William Eddowes Turner (1870) One of the most historically important paintings of Fox Terriers as it shows 36 dogs as they were before the breed moved to K.C. recognition, and the changes that were to result. Please drag this illustration to your desktop for a closer view - note the smooth coats, body patches, and fine muzzles. After the Fox Terrier received Kennel Club recognition in 1876, it was quickly ruined by breeders, with many conformational changes as a result of the whims of the show ring. Natural activities were atrophied by a system of artificial breeding to show points, and certain features of the dogs were accentuated so much that we arrived at today's "modern" Fox Terrier - a dog with an over elongated muzzle, a deepened chest and a body enlarged to the point of preventing them ever following a fox and entering an earth, even if the instinct to do so still remained - and in the case of the Wire Fox Terrier, a coat which is more at home in a poodle parlour than a field. However, for a short while the original Fox Terrier lived on in a strain which became known as the Jack Russell Terrier, which, in the main, kept closer to the original type as it was bred largely by people, who like the sporting Parson Jack, needed it to be fit for it's purpose of hunting foxes. Here too, although unmolested by Kennel Club recognition and interference, the breed also was soon to be ruined by people who chose to outcross with other breeds to suit their various purposes - Arthur Heinemann (a founder of the first Parson Russell Terrier Club), bred a strain of terrier for badger digging and so crossed his terriers with Staff and Bull terriers to produce a harder dog, while others crossed the terrier with other breeds, like Corgis, or Chihuahuas, to produce a short-legged dog for rabbiting and ratting, or for family pets. Today, we still see the descendants of these varieties - the short-legged type, largely still a family pet, and a type, produced by people who've turned their attention from dogging Badgers to fox killing, which has a large Lakeland, or even Staff Terrier sized head. Fortunately, throughout the years, the older type of Fox Terrier, has remained in specific areas valued by those people who appreciated the practical and purposeful qualities of the dogs which had been recognised and bred true to type, throughout his long life, by the Parson Jack Russell, and those early breeders at the Grove, Oakley, Quorn and Belvoir hunts. Old Foiler, and Troilus - two terriers out of two bitches bred by Parson Jack Russell In recent times, supposedly in part to standardise the breed and combat all the varieties described here, the Jack Russell Terrier too received Kennel Club recognition, and this has has resulted in today's, so called, "Parson Russell Terrier". However, sadly, here again, a type of dog is being produced which is far removed from it's original Fox Terrier appearance and temperament, and it is an open secret that a very large number of K.C. registered Parson Russell Terriers are in fact white Lakeland Terriers! As a result, many of these K.C. registered Parson Russell Terriers have bodies which are much more stocky and thickset (and highly unlikely to be "spannable"), and have heads which are broader and possess far stronger jaws than the original old-style Fox Terriers favoured by the man himself, Parson Jack Russell. There are a few exceptions of course, Eddie Chapman, being one breeder who should be praised in trying to avoid any Lakeland bloodlines in his terriers, and there is also a kennel near Oxford, and another in South Wales where people are striving to produce K.C. registered terriers which resemble the original, old type Fox Terrier. Today, as it was back in those early days, a terrier that “looks right”, will also have all the attributes in temperament, and personality so highly prized by the original breeders - correct conformation, equals, correct temperament. I’ve seen many wooly coated, Lakeland blooded, “Parson Russell Terriers” who wouldn’t know how to sniff a trail to a lump of meat laying a few yards away, and countless so called “Jack Russell Terriers”, whose legs are so short they have a hard job keeping up with a human, let alone hounds, and whose heads are so enlarged, due to Bull Terrier blood, should they encounter a fox, or any “prey”, their sole purpose would be to grip on whatever punishment was meted out to them, or their quarry (but then again the “macho” men who own these types breed for that exact purpose). It is worth again noting, despite all the evidence that smooth coated Fox Terriers were undoubtedly the most highly regarded of the original Fox Terriers, in the particular case of the K.C. Parson Russell Terrier Club, who claim they want to produce old-style Fox Terriers (they seem to ignore the fact that they are often breeding from Lakeland Terrier bloodlines, oops!) the overiding prefererence would seem to be for rough haired coats - once again, Kennel Club people seem to like to breed dogs that have a type of coat on which they can spend much time teasing, cutting, plucking, curling and twirling. At Charles Cruft’s first show, which was also the first major show for Terriers, a total of 125 Smooths were shown in comparison to 50 Wire Fox Terriers. By the early 20th Century, although Smooths were still very popular, they had been replaced in number by the Wire Fox Terrier at K.C. shows. It seems, as we have already seen by the example of the K.C. recognised Fox Terrier, the present day developments in the K.C. Parson Russell Terrier, is sadly, as they say, just a case of “history repeating itself”! Anyone interested in the history of the breed only has to look back at old photograph's, postcards, illustrations in dog books (or even children's books), or the many, many paintings done in the 19th century or very early 20th century, and they will see that the type of dog known as a Fox Terrier is in fact the dog as described in this piece. In the literature of the time also, dogs referred to as Fox Terriers, are of the type defined here - indeed, one of the most famous Fox Terriers, in literature is Montmorency, from Jerome K Jerome's Three Men in a Boat, who was an old-style, smooth coated, Fox Terrier. 19th Century paintings of Fox Terriers, by Maud Earl and Arthur Wardle © John Evans 2006 Please click on the thumbnails alongside to see for yourself more of the countless old photo's, illustrations and paintings of original, smooth coated, Fox Terriers depicted in all the many and various locations they were to be found at the time - with the hounds, in the stables, hunting, chasing, rabbits, in the home, or in the garden etc.