The primary focus of this small kennel is to produce quality (not quantity) companion dogs that may show and/ or compete in Earthdog events, if desired. ....and to produce a dog that most closely captures both the type and temperament of the courageous little dog that originated in their country of origin, England.
All breedings are done to produce the ideal dog and the small number of puppies generated are sold for the purpose of putting registered quality dogs (not necessarily show dogs) in as many homes of true Russell terrier euanthusiasts as possible. The more registered, correct dogs in multiple households, the better this helps establish our breed.
I DO NOT produce 5-10 litters a year, nor do I always have young pups available I do have older pups sometimes where I have kept several pups till they got old enough to best judge the dog to keep and contribute to the gene pool and/or show..
MISSION STATEMENT
As a breeder, I am responsible for the welfare of the dogs I own that represent this breed and I will make every effort through testing and screenings to eliminate heridity problems that may be present in the breed. With careful evaluation of both genotype and phenotype, I pair the dogs that can hopefully produce the best representation of the standard and the embodiment of the character and type of this wonderful little terrier.
BREED STANDARD
Small, athletic, lithe and tough; these little dogs are as loyal as they are fearless, tenacious as they are endearing. The correct JRT is not overly heavy, or frontloaded and built like torpedo on splayed legs.... nor is he built with high tuck up and overly long thin legs. His depth of body from wither to brisket should be equal to length of leg from elbow to a moderate foot. He has straight front legs, sometimes with a slight turn out, and with good angles in his rear legs, hocks should be low set and parallel, perpendicular to the ground. The tail may be uncut or docked so that ideally, if docked, the tip of the tail is level with the top of the ears. It should be carried up, or slightly forward when moving, and may drop when they are standing or at rest.
They should NOT be too deep in the chest, there should definitely be some daylight between the underside and the ground; he should have moderate to little tuck up. The length of the body, from wither to base of tail should be slightly longer than tall, so that from point of shoulder to point of buttock, the profile should present a rectangular dog.
One of the most important functional physical characteristics a Russell should have is a spanable chest. The ribs should NOT be barrel, nor should they be slab sided (flat), but should be oval shaped and compressable, to enable him to manouver underground in a tunnel or foxhole..
He should not be overly muscular and should have a very alert demeinor; confident and a bit mischievious; neither viscious or shy. He embodies moderation in all ways from his statue to his muscling, with head, neck and topline flowing smoothly from one to the other.. He is not fragile or "racey", nor does he have overly dense bone and muscling. Looking down on him, shoulder area and hip area should be the same width, with sufficient muscling to pull as well as push his way underground.
He is built to be able to go to ground as well as give chase to his prey and is an excellent vermin eliminator. He is also used for above ground hunting of rabbit and squirrel.
That being said, he is more than happy to be curled up in your lap, on your bed or in your chair with you; as long as he is in as close proximity to his humans as possible, making him the ideal companion dog in any setting; apartment, subdivision or in the country. He will do anything to be with the people he loves and protects.
The AKC, FCI and Australian standard specifies a dog within the 10-12" height range. That does not mean that there are not some excellant dogs out of that range that can make a possitive contribution to the gene pool, but these are the standards for the entries of the show ring. The body must be more rectangular than square, being slightly longer than tall and the proportion of the depth of body to leg length should be 50/50, or as close to that as possible. Stubby legged dogs and "leggy" dogs should be penalized since the former boards on "dwarf" characteristics and the latter is encroaching on the Parson standards.
All of the credible standards mentioned above also note 3 acceptable coat types; a smooth dense coat, a broken coat (which incorporates some characteristics from the smooth and rough) and the rough coat, which is NOT to be soft and wooly, but have a course textered wirey hair that may be up to several inches long, but generally is pretty close lying, except around the face and muzzle, where it is encouraged to grow as full as possible. These are all double coats and meant to protect him from dirt, branbles and harsh weather.
TEMPERAMENT
They are not a quarelsome dog and will usually not pick a fight. However, they will stand their ground when challenged, no matter how big the opponent is. Many people call this their "Neopoleon" attitude. Often it is said they are a big dog in a small package. Due to the nature of their breeding and purpose, they can "go" for hours; a trait that was needed when they had to keep up with the pack on a fox hunt. Often the smaller JRT was carried in a pouch atttached to the saddle on the back of a horse, and deposited at the opening where the fox had "holed in". Their predominently white coats kept them from being "jumped on" by the fox hounds when they both came shooting out of the hole, and the "hunt" ensued.
Constantly "caging" a JRT will frustrate him, but they do crave human companionship, so a compromise has to ensue for the house dogs. These are true hunting terriers and will keep your grounds free of vermin. A well bred terrier will have strong hunting instincts, and will vocalize when they locate prey, detect intruders or when provoked. They are not a "yappy" dog by nature, but will "alarm" with prey or intruders. They are also highly intelligent, which sometimes leads to a "matching of wills". They like to play, but are also content to sit or lay in your lap, chair, bed...anywhere you are. Considering the number of (Jack) Russell terriers in film and TV, the breed shows how versital they are, both in the fields as hunters and in our homes as companion dogs.
These dogs are extremely intelligent and crave companionship, attention and interaction. They will keep you "engaged" in life and offer you stress relief from your hectic work schedule.
Unfortunately, with popularity comes " backyard breeders" and irresponsible "mass production" from warehouse kennels (usually with 20-30+ dogs) without regard for what is best for the breed. These "puppy mills" will usually have 5-10 litters on a site at any given time, or will have litter after litter, breeding their bitches back to back 4-6 times... will little regard to the quality, temperament and genetic faults they are producing in the pups or the health of their females.
You do not have to buy a show dog for $1200-$2500 to get a quality pet, out of genetic and temperament screened parents, but along the same lines, you will not find a genetically screened quality companion pup for $150-$350 either.
A reputable breeder will, at the very least, have all of their breeding dogs CERF and BAER and temperment tested, in addition to regular veterinary care, shots, worming, and socialization. The addition of PLL testing is also one of the more critical of the breed tests performed since the test will actually identify a genetic marker that can be passed to offspring for the posterior lens luxation problem that some lines carry. More and more breeders are including this test when screening their breeding dogs since it was made available to us through OFA in the spring of 2010.
For a more complete description of the ideal Russell Terrier, please visit the AKC parent club website. http//www.theartc.com.
