WORKING JACK RUSSELL TERRIER

A Working Terrier Standard   A working terrier should be terrier-like in appearance and should have an acute and powerful motivation to work.  

HEAD: should be strong and encased in the skull should be a brain capable of showing intelligence and a fair amount of obedience and respect with some affection. 

NECK: should be strong and muscular, joining the head to the body. 

CHEST: should be big enough to hold the heart of a lion, but small enough to enable its owner to follow the quarry into extremely tight corners. 

LEGS: should be long, or short, according to the work envisaged by the terrain of the area where he is to be employed. The legs should be powerful enough to carry the owner through a hard day. 

FEET: four, one at the end of each leg, with extremely tough pads. 

COAT: whether rough or smooth, white or colored, should be dense and tight, to keep its wearer warm and facilitate cleaning without holding too much earth and water. BACK: strong and supple. TAIL: Properly docked so the tail is the same height as the dog's head when alert. 

EYES: of great assistance above ground. 

EARS: V-Shaped coming to a point at the corners of the eyes. 

NOSE: should be able to detect and evaluate any slight scent. 

TEETH: should be as large and as strong as possible, firmly secured in a muscular jaw, capable of biting powerfully and holding a firm grip. 

TEMPERAMENT The animal should be fairly docile and tractable, with a tremendous staying power and great love of his task. He should enjoy going to ground and should not appear at 10-minute intervals to see if his owner is still waiting for him. He should disregard wounds and see his job through at all times. He should be of sensible disposition and not easily ruffled or up 

Standards for the Black and Tan Jack Russell Terrier        

General Appearance:  Exuberant compact, active, small-to-medium lively looking little dog.  The body is slightly longer than tall.  Regardless of the size of the dog, the legs must be long enough to allow the dog to move quickly and with agility in rough terrain.        

Head:  The skull is somewhat flat and wide with a slight stop and a tapered muzzle. Black Nose Black Lips. The dark nose is button like. The deep set, almond shaped eyes are dark in color with a perky expression.  Teeth are comparatively large, and evenly spaced.  The small V-shaped ears are set high. Falling forward the tips is almost level with the eyes.     

Forequarters: Long and sloping shoulders which are laid back and clearly cut at the withers.  The forelegs are strong, straight, and moderately well boned.      

Body:  Compact yet strong with a level back. The chest is narrow, the loins lightly arched. The legs although short have rather muscular thighs. The short tail is carried high.     

Coat: There are three coat types Rough, Broken and Smooth: Rough Coat is a double coat that consist of a short under coat and a wiry outer coat.  These types of dogs will have hair over their eyes and on the muzzle that will form a beard.  The wiry coat will not be too long that it changes the appearance of the dog. Broken Coat is a coat that is between the rough coat and the smooth coat, the outer coat is closer than the rough coat but longer than the smooth coat, and this type of coat may or may not have the hair over their eyes and muzzle that forms the beard. Smooth Coat is a smooth short flat coat.        

Color:  Predominately Black with Tan or Red Markings. The nose and lips are black        

Size:  Females: up to 11 inches // 10-14 pounds  

Males: up to 11 inches // 10-14 pounds     

Gait: Effortless, smooth, powerful and well-coordinated.        

Temperament:  This high-spirited, feisty, and spunky, yet loyal dog makes for a great guard dog as it tends to be highly excitable. Aggression towards anything other than legitimate quarry detracts from the dog's ability as a working terrier and should be discouraged as much as possible.