Jack Russell terrier earthwork, working the Jack Russell terrier, earth working Jack Russells, Conquest Terriers Brantford Ontario.

Serving Brantford, Hamilton, London, Milton, Toronto, Niagara, St. Catharines, Fort Erie, Buffalo New York.

Working the Jack Russell Terrier

The Jack Russell has survived the changes that have occurred in the modern-day Fox Terrier because it has been preserved by working terrier enthusiasts in England for more than 100 years; it has survived on its merits as a worker. 

Everything about the Jack Russell has fox hunting in mind - coloring, conformation, character, and intelligence. The body is compact, of totally balanced proportions, the shoulders clean, the legs straight, and most importantly, a small chest (easily spannable by average size hands at the widest part behind the shoulders). The Jack Russell must also be totally flexible, allowing him to maneuver underground. This conformation allows the terrier to follow his quarry down narrow earths. The fox is a good model for the Jack Russell - where the fox can go, so must the terrier. Although originally bred for fox hunting, the Jack Russell is a versatile working terrier to a variety of quarry including red and grey fox, raccoon, opossum, badger & the woodchuck which is also known as the groundhog.

The JR is bred to have the courage to follow a fox to ground and stay with it until the quarry bolts, is dug to, or the dog is called out; they are intended to bay (bark) at their quarry, not to kill. Many a Jack Russell has been known to stay in an active earth for days, even weeks, without food or water because of the strong instinct bred into them to stay with their quarry. It can be very frightening experience to lose your terrier and an impossible situation to the untrained owner inexperienced in earthwork; the results could be tragic.

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