Anyone still here?

[lessansculottes]

Hello all,

There hasn't been much activity here lately. My Jack Russell Terrier has turned 13 this year. We had a rough year, 3 surgeries for bladder stones, pancreatitus, hepatitus, and now diabtes as a complication of the previous. My Jack is now blind, and as grumpy as ever. My mother's friend took some photos of him before he totally went

Comments

[kudra]

I have two "puddin" jacks- and I have to tell you that time and time again they have changed people's minds about what a jack can be. They have many of the classic traits of the breed, they love to be around people and are exceptionally intelligent dogs totally capable of solving problems. But they aren't yappy, don't destroy things, aren't hyper...they need their two twenty to thirty minute walks a day (which I think any dog really needs) but they are mostly content to snooze on the couch all day. They are also a perfect size for traveling on airplanes with as your carry-on luggage, something that was a major factor for me.

I think it is so hard to make generalizations about breeds, nevermind these somewhat silly sub-sets we have gotten involved with. If you've loved your current friend for the last thirteen years, I would think that Jacks are for you. Are mine a bit calmer than most other Jacks? Yes, I would say so- and I've really enjoyed watching them change people's notions about the breed....but I'm not sure all this obsession about height and the amount of brown they have really matters unless you want to show them.

It's interesting that you say puddins shouldn't "work," as the parent's of my pups rat out stables and love to do earthen obstacle courses. Where did you get that idea?

[lessansculottes]

t's interesting that you say puddins shouldn't "work," as the parent's of my pups rat out stables and love to do earthen obstacle courses. Where did you get that idea?

I never said they shouldn't. They just wouldn't be bred as a working dog because of their large chest and short legs. The chest makes it difficult for them to go to ground and the short legs make it more difficult for them to run. Some Jack Russells are as short as 10 inches, but a puddin jack is a dog with a genetic defect that is bred to perpetuate this. Other breeds with this trait are basset hounds and dachshunds, which both have back problems. These can lead to skeletal and heart defects. There is a difference between abnormality and natural variation. Some shorties are natually short, most are abnormally short.

.but I'm not sure all this obsession about height and the amount of brown they have really matters unless you want to show them.

My dog has a lot of brown on his body, and i don't think that matters. Jack Russells are predominately white, so if you showed up with a totally brown dog, chances are it probably is not a full jack russell. Height is a factor for breed standard, the JRTCA has a 10-14in standard, my dog was 15". Still good at what he does. Anything taller than that would not be proportioned right, and anything shorter than 10in usually is a dwarf. A dog that is too tall couldn't do its job and a dog that is too short would be carrying a recessive trait that most would want to discourage.

But they aren't yappy, don't destroy things, aren't hyper

Everyone I have talked to keeps saying this. I can't see how temperament would be linked with size..every puddin jack resource claims this though.

These silly subsets have probably happened because people have different ideas about what they want their dogs to be. Some people are breeding original working terriers, others are breeding down the dogs to be short and claiming better temperaments for companionship, some wanted to join the AKC and show their dogs so they made up a new name.

If you go by what the dog was originally bred to do, it is first and foremost a hunting dog. The parson russell may very well go the way of the fox terrier when the show ring finishes with it. There is pretty much an all out war right now between working bord collie owners and AKC show ring border collies.

Most people would only care about these distinctions if they were interested in working breeds. People just into companionship or look wouldn't care. But it is positive that we still have people out their breeding working dogs, because they are breeding for utility and will continue to preserve the breeds. Does a collie's 'expression' really matter when herding sheep? And all of these dogs are loved by their owners, which is the most important thing.