Mossdog 27 Posted May 14, 2008 Report Share Posted May 14, 2008 I thought that back in the 1980s or thereabouts, a group of 'enthusiasts' (who just happened to be into dog shows) took it upon themselves to look into why predominantly white-bodied / hound-marked terriers of all shapes & sizes were called 'Jack Russells' and so they researched the life of Parson Jack Russell in Devon and began to breed for a dog that looked like the sort of ideal hunt terrier that the parson had envisaged. (Oh and be able to play at dog shows) A few years later, they were able to persuade the Kennel Club to recognise the "Parson Jack Russell' as a breed that could compete in Kennel Club dog shows. Some time later, they dropped the 'Jack' bit to dissassociate them further from all the dogs known as Jack Russells. Now they are Parson Russell Terriers. In other words, they are bred to a breed standard - I understand some are worked successfully, but I think an awful lot are kept purely as pets and show dogs. As has been pointed out earlier - they are expensive Recently, loads of speculative breeders and rescue places have started calling anything leggy and predominatly white a 'Parsons Russell Terrier' Why? Is it supposed to make them sound better?! The thing that gets me is how did so many working strains and just randomly-bred small pets dogs all get to be named after 1 bloke from Devon who liked hunting. What was originally so special about the terriers favoured by the good Parson? Was he D.B. Plummer's great great grandad or something? The moral of the story - if you have a white-bodied terrier that does the job you want it to do - just be happy Quote Link to post
Simoman 110 Posted May 14, 2008 Report Share Posted May 14, 2008 I know someone who breeds Parsons for the showring and has recently had a litter mated to a Lakeland from Johnstons strain, the pups were advertised as "working terriers" and sold for £250 a pop. Neither sire or dam has ever seen any work in their life..... I'm no expert but a lot of the Parsons I have seen are a tad on the large size......... Quote Link to post
just jack 998 Posted May 14, 2008 Report Share Posted May 14, 2008 got 1 mate, no papers, feck all, not botherd, ace little pup. Quote Link to post
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