There are now two Kennel Club registered versions of this terrier, the Jack Russell Terrier and the Parson Russell Terrier, the difference between them being fairly minimal. The JRT is a few inches shorter, and a little less feisty than the PRT.
The Jack Russell type terrier however predates these neat, standardized breeds by over 200 years, and still exists today, though whether the ‘Sporting Reverend’ John Russell would recognise all who lay claim to the name as such, who can say.
Rev. John Russell’s goal was to create a terrier that could go to ground, chase out a fox but not kill it, and keep up with horses without needing to be carried over the saddle. As many dog hunting dog breeders realised, a dog with large amounts of white on their bodies was at far less risk of being mistaken for quarry and accidentally shot – so he favoured mostly white dogs.
Arguably, the two recognised versions of the breed do fulfil these criteria more closely than the ‘type’ version, however it is far less likely that they will be found actually doing the job!
Asides from evicting foxes from their dens to meet their fate with the hounds or the gun, the Jack Russell has long been an excellent household companion, farm-yard and stable yard ratter, lorry-companion and watch-dog. Leaving aside Reverend Russell’s criteria, a ‘Jack’ should be a small terrier, economical to feed, hardy, clever, friendly to people and the sworn enemy of cats, rats and other small furry things.
The one constant between both the recognised pedigree and the unregistered Jack Russell ‘type’ terrier is that they are a white terrier with patches of tan or black colour (although this has slipped in some ‘types’ due to breeder preference).
The Jack Russell type terrier’s ancestry lies with working foxhound types, and despite Reverend Russell’s involvement in founding the Kennel Club, he had no desire to have his particular strain of terriers recognised as a pedigree breed. Temperament and working ability were far more important to him than the show-ring. As such, the breed was very late being registered and still the more usual and eternally popular working type and shape isn’t!