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Your Pet, Our Passion.

Parson Russell Terrier

Small, active and lively, the Parson Russell Terrier is a neat little dog with a sparkling character and effervescent personality. Standing fairly tall on their legs yet narrow enough to get into very small spaces, the Parson Russell comes in both rough and smooth coats, which are typically white with tan, lemon or black markings.  

Lifespan
13–15 years
Weight
5-8kg
Height
36cm for males and 33cm for females
Colours
White with tan, lemon or black markings
Size
Small
Kennel Club Group
Terrier
The need-to-know
  • Dog suitable for owners with some experience
  • Extra training required
  • Generally healthy breed
  • Enjoys vigorous walks
  • Enjoys one to two hours of walking a day
  • Small dog
  • Minimum drool
  • Requires grooming every other day
  • Chatty and vocal dog
  • Barks, alerts and may be physically protective/suspicious of visitors
  • Could have issues with unknown dogs but gets along with known dogs
  • May need additional training to live with other pets
  • May need additional supervision to live with children
  • Needs a small garden
  • Can happily live in the city
  • Can be left occasionally with training
Generally healthy breed

The Parson Russell Terrier breed can be prone to:
- Patellar luxation
- Legg-Perthes disease 
- Primary lens luxation which is a condition where the lens moves from it's normal position in the eye which will result in vision loss and can cause pain
- Late onset ataxia is an inherited disease which can cause incoordination and loss of balance 
- Spinocerebellar ataxia which is a condition that causes degeneration of areas of the spinal cord and can affects balance and movement.
 
Priority Kennel Club health schemes and testing: 
None but there are several recommended schemes that the Kennel Club recommends which can be found here.

Personality

The Parson Russell Terrier is a friendly, affectionate and enthusiastic little dog with personality by the bucket-load. Active, intelligent and independent, the ‘PRT’ will thrive with lots of fun, training and activities but if left bored may become barky and destructive. They have a strong hunting instinct and are agile enough to scale fences, yet small enough to vanish down holes so good training and a vigilant owner are required. 

Did you know?

For many years people have argued over what constitutes the ‘proper Jack Russell Terrier’ and the type that eventually became most common was a short legged, rather round bodied terrier, often sporting the turned-in legs and turned-out toes commonly referred to as ‘Queen Anne legs’ after the style of furniture.  

Ironically it is this very type of terrier that Parson John Russell was determined to get away from in creating his longer legged dog, as these required carrying across the saddle when out hunting. Hunting involved riding at a fast gallop across hedges, ditches and ploughed fields, and a rider would be managing the reins, his whip and possibly a horn, so having to carry a short-legged terrier as well tended to end up in rather a muddle!