PARSON RUSSELL TERRIER

Official UKC Breed Standard Terrier Group

Copyright 1991, United Kennel Club
Revised May 1, 2017

Terrier today is virtually unchanged from its origins, and

breeders are striving to keep it that way.
The breed was recognized by the United Kennel
Club in March of 1991 as the Jack Russell Terrier; and
the breed name was changed to Parson Russell Terrier
on April 23, 2008.

GENERAL APPEARANCE
The Parson Russell Terrier is an agile, active, small-to-
medium hunting terrier, built to go to ground after fox.
The body is slightly longer than tall and capable of being
spanned by an average mans hands placed behind the
front legs. The length of back from withers to set-on of
tail is roughly equal to the dogs height at the withers.
Regardless of the size of the individual terrier, the legs
The goals and purposes of this breed standard include:
must be long enough to allow the dog to move quickly
to furnish guidelines for breeders who wish to maintain
and with agility in rough terrain. The head is moderately
the quality of their breed and to improve it; to advance
broad, with a flat skull, a barely perceptible stop, and a
this breed to a state of similarity throughout the world;
powerful muzzle that is slightly shorter than the skull.
and to act as a guide for judges.
Ears are set at the outside edges of the skull and are V-
Breeders and judges have the responsibility to avoid
shaped, dropping forward, and carried close to the
any conditions or exaggerations that are detrimental to
skull. The tail is straight, set high, and normally docked,
the health, welfare, essence and soundness of this
but not close to the body. The skin is thick and the coat,
breed, and must take the responsibility to see that
whether wiry or smooth, is always dense. The Parson
these are not perpetuated.
Russell Terrier is predominately white with black, tan or
Any departure from the following should be
black and tan markings. The Parson Russell Terrier
considered a fault, and the seriousness with which the
should be evaluated as a working terrier, and
fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion
exaggerations or faults should be penalized in
to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare
proportion to how much they interfere with the dogs
of the dog and on the dogs ability to perform its
ability to work. Scars should neither be penalized nor
traditional work.
regarded as proof of a terriers working abilities.
HISTORY
CHARACTERISTICS
The Parson Russell Terrier was named for the Reverend
The Parson Russell Terrier is a bold, friendly, active, and
John Russell, a 19th century parson with a passion for
alert hunting Terrier, built for work underground. This
hunting. Reverend Russell was particularly keen on fox
breed is notoriously fearless and requires little
hunting and developed a well-known strain of Fox
encouragement to go to ground. Aggression towards
Terriers. During the Rev. Russells long life (1795-1883),
anything other than legitimate quarry detracts from the
the Fox Terrier evolved from a sportsmans dog to a
dogs ability as a working terrier and should be
popular and successful show dog. By the end of the
discouraged as much as possible. This is a high-energy
19th century, the show Fox Terriers, smooth- and wire-
breed and is happiest in an environment where there is
coated, had diverged so far from their ancestral type
lots of regular activity.
that Reverend Russells old-style Fox Terriers were
referred to as a separate breed - the Parson Russell
HEAD
Terrier.
The head is proportionate to the size of the body. When
Because the proponents of this breed were so
viewed from the side, the muzzle is slightly shorter than
determined to maintain the breeds hunting capability,
the skull and joined by a definite stop. The planes of the
they opposed recognition by all-breed kennel clubs for
skull and muzzle are parallel.
many years, on the theory that such recognition would
lead to degradation of the breed. The Parson Russell
SKULL - The skull is flat and moderately broad, tapering be capable of being compressed so that the dog is
slightly toward the muzzle. Cheeks are muscular, but unhindered when working underground. The back is of
not over-developed. moderate length, and level, blending into a muscular,
MUZZLE - The muzzle is strong with powerful, muscular slightly arched loin with slight to moderate tuck-up. Skin
jaws. There is a minimum of falling away under the eye, is thick.
giving a moderately chiseled look. Lips are tight and Serious Faults: Barrel ribs; chest too deep or too broad.
darkly pigmented.
Fault: Weak jaw. HINDQUARTERS
TEETH - The Parson Russell Terrier has a complete set of The hindquarters are strong and muscular. The bone,
comparatively large, evenly spaced, white teeth. A angulation, and musculature of the hindquarters are in
scissors bite is preferred, but a level bite is acceptable. balance with the forequarters. The stifles are well bent,
Disqualifications: Undershot; overshot. and the hocks are well let down. When the dog is
NOSE The nose is black and fully pigmented. standing, the short, strong rear pasterns are
Disqualifications: Brown or liver nose; absence of perpendicular to the ground, and viewed from the rear,
pigment. parallel to one another.
EYES - Eyes are deep set, almond-shaped, dark in color, Faults: Cow hocks; straight stifles.
with a mischievous, intelligent expression.
Fault: Light eyes. FEET
Disqualification: Blue eye. The feet are fairly round, moderately small, well arched,
EARS - The Parson Russell Terrier has small, V-shaped, and tight. Pads are hard, tough, and well cushioned.
button ears of moderate thickness. The ears are set at Dewclaws may be removed.
the outside edge of the skull and the tips are carried Serious Faults: Thin feet; splayed feet.
close to the head. Disqualification: Feet with rudimentary toes other than
Faults: Any ear carriage other than button. normal dewclaws, also known as high toes.
Disqualification: Erect ear.
TAIL
NECK The tail is set on high and customarily docked to a
The neck is clean, muscular, and of sufficient length to length that is proportionate to the body and provides a
enable the dogs mouth to extend beyond its forepaws good handhold. The tail may be straight or with a slight
when working underground. The neck gradually widens curve forward and carried erect or gaily.
from the nape and blends smoothly into the shoulders.
COAT
FOREQUARTERS The Parson Russell Terrier comes in three coat types. All
Shoulders are long, sloping, well laid back and clearly are dense, hard, and weather resistant and cover the
cut at the withers. The upper arm is long and forms an entire dog, including the belly and underside of the
apparent 90-degree angle with the shoulder blade. thighs.
The forelegs are strong, straight, and moderately ROUGH: A double coat consisting of a short, dense
well boned. The elbows are set close to the body, but undercoat and very dense, wiry outer coat. Hair over
able to move freely in action. The pasterns are short, the eyes and on the muzzle will form eyebrows and a
powerful, straight, and flexible. When viewed in profile, beard. The outer coat should not be so long as to
the pasterns are nearly erect. obscure the outline of the dog.
Faults: Bowed legs; fiddle front; down in pasterns; toes BROKEN: Any intermediate coat between a rough and
turned out; knuckling over or any other misalignment of smooth coat. The broken coat lies closer to the body
joints; out at elbow. than a rough coat and has longer guard hairs than a
smooth coat. A broken-coated dog may or may not have
BODY face furnishings.
A properly proportioned Parson Russell Terrier is slightly Smooth - A short, flat coat.
longer than tall. The length of back from withers to set- Rough - and broken-coated dogs may be stripped to
on of tail is equal to the height, measured from withers preserve the quality of the coat, but the artfulness of
to ground. The Parson Russell Terrier is perfectly the trimming is not a factor to consider in judging this
designed to go to ground. This requires a chest of breed.
sufficient depth to give good heart and lung room, but Serious Faults: Silky or woolly coat.
without so much depth and width that the dog is
encumbered underground. The well-sprung ribs extend
well back, but must be capable of being spanned behind
the shoulder by an average mans hand. The chest must
COLOR international registry, the United Kennel Club, Inc. is
Predominantly white with black, tan, black and tan, or aware that the practices of cropping and docking have
no markings. Any white area may be ticked as long as been forbidden in some countries. In light of these
white predominates. developments, the United Kennel Club feels that no dog
Disqualifications: Any color, pattern, or markings other in any UKC event, including conformation, shall be
than listed above; less than fifty percent white; penalized for a full tail or natural ears.
albinism.

HEIGHT AND WEIGHT

The Parson Russell Terrier is of a size to go to ground.
Mature Parson Russell Terriers range in height from 10
to 15 inches and should always be presented in hard,
working condition. Dogs outside the approved range of
height shall be penalized only to the degree that their
size affects their ability to work.
In conformation shows, Parson Russell Terriers are
divided into two size classes: 10 inches to 12 inches,
and over 12 inches to 15 inches.

GAIT
Efficient movement is essential to the Parson Russell
Terrier. When trotting, the gait is effortless, smooth,
powerful, and well coordinated, showing good but not
exaggerated reach in front and drive behind. The
topline remains level with only a slight flexing to
indicate suppleness. Viewed from any position, legs
turn neither in nor out, nor do feet cross or interfere
with each other. As speed increases, feet tend to
converge toward centerline of balance. Poor movement
should be penalized to the degree to which it reduces
the Parson Russell Terriers ability to perform the
variety of tasks it was bred to do.

DISQUALIFICATIONS
(A dog with a Disqualification must not be considered
for placement in a conformation event, and must be
reported to UKC.)
Unilateral or bilateral cryptorchid.
Viciousness or extreme shyness.
Undershot or overshot.
Blue eye.
Brown or liver nose.
Absence of pigment in nose.
Erect ear.
Feet with rudimentary toes other than normal
dewclaws, also known as high toes.
Any color, pattern, or markings other than listed above.
Less than fifty percent white.
Albinism.

Please Note: In UKC Conformation Shows, this breed is

shown by variety in this order 10-12 inches, Over
12 - 15 inches.

The docking of tails and cropping of ears in America is

legal and remains a personal choice. However, as an