Jack Russell Terrier Club of America
Encyclopedia
The Jack Russell Terrier Club of America http://www.terrier.com (JRTCA) is the largest Jack Russell Terrier
club and registry in the world, and is the National Breed Club
and Registry for the Jack Russell Terrier in the United States.
The JRTCA is affiliated with the Jack Russell Terrier United World Federation (JRTUWF), an organization of Jack Russell clubs dedicated to protecting the working Jack Russell Terrier worldwide. The JRTCA is NOT affiliated in any way with the American Kennel Club
(AKC).
JRTCA membership includes members from the U.S. and other countries including Canada, England, Scotland, Australia, South Africa, Sweden, Japan, and the Bahamas. The JRTCA Annual National Trialhttp://www.terrier.com/trial/national.php3 attracts approximately 1,200 Jack Russells from all over the U.S. and Canada, and is the largest exclusively Jack Russell Terrier gathering in the world.
Towards that end, the club decided that its highest award — the “Bronze Medallion” — would not go to show dogs, but to working dogs that had demonstrated their ability in the field by working at least three of six types of American quarry — red fox
, Gray fox
, raccoon
, groundhog
, opossum, or badger
in front of a JRTCA-certified field judge.
In the show ring the Jack Russell Terrier Club of America decided to ban professional handlers as it was thought this would make the shows less serious (and more fun) while keeping the focus on the essential element of work.
Instead of mandating the kind of narrow conformation ranges demanded by the American Kennel Club for their terrier breeds, the JRTCA decided to divide the diverse world of the Jack Russell Terrier into three coat types (smooth, broken and rough), and two sizes (10 inches tall to 12.5 inches tall, and 12.5 inches tall to 15 inches tall).“Different horses for different courses” became the watchword, with overt recognition that different quarry, different earths, and different climates required different dogs.
Unlike the Kennel Club, the Jack Russell Terrier Club of America also decided to maintain an “open” registry so that new blood might be infused at times. At the same time, the JRTCA discouraged inbreeding
and eventually restricted line breeding to a set percentage.
To balance off an open-registry with the desire to keep Jack Russell-type dogs looking like Jack Russells, the JRTCA decided not to allow dogs to be registered at birth or to register entire litters. Instead, each adult dog would be photographed from both sides and the front, with each dog admitted to the registry on its own merit. In addition, each dog had to be measured for height and chest span.
This last element turned out to be quite important, as it meant that the height and chest measurements of adult dogs were recorded as they were registered. Over time, both height and chest size of adult dogs could be tracked through pedigrees — an essential element of breeding correctly-sized working terriers.
The JRTCA was not shy about their rationale for these rules: they openly and emphatically opposed Kennel Club registration, maintaining that time had shown that dogs brought into the Kennel Club quickly grew too big and often lost other essential working attributes such as nose, voice, and prey drive.
Today the Jack Russell Terrier Club of America is the largest Jack Russell Terrier
club and registry in the world, and its Annual National Trial attracts approximately 1,200 Jack Russell terriers from all over the U.S. and Canada.
The JRTCA’s small professional staff cranks out a bimonthly magazine (entitled "True Grit") that is 80-100 pages long, holds a regular schedule of dog shows, and sells Deben locator collars and fox nets for the working terrier enthusiast.
Perhaps the most important service work of the JRTCA has been the ads the Club routinely runs in all-breed publications warning people that Jack Russell Terrier
s are not a dog for everyone, are primarily a hunting dog, and are not like the cute dogs seen on TV and in the movies. The JRTCA's "Bad Dog Talk" section is particularly recommended for anyone thinking about getting a Jack Russell Terrier http://www.terrier.com/breed/baddog.php3
A JRTCA Directory of Breeders is published annually, which includes breeders throughout the country as well as educational information geared towards those purchasing a JR. A JRTCA Stud Book is published semi-annually to assist JR owners in planning breedings.
Jack Russell Terrier
The Jack Russell terrier is a small terrier that has its origins in fox hunting. It is principally white-bodied smooth, rough or broken-coated which is commonly confused with the Parson Russell terrier and the Russell terrier with the term "Jack Russell" commonly misapplied to other small white...
club and registry in the world, and is the National Breed Club
Breed club (dog)
A dog breed club is an association or club of fanciers of a single, specific breed of dog.Breed clubs define the breed with which the club is associated in a document called a breed standard, although there may be multiple breed clubs for the same breed, each defining the breed in a somewhat...
and Registry for the Jack Russell Terrier in the United States.
The JRTCA is affiliated with the Jack Russell Terrier United World Federation (JRTUWF), an organization of Jack Russell clubs dedicated to protecting the working Jack Russell Terrier worldwide. The JRTCA is NOT affiliated in any way with the American Kennel Club
American Kennel Club
The American Kennel Club is a registry of purebred dog pedigrees in the United States. Beyond maintaining its pedigree registry, this kennel club also promotes and sanctions events for purebred dogs, including the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, an annual event which predates the official...
(AKC).
JRTCA membership includes members from the U.S. and other countries including Canada, England, Scotland, Australia, South Africa, Sweden, Japan, and the Bahamas. The JRTCA Annual National Trialhttp://www.terrier.com/trial/national.php3 attracts approximately 1,200 Jack Russells from all over the U.S. and Canada, and is the largest exclusively Jack Russell Terrier gathering in the world.
History, Philosophy and Structure
The JRTCA was founded in 1976 by Mrs. Ailsa Crawford, one of the first Jack Russell Terrier breeders in the United States. Ms. Crawford and the early founders of the Jack Russell Terrier Club put a lot of thought into structuring the JRTCA so that work remained front and center.Towards that end, the club decided that its highest award — the “Bronze Medallion” — would not go to show dogs, but to working dogs that had demonstrated their ability in the field by working at least three of six types of American quarry — red fox
Red Fox
The red fox is the largest of the true foxes, as well as being the most geographically spread member of the Carnivora, being distributed across the entire northern hemisphere from the Arctic Circle to North Africa, Central America, and the steppes of Asia...
, Gray fox
Gray Fox
The gray fox is a mammal of the order Carnivora ranging throughout most of the southern half of North America from southern Canada to the northern part of South America...
, raccoon
Raccoon
Procyon is a genus of nocturnal mammals, comprising three species commonly known as raccoons, in the family Procyonidae. The most familiar species, the common raccoon , is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to the tropics and are...
, groundhog
Groundhog
The groundhog , also known as a woodchuck, whistle-pig, or in some areas as a land-beaver, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. Other marmots, such as the yellow-bellied and hoary marmots, live in rocky and mountainous areas, but...
, opossum, or badger
Badger
Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the weasel family, Mustelidae. There are nine species of badger, in three subfamilies : Melinae , Mellivorinae , and Taxideinae...
in front of a JRTCA-certified field judge.
In the show ring the Jack Russell Terrier Club of America decided to ban professional handlers as it was thought this would make the shows less serious (and more fun) while keeping the focus on the essential element of work.
Instead of mandating the kind of narrow conformation ranges demanded by the American Kennel Club for their terrier breeds, the JRTCA decided to divide the diverse world of the Jack Russell Terrier into three coat types (smooth, broken and rough), and two sizes (10 inches tall to 12.5 inches tall, and 12.5 inches tall to 15 inches tall).“Different horses for different courses” became the watchword, with overt recognition that different quarry, different earths, and different climates required different dogs.
Unlike the Kennel Club, the Jack Russell Terrier Club of America also decided to maintain an “open” registry so that new blood might be infused at times. At the same time, the JRTCA discouraged inbreeding
Inbreeding
Inbreeding is the reproduction from the mating of two genetically related parents. Inbreeding results in increased homozygosity, which can increase the chances of offspring being affected by recessive or deleterious traits. This generally leads to a decreased fitness of a population, which is...
and eventually restricted line breeding to a set percentage.
To balance off an open-registry with the desire to keep Jack Russell-type dogs looking like Jack Russells, the JRTCA decided not to allow dogs to be registered at birth or to register entire litters. Instead, each adult dog would be photographed from both sides and the front, with each dog admitted to the registry on its own merit. In addition, each dog had to be measured for height and chest span.
This last element turned out to be quite important, as it meant that the height and chest measurements of adult dogs were recorded as they were registered. Over time, both height and chest size of adult dogs could be tracked through pedigrees — an essential element of breeding correctly-sized working terriers.
The JRTCA was not shy about their rationale for these rules: they openly and emphatically opposed Kennel Club registration, maintaining that time had shown that dogs brought into the Kennel Club quickly grew too big and often lost other essential working attributes such as nose, voice, and prey drive.
Today the Jack Russell Terrier Club of America is the largest Jack Russell Terrier
Jack Russell Terrier
The Jack Russell terrier is a small terrier that has its origins in fox hunting. It is principally white-bodied smooth, rough or broken-coated which is commonly confused with the Parson Russell terrier and the Russell terrier with the term "Jack Russell" commonly misapplied to other small white...
club and registry in the world, and its Annual National Trial attracts approximately 1,200 Jack Russell terriers from all over the U.S. and Canada.
The JRTCA’s small professional staff cranks out a bimonthly magazine (entitled "True Grit") that is 80-100 pages long, holds a regular schedule of dog shows, and sells Deben locator collars and fox nets for the working terrier enthusiast.
Perhaps the most important service work of the JRTCA has been the ads the Club routinely runs in all-breed publications warning people that Jack Russell Terrier
Jack Russell Terrier
The Jack Russell terrier is a small terrier that has its origins in fox hunting. It is principally white-bodied smooth, rough or broken-coated which is commonly confused with the Parson Russell terrier and the Russell terrier with the term "Jack Russell" commonly misapplied to other small white...
s are not a dog for everyone, are primarily a hunting dog, and are not like the cute dogs seen on TV and in the movies. The JRTCA's "Bad Dog Talk" section is particularly recommended for anyone thinking about getting a Jack Russell Terrier http://www.terrier.com/breed/baddog.php3
A JRTCA Directory of Breeders is published annually, which includes breeders throughout the country as well as educational information geared towards those purchasing a JR. A JRTCA Stud Book is published semi-annually to assist JR owners in planning breedings.