Both Parson and Jack Russells may be smooth, rough or broken-coated. Jack Russells are shorter and stockier, yet still speedy enough to keep up with foxhounds on exercise, their legs firing like pistons.
Jack Russells are tough, rambunctious and highly intelligent dogs - if occasionally able to push the limit of affection with their eccentricities, peccadillos and fighting spirit at a picnic. Those familiar with the breed may not be surprised by their resilience, tenacity and working instinct.
‘I used to jump, too, no problem we’d jump a gate, anything. ‘The dog sat in front of me with the bag resting on the pommel of the saddle,’ he explains. ‘They are the most intelligent canine ever.’ To prove his point, Mr Mousley’s best trick, when working as a professional mounted terrierman for the Meynell and South Staffordshire foxhounds for 35 years, was to carry a Jack Russell - Digger or Axeman - in a specially made bag when out hunting. ‘You can do just about anything with a Jack Russell,’ declares Greg Mousley, of Meynell Sundance Jack Russell Terriers, a renowned breeder of 50 years. Photographs by Sarah Farnsworth for Country Life. Fellow terrier owner India Sturgis recounts why these tiny tearaways remain so perennially appealing. Small, but mighty, the feisty Jack Russell is as popular as ever, not least as it’s The Queen Consort’s breed of choice. Country Life's Top 100 architects, builders, designers and gardeners.
