The Vet’s Guide to Jack Russells: Facts, Care, and Training Tips

Originally bred for fox hunting by priest and fox hunter John “Jack” Russell, these energetic pups are sure to keep you on your toes! Jack Russell Terriers need plenty of daily exercise, and benefit from consistent training to avoid any destructive behaviours. Whilst they can be a handful, Jack Russells are a loyal and affectionate breed that will show you lots of love. With their boundless energy, we wouldn’t recommend this breed to first time dog owners or anyone who wants a calmer lifestyle, but would instead recommend breeds such as Golden Retrievers or Oodles.

• Jack Russells are a very energetic dog breed that require lots of exercise! To help you meet the activity requirements of your pup, we recommend establishing a routine with them to help spread their exercise sessions throughout the day.

• Training your Jack Russell can be a challenge due to their energetic and dominant nature. However, with consistency and patience, your Jack Russell can excel in obedience and agility skills.

• Despite their short coat, Jack Russells require some grooming and maintenance. For a Jack Russell that doesn’t shed too much, look for a coat that is rougher and more wiry in texture, as they shed the least out of all Jack Russell coat types.

Appearance: Jack Russells are a small dog breed, standing around 25 to 38 centimetres tall and weighing 6 to 8 kilograms when fully grown. This breed also has a distinguishable appearance through its white body, and either black or brown markings. 

Temperament: This breed has a lot of energy and has an eagerness to explore the world around them, so it is essential that you give them plenty of exercise. Jack Russells are generally friendly towards other people, but can become aggressive towards other animals such as cats and other dogs due to their hunting history.

Activity Level: Due to their history of being a hunting dog and adventurous spirit, Jack Russells require substantial daily exercise to keep them happy and healthy. We recommend giving your Jack Russell at least one hour of exercise a day, along with frequent play sessions.

Health: Jack Russells often enjoy a healthy life, but like most dog breeds, they can be susceptible to health issues. Some health conditions that affect Jack Russells in particular include  patellar luxation in the knees and lens luxation and glaucoma in the eyes, the risk of which can be detected through genetic testing of your Jack Russell’s parents. Other conditions such as Legg-Calve-Perthes Disease and deafness may be a bit more difficult to detect. However, each of these conditions can be treated with a trusted veterinarian through rehabilitation, medication or surgery.

Lifespan: Jack Russells are a lifelong friend for you and your family, enjoying a lifespan of 13 to 16 years!

Jack Russells are a relatively low maintenance breed when it comes to grooming, as their shorter coats means they typically don’t require professional grooming. However, don’t be deceived by their short coat - they still shed! Therefore, a Jack Russell needs regular brushing in addition to nail and dental maintenance to keep them happy and healthy.

Shedding patterns: Whilst their short coat may look hypoallergenic, Jack Russells are known to shed. Therefore, we don’t recommend a Jack Russell for those struggling with sensitivity to dog hair, as their shedding can not only leave you to clean up pet hair regularly, but will also upset your allergies.

The shedding patterns and volume of your pup will depend on their coat type. A rougher and wiry coat will shed the least, broken and smooth coats will shed a moderate amount, and smooth double coats will shed a moderate amount with heavy shedding seasons in spring and autumn.

To keep shedding at bay, and keep your Jack Russell’s coat looking healthy, we recommend brushing them weekly with a soft-bristle brush. This will help maintain the health of your pup’s coat, and help minimise the amount of Jack Russell hair you find around your home.

Bathing tips: Your Jack Russell will generally only need a bath once a month (unless they like to get themselves dirty), so they are relatively low maintenance. When bathing your pup, either in the shower, bathtub or outside, we recommend bathing them with a deshedding shampoo to help keep the shedding at bay and remove any dead hair.

To help make the bathing experience positive for you both, we recommend introducing bath time to your Jack Russell at an early age so they can familiarise themselves with the process.

Nails: Maintaining your Jack Russell’s nail care is essential to the comfort of your pup. If nails are left untrimmed or overgrown, this can cause discomfort to your Jack Russell along with heightening chances of breakage.

We recommend trimming your dog’s nails every four to six weeks unless they are naturally worn down through regular exercise (i.e. daily walks). We also suggest introducing  the nail trimming process to your Jack Russell pup as early in their life as possible, to make it an easier task as they get older.

Dental hygiene: Keeping your Jack Russell’s teeth squeaky clean is very important for a happy and healthy pup. Jack Russells can be prone to a number of dental issues such as tooth decay as a result of their small jaws. Therefore, it is important to practise good dental hygiene with your dog from an early age.

One of the most effective ways to prevent dental decay is brushing your Jack Russell’s teeth regularly. This will take patience and persistence, but will greatly help your pup in the long run. We recommend brushing your Jack Russell’s teeth once or twice a week with a dog toothbrush and a dog-safe toothpaste. 

If your Jack Russell doesn’t take to regular tooth-brushing, we recommend high quality dental chews to help keep your dog’s teeth clean. This is not a replacement for teeth cleaning, as we recommend taking your Jack Russell to your veterinarian every six to twelve months for a professional clean.

This breed often leads a healthy life, but can be predisposed to certain health conditions. However many of these conditions can be identified early through genetic screening of either your Jack Russell’s pedigree (if you’re adopting a puppy) or your Jack Russell themselves if you’re adopting an older dog.

Hereditary Deafness: Commonly associated with their white coat colour, many Jack Russells are susceptible to deafness. Often a hereditary condition, deafness can be identified in Jack Russels through genetic testing. As this is a congenital disease, hereditary deafness is often present at birth for Jack Russells. Whilst this is not a treatable condition, your Jack Russell can still lead a happy life with you!

Eye Issues: Jack Russells are also predisposed to eye conditions such as glaucoma and lens luxation. These two eye conditions lead to vision impairment and sometimes ongoing issues.

Glaucoma in Jack Russells is when there is increased pressure in the eye, causing pain throughout the eye. This increased pressure can lead to vision loss or blindness in some cases. Glaucoma can often be managed and treated, and we recommend speaking with your trusted veterinarian about medication and surgical options for your dog.

Lens luxation is an eye condition where the lens of the eye becomes displaced due to the deterioration of the ligament holding it in place. A common sign of lens luxation in dogs is extreme eye redness and closing of the eye - often misdiagnosed as conjunctivitis. If this condition is diagnosed early enough, your veterinarian can treat the condition through surgery. They will also perform preventative surgery on the other eye, as this condition will often affect both in their lifetime.

Joint Problems: Small breeds, such as Jack Russell Terriers, are susceptible to joint issues such as Legg-Calve-Perthes disease and patellar luxation in the knees. Both of these conditions can be treated and managed, with treatment varying on severity and how early on they are picked up on. However, with these conditions being hereditary, Jack Russells will have these issues at birth if passed down from their parents, with symptoms often starting after they turn two.

Legg-Calve-Perthes disease is a condition caused by a deformity in the dog’s hip joint ball, leading to the wearing down of bone and arthritis. You can detect this condition in your dog through limping, holding up their leg and loss of muscle mass. If your Jack Russell is showing these signs, be sure to visit your trusted veterinarian as soon as possible for treatment.

Jack Russells are a dog breed that enjoys training (including obedience and agility training), but it can be a challenge to keep their attention. They become easily bored due to their energetic personality, so be sure to engage with them in different varieties, and reward them consistently for proper participation.

Intelligence: With a high level of intelligence, Jack Russells tend to pick up behaviours and commands quickly, but it can be a challenge for them to perform these actions when told under all circumstances. To help with this issue, be sure to remain consistent and firm with your training.

Leadership: To successfully train a Jack Russell, we recommend that you take full leadership. Jack Russells have the tendency to assert themselves as the leader of the household, which can become extremely difficult to manage when wanting to train out unwanted behaviours such as digging and barking. 

"Be sure to establish that the “trainer” in your household is you, as your Jack Russell is more likely to listen, and less likely to take over once you assert dominance."

- Dr Jack Ayerbe 

Socialisation: Like all dog breeds, it is essential that they are socialised at a young age. By socialising your Jack Russell through introducing them to other dogs, animals, people and environments, you are more likely to have a well-rounded and well-behaved pup, as they are familiar with the unfamiliar. 

Whilst we highly recommend socialising your Jack Russell when they are a puppy, be sure to socialise any Jack Russell in your home if they were adopted as an adult.

Benefits of puppy school: A great way to not only socialise your Jack Russell, but also introduce them to basic commands is puppy school. We recommend enrolling your Jack Russell pup into puppy school as soon as possible to introduce them to new environments safely at a young age. You can find puppy school classes at a local veterinary practice, allowing you to socialise and train your puppy safely.

If you adopt a Jack Russell as an adult or from a shelter (which we always promote), they will still benefit from training and obedience classes, where they can socialise with other dogs and learn new commands.

Jack Russells are an extremely lively and energetic dog breed, meaning that they thrive through exercise. This breed needs consistent and frequent exercise, including at least one hour of daily exercise, along with at least 30 minutes of playtime each day. Whilst the exercise needs of each Jack Russell will vary depending on their temperament, this is a good baseline to follow to ensure your pup stays happy and healthy.

Regular walks: A great way to keep your Jack Russell active is through daily walks. This not only contributes to their daily exercise regime, but also allows them to familiarise themselves with environments outside the home.

As they are a small breed, we recommend splitting their hour daily walk time into two 30 minute walks a day. This allows your Jack Russell to rest in between exercise, and spreads out their daily activity to avoid overexhaustion. 

If you’re planning to take your Jack Russell to a dog park to play off leash, you need to ensure they are properly trained in recall, and appropriately socialised. With their hunting instincts, Jack Russells may stray from you, so be sure they know to come back when called. It is also vital that you don’t leave your Jack Russell unsupervised in public areas - always keep a watchful eye!

Providing your Jack Russell with a balanced diet is very important, especially when you have an extremely active dog. We recommend giving your pup two meals a day that have been evenly weighted to ensure they are receiving the right amount of food. We likewise recommend that these meals consist of high quality Jack Russell dog food that includes a source of protein to keep your Jack Russell healthy.

Feeding amount: The amount you feed your Jack Russell will depend on their activity level and age. More active dogs will need extra calories in their diet, whilst lazier dogs will need less. 

For Jack Russell puppies, we recommend feeding them around 285g of food per day split into two meals. For adult Jack Russells aged one to nine years, we recommend feeding them around 340g of food per day in two meal portions.

Hydration: As an active dog breed, it is essential that your pup has appropriate access to clean water. By providing them with fresh water every day in a dog bowl, your Jack Russell will stay hydrated and healthy throughout their active days.

Obesity Prevention: Many Jack Russells can be prone to excessive weight gain if their food intake and exercise regime is not closely monitored. An overweight or obese Jack Russell can lead to the enhancement of other health conditions such as arthritis and mobility conditions such as Legg-Calve-Perthes disease and patellar luxation.

To prevent obesity in your Jack Russell, be sure to follow daily exercise requirements through daily walks, along with feeding your pup the appropriate amount for their age and size. If you have a hungry Jack Russell, you can use a slow feeder bowl to help regulate their eating and slow them down at meal time.

Whether you already have a Jack Russell or you're thinking about getting one, we hope you learnt something by reading our article. Whilst this guide is great start to learning about Jack Russell ownership, never stop seeking out new information from reputable sources. Share your experiences with other Jack Russell owners, and always continue to learn more about your dogs breed, temperament and how best to care for and love them.

This article was written by Dr. Jack Ayerbe