Working
Terriers
| Their Size, Sex
and Quarry |
The
table below, was assembled to give people an idea of
the size of terrier needed to work American quarry,
and to highlight the names of some of the kennels
where small working dogs are repeatedly found.
This list of 100 American working
terriers represents a formidable amount of time spent
in the field. All of these dogs have proven their
mettle by working at least two kinds of quarry
underground before a working judge in the field, and
most have worked at least three kinds of quarry in
the ground.
Dogs were added to this 100-dog list as
records were found, and only if their height
and sex were known. Height is, of course, an
imperfect measure of a dog's chest size. It is chest
size -- not height -- that determines how easily a
dog can go to earth.
That said, while a short dog may have a
very large chest in proportion to its height, it is
very difficult for a very tall dog to have a very,
very small chest. A general "rule of thumb"
when selecting terriers from working stock is that
the dog is likely to have a chest span approximately
two inches greater than its height at the shoulders, provided
the terrier is in working condition, i.e. not
fat.
Of the 100 dogs below, 58 are female and
42 are male. Where specific quarry is noted, 61 dogs
had worked groundhog, 49 had worked raccoon, 32 had
worked red fox, 29 had worked opossum, and 8 had
worked grey fox. One bobcat, found in a rock den, was
also worked.
Dogs that are listed as
"BRONZE" in the first quarry slot
(groundhog) are dogs that have been awarded the "Bronze Medallion
for Special Merit in the Field" by the Jack
Russell Terrier Club of America (JRTCA) but for which
the specific quarry worked is not known. Almost
all the dogs listed here are, in fact, Bronze
Medallion dogs.
All
but one or two of the dogs below are JRTCA or JRTCC
(Jack Russell Terrier Club of Canada) registered
dogs. The JRTCA and JRTCC are the only registries
that record the size of all the adult dogs they
register, that register only adult dogs on the basis
of individual merit and after a vet check, and that
award their highest honors only to dogs that have
worked multiple times to various quarry in the hunt
field before a certified working terrier judge.
Underneath the table of dog heights, you
will find a table listing the chest size of various
types of common American quarry. As you can see,
small dogs are generally necessary to work all common
quarry, from red and gray fox, to groundhog and
raccoon.
The average size of the 100 working
terriers listed below is just under 12 inches tall,
and the average size of all 340 working terriers
counted to date is just over 12.25 inches tall. Small
size appears to be little or no obstacle to working
formidable quarry. The dogs under 11.5 inches tall on
this list are the ones most likely to work red
fox, grey fox and raccoon.
A Table of 100 Working Dogs
Name of Dog
|
Height
in inches
|
Sex
|
Groundhog
|
Possum
|
Raccoon
|
Red Fox
|
Gray Fox
|
Other
|
Beano
of Ravenswood
|
12.5
|
M
|
BRONZE
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Blencathra Sarah of Corn
Row |
11.75 |
|
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
|
Bowery
Tuppence
|
11.5
|
F
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
|
Brandywine
Pilot
|
13.5
|
M |
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
|
Briarpatch
Hasty
|
12.5
|
F
|
BRONZE
|
|
|
|
|
|
Briarpatch
Jake
|
12.5
|
M
|
X |
|
X |
X |
|
|
Briarpatch
Molly of Falling Branch
|
12.5
|
F
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
X
|
|
Button
Top Willie of Harts Farm
|
11.5
|
M
|
BRONZE
|
|
|
|
|
|
Camelot
Derby
|
12.75
|
M
|
BRONZE
|
|
|
|
|
|
Conquest
Custard
|
11.75
|
F
|
BRONZE
|
|
|
|
|
|
Conquest
Keno
|
12
|
M
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
|
| Conques Tansy |
10.5 |
F |
X |
X |
X |
|
|
|
Corn
Row Tyler
|
13
|
M
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
Cornrow
Miki
|
12
|
F
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
|
| Crackerjack Dilemma |
12.75 |
F |
BRONZE |
|
|
|
|
|
| Dixie of Black Creek |
11.25 |
F |
X |
|
X |
|
|
|
| Ercie of
Black Creek |
10.25 |
F |
X |
X |
X |
|
|
|
Falling
Branch Spade
|
12
|
F
|
X
|
|
|
X
|
X |
|
Falling
Branch Celia
|
12
|
F
|
X
|
X |
X |
|
|
|
Falling
Branch David
|
13.5
|
M
|
X
|
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
Falling
Branch Dixie
|
12
|
F
|
X
|
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
Falling
Branch Ella
|
13 |
F
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
|
Falling
Branch Patch
|
12.25
|
F
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
|
Falling
Branch Polo
|
12.75
|
M
|
X
|
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
Falling
Branch Seth
|
12.25
|
M
|
X
|
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
Fox
Island Holiday
|
12.5
|
F
|
BRONZE
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fox
Run Ducky
|
11.75
|
F
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
Fox
Run Rivet
|
11.75
|
M
|
BRONZE
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fox
Run Rosie of Brandywine
|
12.75
|
F
|
BRONZE
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fox
Run Shocker
|
13.25
|
M
|
BRONZE
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fox
Run Sly
|
13.25
|
F
|
BRONZE
|
|
|
|
|
|
Foxfield
Elfin
|
12.5
|
F
|
X
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
Foxnorton
Hooker of Meadowlake
|
12.75
|
M
|
BRONZE
|
|
|
|
|
|
Foxport
Laser of Little Eden
|
11.5
|
F
|
BRONZE
|
|
|
|
|
|
Golden
Hills Rush
|
12.75
|
M
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
Green
Acres Nugget
|
13.5
|
F
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
|
Hart
Farm Isaac
|
12.25
|
M
|
BRONZE
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hart
Farm Olliemay
|
12
|
F
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
|
Harts
Farm Splash
|
13
|
F
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
|
Hills
Dale Bonnie Doon of Gangster
|
11.5
|
F
|
X
|
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
Hills
Dale Eliza
|
13.5
|
F
|
X
|
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
Hills
Dale Key
|
11.75
|
F
|
X
|
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
Hills
Dale Legend
|
12.75
|
M
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
Hills
Dale Who
|
10.75
|
F
|
X
|
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
Hot
Pursuit Bertha
|
10.25
|
F
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
Hudson
of Little Eden
|
13.5
|
M
|
BRONZE
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hudson
of Little Eden
|
13.5
|
M
|
BRONZE
|
|
|
|
|
|
J-Bird's
JJ (Sailor)
|
11
|
F
|
X
|
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
Ka-Cee
Ginger of Hot Pursuit
|
12
|
F
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
|
|
Ka-Cee
Boon
|
11.5
|
M
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
|
Little
Eden Bagpiper
|
13.5
|
F
|
BRONZE
|
|
|
|
|
|
Little
Eden Bazooka
|
12.5
|
M
|
BRONZE
|
|
|
|
|
|
Little
Eden Cheeky
|
13.5
|
F
|
X
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
Little
Eden Reveille
|
11.75
|
F
|
X
|
|
X
|
|
|
|
Little
Eden Thriller
|
12.75
|
F
|
BRONZE
|
|
|
|
|
|
Little
Eden Tremor
|
13
|
M
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
|
Maven's
Tailor of Briarpatch
|
13.5
|
M
|
X
|
|
X
|
|
X
|
|
Maven's
Trish
|
12
|
F
|
BRONZE
|
|
|
|
|
|
Meynell
Radar of Ravenwood
|
13
|
M
|
BRONZE
|
|
|
|
|
|
Meynell
Rasputin Cornrow
|
12
|
M
|
X
|
|
X
|
|
|
|
Meynell
Thimble
|
13
|
F
|
X
|
|
X
|
|
|
|
Meynell
Triple
|
13
|
M
|
X
|
X |
X
|
X
|
|
|
Natural
Instinct Dollie
|
10.25
|
F
|
BRONZE
|
|
|
|
|
|
Natural
Instinct Micro
|
12
|
M
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
|
North
Country Pistol
|
12.5
|
M
|
X
|
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
Panther
Creek Lucy
|
12.5
|
F
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
|
Pleasant
Valley Pistol
|
12.5
|
M
|
X
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
Rainbow
Pride Rip
|
13
|
M
|
BRONZE
|
|
|
|
|
|
Riverview
Flare of Fox Run
|
13
|
M
|
X
|
|
X |
X |
|
|
Round
the Bend Quest of Little Eden
|
12.75
|
F
|
BRONZE
|
|
|
|
|
|
Skytop
Charisma
|
13
|
M
|
X
|
X
|
|
X
|
|
|
Sow's
Ear Solitaire
|
13
|
F
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
Sows
Ear Taltos
|
12.25
|
M
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
|
|
Sows
Ear White Riot
|
12.5
|
F
|
X
|
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
Stitch
Jones
|
12.75
|
F
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
|
|
Suenami
|
12
|
F
|
BRONZE
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tarascon
Bailey
|
12.5
|
F
|
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
Teeka
of Hills Dale
|
11.75
|
F
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
Tek
of Windermere
|
11.5
|
M
|
BRONZE
|
|
|
|
|
|
The
Hollow Blaze
|
11.75
|
F
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
|
The
Hollow Klondike
|
13
|
M
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
|
The
Hollow Natasha
|
12.25
|
F
|
X |
|
X |
X |
|
|
Thistledown
Roc
|
13.5
|
M
|
X
|
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
Troon
Quarry Abel
|
13.5
|
M
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
|
Vagabond
Voodoo
|
13
|
M
|
BRONZE
|
|
|
|
|
|
Wills
View Pip
|
11.5
|
F
|
X
|
|
|
|
X
|
|
Wills
View Rip
|
10
|
M
|
X
|
|
X
|
|
X
|
|
Wills
View Robber
|
10
|
M
|
X
|
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
Wills
View Ruff
|
10.5
|
M
|
X
|
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
Bobcat
|
Wills
View Scrap
|
10
|
M
|
X
|
|
|
|
X
|
|
Wills
View Small Fry
|
10
|
F
|
X
|
|
X
|
|
X
|
|
Windermere
Absolut
|
12.25
|
M
|
X
|
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
Windermere
Popcorn
|
13
|
F
|
X
|
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
Windermere
Solo
|
12.75
|
M
|
BRONZE
|
|
|
|
|
|
Windermere
Spice
|
12.25
|
F
|
X
|
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
Windermere
Titan
|
12.75
|
M
|
X
|
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
Windermere
Wasp
|
11
|
F
|
BRONZE
|
|
|
|
|
|
Windermere
Wendy
|
13
|
F
|
BRONZE
|
|
|
|
|
|
Windsong
Tracy
|
11.75
|
F
|
BRONZE
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Wynnewood Bentley |
11.85 |
M |
X |
X |
|
X |
|
|
Chest Size of American Working Terrier Quarry
Quarry
|
Average Chest Size
|
Smallest Chest Size
|
Number Measured
|
| Groundhog |
14 inches
|
12 inches
|
65
|
Red Fox
|
13 inches
|
11.5 inches
|
6
|
Gray Fox
|
12.5 inches
|
10.5 inches
|
10
|
Raccoon
|
14.5 inches
|
11 inches
|
30
|
Measurement
from Ken James' book:
Working Jack Russell Terriers
in North America: A Hunter's Story
|