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50 free Jack Russell Terrier trivia questions with answers — nature quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Jack Russell Terrier trivia quiz starts with the sporting parson of North Devon and Trump, the terrier he bought from an Oxford milkman in 1819, then follows the breed through the English White Terrier ancestry, the Fox Terrier Club, Heinemann's badger club, the Bull Terrier cross and the long fight over kennel-club recognition that produced the Parson Russell Terrier and a Ninth Circuit court case. The standard is covered too: heights, the 51 per cent white rule, broken coats, docked tails as handholds and the red fox that sets the size limit, plus health from skunk toxic shock and record lifespans to the TGM1 and KCNJ10 genes. Then the famous dogs: Nipper of HMV, Bothie at both Poles, George the New Zealand hero, Patron the Ukrainian bomb-sniffer, Dilyn, Chalky and his ales, Moose and Enzo as Eddie, Uggie's Palm Dog, Soccer of Wishbone, Sykes, K.K. Slider and Max. Questions run from easy to expert with the difficulty shown on each one, and every answer was checked against a reference page and carries its citation. If you enjoy it, try our Dogs and Frasier quizzes next.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01The Jack Russell Terrier is named after a hunting clergyman from which part of England?
North Devon
The Reverend John 'Jack' Russell was born in 1795 and hunted the same country for decades.
Q 02The Jack Russell can trace its origin to which now-extinct breed?
The English White Terrier
A mostly white dog was needed so hunters could tell it from the fox it was chasing.
Q 03In 1819, while still at Oxford, John Russell bought his foundation terrier from whom?
A local milkman
The white-and-tan female, Trump, was said to be 'such an animal as Russell had only seen in his dreams'.
Q 04What was the name of John Russell's foundation terrier bitch?
Trump
Her tan markings were limited to a patch over each eye and ear and a penny-sized dot at the tail root.
Q 05What did John Russell reportedly pride himself on regarding his terriers?
They never tasted blood
The dogs were meant to bolt the fox, not harm it, since ending the chase was considered unsporting.
Q 06How many terriers did John Russell have left when he died in 1883?
Four aged, non-breeding dogs
Financial troubles had forced him to sell his dogs more than once, so no living dog can be proved to descend from Trump.
Q 07John Russell was a founder member of which body, formed in 1875?
The Fox Terrier Club
Its standard was aspirational rather than a description of the dogs of the day.
Q 08Arthur Blake Heinemann wrote the first breed standard and in 1894 founded a club for what?
Badger digging
His club folded shortly before World War II, after his death in 1930.
Q 09Which breed's stock was likely introduced for badger work, creating the shorter-legged Jack Russell?
Bull Terrier
Digging for the larger quarry needed a different dog from fox hunting.
Q 10The Jack Russell Terrier Club of America was formed in 1976 by whom?
Ailsa Crawford
It kept an open registry, registered dogs at adulthood and ranked working ability above conformation.
Q 11Why does the JRTCA register Jack Russells at adulthood rather than at birth?
To ensure the breed's qualities remain, given the open registry
The club rejected AKC recognition to preserve working characteristics.
Q 12The UK Kennel Club recognised the breed in 1990 under what name?
Parson Jack Russell Terrier
'Jack' was dropped from the official name in 1999.
Q 13When the AKC admitted the breed in 2001, what happened to its name?
It became the Parson Russell Terrier
Q 21The Russell Terrier, sometimes called the English or Short Jack Russell, has what ideal height?
8 to 12 inches
The FCI standard for the Jack Russell lists this smaller size as a requirement, and the dog should be longer than tall.
Q 22Eddie Chapman said 99% of hunt terrier men would pick a worker of what height over a 14-inch one?
Under 12 inches
He has hunted the same Devon country as John Russell for more than 30 years.
Q 23How does a working Jack Russell behave once it has found its target underground?
It stays silent but expects continuous attention
The Jack Russell Terrier Club of America had opposed AKC recognition, fearing the loss of working traits.
Q 14Which body upheld the JRTCA's rule barring members from registering with the AKC in 2005?
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
The case was Jack Russell Terrier Network of Northern California v. American Kennel Club.
Q 15What is the JRTCA's bimonthly magazine called?
True Grit
The club also runs trials showcasing the breed's working abilities.
Q 16How tall is a Jack Russell Terrier at the withers under the working standard?
10 to 15 inches
The show cousin's standard is narrower, at 12 to 14 inches.
Q 17What proportion of a Jack Russell's coat must be white?
More than 51%
Markings may be black, brown or tan, on a smooth, rough or broken coat.
Q 18What is a 'broken' coat on a Jack Russell?
A combination of smooth and rough
A broken-coated dog may have longer hair on the tail or face than a smooth.
Q 19Historically, why was a Jack Russell's tail docked to about 10 cm?
To provide a handhold for gripping the terrier
The tail is set high, and the ears are small V-shapes carried forward.
Q 20The working Jack Russell must be small enough to pursue which traditional quarry?
The red fox
Red foxes average 13 to 17 lb with a chest of 12 to 14 inches, so the terrier must be built to match.
Groundhog, badger, otter and both red and grey fox are all on its list.
Q 24Because of its hunting work, the Jack Russell in the US is prone to which unusual condition?
Skunk toxic shock syndrome
It comes from being sprayed at close quarters while pursuing skunks.
Q 25A 2022 UK veterinary study found the Jack Russell had what life expectancy, the highest of any breed studied?
12 years 9 months
A 2024 UK study gave 13.3 years, though a 2024 Italian study found only 8.
Q 26A severe form of ichthyosis found in Jack Russell families is caused by a mutation in which gene?
TGM1
Primary lens luxation in the breed is tied to a different gene, ADAMTS17.
Q 27The inherited ataxia with myokymia in Jack Russells was traced in 2014 to which gene?
KCNJ10
It also affects the two closely related Russell breeds.
Q 28A UK study found the Jack Russell 6.91 times likelier than other breeds to contract which condition?
Steroid-responsive meningitis-arteritis
The breed is also prone to luxating kneecaps and Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease of the hip.
Q 29Legg-Calvé-Perthes syndrome, seen in Jack Russells, affects which joint?
The hip
The ball of the femur deteriorates after its blood supply is interrupted, usually between 6 and 12 months of age.
Q 30Nipper, the dog in the painting His Master's Voice, was thought to be what kind of dog?
A Jack Russell terrier type
Born in 1884, he still appears in the HMV logo.