AKC RECOGNITION FOR THE JACK RUSSELL TERRIER

AKC recognition has been actively fought by the JRTCA for the past 20+ years. We understood the reasoning behind not wanting recognition. The club accepted dogs that were from 10-15" and varied in type. This was a great philosophy for us when founding our kennel. We used dogs of varying types and sizes to create the kennel we have today.

Let's compare the two registries briefly here and hopefully you will be able to see that this was not an easy decision to make and that both clubs offer a lot of activities for the breed. It is sad that they couldn't put aside their differences for the betterment of the breed. Which is why we were forced into a tough decision.

AKC acts as a record keeping service for breeders. AKC itself is not a club but they do allow breed clubs to be officials for each breed. When AKC first decided to recognize the Jack Russell it wasn't easy and they had a lot of work ahead of them.

The dogs were first grouped under the Foundation Stock Service. Since this breed wasn't recognized prior they had to establish foundation lines for them to build from. In order for the dogs to be accepted they must have 3 generations of registered dogs behind them (JRTCA, JRTBA, UKC were accepted at this time) If you were a JRTBA registered dog your dog was automatically rolled into the registry ( they maintained books with the hopes of recognition). If your dog was JRTCA and didn't have 3 generations of registered dogs behind it you had to do a lot of research to get in. The JRTCA didn't require dogs to be from registered parents in order to still be registerable themselves. This practice allowed a lot of blank numbers in pedigrees - AKC ruled that sibling numbers as acceptable. The dogs were in foundation stock were finally given full registration after all the paperwork was completed.

The JRTCA registration works a little different. The dogs can't be registered until they are 1 year of age. You must have 3 picture of the dog at different views (ie: right side, left side, front) The dogs must go through a physical at the vet. and the vet must sign those photos as well. You must provide a 4 generation pedigree, stud certificate along with the packet from the vet. Once the registrar reviews all the paperwork and views the photos of the dog she decides whether the dog gets registered or not. If the dog is worthy of registration he/she is assigned a number. If not, a letter is sent out expaining why and about the recording service. If the dog flunks his/her vet. form for health reasons they will not be registered. They can be recorded if they get spayed/neutered. ( see below)

Recording was designed so that dogs weren't left out of the club for missing paperwork, not meeting the breed standard, being altered, etc. Dogs that meet the breed standard, pass their physical and are missing the 4th generation in their pedigree may be recorded but do not require being spayed/neutered. Dogs that don't meet the breed standard should be spayed/neutered for the best interests of the breed. Once they are altered they can be recorded for a lower price with a photo of the dog. The AKC offers ILP numbers for dogs who were adopted from shelters/rescues or purebreds without 'papers'. In order for your dog to be eligible it has to have been spayed/neutered and a photo of the dog is required. With either club your dog is eligible for competition in agility, earthdog/go-to-ground, obedience. In the JRTCA they offer racing and spayed/neutered conformation classes as well.

All of our breeding stock was JRTCA registered for years we were active in the club showing up and down the east coast. We have been staunch supporters of the club and did rescue for the breed. We remember a time when you could be members of any and every organization out there for Jack Russells. That was a short lived window of time and the JRTCA became the only one you could participate in.

AKC has always been a big part of my family life. My mother showed dogs and I grew up travelling around the country with her, showing and finishing AKC breeds. It was a way of life!! So, it was only natural that I stayed active in showing and breeding. I thought my mother was going to drop over dead when I selected this NON AKC breed back in the late 80's!!!

I was around the horse show scene and saw the little crooked legged dogs there and was awe struck by a little dog named Kiwi !! She didn't look like the horsey dogs. She had long legs and was the COOLEST dog!

Hell bent on getting a dog like Kiwi - I got taken by a bad breeder (who was a JRTCA member!!) who sold me an Italian Greyhound/Jack Russell mix!!!! Otto (renamed Arnie) is about 13 years old now and spoiled rotten. What a bad start to this new breed! Then throught networking I found a puppy miller who was going south and wanted to put all of his dogs to sleep (HORRIFIED ME) so I ended up saving 20+ dogs lives in the summer of '90! Through various contacts I was able to help get these dogs the good homes they deserved. It was a sad sight - some dogs were blind and crippled. All the longhaired breeds had to be shaved and it took hours to get them cleaned up (they were also infested with fleas). This is one of the saddest sights I ever saw. I was used to seeing dogs treated as family and not as livestock. They say that something good comes out of something bad well, one good thing is my little pud' Bailey. He was amongst the 20+ different breeds (mostly AKC/mixed breeds). This man owned a pet shop and was breeding dogs to supply the pet shop.

So, there are bad breeders on both levels (AKC + JRTCA) !! Thank god for the grapevine of people out there or these dogs would have never lived! The background on the dogs he bred came from Amish puppy mills (see links on other pages)

So, when you read my page and see links to puppy mills you'll understand my passion is deep-rooted. After all the time I spent trying to get these dogs home and I know that I didn't make a dent in the puppy mill population! The pet shop is still in business and sells a ton of dogs to this area. Sad......

When AKC first started the bandwagon for the JR's we didn't jump ship until we went to the Nationals and heard one of the top board members make a speech that Jack Russells that went AKC would not be considered Jack Russells!!!! HOWEVER they would register dogs that came from the AMISH without question!!! Sickened, I came home and registered all of my dogs with the AKC. Most of the Amish pedigrees are questionable at best. So, this is one of the many reasons I felt that recognition would be best for my kennel. Preservation of the breed is foremost to me and if this is the only way that I can do it - so be it.

Both clubs offer a lot and I urge everyone to do their own thinking on this subject. Don't take just my word - DO RESEARCH!!

The AKC also offers limited registration for puppies. As a breeder if I determine that the dog isn't breeding quality I can check a box for limited. If you were to breed the dog the puppies would be ineligible for registration. This has a strong appeal to me after seeing first hand the fate of the puppy mill dogs.

Through education and time I hope the world changes their view on animals. I have my doubts but to lay blame on any club or registry is WRONG. It is the breeders who make the puppies not the clubs/registries. Until breeders become responsible the numbers of dogs euthanized will continue to climb.