Some books say that Jack Russell's are members of the Terrier breed and that Terrier comes from the Latin word Terra, which means Earth or ground. Well, that's not exactly right...

In the case of Jack Russel's, Terrier is derived from the word Terror, which means "really big troublemaker". Some people got mixed up and started calling us Terriers, but our correct breed name is Jack Russell Terrorists.

You should try to remember that if you want to get a dog like me. I'm always looking for a new adventure and a fun way to cause trouble. I don't like to just sit around and get petted. I also hate to be alone, trouble is much more fun when you or another dog joins in with me.

Speaking of other dogs though, if you have a dog and you think you want a JRT, make sure you have the kind of dog who won't mind being bothered and picked on constantly. I pick on my brother Pilot all the time. He's not crazy about it, but he's a JRT too, so he understands and lots of times he just starts playing with me.

Once there was a JRT who lived with a really nice Golden Retriever and a toddler...it didn't work out so great. Even though the Retriever was big enough to take care of herself, it really bummed her out to have her ankles bitten every time she tried to walk. It made her miserable actually. And even though the JRT really liked the little toddler, she kept knocking her over and hurting the baby when she play-bit her and the baby's Mom didn't like that at all. The JRT ended up having to find a new home, but it worked out okay - because the JRT was me and now I live with Pilot!

If you read some books about Jack Russell's you'll also find out that its not a great idea to have a JRT with a very small child. This is probably true. It's not that we don't like children, we just play way too rough. Some of us are also very possessive of toys and stuff (like my brother Pilot for example) and may bite a child who tries to pick up our toy.

Another thing we like to do is dig. I love to dig! I'm the fastest hole-digger ever! Even though our desert yard is like 110% rock, I can dig holes like nobody's business. They tell me that Pilot used to dig holes in his old backyard too - he used to dig up all the flowers and plants almost as soon as Mom could plant them. He used to get in trouble a lot.

I did better than that though - I almost dug a whole tree out of the ground after it was planted in our yard and it was really big! Then my dad put a little fence around it so I can't really get in there, what a party-pooper. My dad also puts these brick things all around the edge of the fence so we can't dig out of the yard.

We like to chase cats too, or anything that moves - like kids on rollerblades. We're never allowed to go outside without a leash because we just get so excited when we see something move that we just have to run after it and my mom and dad think we might get hit by a car or get lost or something. We do this because we are a hunting breed, that's just what we do and no matter what, you can't stop us from trying.

Pilot can jump really high too - he can jump six feet! He can jump over the fence and right out of the yard and I even saw him do it. My legs are short so I can't jump that high but if I could, I'd catch me some serious cat.

If you'd like to find out more about Jack Russell Terrorists like Pilot and me, please read some books about JRT's and also check out these websites first. Lots of people get a Jack Russell because we're so cute and then find out about the Terrorist part...then they don't want us anymore because we're too much trouble. So please be sure you are ready and really understand us before you take us home. Thanks!

MORE JACK RUSSELL SITES TO VISIT:

Jack Russell Terrier Association of America
The Jack Russell Terrier Club of America
The Jack Russell Terrier Web Ring - Links to lots and lots of JRT sites including associations, breeders and personal home pages about Jack Russells.

Search for more Jack Russell info on the web!

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