This breed is both an old and a new breed. The breed goes back to the 1600's where huntsmen in the British Isles used the solid colored dogs to go to ground and ferret out pray.
Through time and in different geographical areas of the British Isles, they have been known by names such as the Old English Black and Tan Terrier, the Irish Black and Tan Terrier and the Black and Tan Jack Russell. Today they're known as Black and Tan Jacks in Ireland and Hunt Terriers in the U.S.
During the 20th century the Black and Tan Jack breed neared extinction. Due in part to selective breeding and the process of evolution, the Jack's color was nearly bred out of the coats in favor of the white-coated Russell Terrier breed. The Russell Terrier's linage has been traced back to the Black and Tan Jacks lineage by dedicated people with the purpose and goal of getting the Russell Terrier recognized as a distinct breed. The AKC and UKC require linage authentication for the registration processes. This research has proven that the Black and Tan Jacks / Hunt Terriers are the ancestors of the Russell Terrier who are recognized by the AKC.
Yet another reason they were in jeopardy of extinction is the fact that sporting dogs saw a decline in population due to the lack of a need for hunting dogs. A small number of farms in Ireland and England valued the Jacks and continued to breed the old lines. In the 1970's a few American breeders started to develop an interest and brought the Black and Tan Jacks to the United States. All this helped to stave off the threat of this breed vanishing. |