| Country of origin: | Great Britain |
| Original breedingstandard: | 22
January
1990 - FCI breedingstandard no. 339 12 July 1991 |
Description of the Parson Russell Terrier
| Feature | Description |
| General Appearance | Workmanlike, active and agile: built for speed and endurance. Overall picture of balance and flexibility. Honourable scars permissible. |
| Characteristics | Essentially a working terrier with ability and conformation to go to ground and run with hounds. |
| Temperament | Bold and friendly. |
| Head and Skull | Flat, moderately broad. gradually narrowing to the eyes. Shallow stop. Length from nose to stop slightly shorter than from stop to occiput. Nose black. |
| Eyes | Almond shaped, fairly deep set, dark, keen expression. |
| Ears | Small, V-shaped, dropping forward, carried close to the head, tip of ear to reach corner of eye, fold not to appear above top of skull. Leather of moderate thickness. |
| Mouth | Jaws strong and muscular. Teeth with a perfect regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping the lower teeth and set square to the jaws. |
| Neck | Clean, muscular, of good length, gradually widening to the shoulders. |
| Forequarters | Shoulders long and sloping. well laid back, cleanly cut at the withers. Legs strong, must be straight with joints turning neither in nor out. Elbows close to body, working free of the sides. |
| Body | Ribs not over sprung. Chest of moderate depth not to come below point of elbow, capable of being spanned behind the shoulders by average size hands.. Back strong and straight. Loin slightly arched. Well balanced. Overall length slightly longer than height from the withers to ground. |
| Hindquarters | Strong, muscular with good angulation and bend of stifle. Hocks set low and rear pasterns parallel giving plenty of drive. |
| Feet | Compact with firm pads, turning neither in nor out |
| Tail | Undocked, Of moderate length and as straight as possible, giving a general balance to the dog, thick at the root and tapering towards the end. Moderately high set and carried well up on the move |
| Coat | Naturally harsh, close and dense, whether rough or smooth. Belly and undersides coated. Skin must be thick and loose. |
| Colour | Entirely white or predominately white with tan, lemon, or black markings, or any combination of these colours, preferably confined to the head and/or root of tail. |
| Size | Most importantly a working terrier should be capable of being spanned behind the shoulders by average sized hands Ideal height at withers: Dogs - 36cms (14"); Bitches - 33cms (13"). It is recognised that smaller terriers are required for work in certain areas and lower heights therefore quite acceptable provided that soundness and balance are maintained |
| Faults | Any departure from the foregoing should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree |
| Note | Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended in the scrotum. |