The Jack Russell Terrier Club
Established 2016
INFORMATION ON SPANNING THE JACK RUSSELL TERRIER
The importance of spanning is always part of our Breed Club Judges' Seminar Presentations
Why Span the Jack Russell Terrier when judging?
'Spanning' is a hands on procedure done in order to assess the shape, size, and elasticity of the ribcage. It is a traditional method used to guage if a Terrier is likely to be capable of 'going to ground' and if its ribcage has enough 'give' and flexibility as well as an ideal size and shape
If the dog cannot be spanned easily by an average man's hands, in theory it will be much more difficult or even impossible for the dog to do the job for which it is bred
Consider that the “average man’s hands” is an average and, in general, women have smaller hands so may have to make allowances for size when spanning a Terrier
The information below gives a detailed insight into the breed standard requirements and how to understand the spanning process in order to assess the required characteristics
EXTRACTS FROM THE BREED CLUB SEMINAR HANDOUT 2019
presented by Rita Francis-Little
GUIDE TO SPANNING THE JACK RUSSELL TERRIER
reproduced with kind permission of the writer Liz McKinney with whom copyright is retained
This article also relates to the Parson Russell Terrier as reflected in some of the illustrations
The information will help you guage the spanning capacity of your own hands against that which is required to assess dogs against the breed standard
