This is why Jack Russells can’t be allowed to “free hunt.”
Jake the Jack Russell went rabbiting near his home in Haverfordwest in Pembrokeshire, Wales. He disappeared down a rabbit warren, and he didn’t return. His owners looked for him, but no one thought he would actually be stuck in a rabbit warren. (European rabbits, unlike our cottontails, dig rather extensive burrow systems called warrens.)
With no food, Jake lost a bunch of weight. He lost four pounds underground, which was just enough to make him svelte enough to work his way out of the warren.
This is why no wild dog is as game as a Jack Russell. If a fox chased a rabbit that far down, it wouldn’t survive. It’s genes wouldn’t be passed onto the next generation.
However, we humans wanted a little dog with the gameness of the toughest hunting dog– one that would brave the depths of the wild beast dens without much hesitation.
I remember when Jack Russells first came to my part of the world. They superficially resemble the feists and rat terriers that most farmers and squirrel hunters kept. However, feists and rat terriers might go to ground occasionally, but they never go as far down as a Jack Russell.
That’s why Jack Russells can’t be allowed free run of a farm. Yes, they’ll kill the rats, but then they’ll go off on hunting trips. And it won’t be long before the dog disappears. And there is a good chance the dog will be stuck in a burrow somewhere. The chances of the dog having Jake’s luck are really slim to nothing.
does this mean that taking your jack russell over any kind of say gravel pits or fields is a risk of loosing it.
You must be very careful with small terriers that will hunt game. They can go down holes and never come back.