The people behind the project

This project started among a few JRT breeders. We noticed that we shared the concern about where the breed is going. As our views on ethics and the cornerstones of sound breeding also seemed to be similar, the project started to look possible.

The breeders are: Kennel Deictic Tuire Kaimio Kennel Kesänkeijun Kati Huttunen Kennel Kisentel's Nora Ervasti Kennel Mighty Mischiefer Sini Kalliokoski Kennel Payingold Minna Tallberg Kennel Pikku-Rumpalin Laura Huikko Kennel Roverrandom Maija Vilppo Kennel Tallihiiren Milla Lind and Essi Sinikorpi Kennel WW Yangoviper's Tuija Rautakorpi-Visakoivu and Ville-Vesa Visakoivu

The project email (shown as an image to avoid spam):

Later other breeders and dog owners have joined the project, offering great homes to the project puppies and at the same time agreeing to provide data on the dog's life for research purposes.

Among us are several people who serve or have served on the board of the breed club and in other capacities (among others the President, Secretary, President and members of the Breeding Committee), three persons who've attended the Finnish Kennel Club's basic course for Breeding Advisors, an expert in dog behaviour and training, experts in dog physiotherapy and muscle therapy etc.

Still it didn't take us long to come to the conclusion that in a project of this longevity and magnitude we need all possible help. Fortunately help has been available and on the whole our project has been received very positively. In particular it's been surprising to notice how breeders in other breeds have received this novelty. They've been enthusiastic about the project as many of them wrestle with similar problems in their own breed.

We've benefited enormously from the expertise of Katariina Mäki from The Finnish Society for Canine Genetic Health and Ethics (HETI ry). She is a member of the breeding committee of the Finnish Kennel Club and holds a PhD on animal breeding (her dissertation was "Breeding Against Hip and Elbow Dysplasia in Dogs" and agreed to be the project's "godmother" from the start. With her help we've planned the founding population, the different breeding groups and the future rotational mating system. She has also been invaluable in determining what data should be collected and in which form that data should be saved.

We'd also like to especially thank the following people for their advice: Kirsi Sainio (Institute of Biomedicine Biochemistry and Developmental Biology, Helsinki University and Vice President of the Finnish Terrier association), the canine gene research expert Hannes Lohi (Biomedicum Helsinki, www.koirangeenit.fi) and all the breed judges that have helped us. Especially Päivi Eerola has been of great help in clarifying the details of a functional conformation in the breed and how to preserve it. Angela McKenzie? http://www.cumbreckjackrussells.com has been of great help as well.

Everyone is welcome to help with the project, we'll definitely find a way. If you're interested, contact us. We'll be happy to answer any questions.

Many of us have committed to the project for several years but you can also only breed only one litter. Even though we're happy to limit our independent breeding decisions when it comes to the project litters, we can still all breed litters outside the project if we want. We've still all decided to adhere to the common breeding principles in all our breeding.