Jack Russell Games

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A Jack Russell is an all-around active and intelligent breed of terrier, so it’s not unusual for them to enjoy playing games with their people. This post will outline the best games for JRTs, with lots of pictures and video clips of the dogs having a blast! These games are perfect for both families with small children as well as single pet owners.

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Some JRTs like to use their minds while others like to focus more on their physical coordination skills. Regardless of which type your pup is, finding the right game can help you bond in a fun way that also keeps your dog healthy and happy. The following games will help you to activate your dog’s brain while also keeping your dog happy and distracted.

My Favourite Jack Russell Games

Sniffing Games

My Jack Russells have all love to play ‘find it’ where you show the dog a treat (let him/her sniff it) then shut the dog out of the room and hide a treat somewhere. When the treat is hidden, and he has had a sniff so knows what he is looking for he will use his nose and start searching. My Jack Russells usually find the treat between 15 seconds and 3 minutes depending on how well hidden the treat is and how smelly the treat is! This is one of my favourite Jack Russell games as it’s fun for all the family to watch.

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If you want to take this a step further you can actually buy snuffle mats for dogs, which are rag mats that have lots of places to hide treats in – these work wonders when you go out and want to leave your dog something to do.

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Fetch

Most Jack Russells love to play fetch and tennis balls are the most popular choice. First you need to assess whether your JRT is interested in balls – some are, some aren’t, but you will see instantly when you get the ball moving if he loves it! Sometimes you can have a Jack Russell who loves to fetch the ball but won’t give it back!

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With Milo, we used to have two balls on the go on rotation, because he would bring and release the first ball when he saw the second one ready to throw! It helps them to spend their energy and is great fun for both the dogs and their owners. Depending on the size of your house (and whether you have breakables!)

you can also check out this article on Jack Russell toys to play games with.

Football

Yes it’s true, I’ve had two Jack Russells in my lifetime that were absolutely brilliant at football – Patch and Milo. Make sure that it is a sturdy football and that they are supervised with it. Then you can take them into the garden or to a safe enclosed field and have a kick around. They will get a lot of energy out when they chase it.

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Interactive Dog Puzzles

We love to use Nina Ottosson dog puzzles for our Jack Russells. Your dog has to learn how to twist and turn them to get to the treats. It stimulates them mentally and physically. These puzzles have different levels from 1 (easiest) to 3 (hard) and so you can start with the easy and when they have mastered that one increase the difficulty by progressing to the next level.

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You might also want to read: Why does my Jack Russell follow me everywhere?