Activities For American Bull-Jacks
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Prepare for unexpected vet bills
Introduction
Possessing just as much personality as either of their parents, the American Bull-Jack is a designer dog breed that is quickly earning a great reputation among pet parents the world over. This due, in equal measure, to the unique heritage of American Bull-Jacks (as you may have guessed, American Bull-Jacks result from mixing an American Bulldog with a Jack Russell Terrier) as well as their charming demeanor and willingness to try out all sorts of activities with their family members. That last fact will give you a lot of leeway in terms of planning out activities with your American Bull-Jack - so many to the point of potentially feeling overwhelming. So we've put together a list of activities to help get you and your dog moving in the right direction.
Agility Training
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Any Day
Moderate
Normal
1 - 2 hrs
Items needed
Chairs
Wood
PVC Pipe
Dog Treats
Activity description
American Bulldogs and Jack Russells especially can be wiry puppies, don't you think? Both breeds have tons of energy and love to jump, sprint, and dash all around the place whenever they get the chance. American Bull-Jacks are like that too, as these dogs will actually grow restless if they don't get a chance to blow off some steam every now and then. Enter agility training; it's the perfect way to not only help your dog use up a lot of their excess energy but to also help them control it. Agility training consists of all kinds of obstacles and trials, but your dog can learn to master them all with time and practice.
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What exactly is agility training?
Agility training is another one of those loose terms that tends to be given multiple definitions by various peoples. In short, agility training refers to any exercise or any number of exercises wherein your dog can increase their speed, stamina, or dexterity by completing them. Having a dog run up and down an object called an "A-frame" would be considered agility training because they'd be learning how to balance themselves better while doing it.
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How to get started
There are a few ways you can go about training your dog's agility; one way is to do it yourself and another would be to contact a professional agility trainer. If you'd like to do it yourself, then you'll need to get a bunch of items you can use as agility training obstacles; chairs, PVC pipe, and sturdy pieces of wood that can be used as makeshift ramps just to name a few. As for the professional route, it's less involved at home, but more expensive. Nevertheless, it can be worth the time and money to get your dog in touch with a top-notch trainer.
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Sticking with it
No matter which route you take, remember to stay consistent; if you're thinking about going the professional route but aren't 100% sure that you can commit to the weekly or possibly even daily class sessions, we'd suggest not going that route. If you go the DIY route, you'd have more control over when the training sessions would take place so we urge you not to miss a beat and get started. The fun thing about training your dog in agility is that you get to participate right on the front lines - many pet parents will traverse the obstacles right alongside their pup as a way to demonstrate and train.
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Hiking
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Any Day
Moderate
Normal
45 - 60 min
Items needed
Leash
first aid kit
Doggy Waste Pickup Bags
Backpacks
Food and Water
Activity description
American Bulldogs and Jack Russell Terriers are both pretty outdoorsy type dogs in their own right, so your American Bull-Jack will likely be found of the wilderness as well if they've inherited of their likes and dislikes from their Mom and Dad. If you notice that your dog is always itching to get outside whenever a door is left ajar or a window is slightly open, then consider helping them scratch that itch with a hiking trip. Hiking is a great activity because you can really make as hard or as easy as you like it to be and you'll likely have a host of nearby hiking trails to choose depending on where you live.
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What is hiking?
It might seem strange that we're taking some time to define the concept of hiking but the term gets thrown around so frequently, that it's become something of a loosely interpreted concept. So to clear the air, we'd like to define what our concept of hiking consists of; hiking refers to an activity where you walk for a long distance. Walking through an area with rugged terrain is more true to the connotative definition of the word, but you can technically go for a hike at the park or even through your city so long as you intend on walking for a long time.
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How to hike
The actual process of hiking is really simple, as all you're doing is walking for a long period of time. The part that requires a lot of thought and effort is the packing phase; you'll want to bring enough water and sources of nutrition to last throughout the entire hike. Remember to double the amount of supplies you bring as your dog will be hiking with you. Lastly, you'll want to use some sort of map (be it a physical or digital one) in order to plan out your route.
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Take a hike
And we mean it too, provided you've done all the prep work needed to ensure a successful hike. If you were going it alone or with other humans accompanying you, you really wouldn't have to think about much else at this point save for sticking to the trail. Since you'll be bringing your dog along for the hike, you'll need to make sure that they stay by your side throughout the entire trip. Bring a leash if you have to, but so long as you keep your dog from chasing after anything, you two should be good.
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Swimming
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Any Day
Cheap
Easy
30 - 45 min
Items needed
Dog Life Jacket
Goggles
Activity description
Bulldogs typically aren't renowned for their swimming ability - on the contrary, they tend to vehemently dislike the water and will do everything in their power to avoid it - one might expect the American Bull-Jack not to be a huge fan of swimming right? As it turns out, American Bull-Jacks are much more capable swimmers than their American Bulldog parents due to a few traits they've inherited from their Jack Russell Moms or Dads. As such, it's perfectly safe to play around in a pool with your dog so long as you keep your eyes on them and outfit them with a life jacket for good measure when you two first start swimming together.
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The basics
First and foremost, a number of dogs have webbed feet which help them naturally paddle through bodies of water easier than a human. American Bull-Jacks have similarly webbed paws but the factor that can potentially make swimming tougher for them stems from their snouts; if they have short snouts like a Bulldog's then they have to hold their heads up high when they swim, making the whole affair harder. This factor is alleviated entirely by equipping your dog with a life jacket, which is why recommended that as a must have.
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Shallow to steep
With the basics of this activity out of the way, you may feel that you and your dog are ready to dive in to the nearest pool you can find. And you definitely are to a degree but dogs, just like humans, need time to learn how to swim in both shallow and steep bodies of water. We recommend that you fight the urge to dive into the deep end of the pool right off the bat and instead stay in the shallow end for a few weeks gradually helping your dog get used to deeper and deeper water over time.
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More Fun Ideas...
Dock Diving
If you found out that your dog has a love for the high seas while the two of you were swimming together, then we suggest you try this unconventional activity out with your American Bull-Jack. Dock diving consists of pet parents coaxing their dogs to dive into the water from various heights and distances. There's a bit of a learning curve to this activity, but it's very fun and rewarding once you and your dog get the hang of it.
Backpacking
Backpacking is like the more hardcore older sibling of hiking who rides a motorcycle without a helmet. Simply put, backpacking is the harder version of hiking in which people walk through vast stretches of wilderness for days, weeks, and even months on end. This activity will certainly put your mental and physical strength to the test but we couldn't think of a better way to get more in touch with nature than backpacking.
Active Fetch
This activity is sure to help you and your dog work up quite a sweat when all is said and done. The idea behind active fetch is for you to get a workout in while your dog is chasing an item that you've just tossed away; push ups, sit ups, jumping jacks, planks, and other simple exercises can all be done in small sets while your puppy chases after a stick or ball that you've tossed a few yards away.
Conclusion
If you were on the fence about adopting an American Bull-Jack before reading this article, we certainly hope we've been able to convince you to bring one of these puppies home now that you've read through the whole guide. We went the extra mile to make sure that all of the activities we listed would contribute towards the goal of helping your dog become much more well rounded, but we'd like to encourage you to think of this guide more as a starting point as opposed to the be all end all of American Bull-Jack rearing. American Bull-Jacks are very curious dogs, so they'll approach any new activities that you introduce them to with an open mind.