How Fast Can a Jack Russell Run?

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

As a dog owner, one of the best ways to exercise your dog is to go jogging or running with it. If your dog keeps up or outruns you, you become curious about how fast they can run. This is the case with most JRT owners as they are often left wondering, how fast can a Jack Russell run?

How Fast Can a Jack Russell Run?

A Jack Russell can run at a speed of 30 miles per hour. However, because of how quickly it can accelerate, you can think it runs faster than this. One of the major contributors to how fast it is, is its size, add that to its weight, and you have a dog that can outrun most dogs.

Dog running in the field

They do not sprint. They tend to accelerate and then slow down before picking up some speed. This is because of their history as hunting dogs chasing prey until they caught up with it. The 30 miles an hour is still impressive, making it one of the fastest hounds there is.

Tips on Training Your Jack Russell To Run Faster

If you are not content with the speed your canine is running at, the following are tips you can use to increase its speed.

Keep Training Sessions Short

When you begin training, you may be tempted to continue for as long as you can. However, you should start on specific skills and not long sequences. This is because a short time will allow you to reinforce their behavior and prevent them from obsessing over the mistakes they make.

It will also give ample time to practice the skill you are teaching and improve it. Long training may confuse your doggo and make it forget what you had taught it at the beginning of the training session.

Start Early

In the same way, it is emphasized to start teaching children early; it is better to start training your dog early. If it starts learning from a young age, it already knows all the tricks and what is expected of them by the time it is older.

It is better to pair it up with positive reinforcement when you are teaching them. If you are giving it treats, as it continues to grasp the content, reduce the treats to a point where they can do what you taught without you having to reinforce their behavior. Do this for everything you teach them.

Dog running to chase the ball at the seaside

Resist “Cheerleading”

When your hound is running at a great speed and wants to keep it going, you may want to keep cheering it until it finishes. However, this is not good practice as it may tune out the vocal training of the trainers and turn its focus to you. When you are not cheering it on, it may refuse to run.

Verbal encouragement should be done before or after it runs. This way, it is not distracted, and they can get to focus on the training. On the other hand, you can take this time to notice a few things about how your JRT is running and relay them to the trainer.

Use a Motivator

With the right motivation, you can get your mutt to do just about anything that you want it to. You also want your dog to be aware, so it does anything to impress you. They are big on impressing their owners, so this will be an easy task. You can bring their:

If you or the trainer have something it wants, it will get the doggo to do just about anything. It knows that it will get whatever you have for them if it does well. It is also forming a bond with your mutt. It will think that you brought something that it loves, so it has to work extra hard to reward you for your efforts.

Related Questions

Similar questions you may have are answered below.

What Is Limiting My Jack Russell’s Speed?

Your doggo’s speed is limited because of short legs or a short stubby nose. Dogs with longer legs are known to run faster. A short stubby nose limits the amount of oxygen your hound gets when it is running. If the oxygen supply is low, it will run at a pace where the oxygen is sufficient.

JRT chasing his toy at the lawn

Are Jack Russells Faster Than Humans?

This breed is faster than most humans; however, if I compare it to a human who is at the peak, for example, an athlete, there might be a chance that the human is faster than the average JRT.

Conclusion

This breed is one of the fastest dogs. Their speed puts them among the top 10 fastest canine breeds. If you are training your Jack Russell to be faster, it would be a great idea to train alongside it. That way, you can bond over running, and you can always chase after it.