Food Portions for a Small Dog With a Huge Appetite for Life
Pack a Jack Russell Terrier's food in daily measured containers, because this small breed will work hard to persuade a sitter that training treats and meal portions are separate budgets. Label each day, include a modest reserve, and write the genuine treat allowance in plain sight. Add the usual bowl, ideally one that does not tip when an enthusiastic terrier eats at speed.
Note any feeding routine that manages excitement in your house, such as scattering part of a meal in grass for a calming sniff or using a puzzle feeder your Jack Russell already knows. A week with a sitter goes better when food doubles as occupation, so pack the feeder itself and explain how you fill it instead of assuming the sitter owns the same equipment.
Containment Gear: Harness, Long Line, and Gate Rules
Containment is the headline packing item for a Jack Russell Terrier staying anywhere new. Write in unmistakable language that a Jack Russell must never be off lead in an unfenced area, however friendly or obedient the dog seems at home.
Add a garden warning the sitter will actually read.
Energy-Burning Toys and Training Kit
Pack toys that can survive a Jack Russell Terrier's jaws and intensity. Choose the tough chew items, tug toys, and balls your dog already plays with, and skip anything flimsy that could be shredded and swallowed during an unsupervised moment. Add a digging outlet if your dog loves it, such as a note permitting a specific garden corner or a sand-filled box at the sitter's home with buried toys to find.
Write down the short training games that tire your Jack Russell's brain as reliably as a run does. Two or three brief sessions of practising known cues, searching for hidden treats, or playing controlled tug with a clear drop cue can transform the evening from wall-climbing to snoozing. Tell the sitter the cues exactly as you say them, because a terrier will exploit three different words for the same job as an excuse to freestyle.
Prey Drive, Other Animals, and Honest Warnings
A Jack Russell Terrier's sitter needs a frank paragraph about other animals. Explain your dog's behaviour around cats, small dogs, birds, and wildlife, and state plainly whether the sitter's own pets need separate spaces during the stay. Meals, high-value chews, and prized toys are common flashpoints for a possessive terrier, so note the management you use at home, such as feeding behind a door and picking up leftover chews.
Describe greetings with visitors too. Many Jack Russells are joyful, jumping greeters who can overwhelm small children, so give the sitter the routine you use: lead on, a toy to carry, and praise for four feet on the floor. Honest notes like these protect the sitter, their guests, and your dog's reputation as a welcome house guest.
Bedding, Contacts, and the Escape-Artist Checklist
Pack the bedding your Jack Russell Terrier actually sleeps on, ideally unwashed so it smells of home, plus a blanket for the sofa if that is allowed in the sitter's house. Add waste bags, a coat wipe for muddy terrier paws, and any coat your dog wears in cold rain.
Before you leave, walk the sitter through the bag and the two rules that matter most: secure first, entertain always. A tired, well-contained Jack Russell is delightful company for a week. Keeping the gate rules and exercise plan in KinsLe inside a Care Pass means the sitter can double-check the long-line rule at the garden gate instead of trusting memory.