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By Jack Beresford
Senior Reporter
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A bull terrier has earned the tag of "drama queen" from his owner thanks to his unique approach to games of fetch.
Freyja from Portsmouth in the U.K. told Newsweek how her dog Russell came into her family's lives in the most unusual of circumstances. "My husband was working with someone who said they could pay us in bull terrier puppies as a joke as they knew we had one," she said.
At this point, the family already had one bull terrier, now Russell's older brother Richard, but Freyja's husband was a sucker for a cute dog and said yes to taking another one on. "He messaged me with a picture of a circled puppy saying 'meet Russell,'" she said. "He is not allowed to talk to people with dogs anymore!"
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From those unusual beginnings, Russell has blossomed into a beloved family pet. That's not to say he doesn't have the occasional quirk, particularly when it comes to playing fetch.
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Playing ball games might be a great way of keeping a dog fit and healthy but it is also of significant benefit to the pet owners themselves. In 2019, a study published in the journal Applied Animal Behaviour Science highlighted the positive effect interacting with a dog has on both mood and anxiety levels.
As part of the research, a group of students were asked to either watch videos of a dog or interact directly with a canine. The measures collected before and after these interactions indicated that all participants experienced a reduction in anxiety and an improvement in mood.
Those who directly interacted with a dog were found to have experienced a greater reduction in anxiety and a more significant boost in mood. Although ball games may play out a little differently with Russell, they are certainly a source of entertainment and amusement to Freyja and her family.
"He wants to play fetch with the ball," she explained. "But he does not want to give you the ball." Instead, a clip posted to TikTok under the handle richard_the_bullterrier, revealed Russell's own unique approach.
"Russell loves chasing a ball, putting the ball under the sofa and crying about it," she said. The video of Russell putting the ball under the family couch and then complaining until it is taken out has racked up close to 130,000 views.
Freyja suspects it's all just "part of a game" to her bull terrier. "He puts it under, you get it out, he puts it under," she said. It's not restricted to just the couch either. "He does it under anything he can fit the ball under," she said. "The cabinets are also a favorite."
Each time, the "game" follows a familiar pattern. "He starts by pretending he is just playing and gets closer and closer to the couch," Freyja said. "Then it's almost like he has done it by accident but it's on purpose."
Freyja posted the video in the hope of finding answers about what her dog's antics mean or at the very least to take some comfort in knowing other pet owners are going through the same thing. "Anyone else's purposely put things under the sofa and then cry when nobody is getting them for them?" she asked on the clip.
As it turned out they were not alone. One fellow TikToker revealed they had the same thing with their dog and the ball, explaining "we get it for him and then he puts it straight back under the sofa."
Another confirmed their dog "knocks the ball under the tv unit every evening" with a third writing: "My Jack Russell does this all the time with his ball. Drives me mad."
Freyja has been heartened by the response to the clip. "I'm always interested to see if other people have the same experiences we are having with our dogs and if it is a breed trait," she said. "I've been surprised that particular breeds seem to have the same traits. Stafford bull terriers and French bulldogs seem to do this a lot, if the comments are anything to go by."
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
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