Dogs With Jas

Back by popular demand… 75-Hard Challenge: Dog Edition!

The standard version of this challenge is for humans, and involves following different rules for 75 days straight. This is the dog edition, intended to help you better your dog’s life and improve your relationship!

And what better time to start than January? Anyone need a New Year’s resolution? 👀 We did this last year, and it was SO much fun.

Feel free to tweak the numbers a bit to account for elderly dogs, injured dogs etc., but the goals are intended to be realistic and possible based on the quality of life that every dog should have.

If this seems like everything you already do, great! Join in and inspire all the other people in your life to see that it’s possible! And if it feels like a challenge, even better. This is intended to build habits across a long period of time in a sustainable way. 🫶🏼

Follow along by posting stories or reels/IG posts and tag me in them! I highly recommend condensing everything into a highlight with this post as the first slide so people can learn more when they click! I also have a template you can use to track yourself, which is already up on my page 🥰

At the end of the 75 days, we’ll see how many of you fulfilled all 75 days, and maybe there’ll be a little prize… 👀

Today is Day 1. It’s a little late to fulfill all the requirements, so as long as you choose to commit to the challenge, you’ve already fulfilled Day 1!

(And if you’re late to the party, no worries! Whatever day you choose to do this, that’s your Day 1!)

Ready for Day 2?

See you tomorrow 👀

There seems to be a common misconception that if a dog is “too much” work, then they just need to be trained.

Too energetic? Train them. Too playful? Train them. Too mischievous? Train them.

But that’s not necessarily true.

Training a dog can build the relationship between them and their owner, can make them more obedient, can help them navigate specific situations easier, but it does not inherently remove their need for basic care.

Yes, walking your dog at length (not just around the block once or twice) is basic care. Playing with your dog beyond repetitive fetch is basic care. Training with your dog even after they are obedient is basic care. Seeking out breed specific fulfillment activities is basic care.

You can train your dog to walk nicely on leash, but it won’t negate their need for going on walks.

You can train your dog to recall, but it won’t negate their need to run around off-leash.

You can train your dog to settle inside the home, but it won’t negate their need to go out.

Pulling on leash is something you can fix, a dog having energy is not. Running away is something you can fix, a dog wanting to run in the first place is not. Destroying the home is something you can fix, a dog needing alternative outlets is not.

See the difference?

While I love that training dogs has become much more mainstream—I’m a dog trainer, after all—at the same time it worries me that people are starting to see training as a panacea to every problem they have with their dog.

If your dog is too energetic, too excited, too playful, too destructive, too [insert trait here], sure, train them, but also make sure that YOU are providing the exercise and stimulation that should be given every single day.

Dogs are not inanimate objects you can tailor to fit exactly how you’d like them to be. Their care requires significant effort. And while training may make it easier or more enjoyable for you to provide their care, training does not take away their need for it in the first place.

TRUE. In my experience, at least…

How many dog owners do you know that swear up and down they LOVE owning a dog, but seem to find walking their dog an annoyance, playing with their dog boring or tiring, training to be reserved for curbing bad behavior?

If walking your dog is nothing more than a forced necessity, a chore to check off your list, then you probably don’t actually like owning a dog.

If training your dog is not something you would do unless you absolutely had to, then you probably don’t actually like owning a dog.

If you did not get your dog specifically with the intention of participating in activities with them, then you probably don’t actually like owning a dog.

If you do not ACTIVELY enjoy the effort and sacrifice required to give your dog their best life, then you do not actually like owning a dog.

In fact, the “sacrifices” should barely be considered sacrifices for how much you like to do them. They are to me. Walking my dog, driving him to the beach or on a hike, playing with him, training with him, etc. are not sacrifices to me. They are things I actively want to do.

If you COULD ethically never walk, play with, or train your dog ever again… would you stop? If so, you probably don’t actually like owning a dog.

Dogs cannot be separated from their needs and wants. You might love dogs, but that is different from loving OWNING a dog.

You would laugh if someone said, “I love mac and cheese, but I hate cheese and I hate noodles.” Or “I love surfing, but I hate swimming, getting wet, and sand.”

So why don’t we feel the same way when people say, “I love owning a dog, but I don’t like walking them, training them, and playing with them”?