A while ago I wrote a piece for an equestrian magazine, titled, “Does Your Horse Like His Job?” You know, so many horses are asked to perform jobs they aren’t mentally able to do, even if their breed says they should be; a thoroughbred racehorse who would be happier as a trail horse, a mediocre stadium jumper who would rather be a cow horse.
The same can be true for dogs.
A friend adopted a Dalmatian because he wanted a running partner and discovered his new dog would rather be a couch potato. You could see the dog roll his eyes and sigh whenever my friend suggested they hit the trails.
When my own trail running partner, a Shiba Inu cross named Skylar, passed away, I adopted a border collie mix, thinking she’d want to hit the trails, too. After all, border collies are known as high energy dogs. But, Tipper let me know early on that trail running was not her thing.
