Biking with your dog
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| I am looking for some ideas on this too. |
I think Valerie uses one with Maggie.  |
| When you say biking with your dog, do you mean having the dog on leash along side of you while you are riding your bike?
Picture this: One evening, before I got Maggie, I left the house with Barney on his leash to take a walk. Coming down the street was a young boy riding his bike while holding his dogs leash in one hand as the dog was running along side him. As they approach his dog could not see Barney because of a Blue Spruce at the curb. As Barney came into the dogs sight, it lunged at Barney. Boy went with dog, bike didn't. It wasn't pretty. Fortuately only the boys pride was hurt, along with a few skinned up knees. Be sure you have a perfectly trained dog if this is what you have in mind. |
| Bike + Leashed/Tethered dog = Trouble |
| I've seen some really cool looking harnesses and I've wondered if they are any good. I liked the look of one that had a bar that went over the top of the dog's shoulders (not in contact). Perhaps one like that could reduce the chance of a problem.
I wonder about doing this with an OES though -- do they have the stamina for a large amount of running? |
| Having tried it both with and without the attachment, I believe that the contraptions are much safer than trying to hold onto a dog's leash while keeping your bike balanced and steering. If you hold the leash, you better have a very highly trained dog that will never run in front of your wheels or pull off after something. The attachments enable you to keep your hands on the handles, keep the dog positioned next to you, and they also absorb the shock of any stray pulling. Either way, you need to be very comfortable on a bike. And you must make sure never to pull/drag the dog behind you, be careful of the surfaces (don't want asphalt to burn paws) and provide water/potty breaks. Maggie and I had alot of fun with it in Philly where we didn't have the options we have here for her to run offleash. Even with the attachment, she needed to learn commands like slow down and pass because her instincts to run fast were not always sensitive to the moms and baby strollers around us. |
Ron wrote: I wonder about doing this with an OES though -- do they have the stamina for a large amount of running?
You are assuming we have the stamina for a large amount of biking! |
| I have not tried this with Bella or our previous sheepdog Sydney. I did ride quite a bit with the dalmation that I had and it was the only way I could ever get him tired out. I used a long leash and had him at a heel. We did have a few mishaps at first but nothing major. It can be done and it can be enjoyable but there is a learning curve for both the rider and the dog. Knowing when the dog wants to stop and squat fro example.
The only advice that I have is to have "heel" down really solid before you start with the bike. |
| Oh yeah! Pogo and I go twice a day on the bicycle. I had trained my Huskie to run beside me and my sheepie watched us and learned how.
I never had to train him to do it. We go about a mile in the morning and anywhere from a mile to 2.25 miles in the evening. In areas where there are no cars I let him run off-leash, otherwise I hold the leash in my left hand off of the handlebars and stear with my right hand. If a neighborhood dog chases us (common) we ignore it as the loose dog usually can't keep up with us. My sheepie runs two blocks at an average speed of 16 mph (yes, I have a speedometer on my bike). When he is off leash, I cannot pedal fast enough to keep up with him! (that's over 21 mph). My sheepie has long legs and LOVES to run. I've even taken him on mountain biking trails at the lake up to 6 miles (the weather conditions have to be cool enough). I've jogged distances up to 9 miles and he's gone with me. I've talked to my Vet and he says as long as the dog's tongue is not hanging out to the side and he's willing to go, he's fine. Mine is conditioned for it as we go EVERY day. I would start out slow and build up to it if your dog is not already in condition. They say a happy dog is a tired dog. My dog paces the house until I take him. If the bike is out, he barks at it until we go. If it's winter and I set it up in the house on a stationary trainer, he still barks at it cause he thinks he's gonna go (quite funny...) I have never taken a spill with him as if a dog charges us or runs in front of my bike I just let loose of the leash, my dog will come when called and does not run away. Just make sure that when you hold the leash, hold it so that you can easily release it, don't wrap it around your wrist causing you to be pulled down or over if something happens. Make sure the leash is short so that he runs beside you, not long enough so that he could run in front of the bike. I would suggest doing this on a Mt. Bike and adjust the seat so that you can easily get on and off of it. I realize this is not for everybody, but it works great for me and my dogs. |
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