Cycling with My Dog.. Any Advice??

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  • MelsAuntie
    MelsAuntie Posts: 2,833 Member
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    It's possible if you have a two-seater, but try to match the dog's rythmn and don't let him steer.
  • roughneckswife
    roughneckswife Posts: 341 Member
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    Dogs will do anything to please us, please be careful and know his limits! They won't stop when they are tired, because they want to be with you!!
    If you go for a short ride, make sure you have plenty of water for him and the pavement isn't to hot! Have you seen the pics of a dog with his paws burned from running? Makes me sad!

    Apparently you haven't met my lab. He is more than willing to let me know when he is done running with me, usually around 4k. :laugh:
    I have 2 labs and they never give up!
  • lenkearney
    lenkearney Posts: 116 Member
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    I did it with a mix breed dog and ended up in a cast with crutches and found out after the cast was off I ripped my acl in half and tore the cartilage in my knee; just because the dog wanted to chase a squirrel; and it wasn't the first time we went out it was the 3rd time.

    Similar experience, thought not as traumatic to me. Dog go spooked by a motorcycle and run right under my wheels. No serious damage to either of us.

    My advice Is do not do it if you need to tether the dog to the bike.
  • froeschli
    froeschli Posts: 1,292 Member
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    when i used to cycle with my shepherd/collie mix, we had one of these:
    (talking about the 'hook' where the leash is attached)
    11822211-springer-dog-exerciser.jpg
    http://www.springeramerica.com/

    you get plastic rings that break when the dog suddenly stops - so neither you nor the dog are hurt.

    BUT, check with the vet first, and then go slowly, look at doggie c25k to get an idea about progression.

    my shepherd now is too old to run or cycle with, and when he was younger he wasn't well enough behaved. he loves to fetch though, so that's what we do, just put a rope though the end of a kong, and it's much easier to throw farther.
  • bumblebums
    bumblebums Posts: 2,181 Member
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    Dogs will do anything to please us, please be careful and know his limits! They won't stop when they are tired, because they want to be with you!!
    If you go for a short ride, make sure you have plenty of water for him and the pavement isn't to hot! Have you seen the pics of a dog with his paws burned from running? Makes me sad!

    Apparently you haven't met my lab. He is more than willing to let me know when he is done running with me, usually around 4k. :laugh:
    I have 2 labs and they never give up!

    Hahaha, my lab gives up after half a block of walking sometimes. When I tried to get her to run with me, it was all "yippee, we're running!" for about 100 m and then she went limp and feigned a limp to get out of the exercise. (The limp magically goes away when we turn in the direction of home.)

    So yeah, there's labs and then there's labs.
  • algebravoodoo
    algebravoodoo Posts: 776 Member
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    I did not take time to read all the posts so someone may have said this already...

    Having seen far too many dogs being literally dragged by their master when cycling, I'd first say please don't, but when I see things like the post above mine, I think you must be more caring than other masters :) That springeramerica.com leash is the coolest thing I've seen!

    The other cyclist were going way too fast for the poor dog to keep up, changing direction, and weaving through the pedestrian traffic. So many times I wished I carried a large pair of snippers in my bag to cut the poor thing free! My only objection to it is when unloving, inconsiderate or just plain ignorant people are involved.
  • poohpoohpeapod
    poohpoohpeapod Posts: 776 Member
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    It is called lunging and used for horses. It is mind numbing for the animal. Show dogs excercise like any other animal I have a 25,000 GSD that runs at the dog park. The hot walker you show is also a form of abuse. Would YOU like to walk in a circle for 2 hrs? Think people.

    I'm the one who posted the lunging.

    So you would prefer a dog park, no discipline, random interactions with who-knows what animals with who-knows what diseases or temperament? Sounds like injury and illness combined with no learning experience at all.

    Or are you all for the idea of the bike rider or animal getting injured with the bike ride idea? I've done it, and it requires extreme concentration from both dog and rider. Lunging is a perfectly acceptable safe way to exercise an animal. The best exercise is the one you can do safely.

    The dog isn't tied up for nine hours. It's exercise. Kind of like a treadmill or elliptical or lap-swimming for people.
    Think.
    I dont know where you live, where I am dogs are required to have a collar and tags for vaccination purposes, that and the fact my dog is vaccinated as well. Lunging is not safe dogs do not run in circles for periods of time in nature. It is hard on them, boring. H0owever if you are a human that needs to have a remote control animal go ahead. As far as equating it to an elliptical or treadmill for humans. one HUGE digfference....The person has free will to stop when they choose. Most dogs will please ignorant owners at their expense. As far as hot walkers and lunging both are used by people that do not have the time or experience to properly stimulate an animals brain and body. This is why so many racehorses sugffer from nuerotic behavior such as cribbing an d weaking for hours at a time. Try having some fun with your animal for a change, they are not machines. And yes, horses are attached to hotwalkers for hours at a time in all kinds of weather to "condition" them.
  • poohpoohpeapod
    poohpoohpeapod Posts: 776 Member
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    I apologize for no paragraphs .
  • algebravoodoo
    algebravoodoo Posts: 776 Member
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    Dogs will do anything to please us, please be careful and know his limits! They won't stop when they are tired, because they want to be with you!!
    If you go for a short ride, make sure you have plenty of water for him and the pavement isn't to hot! Have you seen the pics of a dog with his paws burned from running? Makes me sad!

    Apparently you haven't met my lab. He is more than willing to let me know when he is done running with me, usually around 4k. :laugh:
    I have 2 labs and they never give up!

    Unlike a certain Newf I know who would plop her 165 lb behind down and dare you to take another step :laugh:
  • Dark_Roast
    Dark_Roast Posts: 17,689 Member
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    Dogs will do anything to please us, please be careful and know his limits! They won't stop when they are tired, because they want to be with you!!
    If you go for a short ride, make sure you have plenty of water for him and the pavement isn't to hot! Have you seen the pics of a dog with his paws burned from running? Makes me sad!

    Apparently you haven't met my lab. He is more than willing to let me know when he is done running with me, usually around 4k. :laugh:
    I have 2 labs and they never give up!

    Unlike a certain Newf I know who would plop her 165 lb behind down and dare you to take another step :laugh:

    My pit will just stop and sit in the road when she's had enough. She's a riot, she figured out that if she limps we will stop and check her paws for stickers...whether she has has any or not!
  • bumblebums
    bumblebums Posts: 2,181 Member
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    Dogs will do anything to please us, please be careful and know his limits! They won't stop when they are tired, because they want to be with you!!
    If you go for a short ride, make sure you have plenty of water for him and the pavement isn't to hot! Have you seen the pics of a dog with his paws burned from running? Makes me sad!

    Apparently you haven't met my lab. He is more than willing to let me know when he is done running with me, usually around 4k. :laugh:
    I have 2 labs and they never give up!

    Unlike a certain Newf I know who would plop her 165 lb behind down and dare you to take another step :laugh:

    My pit will just stop and sit in the road when she's had enough. She's a riot, she figured out that if she limps we will stop and check her paws for stickers...whether she has has any or not!

    Your dog and mine are such malingering *kitten*, eh? :)
  • reddi2roll
    reddi2roll Posts: 356 Member
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    Has been mentioned once and maybe more as I did not read all the replies but I took my dog rollerblading once and by the end of the run her paws were bleeding from running on the pavement. You have to build them up to it if they are going to run on pavement and not grass. Someone mentioned the Chuch It that throws the ball out of a scoop if you dog likes that and will bring the ball back and the horse trainer looked like a good idea.
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
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    Is there an off leash park near you with biking trails? There is a huge off leash park in Memphis called the Outback at Shelby Farms. A lot of people take their dogs there and do some simply off road biking.

    And I don't know what kind of dog park the above quote is refering to, but any -PROPER- dog owner would know, you don't take your dog to an off leash park unless: 1) You dog is well disciplined and listens to commands, 2) You trust your dog to come first time when called, 3) The dog is well socialised, 4) They are fully vacinated.

    I suggest an off leash park. Gives plenty of room to run for your dog, and you don't have to worry about it darting and pulling your bike from under you.
    "Little dog attacked by big dog at the park" happens to pay a portion of our bills/mortgage on a frequent basis. (Another big contributor is those invisible fence contraptions that dogs easily ignore to run out into the street in front of a car.) I take that as evidence that there aren't enough "proper" dog owners out there, and you can probably guess who ends up paying the vet bill when little dog is attacked by big dog. (Hint, it isn't the person who wasn't even responsible enough to train their dog.)

    I have called the park rangers several times at Shelby Farms due to unsocialized dogs...large and small. So yes, I do hold the owners of unsocialized dogs completely accountable. And again, that is the poor training of said dogs.

    And second....it is not always the "large" dogs that cause the issues. 99% of the time it is the ankle bitter Jack Russell's or the alikes that cause the problems...thus again, improper socialization. I take my mixed breed pit to the dog park all the time...off leash. He comes first time when called. When I say "stay" he stays. If I tell him "no" or "drop it" he stops what he is doing. I am a huge supporter of off leash parks. The park is only as good as the people it serves.

    Oh...and drop the "little dog attacked by big dog", because 9 times out of 10, it is the little dog that is running around harassing other dogs and the owners stand there and do nothing. Until finally the larger dog gets annoyed enough to stand up to the little dog, then the owner gets all butt hurt and claims the larger dog attacked.
    Not that I really care, because our dogs are CGCs and we don't hang out at those parks, but if you see a little dog harrassing your dog and you don't bother to call him and get him out of that situation before he mauls another dog, that's at least as much your fault as it is the other dog's owner. I'm not talking about a butthurt owner or dogs that got a scrape or a bruise, I'm talking about dogs that need surgery. That isn't just a big dog that was annoyed and was trying to ward off a pest. A dog with that quick a temper has no business in a public park, yet there they are.

    And either way, the point --that there aren't enough "proper" dog owners out there-- still stands, otherwise there wouldn't be any examples to point out.:wink:
  • froeschli
    froeschli Posts: 1,292 Member
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    A dog with that quick a temper has no business in a public park, yet there they are.
    My GSD is a rescue, he will heel, sit, stay and come instantly, but he will also bite approaching people or dogs without warning. We have worked hard with him, and he has learned to tolerate other dogs except for when they come charging at him. That is why we don't go to off leash parks. - it's just not possible to find a secluded spot and be left alone. (I believe it should be doable, but hey, standing on principle is not worth my dogs life)

    Anyhow, if I hear "don't worry he's friendly!" Yelled after an uncontrolled, off leash dog, one more time, I am liable to bite the person myself.
    Just because a dog doesn't have aggressive tendencies, doesn't mean they are well behaved.

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