Polgara's Shadow Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 (edited) OH bike rides a lot, mostly for fitness. He'd like me to ride with him too - as an activity to do together. I've never been a big bike fan, but taking Vulcan with us makes it a more appealing offer. Vulcan is now 16months old, he's an SBT. So I'm wondering how to get Vulcan started. Is 16 months still too young for an SBT to be doing this level of excersize? Vulcan goes for walks and swims at the beach most days, I'd say his fitness and health are good but he's by no means an athlete. I've been very mindful of not overdoing it whilst he's young. Would ten minutes at a trot be about the right place to start and build from there? How do those of you that ride with your dogs manage leads, pulling to sniff at things, getting in front of the bike. Do they ever pull you off the bike Edited February 20, 2011 by Polgara's Shadow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gayle. Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 He would be OK for short rides to start with, gradually building up to longer rides. You need to train them not to pull, not to stop suddenly and to stay beside you. I use the heel command, "get back" "no pulling" and "slow down". It takes time, my first one took a few weeks to get the hang of it but then I was re-learning to ride a bike and it took me a few weeks too. My girl got it straight away, and so did my younger boy. If they look like they are pulling over to sniff, I just ride faster. The older boy is the worst for this because he wants to pee on everything, but I just ride faster past trees, fence posts etc and don't give him the chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starkehre Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Dogs are very easy to teach how to run along side the bike and it heaps of fun and a really simple way to keep your dog with less strain than having to run yourself. :rolleyes: As others have said, you definitely would need to build up to distances over 2kms, but most young (over 12 months for STB), fit and healthy dogs can do 2-4kms at 10kmph on their ear, or they should be able to. I also use commands - "back" (left turn), "tight" (right turn), "steady" (slow down, you are going to pull me off the freakin bike), "wait" (pausing to let cars go past), "go" (speed up) The only downside you might find to this idea (and I hate to sound like a naysayer, as I love biking with my dogs) is that your OH will find that biking with the dog will slow him down to the point of him probably not liking the idea. I find approx 11-12kmph to be comfortable for long distances for a Rottweiler. And ET is averaged out at approx 10kmph. These are both really slow speeds for general biking and you might find your STBs comfortable long distance speed would be roughly the same but perhaps closer to 10kmph. But even if your OH gets bored with riding slow, you may have found a new fun thing for you and your dog to do alone ;) Have fun with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zug Zug Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 (edited) You need to be conscious of the Australian Road Rules, which were altered just over a year or two ago and I'm pretty sure it is now illegal to tow a dog on a public road, either from a car or a bicycle. So it's off-road only, strictly speaking (lot of people ignore this law however). I would definitely suggest you look into a gadget that attaches your dog's leash to the bike, so you can hold onto the handle bars. It's much, much easier and much, much safer. Two options are the Springer and the Walky-dog. I have a walky-dog and find it really easy to use. Way easier than trying to hold onto the dog's lead myself, and a safer spot for the dog to be as well (i.e. near the side/read of the bike, instead of running alongside the front wheel). Edited February 20, 2011 by Zug Zug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aidan3 Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 I have a simple rule when riding with my dogs - don't stop unless I stop. I taught this at low speed. I use a Springer (although I would get a Walky Dog if I were buying something new), with a very short leash attached to a harness. Sometimes I "bikejor", using a longer line attached to a hands-free walking belt. I have a length of polypropylene hose cable-tied to my handle bars to keep the longer line from getting tangled under the front wheel with the dog out front when bikejoring. A young, healthy dog will be good for more than 10 minutes, but yes it's definitely good to start off with short journeys until you know that they will be able to keep up all the way back to your car. Take regular breaks to check paws, toilet, water etc The temptation is always to keep riding at your pace because most dogs will keep up, but if you take a break you might find they are keener for a rest than you would have guessed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KOE`VU Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 (edited) We have a gadget (technical, I know :rolleyes: ) that attaches underneath the bike seat.. it is a short spring and lead so the dogs are in no way connected to my handlebars, and their body weight is directly under mine. THIS is the one we have.. I love them! Edited February 20, 2011 by KOE`VU Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VJB Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 I have a walky dog bike attachment, and I loved it at first. Then I heard that it was illegal to ride a bike with your dog attached and I haven't used it since.... although I want to. So, for those who know, what is the rules with all of this? Someone even said to me "poor dog"... although my dog seems to love the bike ride, paces herself well, and we don't go fast. We stopped regularly for breaks etc. It was great in the school holidays with our kids. We'd head off in the morning and ride to shops to get ice cream. I also have a dog who's paws are well use to the road. I think you would have to be careful of sore paws if your dog is not use to road walking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolfgirl Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 I ride with both of mine attached to Walkydogs, one on each side and both have done their ET. It's important to remember to build his endurance up slowly starting off very slowly. I have a bike rack so take mine to the bike tracks and ride with them there or quiet reserves :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polgara's Shadow Posted February 20, 2011 Author Share Posted February 20, 2011 The walky-dog looks like a great suggestion :rolleyes: I'll hunt one out. Sounds like we could start at 15-20 minutes with Vulcan at a trot with no problems? I'm anticipating I'll have the harder time out of us I'll let OH take the pooch to start with as I get get my coordination together. I imagine OH will do a slow ride with us then tear off for a proper work out after. We are lucky that we live by the beach in a holiday town. Most of the houses in our area are holiday houses so pedestrian and car traffic usually isn't in existance, except in holiday season when we tend to bunker down in any case ;) I expect we'll be able to stick to tracks the majority of the time anyway. I will definitly keep an eye out on the condition of his paws, thanks for raising that one! There's not many concrete sidewalks around here so about half our walks are on bitumen road, the other half on sand or dirt tracks. I guess it'll take a few rides for his paws to toughen. You guys have stoked my fire about this bike and dog thing. Thanks! Any more tips or things to be mindful of? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zug Zug Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 The paws thing is important. When I was 19 or so I had a wonderful heeler cross who would chase after me all day on my bike, visiting my friends and having a wonderful time. One day it was really hot and she'd been running on the road after me and when we stopped I realised her pads were bleeding. To my horror, all the pads had lifted off and left her running on bare exposed bleeding flesh. Awful. So yes, err, I never forgot after that. Hot roads (i.e. any road on a hot day) are hard on your dog's feet. So build up slowly, take it easy and don't wait until your dog protests - lots of dogs won't make any visible sign until you stop. I know some people may think it's mean towing the dog with the bike. I don't think so. So long as you are sensible about heat, drinks and distance, the dog will get a lot of joy and valuable exercise out of it. And you'll have some nice days out together too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esky the husky Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 :rolleyes: Your poor dog Zug Zug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonny Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 I got this one. Works really well on small to large dogs. I use it with my dobermann. http://www.biketowleash.com/about.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KOE`VU Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Yup you just have to watch their paws if they will be on bitumen. We take our dogs for a ride, then go on one ourselves... We have a malamute and a husky and would run all day if we let them :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aidan3 Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 I know some people may think it's mean towing the dog with the bike. I don't think so. So long as you are sensible about heat, drinks and distance, the dog will get a lot of joy and valuable exercise out of it. And you'll have some nice days out together too. I think it's mean to not give a dog the exercise it needs, and unless people are extremely fit, they will be limited to off-leash exercise which isn't always practical with every dog. Of course, no-one is actually "towing" their dog I hope Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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