aussielover Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 I've finally moved to a flatish area and I've been thinking about getting a bike and exercising Mindy with it. However, she's not great on lead. She is better when I take her for a jog though, apart from occasionally jumping up at me, she doesn't pull or stop to sniff if we are running. Walking is another story though. I am worried she would pull me over on my bike. I saw the springer bike attachment and it says the low centre of gravity or something prevents the dog from pulling you over? Is that right? Obviously some training will be involved but if the dog suddenly saw a cat or wanted to stop to sniff would this attachment prevent you from falling over or at leats make it harder for them to pull you over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danois Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Check your road rules - as it is illegal to ride a bike on a road while leading a dog or having one tethered to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ish Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Springers are fantastic - makes it so easy! I've never come close to being pulled off the bike despite dogs stopping dead, lunging at birds, going the wrong side of poles etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TigerJack Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 I use a springer with a very energetic teenage male kelpie and he has not managed to pull the bike over yet. I would not trust him to run straight if I had him on lead instead. I will put him on the springer and my other female kelpie on lead and run them together. SHe is sensible and will run in a straight line. THey don't fit all bikes so check that out before buying either the bike or the springer. I could see it took up a bit of space on a vertical post on the bike so I got the springer and took it with me when I went bike shopping. In the end the bike shop fixed the springer base onto the bike for me before I took it home. You do need a decent harness to clip it to, I think that is safer than a collar. I stick to bike path areas, much safer than streets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ish Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 THey don't fit all bikes so check that out before buying either the bike or the springer. I could see it took up a bit of space on a vertical post on the bike so I got the springer and took it with me when I went bike shopping. In the end the bike shop fixed the springer base onto the bike for me before I took it home. I struggled to fit mine to my mountain bike initially, it would swivel around when the dog pulled. I ended up putting a bolt through it to permanently secure it to the bike which works perfectly - you just need to remove the clip to take the arm off if you're not taking the dog My springer is very old though, 2nd hand when I got it and I've had it almost 10 years. The new ones might come with better ways of attaching to modern bikes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raineth Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 If the dog is strong enough it will drag the bike sideways. But having said that, once they get the idea of it they generally are fine and understand that they need to keep running beside the bike :) A mountain bike would be better than a road bike too :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Showpony Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 If the dog is strong enough it will drag the bike sideways. But having said that, once they get the idea of it they generally are fine and understand that they need to keep running beside the bike :) A mountain bike would be better than a road bike too :) We put a a soft check collar and lead on our dog and held this lead, as well as the collar that attaches to the Sprenger. We did this for the first few times we used it......keep the dog straight and didn't pull sideways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fainty_girl Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 I have the "walkydog bike trainer" http://www.vetnpetdirect.com.au/WALKYD#.UQYVW46ZpJ0 It has been years since I've used it...I found that my cattle dog couldn't keep up with the bike, it so it was hard work pedalling with her because I was taking some of her weight to keep her going. I'm unfit and only learnt to ride a bike in my teens, so I definitely wasn't going fast. It was easier riding with my kelpie X, even though she pulled like a freight train at that time, but she is a very energetic little dog and had no issues keeping up with the bike. If you're going to try it out, maybe you could test it out in an area where you don't imagine there'll be any major distractions (eg. other dogs, bunnies, etc). You could even try it out in a large grassy area, so if your dog manages to pull you over, you're only going to fall on soft grass, not concrete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juice Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 don't want to sell it to me i suppose? i am thinking of starting with my cattle x too. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fainty_girl Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 don't want to sell it to me i suppose? i am thinking of starting with my cattle x too. :) Thanks juice :) , but i'm not looking to sell it, I bought the bike and walkydog so I could run my dogs. I have just been lazy and fitting the bike inside my little car was a pain in the butt, so it is gathering dust in the shed. Plus, my kelpie is recovering from cruciate ligament surgery, so I can't dust off the bike just yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 (edited) The "Walkydog Bike Trainer" seems to fit higher - i.e. at the stem of the seat and doesn't seem to have any flexibility to take away jarring that might affect the balance of the bike-rider. (Not suggesting it doesn't work or can't work.) The "Springer" seems to fit a bit lower down and does have the spring flexibility that I could imagine would lend a bit more leeway where the rider wouldn't notice every accidental tug. Would I be right in thinking the Springer to be the better of the two for the above reasons? I've had no experience with either so I'd be interested to know. Edited January 28, 2013 by Erny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zenith Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 I've only had the walky dog, well I have 2 so I could run 2 dogs or hubby and I can take 1 each. The lead part is attached to a spring inside the attachment so it's flexible. I had a few bad stacks on the bike when holding the lead because my boy stopped quickly at about 15km/hr and it hurt, and gravel rash wasn't particularly endearing, So I used the walky dog particularly on public bike tracks, as often we encountered loose dogs etc.it is handy and quick to take off to pack my bike in the back of my hatchback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fainty_girl Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 The "Walkydog Bike Trainer" seems to fit higher - i.e. at the stem of the seat and doesn't seem to have any flexibility to take away jarring that might affect the balance of the bike-rider. (Not suggesting it doesn't work or can't work.) The "Springer" seems to fit a bit lower down and does have the spring flexibility that I could imagine would lend a bit more leeway where the rider wouldn't notice every accidental tug. Would I be right in thinking the Springer to be the better of the two for the above reasons? I've had no experience with either so I'd be interested to know. With the walkydog, the cord that attaches to the dog's collar/harness does stretch :) . I can't compare it to the Springer because I don't have experience with that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bianca.a Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 I have the walky-dog too but can I ask please for those that use a harness with it, what type of harness do you find is best? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TigerJack Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 I have the walky-dog too but can I ask please for those that use a harness with it, what type of harness do you find is best? I use a springer and the harnesses I use are the Ruffwear Webmaster. Very strong and don't slide around too much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esky the husky Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 They walky dog has a low rider attachment which can be attached to the centre of th wheel too, if you require the dog to run further behind you. I'm not a fan o the springer because of it's quick release. To me that is far too risky to have to recover from a crash and chase down a free running dog. Ive only ever had one low speed wrap around a small pole. Never happened again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esky the husky Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Oh and I just use a collar with the walky dog, as she's a racing sled dog and when in harness I want her pulling like crazy out in front :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juice Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 I have seen both being used around here and i liked the look of the Walky dog as it sits further forward, do people who use the Springer find themselve's looking behind to check the dog? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ish Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 I have seen both being used around here and i liked the look of the Walky dog as it sits further forward, do people who use the Springer find themselve's looking behind to check the dog? I've never had a dog on the Springer that has sat behind me - if they run level with the Springer they sit at your left leg and most pull into the lead so sit further forward anyway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TigerJack Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 I have seen both being used around here and i liked the look of the Walky dog as it sits further forward, do people who use the Springer find themselve's looking behind to check the dog? I've never had a dog on the Springer that has sat behind me - if they run level with the Springer they sit at your left leg and most pull into the lead so sit further forward anyway me too. My dog is in harness so the centre of his back is where it is attached and that is level with the seat pole so he is ahead of me. To answer Esky's concern, I always have a leash attached to the collar as well so he could not run free if the quick release gave way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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