Anybody Bike with their dogs?

Me and Gunnar love to go biking. This spring I purchased a bike and an attachment for Gunnar. It is the best investment I have bought! I can easily bike 4-6 miles in about 30-45 minutes and he is dog tired at the end but I'm still doing ok! I could never walk those kinds of distances on a daily basis.

I highly encourage anyone with a active dog to try it out. Best energy drainer ever!

How do you keep the dog on the bike? Are they like, tied?

I love to ride my bike, and I have an extremely high energy dog who I've been trying to walk 30 minutes a day.

What if they pull? The minute my dod sees another dog he goes insane...

So basically, how does it work?

I do! I do! And it's a lot of fun.

I used to just sling the leash over my wrist, but eventually bought the Walky-Dog bike attachment:
http://walkydogusa.com/

I'm familiar with the Springer bike attachment from a friend in Germany who has two on her bike for her rotties, but have found the Walkydog is more convenient for me because it's easier to remove.

It absorbs any pulling really well and can be adjusted depending on how much a dog pulls.

I wonder if you could get those for smaller dogs.... about 25-30 pounds...

I dont bike, but if Binn saw another dog while biking, Im sure I'd be dragged in the other direction

Having been and avid cyclist for many decades and having ridden a couple of hundred thousand miles on bikes , I would think that the safety of using a device like this would depend on three things.
1. The ability of the cyclist to control their bike i.e. ride in a perfectly straight line.
2. The behavior of the dog to stay in a good position relative to the bike when cycling and not darting either away or toward the cyclist when it sees something that attracts or startles it. The worst scenario would be the dog winding up in the spokes or in front of the front wheel which could cause a very serious injury to both cyclist and dog.
3. The area where you are going to do this such as a quiet residential street, or bike path in a park as opposed to a city street with lots of traffic or a mountain bike path.

In looking at both units, to me , the Springer looks like a much safer unit for both dog and cyclist.

I use an attachment like Mordy's except it attaches to the back wheel.

To start out with I would hook his harness up to the attachment and then also use our gentle leader with a leash attached as Gunnar liked lunge at other dogs in the beginning as well. Now I use the attachment and his regular buckle collar with a leash just in case something goes wrong with the attachment, I still have a hold of him.

When we would intially see another dog I would just speed up, he had to worry about keeping pace with me which helped him learn to ignore other dogs while we were riding, he does exceptionally well now, could care less about other dogs, he's just busy moving forward!

Gunnar weighs 84 lbs and he has never, even in the beginning, managed to pull me over on my bike.

Keep in mind if you do decide to bike with your dog you need to build up their pads slowly, can't go for two miles the first day, just a few blocks and then a few more. It is also best to not ride after the pavement is wet, can cause the pads to become soft and they are more likely to injure them. I also highly encourage you to get a reflective harness or "jacket" so your dog is more visable.

We have so much fun, on occasion he will wear his backpack too and will help me bring home some light groceries. It really seems to give him a job to do when we are riding.

My dog only weighs 28 pounds. He's 17 inches at the shoulder.

I agree, this is very important. I also recommend washing your dog's feet after each bike ride to get all the dirt off and then inspect them thoroughly for any damage.

I bike once in a while sometimes even venturing to bike-jor but if it''s cold enough that I can do that then it''s cold enough for me to scooter with the boys and I would much rather do that. It''s safer, works more muscles, and is training for winter.

Do you mean on an actual little scooter, the one with two wheels? I would so fall on my butt!

I'm gonna be at a loss when the snow comes. I was thinking of taking up skijoring or getting him a pull harness and letting him drag the kids along on their sleds.

I just use an old fashioned leash and away we go a few times a week. I wish I had more areas that weren't paved to go, but we go where we can.

I'm glad you posted this! I've been meaning to ask about the bike attachments for a while. I live in a large, quiet neighborhood that I think would be ideal. Most days Meg gets plenty of exercise being out and about with me, but I was thinking of biking for the days when I don't hike.

I realize you guys have already answered some of these questions, but reassure me, please!

-Meg isn't that big (35 lbs or so) and isn't a huge puller; the attachment will absorb any pulling so it doens't drag me over, right? And it keeps them from running in front of the wheels?

-Is it best to use a harness as opposed to a collar?

-Any brand suggestions?

The Springer attachment is probably the best bet for absorbing the pulling. Like I said, I have an 84 lb German Shepherd and he can't pull me over with my attachment. The spring has a curve to it that holds the dog out and away from the actual bike and has safety clips that will "break away" if your dog goes around the wrong side of a pole or something.

I would really suggest a harness, much better for the dog. I do use a leash to his collar as well just incase something went wrong with the attachment.

Riot LOVES doing this with me through the conservation area!

He knows his "left and rights" so I let him "lead" through the paths and just shout out directions to him..

He hauls me up the hills lmao
The sad thing is - after hes had about 30min nap hes good to go again hyper as ever lol Silly herding dogs

ROFL that is a classic!

I really want to do this with my dogs. I have looked a lot into it and come across three types - BikerDog, WalkyDog and Springer.

Does anyone have any opinions about which are the best of these three? They all look pretty good. Of course, I will be using two at once - one on either side of the bike, and so far BikerDog have contacted me and said that this is perfectly fine.

So, which ones do you guys recommend? (For those who have used them)

Yup! That''s exactly what I mean except now I use both boys instead of just one.

Really cute looking dog !!!