Who bikes w/ their dog?

I DO!



make sure your dog is fit to go first...i started by walking mine next to the bike for awhile,then put the bike in low gear,(meaning you pedal more to go a shorter distance,hill climbing gear)but Kiara wanted no part of that,she took off the first time we went out.they learn pretty quickly about the wheels and about triing to go after rabbits or cats...the momentum of the bike keeps them in line even if they do try to go for a rabbit or something.after awhile,most dogs dont even bother and just enjoy the run or trot..

start your pup out slowly and work up to longer rides...bring plenty of water,especially on warmer  days.in the summer i ride at night or early morning before sunrise..i have lights on my bike..i have a back pack that Kiara wears and keep an ice pack on either side to keep her sides cool,plus water bottles on either side.

also remember,if your riding on a road,the dog will be on your right,so make sure you get him used to that side...the springer can be taken off in a second and switched to the other side if you need to.Keep an eye out for broken glass,and remeber on hot days,the pavement can get really hot on thier pads...cheap booties can be had and i can e mail you the type i use if you like.

if your dog is not a working breed ,or puller,let him go at his own pace...

..i love my springer...best thing i ever bought for a dog..

That looks like so much fun! I wonder if you can attach two and have a dog on either side. LOL! [sm=lol.gif]
 
About how much do those cost?

Hey agian!

it is a LOT of fun...if you bought two of the springs,it would be easy to hook 2 up...just make sure you have GOOD brakes!!!loli havnt done it yet because Kiara is a puller/runner,and Kovu is a loper,and i dont want Kovu to over do it..they run about 35-55 dollars on ebay....used or new..

Last night i took Kiara out for her run,and looked up into a pretty ominous looking sky...it looked to be a thin band of a storm so i checked the local radar and thought i would be safe if i headed west .i figured ithe srorm would be well off to the east before i headed home...i got to the point where it was time to turn toward home,about 7 miles out,and looked toward our home,and the storm seemed to be hanging right over our destination,only now there was alot of atmospheric lightning...not bieng a big fan of lightning,i decided to head toward home anyway.we got caught up in some big old raindrops and within a couple miles of the house,MOM showed up to give us a ride!she ended up rolling along next to us tho and we made it home safe and sound.

we have been biking together for almost 2 years with the springer...i have a video of us if your all interested in seeing it...just need to find out how to upload it onto a site you can all see..

oh yeah..and wear a helmet...not like the idiot in the picture..lol

I've been wanting to do that with Rory too but I'm afraid she'll pull me to China

I have a springer on my bike,and I did it with the previous dog,but Max will not cooperate. I tried it with him a few times,slow speeds and short distances because he was a bit young, but he doesn't like it. Now the springer is just on my bike making it heavier. Also,one of the bolts came out,so when I used it with Max, it kept pulling forward,and I had to keep kicking it back. I was going to try something else, but i'm not pushing it with Max since he doesn't like it. 

you have to make sure uyou follow the assembly directions to the T when instaling...if you dont use all the plastic seat stem collars,and dont tighten the nuts down evenly and completely,it will move on you...mine did untill i corrected it and took the time i should have in the first place when i put it on..

 i wouldnt rcommend this type of work out for larger breeds or big boned,heavy set dogs...too much high impact for my liking...i always had my 80 lb goldens swimming,and kept jumping or running to a minimum with these guys...

I love this thing.  Only certain dogs will run with it though, Nikki loves it, Cairo hates it.  I would definitely start out pretty slow with it, maybe go for a 5 minute ride once a day for a few days and very slowly increase it from there.  I'll admit it was a little confusing to put on, but I got my dad to help me and it's on quite securely now and it works great.  I ride on the backroads where there are rarely any cars and the roads are nice and wide with sidewalks so I can easily get out of the way if one does happen to pass by.  My girl's part Saluki so she loves to run, but I can't take her on really hot days - I agree that dawn and dusk are good times, as long as you have lots of little reflector thingies on you so you can be easily seen...getting a reflector collar for the dog would probably be a good idea too.  It's definitely a good way to keep a dog in shape
 
Edit to add: They go for about $50 at most places...though I got mine for a little less online somewhere.

I do!

I don't use a Springer. I don't want to drag my dogs, and I can't stop near as fast as they can (they like to FLY, then.... stop, LOL). I use an evil, horrible, bad, bad, bad retractable leash. I bike in an out of the way area, and we stop for traffic. The dogs come back to me, and the leash gets locked. We do well, this way.

I used to use a retractable, but only on dirt roads in the middle of nowhere, where even if a car were to go down, it would have to go 5 mph or less because of the pot holes []

I bought one of these, but haven't used it yet because I don't have a bike! It came recommended by a few people on this forum.

I've used a springer to do roadwork with my basenjis.  This was a few years back and we were hunting for that last conformation major.  I'd love to do it here, but there are too many loose dogs for me to be comfortable biking with my dogs. 

Ok I am soooooo confussed. I thought there was a thread about this a few months ago, where people were saying it is not good at all for your dogs to be doing this. Someone please explain.

I think it looks fine. Really, it's just being able to let your dog run alongside you. Sam does it all the time and the vet tells me it is wonderful exercise. 

I just got a bike helmet so I can actually ride my bike now. Maybe I'll get a springer and see if either of my dogs like running next to the bike. I know a lot of people do it, I just can't imagine how it works. I think my dogs would get distracted and try to run in a different direction. Couldn't the dog get hurt?
 
I'd also like to know more about what angeltrudelle said. Is this bad for your dog?