Anyone used dog trailers?

[NeilnrLincoln]

Hi all.
We are shortly getting a dog (Spaniel), as we do a lot of cycling as a family I'd like to take him with us, obviously it'd be lovely if he ran perfectly alongside the bike but I feel that would end in tears as he'd either knock one of us off or run into the spokes or similar.
I've been looking at dog trailers so I can tow him behind my bike, does anyone have any experience of using one to know what they're like to use?
The ones I've seen mount onto the rear wheel axle & in the pic it shows a nutted axle, all my bikes are standard q/r skewer fitting, would this be suitable for towing a trailer?
Thanks.
Neil.

 

[Drago]

I've thought about modifying a child trailer to carry my lab.

 

[raleighnut]

You need one that fits on with a clamp to the non-drive side chainstay/rear fork although they don't work with disc brakes. the bolt on ones wouldn't be safe on a QR axle.
My trailer has this,

 

[MontyVeda]

my friend's dad (a very clever man) made a dog trailer for Bucket (a Lancashire tripe hound). It was a box on two wheels with a four point harness*. Bucket could face forward or back and lay down and as far as anyone could tell, she was more than happy in the trailer. The box had some suspension but whether that improved Bucket's comfort or not i don't know.

*I think the harness was off-the-shelf rather than hand made (like the rest of the trailer).

 

[raleighnut]

This is available to convert some trailers

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/alternat...timate-hardware-trailer-clamp-type-prod17829/

 

[Deleted member 26715]

If you can get him/her to run alongside, it is possible, many do, (I presume off road) please be careful on the distance/speed you do when they are young, you can do damage to their muscle development if you overdo it. Unlike humans they do not stop when t starts to hurt they stop when they can no longer continue. There is a guy near me that takes his Spaniel out with him on his mountain bike, the dog is very young & I feel that he rides too fast for it to be healthy for the dog.

 

[Drago]

Yeah, dogs should only have 5 minutes of strenuous exercise for every month of age up to adulthood, and beyond that Exercise Induced Collapsed Syndrome can be a dangerous problem for some breeds. A trailer sounds the perfect solution.

 

[Crackle]

I've been thinking about one as well. Not sure I'd get mine in though. You can train them to run alongside. The advice is to wait until their joints are fully formed before doing longer stuff but you can certainly train them in the meantime. I taught mine 'Move!" meant get out the way sharpish, handy when mtn biking and to drop to heel on command, whereupon he'd develop a perfect muddy stripe from the tip of his nose over the back of his head!

Unfortunately a tendon in his foot has gone slightly and his paw has spread. This generally doesn't bother him but does over longer distances running or regular shorter runs, hence thinking about a trailer too.

 

[voyager]

I have seen several "adapted " kiddie type trailers with dogs aboard along the esplanade in Brighton ,the dogs seem content , and they have been seen to jump back in so they must be relatively happy .
most seem to tow on the left hand chainstay with a bracket .

regards emma

 

[Deleted member 26715]

the dogs seem content , and they have been seen to jump back in so they must be relatively happy

I think if you take this as their way of telling you, if you have to 'command' them back in then it's not for them.

 

[Siclo]

I trained our last dog, a collie, to run alongside using one of these http://www.walky.co.uk/walky-dog-range.html , he learnt where he was supposed to be pretty quick and it gave a useful option for when in busy area's. Don't attach it to your bling carbon frame though. The new dog, a whippet, is rubbish at it though, wants to do 30 mph for half a mile then is cream crackered, she's going to have to have a trailer.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

They are not as expensive as I thought they were going to be

 

[gasinayr]

Our Springer Spaniel is now thirteen and can't walk a far as she used to so we got her as trailer last year. She walks as far as she can then we put her into the trailer to let us get a longer walk. The trailer we got is a " Doggy Hut " from Amazon. It converts into a bike trailer and I have used it with my mountail bike with quick release wheels and disk brakes no problem. The fixing goes onto the Qr skewer at the near side then the trailer fits with pin through the fixing bracket.

 

[gasinayr]

In the above photo, the trailer arm folds under the buggy when used as a stroller. To convert to trailer, remove front wheel and push handle and swing trailer arm out and lock in position. As you see whoever fitted the drink bowl put it at the right height ! Price was £105.00 on Amazon and they come in three sizes.
" Cori is modeling the medium size "

 

[ufkacbln]

I have seen several "adapted " kiddie type trailers with dogs aboard along the esplanade in Brighton ,the dogs seem content , and they have been seen to jump back in so they must be relatively happy .
most seem to tow on the left hand chainstay with a bracket .

regards emma

So it doesn't interfere with the dérailleur on the right