Dog bike leads, anyone use them?

[ColinJ]

On the holiday mentioned above, we were doing a long stretch on a Sustrans path right next to a busy A-road so we had the dog on the lead until we got to the forest trails and then we set him loose.

Thinking about it, would't you get more exercise by just walking the dog? A bike is a more efficient way of getting around than on foot. And the length of your session is going to be limited by how far/fast the dog wants to go.

Thinking about it, we did 25-30 miles a day so he was probably doing 35+ miles with all the running about chasing rabbits etc. A very fit dog! Obviously, that is another thing to take into account - some dogs wouldn't cope well, some dogs would love it.

We were on a combined walking/cycling holiday so some days the dog got to run 15-20 miles over the hills while we walked 10-15.

I said that the dog needs to be a sensible one; the same thing applies to the owner! We didn't just take an unfit dog out on long runs and exhaust him; we stopped regularly to give him water and let him have a breather/pee/poo/sniff around/whatever.

I wouldn't trust my sister's Border Terrier to run alongside my bike - he is barking mad! I was going to say that he hasn't got the sense that he was born with, but actually he does have, and that would be the problem! (He is a lovely dog, but he is never going to win the canine version of Mastermind!)

 

[Salar]

He's a fit two year old who needs a fair bit of exercise each day.
I might have to get one of those seat post types as one of the bikes I'll be using it on is a folder with a long seat tube.

 

[Gravity Aided]

Your dog has a bike ????

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2362781/Norman-scooter-riding-dog-wins-world-record.html

Not my dog, but one in The Daily Mail.

 

[Gravity Aided]

TBH, if I trained my bigger dog to ride a bicycle, he'd just bark at himself whilst riding it.

 

[rovers1875]

I have one of these
http://www.thedogoutdoors.com/walkydog-plus-dog-bike-leash-deluxe-package.html
I use it when on the road down to the canal (just under a mile on a country lane) she soon got used to it and trots along quite happy. When I get to the canal I let her off. She will do a 15 mile run and keeps up no problem. It just keeps her safe when on the road.

 

[Siclo]

I have one of these
http://www.thedogoutdoors.com/walkydog-plus-dog-bike-leash-deluxe-package.html
I use it when on the road down to the canal (just under a mile on a country lane) she soon got used to it and trots along quite happy. When I get to the canal I let her off. She will do a 15 mile run and keeps up no problem. It just keeps her safe when on the road.

Done many hundreds of miles on the MTB using one of those with my now deceased collie, the only downside was he figured out the difference between the MTB and the road bike and if you got the MTB out of the shed he played merry hell until he went for a ride.

 

[steveindenmark]

I think dogs are like horses. You think you have them sussed out and then they go and do the total opposite to what you expect.

I would take the husky approach. Get a very long lead out in front of you and let it pull you. That way if it decides to turn and run at you. Then you have time to stop.

 

[velovoice]

Some friends have Dalmatians, carriage dogs that love to trot on the roads for hours. They use these, which have a safety release and hold the dog at a safe distance away from the bike. http://springerusa.com/

We've just returned from Amsterdam, where we saw quite a few people using something very similar to this.

 

[LincsBlue]

I give my greyhounds a run at more than my walking pace by using my bike. I just have their regular lead around my wrist and 1 at a time they are happy to lope along at the side of me and know well enough not to go in front or pull me off balance.

Do that with one of my Greyhounds and I swear I'd break the speed limit, he's off his rocker

 

[SteveF]

I used one of these for a while, until the old boy got a bit, well, old for it... http://www.walky.co.uk/walky-dog-range.html It worked reasonably well, don't really use it now as I have two doggies and they are more ball orientated (well that and food!)

 

[Salar]

That's the type I'm going to order.