General Cycling Discussion - Riding with the dogs!!!!!

Hello Everyone: I am a huge dog lover! Dogs and biking are my favorite things!! (Oh yea next to my teenage children of COURSE) LOL. I am interested in knowing if anyone has ever taken their dogs out onto the trails to ride with them? Is it safe for the biker? Being a female, I would feel safer with my dog if I were alone on a trail. I have never done this before because I am afraid that the dog will cut me off and I will do a flip flop in the air! However, My dog can mind his manners. He has been through a very intense obedience program. Can anyone recommend a nice trail where dogs are allowed maybe with a swimming hole nearby? I am from Rhode Island. I did notice at Pet Smart that they carry water bottles for humans but with a dog dish attached at the bottom so you both can enjoy a drink. Thanks for any input

We do get them around here. If you trust your dog to stay nearby than I don't see why not. But be sure he is properly trained with how to react with other riders. Pull off to the right :D..

Seriously there is a woman out here with a dog. When that dog sees a bike she is trained to move to the right lay down and make eye contact with the rider. I love this dog because I always feel safe biking past her.

It's great that you can share the outdoors with your pet just be sure to keep the poo off the trails! :beer:

One word of caution. I mentioned in another post about a friend whose dog got its tail caught in the chain that needed a lot of stitches. Mutts can be silly and inattentive though they give heaps of pleasure. I think just be careful, that's all and see it from the dog's view of the world - eyes 12" above ground, nose down, every other bike and riders leg a potential peeing post.:)

A lady who bikes with us frequently brings along her dogs, and they have never been a hazard to her or any of the other riders. They have fun, and so do we!
Here is a pic of Susan and one of her dogs, who chose that moment to take the lead. You might notice that Susan is riding on ice...so short of crashing, she has no way to stop! But, the dog did fine, stayed ahead of the bike, and made for an interesting photo!
http://home.atcjet.net/~whitlow/susndog1.jpg

We ride with our dogs in forests, and after the occasional near miss as pups, now they know to keep away from the front wheel.

They tend to hang about and then come running up to catch us.

on hot days, however, keep the speed and distance down. Dogs don't sweat very well.

It's not so much of you or other riders. It's how much your dog listens to you when you give him a command.

I have a Golden Retriever and there is no trails here, so I ride with her on jogging paths where there are other bikes and joggers.

The point is, he has to be attentive. It's ok if he wanders around, but will respond immediately upon your call. My dog have never being to any training program, so it's how you have brought him up since young.

:D Great Point! If only my kids would listen as well as my dogs. LOL. I am active with animal rescue. I have not gotten my dogs as pups. I have rescued them from animal shelters just before they were due for euthanasia. Therefore, I have to take them to behavior classes. I am not a dog trainer myself. It is a career I would like to take on for a side line job someday. I have a yellow lab/golden retriever that is about 4 years old now. He was tied to a tree from his past family for his entire 2 years of life. He never knew how to walk on a lease or even not to defecate & urinate on the floor in the house for quite some time. He was a basket case dog. Tried my patience for a LONG TIME. Anyway, he is the dog that I am training to take on the trails. His name is Dakota. If I had a picture of him JPG format I would post it. However, I do not. We have only been on private trails so far near my home. I have been practicing "Come." On the trails, he does stray from me still. I am working on that. Today, I am going to cook him a big fat steak and cut it into small pieces taking this onto the trails with me. He does best learning with treats! We are not yet ready for the "Big Time" YET. My other dog "Ginger" is great. I can take her anywhere with me. She is trained well. I have been timid about going onto public trails with any of my dogs so far. I enjoyed the pictures of the animals so much on this post. Thanks for everyone's advice. Have a nice Labor Day weekend everyone!!!!!!!

I would love to take my dog riding, but at age 7, he's beginning to slow down a bit. He would get tired earlier and need to rest longer. I was just wondering those of you who ride with dogs, how fast do you go? And how far?

My lab mix is as energetic as can be, but he's starting to slow down a bit. I don't want to over work him and make biking an unpleasant activity for him.