Touring - touring with a dog?

Hi- I plan to take my dog with me this spring on a tour from El Paso to San Diego. Is this idea as crazy as I think it is? Has anyone heard of such a thing before? Right now I am enlisting all of my friends to take their vacations with us so that they can act as road support and pooch transports while my girlfriend and I ride! Somehow this just doesnt sit right either....

So, any feedback on this would be appreciated. For the record I have never done a bike tour before, and my dog will probably be about 65 pounds by then. Where there is a will, there is a way! Is there a way? Thanks.

BiFF

One of the recent Rivendell reeaders had a feature story about a guy who was touring all over South America, I think, with his dog on the bike.Depends alot on the dog I bet.His was no 65 pound hound.That could be a bit of a burden.

You could get one of the Children's trailers and let poochy ride in it.

L8R

Check out

http://www.uktrailerco.co.uk/

They produce a range of trailers, including a dog one (I have seen one)

The trailers will flatpack and the do mail order

They are very robust and as they are used all over the UK for the rental market, so they must be tough enough

Here's an example of a tourer with a large breed dog, I posted this pic originally in this thread (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?threadid=7259&highlight=pets). He's a rescued greyhound and is very laid back. The rider uses a modified rear fender that extends closer to the ground to help keep road dust out of his pooch's face. That is just a Burley child trailer with the seat removed I beleive.

I'd like to ride with my Chihuahua but I'm not sure she would like it.

happy dog:beer:

Check out cycletote.com. They manufacture all kinds of bike trailers, including one model especially built for dogs. They appear to be very well made, and have a lifetime guarantee. The company is located in northern California. The rock bottom price for a stripped model is around $200, but you can go as high as $750 for a super-deluxe one. I would love to get one for my dog, but can't justify the price. The trailer would cost more than my bike! :D

Thanks for your help everyone- I finally bought a two person child trailer (the Chariot Cabriolet) that I am going to modify for my pooch. There is some extra room in the trailer for other stuff, and I am going to try rear panniers. Anyhow- if nothing else it will be an adventure. thanks again for the pics and advice.

BiFPh

65 pounds of dog will want to run along with you.
Joe

The kids grew up, Burley hanging in the garage, and a new dog (that goes everywhere with us), pretty obvious conclusion! Its not too bad until she jumps out at over 13mph. I havent been able to take the seat out like the one above so theres not alot of room. I get plenty of looks and laughs.

The Summer of 2002 I went on a 1000 mil tour with my 60 lb shelter rescue Lb mix Kaya. Cycle-Tote makes an excellent dog cart, and Kaya learned to jump in the back of the cart to at slow speeds and to jump out the sides for long ascents. The extra weight in a cart helps alot goin downhill- invest in the best brakes you can afford. The biggest problem was keeping Kaya cool in the 100 degrees day in the Sacremento Valley, if it's hot, plan on doing more pulling then having the dog running along side or ahead of you. Make sure your dogs paws aren't soft before the trip or plan on buying booties, like the ones for sled dogs. If youv'e never toured before, take it slow at first and enjoy the scenery, don't ruin it for the dog and you right away. Buy 5lb bags of dog food and always carry a spare can just in case. It took Kaya about 3 or 4 days before she relized her days of sitting on the couch were over, then her pack hunting kicked in, and she was all serious on the road. She was always on a retractable leash, held in one hand, so I could control her around other stray dogs and keep her from chasing squirrels. Keep a 1/2 gallon container of water just for the dog in the trailer. Kaya ran anywhere from 5 to 20 miles a day, depending on the hills, heat and wind. Campgrounds that allow horses, at lest in California, usually dont allow dogs, so check before you go. Plan on getting lots of attention where ever you go- We meet a couple of swedish guys riding from the tip of south america to alaska who wanted our picture because they were so impressed with the idea of touring with a dog.---Happy Trails

Just out of curiosity-has anybody tried touring with a greyhound? Seems like they should be able to keep up with you, at least for short periods....

But for aerodynamic storage, a dachshund is hard to beat.

http://www.americruiser.com/AsSeenOnTV.htm

How to take a dog for a ride!

A couple of years ago, in a campground in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, I met a couple from California. They were recently retired and celebrating with an extended bicycle tour. Both carried loaded panniers. He was pulling a trailer in which their dog rode along. It was not a small dog, but something retriever-sized. They told me that the dog enjoyed the ride. They would stop once or twice a day so that the dog could romp a while. The only problem was, the dog enjoyed riding in the Burley so much, he didn't want to romp.

Carrying your dog while you pedal reminds me of Homer Simpson's quote when he saw people picking up their pets manure at a city park, "What?!, Did we have a war with our dogs, and lose?!!"

We bought a Nordic Track trailer for our springer spaniel to ride in. Didn't get a chance to try it though as we were blessed with a granddaughter to occupy the trailer.

I like the trailer, because it has a flat plastic bottom, so she couldn't damage it with her claws. It has enough potential tie points in it that we could secure her harness to the unit. It has dual covers, so she could sniff all she wants and not get hit by debris, but still smell the scents, and another cover to keep inclement weather off her.

Crazy Guy on a Bike has a journal about a family couple took their dog Sammie on a trip, she got motion sickness, but it looks like she finished the trip.

Diane

If you plan to let your dog run along for part of the trip, remember to get your pet in shape first by taking the pooch on training runs. Surprising how many people expect their animals to be naturally athletic....

Inkwolf, I was replying to another persons inquiry. My dogs would tell me where to go if I told them they were riding in a trailer. We had originally bought the trailer for Molly and hoped to train her to ride in it, the Grandbaby changed that, now Molly, Casio (aka Sir Cassanova our Lab)and their 2 nephew dos play with the little humans.

Diane