Touring - Front rack/basket touring with a small dog

I'm getting my brand spankin' new touring frame very soon (it was supposed to arrive 4 days ago :cry: ), and I'm expecting to do many many weekend trips this summer

However I've got a small dog. It's a real pain trying to find people to take care of him every weekend, and he's pretty old, so putting him in a kennel is kind of cruel (not to mention $$), so I'm thinking of taking him with me.

Ideally I would like some kind of type of dog-powered treadmill device hooked into my drivetrain so that I can force him to help push me up the hills... Just joking. Please don't sick PETA on me (unless it's one of those nude protests they do...)

He only weighs 11 lbs and is fairly compressible, so I think a trailer is overkill. I'm thinking of going with some sort of front rack/basket. Does anyone know of anything that might work? I usually use small front panniers, so it would be great if I could still mount those.

Does anybody have any experience of touring with a small dog?

Any suggestions are welcome, seeing as I haven't done any looking around at all for anything.

Cheers.

lots of stuff at momovelo... what about http://store.yahoo.com/momovelo/erdefrba.html

im sure your dog will have a blast!

Can't say that I have any experience with this, but I'd imagine that a front basket would work fine. Probably more important than where the dog goes is making sure he/she is trained for it. It's challenging enough to ride with extra weight by the bars, and wouldn't be any easier if your dog was barking, moving from side to side, peeing, and trying to jump out after other dogs. I'm no expert on animal training, but I'd imagine that a lot of slow and short trips with a handful of treats could make it easier for you later on.

You might even be able to mount a basket to a rear pannier or even use one of those baby seats that attaches to the back - which could hold your dog and some extra gear. I've carried a dog in a backpack (head sticking out) and that seemed to work good, I think he liked the secure feeling of a snug place. Can't find the picture now, but there's even a guy who's dog rides on his shoulder - like a parrot. Try a few different things, see what works best, and then make sure your dog doesn't try to jump out. :)

Let me us know how it goes!
Mike

How about this? http://www.store.yahoo.com/tailsbythebay/dogbicycleseat.html

I would like to have one for my pupper. She is a bit big though.

Just the ticket.

Try this: www.hammacher.com/publish/67788.asp?promo=homepage

or this: www.cynthiastwigs.com