Originally Posted by
ClydeClydeson
The primary problem I see with the plan is the 100+lb trailer. Figure out how to get by with much less - a tent and sleeping pad for the ground weighs ~10-15lbs. Especially if you are enlisting the dogs to pull the weight, it is your responsibility to ensure you aren't overworking them. THe same goes for carrying multiple outfits of clothing so you can 'look nice' - this will contribute to the load for your dogs purely for your own vanity. Two sets of 'bike clothing' (one to wear, one to wash and dry), one off-bike outfit, a couple changes of underwear and some raingear are all you need. Anything else is pure vanity and sounds like it would go completely against the spirit of your trip.
Dogs love to run and love to pull but they don't understand that they have physical limits. They will gladly run themselves to exhaustion to please you, not realizing that you expect them to do the same the next day and they won't be able to manage, or will be suffering. As others have said, the head of midday will be bad for the dogs, so try to cover as much distance in the cool morning or evening.
Also, my experience with touring is that one of the primary obstacles is carrying enough water, and that problem is magnified if you have to bring water for dogs too, although dogs can drink from creeks and puddles if there are any. My experience is also based in Canada, so anything I say about heat and water supplies is at least double in the summer heat of Alabama.
Best of luck!
Thank you!
I thought about a tent, but I know tents usually leak through the bottom, and even the roof sometimes, and I'd have to set it up and take it down all the time. Plus I'd like to have a bathroom inside a camper, because I have the dogs and I doubt most people would allow me to bring my dogs in their house to use their bathroom. And even if I brought a tent instead of still want a trailer of some kind, because there are 3 of us and we require too much stuff to just pack on a bike or something. Plus I don't have any panniers, and I'm not gonna try to spend the money on any, or have a hard time finding the right size to fit a kids fat tire Mongoose. This is the only option I've found so far, but I'm considering a tent to just set up on top of a flat trailer, to keep us off the wet ground in the rain at least.
I am also very well aware my dogs are in my care and responsibility. I've studied animals and owned them my entire life, even went to school for it, and many other things. I also read the Bible and I know the responsibility God put the animals and Earth in the hands of mankind, and made in His image, He expects us to care for them responsibility the way He cares for us. We are not to abuse the animals and the Earth, we are to care for them and love them as God does for us.
Also, my dogs having wolf blood in them, they do not allow me to overwork them, and they are well aware of their own physical limits. Most days it's hard for me to even get them harnesses up because when they were younger they would pull at full force and speed and not stop til we got back home, and then they learned the hard way doing that HURTS. So they basically traumatized themselves, but I never ran them very far before cuz I knew they could hurt theirselves, but they probably just don't realize the "no pain, no gain" things, cuz they're couch potatoes, lol. They love to mush, but they fear the pain of the workout; so I've been taking it really easy on them to get them back into being super excited for it again like they were when they were little. It's not hard to harness them, they just try to avoid it a little.