I have a Siberian Husky and have every intention of taking him with me on tours. He loves to go with me on all my rides be it a short 14 miler to his longest ever of 45 miles. I have every intention of taking him with me when I manage a successful tour.
The questions here do bear thinking about if you want to take a dog on tour. My experiences with dogs and cycling:
My dog runs with me when I ride and will run with me when I tour. I'm content with a day's average mileage to be around 30 to 35 miles. With conditioning, Loke can do that for several days in a row easily. We've done it this year though not touring. A few times this season, I went out for rides between 30 and 35 miles for two and three days in a row and Loke refused to be left behind. This was with around 2 months of increasingly longer rides to condition him up to it.
Though I am a slow mover even on my own, he does slow me. He can (and has) hit speeds of 23 mph for short bursts. He does longer stretches (but under 2 miles) at speeds of 15 to 17 mph. His cruising speed is around 8 mph, though a few times, he has surprised me with 9 mph average cruising speed. Of course, if I tried to drag him in a trailer loaded with camping and touring gear, I shudder to think how slow my speed would drop.
I'm prepared to carry several pounds of dog food and try at all times to have at least eight liters of water at the beginning of each day and refill around lunch. I carry home-made dog shoes to protect his feet and an extra first aid kit even on our short runs.
If you do plan to have your dog run with you, consider what breed you have. My husky does fine, but I'm not convinced a Rottie could do what Loke does. Loke also gets checked by the vet at the beginning and end of each riding season. His breed is made to cover miles, but I want to make sure that he doesn't suffer stress fractures or joint problems. PTB help me if he ever does, because he gets cranky if he doesn't get his cycle fixes. Winter is bad enough. I would hate to think what he would be like if he couldn't go running with my bike permenantly.
My husband and I probably wouldn't have any shoes left.
Main things to maybe consider.
1) Breed?
2) Willing to carry the extra food and water and maybe drag your dog?
3) How fast/far do you want to go daily which will have a bearing on if you carry the dog or if it runs with?
4) If dog is running with are you willing to put in the time to condition it? Unlike you, he can't coast down hill, those legs have to keep moving.
5) Is your dog nervous?
How is he going to hold up to hours of traffic whizzing by at close proximity?
6) Are you okay with the extra stops a dog will have you making?
I love taking Loke with me on rides. He's good company and just gives me a warm fuzzy when we're going along and he gives me one of those husky grins as we race down a hill like. It's the greatest thing in the world to him, even better than getting meat left overs from our dinner. It's worth stopping to offer water and check feet every 2 to 5 miles or letting him have a break to sniff around.
I don't think taking a dog for long rides is for every rider or dog, but when it works, it really works.
