igloomaster

The wife & I have a new puppy in the house - - a little pug named Beatrice.

No amount of reading, talking, rationalizing could have prepared us for the REALITY of what raising a puppy REALLY entails. She's a beauty, but it's a ton of work.

Any dog owning bicycle commuters out there, and if so, how does owning a dog affect (or not) your commute schedule? Gotta get up early, take the dog for a walk, etc. Does this cut into the time you need to get to/from work? How do you manage it?

Mariner Fan

Look at that face! How can you say no to her?

Yea, it's a lot of work but you can't beat the companionship and
when you come home you will always have a happy puppy waiting
for you.

Nightshade

If you think a puppy is work wait until you have
a baby to raise.

bmclaughlin807

I own two dogs. Lab mixes. They don't affect my commute at all. They add maybe 15 minutes to my morning routine as I take them out to go to the bathroom. (Less than that, usually.... they wanna go out, do their thing, and go back in and go back to sleep!)

GTcommuter

Start training her to ride in a basket now. A pug won't ever out grow a basket or pannier so that shouldn't be a problem. My 60# lab is way too big for my wire basket and now she won't ride in the kid trailer either. If I had it when she first came home, I would have worked with her more. I have dreams of getting her to ride along with me on long rides.

oboeguy

Get a basket! I say that without knowing much about dogs but it seems like a good idea. I've seen dogs pulled along in trailers, though.

jimmuter

Walking my dog in the morning is a nice warm up before my bike commute to work. I didn't have any trouble adjusting to that, but when the kids were born - well that's another story.

Dead Extra #2

First of all, VERY cute dog!

I got a baby Boston Terrier last year for my birthday, and my life will never be the same. I think in some ways they are a bigger PIA than kids. As far as commuting goes, I only do half the day now. I have to come for lunch to let the mutts out (I have two others as well). I could do it all on a bike, but I don't want to spend 40 minutes of lunch on the road, and I'm not going to make the poor little heathens wait 9 hours for a potty break.

Allen

I have 2 yellow labs. I buy the largest size bag of food and a case of cans when I stock their supplies. I bought my flatbed specifically for hauling their food home.

--A

Flak

It alot of work now...but once he/she is house broken properly and knows your routine....she'll develop her own around yours.

Walk the dog in the evening if you dont like to early.

spider-man

I have two dogs and two cats (which join me and the dogs on walks). I don't think it has much of an effect on my commute, perhaps partly because I go to work in the afternoon. I don't have to wake up early to accomplish everything.

My car-free lifestyle is made possible by the fact that my veterinarian's office is two blocks away.

Itsjustb

I'm currently the "owner" of 2 dogs.

I volunteer with a dog rescue group and foster strays.

My family bred dogs and ran a boarding kennel out of our house.

I have raised litters of puppies.

My wife is now expecting our first child. And I am TERRIFIED.

Back to the OP....the good news is that your pug should be house-trained within a few months. If it's an option, having a fenced yard will help cut down on the amount of time you need in the morning. Just push Beatrice out the door to do her business while you're doing your morning stuff (and with a dog her size a doggy-door is a real possibility if your setup allows).

If the fenced yard (or even a tie-out line) isn't an option....once you get her used to your routine it should help cut down the amount of time you need in the mornings. Again, a few months (at most) should be enough to teach her to "do her business" while you're walking her.

My final suggestion, if you haven't already done it: buy a dog crate and use it. There is no better or more effective way to house-train a dog.

CrosseyedCrickt

I second that!

Itsjustb

In the dog rescue business we have a saying. Why are puppies so cute?

So you don't kill them at 3 a.m. when they wake you to go out.

rec-cyclist

We recently acquired our first family dog. She's a Chihuahua only a few months old. Since we have 2 children already our puppy seems like no trouble at all. I let her out in the morning, then probably an hour or so after I leave for work the rest of the family is up so she'll get whatever she wants. So no problem with my commute at all. If we bring the puppy along anywhere she usually rides in the trailer with my daughter, she loves it

O-Town

+3 on that one. Having a dog is eeeesay compared to kids.

2manybikes

I was loosing time in the afternoon driving the dog to a place where he can run and go for a swim. I had a an old trike. Putting the dog in the trike saves two short car trips a few times a week. And I get to pedal a 100lb trike with one gear. After a month I'm a lot stronger. The car does not move for days at a time. A trike is much, much, better for a dog in a basket than a bike.

Yesterday (Sunday) I took the dog out for 22 miles and a few stops along the way. He gets nice and tired. Then I put him in the house and he falls asleep while I get on another bike and go for another ride.
About 50 miles on SS bikes into the wind most of the time. Good training. I'm going to start taking him to the park at the top of a hill this week, so I can try and spin up the hill with a full load.

BTW I saw a pug puppy in the back of a brand new trike yesterday !

Did you bring the pug down to the East Bay Bike Path in R.I. on Sunday?

DataJunkie

I have a 5 year old lab and a 2 year old son. The dog is virtually self maintaining. My son on the other hand....
Technically, neither affect my commute. I leave before everyone (including the dog) is awake.
However, my problems arise when I take my son on a bike ride. The dog always wants to come along.
Lets see.... bike + trailer and a 80lb dog with HD? Sorry, dog stays home.

Cyclist0383

IF you are interested KLICKfix makes a dog handle bar bag.



https://www.klickfix.com/doggye.htm

BTW, we have a yard so we just toss our dogs out the door.

maximusvt

My buddy has a big Rot/Pitbull and he can haul ass tied up to my friend's bike. Sometimes he'll pull you right along behind him.

Steev

Having our 2 beagles doesn't normally impact my commute, except the rare occasions when the rest of the family are out of town, then I balance waking a little earlier and taking the short route to work so I can fit in a quick walk in the morning, and do the short route home in the evening to let them out as soon as possible. The evening part is pretty easy, as there's no dinner, changing, reading, putting in bed stuff to deal with. Did someone mention how much more work children are?

swwhite

When we got a puppy I drove to work for a bit so I could go home at lunch time and check on him, until we thought he could make it all day by himself. With two kids also, I am resigned to the fact that some times I must go to work by car to meet the needs of the various dependents. I still ride more than I drive.

Wulfheir

My brother had to move into an apartment that does not allow dogs. His 8 year old son is absolutely crushed. He asked my wife and I to take in the dog to keep it in the family so that my nephew can still see him. We don't think we are ready to have a dog, and this thread confirms it.

librarian

Be prepared to return home every 8 hours for the rest of the dog's life.

For a pug be prepared for the $1500 for each knee that goes bad.

farrellcollie

I have an old collie and a 7 mos old colliie mix. When the pup was a baby -my commuting life was changed and I had to cut back for a few mos.- he could not go for 9-10 hours without me - I often got friends who had an opposite schedule from me to let him out once or twice a day three days a week (odd work schedule) until I got home. If my freind did not love dogs - I might have gotten high school kid I trusted to let him out and paid for their time. I did use a crate. Now he is mostly grown and can go all day if necessary waiting for me to come home. Old princess collie is now the problem (geriatric collie needs).