If you have a pit, you have to train the hell out of it--very firmly and from puppyhood--to be nice. I've known some very nice pit bulls, but when they were young, their owners had electric collars and were VERY firm with them.

The times I've taken "Mike" on a ride, I've tied the leash to my belt and lead him on the right side of my bike. He learned to stay a safe distance away from the bike after the first tangle.

Used to use a 'jogger' bolts to the bike and has a break away mechanism that keeps the dog from running into your wheels, etc. It can break away if to much pressure.

These are not good for all dogs, e.g. ones with high prey drives, etc. unless you use a leash on them too (defeats the purpose). dogs that pull excessively or take off after squirrels, etc. need to be controlled, and the best way for you to do that is have decent bike skills, decent strenght and to use a harness and 4' leash and be able to control your pooch with verbal commands and some body pressure on the leash.

Start out slow and 'train' fido and both of you will be much happer and safer.

If you dog is big and powerful (moreso than you) then work on heeling first.

rvabiker - clearly you have a pit aversion, but many dogs bite. I've been a dog person for years, worked with rescues and shelters, and have been bit by several breeds other than pits. (chihuahua - eyes teeth and testicles, tweaker spaniels, scary GSDs) They do need to be trained along with any dog, and always supervised/watched, but can be great pets and loyal beyond any other breeds. All bull breeds love their people. (for all the folks that are going to say what about the 3 pits that mauled xxx. 2 dogs is a pair, 3 are a pack. any dog can act like that in a pack setting. Humans screwed them up, so humans should be responsible for 'retraining' them.) No, I don't own a pit.

I dunno, I'm just a sucker for big, dumb, friendly dogs. And the biggest, dumbest and friendliest of them all is the majestic Labrador Retriever. Can you believe he weighed over 100 pounds at one point?? No way I could fit him in a bag. He is also kind of too slow to chase after a bike but I have never really had the urge to take him out biking anyways.

Here is a little art project I did that I just remembered about

all of the training and heeling in the world can't prevent your dog from getting her/his paw caught in a sewer grate. this happened to a dog i used to know named pinky the destroyer, and he broke his leg when the leash and bike he was attached to kept going.

so much can go wrong, i don't think it's worth it. i don't rock headphones on my bike, and i don't ride bike with my greyhound, but i look forward to walking to the park with greta and my ipod three times a day.

You probably already know this, but riding with your dog in the heat carries a significant risk of the dog getting heat stroke if you're not careful about hydration and limiting the amount and pace of running the dog has to do.

I know you are very opinionated, but sometimes you come off as a complete dick.

I hope FixedNotBroken doesn't mind me linking this, but I love all of the pictures he posted here: https://www.bikeforums.net/singlespeed-fixed-gear/117604-doggie-bag.html

Well... there had to be one.

Just like the saying "guns don't kill people, people kill people"..... Pits are not violent at birth, they are trained to be that way.

I'm sure that you are aware of this and are actually just looking to start a fight for some attention... just thought I would clarify.

Much like everything else, don't like pits? Don't buy one.

Uh, Pit Bulls have been bred to tend towards violence. If somebody has a family history of heart atacks, they will have to eat more soy and less bacon than somebody else. With pits, they just require more niceness training, and zero tolerance for agressive behavior.

Pretty sure my pit Vigner was born without a mean bone in her body. And she was a street dog.

Pit bulls are also recommended by the American Kennel Club as an especially good dog for small children. Go figure. I like pit bulls, I just hate bad pit bull owners.

I agree that pits have been physically designed to be more appropriate killers physically. In other words if you train them to be violent they are damn good at it.
But you would still have to allow them to behave in such a manner and encourage it.

you bastard!

jes' kidding. i was just about to dig up that thread myself. unfortunately, he's now my ex-dog - by mutual agreement with my ex-gf. i miss him...

edit: i used this to haul the pooch around. it works pretty well; you'll need to secure the animal as they tend to want to 'escape'.

My dog rides in a baby trailer on the road. I ride w/ him off leash on single track all the time. I occasionally ride with leash in hand and him to my right in some situations. This takes a very light hand on the leash, so that it can be dropped. My guy liked to occasionally pop a squat, and that sent me over the bars twice until I trained myself to hold the leash lightly.
On single track, he starts getting in the way when he gets tired, so you have to be used to that, but it is doable.

bull****...
not saying they all do, not saying yours will, but pits do snap...
they can go from "see, not all pits are violent, sugar here's been a sweetie for years" to taking off the back of your leg in an instant... and when they do snap they stay that way...
i used to live with an orthopod... when she was in training she was seeing at least one person a week in for surgery because of their pit... this was in several hospitals throughout the SF bay area...

that said, that is a very good looking dog...

i also think that most violent pits are trained that way, but i do know that even well trained pits can snap. a friend's friend had a beagle and a pit from their puppyhoods... they were properly trained and raised together for 3ish years. one day, they were running around playing, then the pit snapped and ripped the beagle literally into pieces.

that same friend came out this january to visit me. about two weeks prior, a stray pit got into my backyard. it got along great with xochitl. i kept it and took care of it while the found dog report was active at the pound... i figured i'd keep him since he got along with my dog great, and figured it'd be one more space available for a dog in need at the pound. we had a new year's party and he was great around the crowd and all the strangers... shortly after the party is when my friend came out with his lab... the pit did not like the lab one bit, but the aggression seemed mostly like dogs trying to prove dominance, so we both figured we'll just keep them separated and not worry beyond that. well, were locking him in a room when the dogs needed to be inside. this was working great for a few days. well, we all went to dinner, locked the pit in the room, and left the lab and xochitl in the house... we still don't know how the pit got out but:


we were gone less than an hour and came home to find my entire house in this condition.

crouton, the lab, lived and is 99% back to normal. the main reason we think it lived is because xochitl nearly killed the pit. she came out with four tiny puncture wounds. the lab was obviously hurt and the pit was also in pretty rough shape... it needed many stitches as well. the worst of the lab's injuries were due to it trying to get into a cupboard, but couldn't fit and the pit really ripped into it's hind legs... the lab's thick collar also saved him from the numerous throat attacks.

jesus christ

oh... poor thing... he looks just like my dog. I always make very sure to stay away from any slightly aggressive dog when I walk my lab. He gets snapped at by alot of dogs and he is so gentle that he would not even try to fight back (ie. he would end up in just as bad shape as this poor lab above). All of the people who walked pitbulls at the park I would take my dog always had them on a 2 foot leash with either a harness or a muzzle and they would get really aggressive any time my lab got near them. Some dogs are more aggressive than others from birth... I can't really see any logical reason to get one that has been bred for attack.

Just a side note; if you have a dog that attacks a person are you held responsible for the death or maiming? (this is regarding the pitbulls mauling little children you seem to hear on the news every one in a while)

Woah. Heelers rule.

yes you are responsible. at least for sure in colorado. they had to fix the pit as well so he could be alive at the pound for an additional week... had someone claimed him, they would've been fully responsible for the damages. since no one claimed him, he was euthanized. crouton is the same way as your lab... completely passive at all times.

128, heelers do in fact rule. they're actually a akc recognized mix. mainly dingo and dalmation i guess.

the most ironic part about that whole situation is that the very next day is when the found dog report would've expired, and my plan was to take him down to stay there and re-new the report for the additional 10 days. we were even talking about said plan at dinner...

This is pretty much the process I used to train my dog. (80lb pit bull) We had one or two really exciting crashes but he got it eventually. When I was riding my track bike I'd tie his leash to my waist (I didn't attempt this untill he was REALLY well behaved with the bike) When I was riding other bikes, beach cruiser, mtn bikes, cross bikes etc. I'd tie him to the seatpost or the frame.

i guess you probably know this, but you haven't mentioned it...i almost moved to denver (portland, denver, or new orleans were my picks) and was looking up some stuff about it. and it seems pit bulls are illegal in the county (denver county, if i recall correctly?). also iirc, it's also illegal to transport pitbulls through the county.

just thought that was interesting.

yeah, pits are illegal in metro denver. there's been a bunch of rallying lately to reverse it.

https://www.ontla.on.ca/documents/Bil...on1/b132_e.htm

It seems that pit bulls have been banned in Ontario, and that if you have them they must be immediately spayed or neutered and kept muzzled in public and private, and that if the dog attacks a person or animal the owner will be held responsible in both criminal and civil court. The police can also seize (with warrant) pit bulls in the interest of public safety. In fact if you live in Ontario it is now illegal to acquire a pit bull:

Pit bull ban
6. Except as permitted by this Act or the regulations, no person shall,
(a) own a pit bull;
(b) breed a pit bull;
(c) transfer a pit bull, whether by sale, gift or otherwise;
(d) abandon a pit bull other than to a pound operated by or on behalf of a municipality, Ontario or a designated body;
(e) allow a pit bull in his or her possession to stray;
(f) import a pit bull into Ontario; or
(g) train a pit bull for fighting.