Roading a Dog with a Pedal Bike

[hear duck]

I’ve found a few different products on the market that can be attached to a bike that make the ride a little safer for the dog and the rider. I’ve used a roading harness and let the pup either pull me or heel on the side but I feel that isn’t too safe. Anyone one use one of these and what would you recommendation be? For those of you who don’t use an attachment, what method do you use?

[madmurph]

I purchased the K-9 Cruiser after researching a couple of different models. The Cruiser seemed to be the safest model and also had better reviews. I did not like roading on a bike at all due to the fact that I was very uneasy and felt unsteady. I tried it with one of my hunting dogs and my police K-9 and had the same feeling with both dogs. If you do try it, make sure that you use a harness on the dog and not just it's regular collar.

[Stiff Arm]

I skijor with my dogs in the winter and in past summers have used the same harness and bungee line and just held the line in my hand so I could let go when the dog chased a squirrel or ran around a tree. Probably not the safest method. This year I think I'm going to try the WalkyDog http://www.thedogoutdoors.com or Springer http://www.springeramerica.com/ system but would also like to hear from folks with experience.

[dog dr]

i just loop the end of the lead around the bike seat. dog runs alongside me. works great, no accidents in 3-4 years.

[gdog]

I have the walkydog and also a Diggler Scooter. As mentioned, use a harness. I like that you can adjust the "leash" on the walkydog so there's nothing dragging or hanging in the way and you can keep the dog right next to you. The dog needs to cooperate or it can be a rodeo obviously. Takes about 1 min to install and you can pop it on and off easily.

The Diggler scooter is a blast, especially with more then one dog hooked up.

[MNGSP]

Dog scootering looks like a blast! I think I could get into that!

Which scooter do you have gdog? I noticed some of them have fairly low weight capacities until you get into some of the spendier models.

[BirdDogLife]

I have a Springer and don't mind it. A couple of things to point out though...

• It doesn't fit all bikes. I had to modify it slightly to allow enough clearance for the pedals to get past the down tube the spring mounts to.
  
  The included lead isn't really long enough. I had to fashion another lead with more length. That being said, be careful your dog cannot make it around your wheels to the other side of the bike. That is DISASTROUS.
  
  The dog will not really get much more exercise using this tool than he would free running. The device's design does not lend itself well to the dog pulling much of the load.

Other than that it works as advertised. I've had a few close calls with animals and whatnot and the spring and plastic disconnect both seem to do their job. The trick is to take your time and get your dogs used to it just like anything else. I have yet to be dismounted by anything the dog has done while attached. My own stupidity on the other hand...

[fishvik]

I live in a fairly rural area with sectionline county roads, mostly bordered by spud and alfalfa fields. I just run my dog with an e-collar on and make them heel and then whoa at intersections. My lab/gwp learned very quickly and it took my gsp a little longer but I've done it with them and other dogs with out much trouble. I let them run if we get to a mowed hay field or large patch of sagebrush. I usually can work up to going 6-8 miles by beginning of hunting season, but now we are only going 4 miles.

[Britguy1]

I tried attaching my dog to the bike. I almost got killed a couple of times. Now I just use an e-collar and train the dog to stay close and pace himself. If your dog will heel off leash, that is the command to keep him close. I also attach a blinking light on his collar and put the Garmin tracking collar on him.