4 wheeler roading

[tyleetess]

What is your set up like for roading dogs from 4 wheelers? What works best for you? Just trying to get a few ideas. Who made your set up?

[bobman]

wildrose has a nice setup he posted once PM him

[luke0927]

i have a 3" pvc pipe i strap to the front rack that extends on both sides i then drilled a hole big enough to drop my chain through and have it wraped on the pipe and clipped then i snap it bottom to the harness and take off....i use pipe clamps to strap it the quad that way i can take it off easy because i use it for other things around the house.

[Ayres]

I've always just free run my dog from the 4 wheeler. What's the logistics when you have them fastened to the quad by a bracket? Do you just put the thing in neutral and let them drag it, or do you actually keep the gas on? If you gas it, what speed?

I've seen pictures of this done, just have never seen a video or seen it in person.

[Greg Jennings]

You're on the gas, but you want them pulling.

Greg J.

[mountaindogs]

I've always just free run my dog from the 4 wheeler. What's the logistics when you have them fastened to the quad by a bracket? Do you just put the thing in neutral and let them drag it, or do you actually keep the gas on? If you gas it, what speed?

I've seen pictures of this done, just have never seen a video or seen it in person.

Me too, but we "cross train" while I run them. We stop at the lake and I get in the Kayak and swim them for 10 minutes then run some more and so on depending on the dogs' endurance. If it is hot we swim more frequently, and cold we mostly run (because my wet feet in the kayak get cold )

It is this time that I train the turn around command and teach them to watch as I can get way the heck far away if they bolt off and don't listen for the whistle. The down side is they do learn to judge the sound of the engine and often turn as soon as they hear it slow down so I spend a little time mixing things up to be sure only the whistle or voice means turn...

The older dogs help the younger ones catch on very quickly...

[tyleetess]

wildrose has a nice setup he posted once PM him

I looked up the post it was under and went with that exact set up. Bought the steel yesterday and have it half done, I will finish today when it cools down. Thanks for the relies.

[WildRose]

I've always just free run my dog from the 4 wheeler. What's the logistics when you have them fastened to the quad by a bracket? Do you just put the thing in neutral and let them drag it, or do you actually keep the gas on? If you gas it, what speed?

I've seen pictures of this done, just have never seen a video or seen it in person.

It all depends on how many dogs. With all 12 hooked on they drag me just idling along at 14-16 mph!

For normal people with just 1-6 dogs you'll be using some gas. Set the pace such that the dogs are still pulling but not real hard. The harder they are pulling the bulkier the muscle they'll put on (like a power lifter) whereas the faster you are going the more you will build their wind and speed (like a distance runner). You also don't want to overdo either the speed or length of time.

When you are roading several dogs you also have to be mindful that some dogs are just built and geared to hit their most efficient strides at a faster speed, while other's at a lower speed. Don't hurt the slower dogs by pushing too hard to accomodate the faster dogs. If need be split them into different groups. CR

[lvrgsp]

I have been roading one day, free run with swimming the next day and then rest, or birdwork, it has been going good for the last 2 weeks like that, I also just built a new roading bar, it cost me 25 bucks and is easy to build, now keep in mind this will probably not work for the poeple roading more than 4 dogs, but I have a 10' stick of schedule 40, (note get sch. 80) 2 in. pvc, drilled a hole 4 inches from each end, fastened eye bolts through them, then took 2 medium duty bungee cords, cut the hooks off the ends, looped it through the eye bolt and a brass clip tied the bungees together, fastened it all to the front of my 4 wheeler with nylon tie down straps, hooked up the dogs and away we went. A few changes to make, if your gonna road more than 2 dogs get the sch. 80 pipe very very rigid, if you have a dog that hits the harness hard like my male Jack does,and most dogs that enjoy roading will. Get 2 heavy duty bungees instead of medium duty or you can tie 3 together, the bungees allow the dog to not jerk so hard on the pvc plus it adds an additional resistance in. I'll try and post some pics later.
This is a very inexpensive setup for the guy who just has a few dogs or only roads a few at a time, it is extremely light, and very quick to detatch if you do not want to keep the iron on the wheeler. I like what I am seeing in the resistance part of it, it seems the dogs pull harder at times, and get more of a workout in the roading process. Just my observations, I am not a roading guru, or a specialist, just works for me.

Chip