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Tag Archives: bicycling with dogs

Bicycling with Dogs on a Beautiful Pre-Winter Day

17 Saturday Nov 2012

Posted by SaraS in Dogs

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Bicycling, bicycling with dogs, labrador retriever, Poodles, WalkyDog

So this picture of Renee and Myka turned out pretty nice:

Renee and Myka

Renee and Myka

However, taking that picture caused a small amount of trauma. The very next picture on my camera roll is this:

Blue sky and a lamppost

Blue sky and a lamppost

You can see the really beautiful blue sky…along with that little bit of a lamppost…

What Happened…

So, here’s how this happened. Today was a beautiful day, so we took Darwin and Myka on a bike ride. All was going very well; those two dogs love bicycling with us. They love to run all out, especially early on.

Down by the park, Renee wanted to work with Myka’s turns for a few minutes, so she pulled into the parking lot and did some loops. Darwin and I pulled off the path to wait.

Waiting

Darwin Waiting

It occurred to me that this was an ideal time to get a few pictures. I don’t often have the opportunity to take pictures during these rides, so I leaned the bike against my body and pulled out my phone.

All was going very well and I got a few great shots as they rode towards us and then passed us.

As they passed us, Darwin decided that we were done waiting and it was time to start running, as he usually follows Myka on our rides. So he started running after them. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a tight grip on the bike, so it fell over and began, in Darwin’s mind, chasing him. He ran in panicked circles, dragging the bike behind him as I frantically told him to stop and attempted to catch him. The Walky Dog bar that we use scraped along the concrete; I’m sure the sound just added to his panic.

The chaos seemed to last a long time, but was probably only a few seconds. Apparently I somehow hit the camera button on my phone and took that shot of the blue sky and lamppost.

After a moment, Darwin did calm down enough that we could continue the ride. I gave my bike a quick inspection, but everything seemed mostly okay. I think the brakes might need some adjusting. The Walky Dog bar actually took the brunt of the dragging and seemed fine, although the bracket needs to be tightened back up.

Darwin seemed a little skittish when we started riding again, but after a few minutes with no more trauma, he settled into his normal biking groove. This is a very good thing; because of his very issues, we don’t have a lot of options for good exercise for him. Bicycling gives him a good long run, so I was relieved that the experience didn’t freak him out too badly.

Rest of the Day

We finished our ride, then dropped off Darwin and Myka and took Abby on a ride. Then it was Sirus’s turn, although she doesn’t like to go as far or as fast. Finally we finished up with a short walk for Cricket (Sirus came along since she had a shorter ride).

Despite the short trauma, it was a beautiful day to be out the with the dogs! A few more pictures are below.

seconds before

Seconds before the incident

Earlier in the ride; this picture I took while riding.

Earlier in the ride; this picture I took while riding.

Abby taking a break during her ride. You can tell it was a warm day today since she had to lay down in the river!

Abby taking a break during her ride. You can tell it was a warm day today since she had to lay down in the river!

A Summer of Biking with Dogs / The WalkyDog

12 Wednesday Oct 2011

Posted by SaraS in Dogs, Outdoors

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Bicycling, bicycling with dogs, labrador retriever, Poodles

Last spring, not long after we bought new mountain bikes, we started taking the dogs on bike rides for exercise. The four big dogs need a lot of exercise. Bicycling with them is a great way to give them really good exercise in a short amount of time.

But biking with dogs isn’t always all that easy. We would take them one at a time—I just rode along while Renee would take the dog on a long leash. I didn’t have the nerve to ride one-handed like that.

So I started looking into other options so that I could take a dog too. We decided to try the WalkyDog. This device has a bracket you attach to the seatpost of the bike. The leash itself is a metal bar with springs inside for shock absorption. It has a quick release so it is easy to attach and detach from the bracket.

Once all set up, you can ride along like normal (while paying extra attention to the dog of course) and the dog can run alongside the bike. He can’t get ahead or behind the tires, although he can get pretty close.

The WalkyDog the day UPS delivered it

First Attempts to Use the WalkyDog (Back in April)

When the WalkyDog arrived, we of course had to get the dogs used to the idea. I was pretty confident that this wouldn’t be a problem since they had all gone on bike rides before. The web site where we ordered it recommended starting slow, hooking up the dog and walking before riding, and so on. Pretty logical stuff.

Abby and Myka

It turned out I was a bit wrong about this. I tried Abby first. As soon as we got near enough to the bike for me to attach the leash, she started backing away. She refused to get close enough for me to connect her to the bike.

So next I tried with Myka. She also freaked out at first, and managed to wriggle completely out of her harness when I connected her to the bike! At this point, Renee came outside to help out. We spent some more time coaxing her to accept the idea. We managed to get her to go on a very short ride, first with Renee and then with me.

My theory on why they freaked out is that they weren’t used to my bike (it is larger than Renee’s) and they weren’t used to the idea of riding with me, since Renee usually took them on her bike.

The Scared-y-Cat Surprises Us All 

So after the rather unenthusiastic response from the first two poodles, I really wasn’t sure what to expect from Darwin. He is, really, a scared-y-cat of a dog. Loud noises and strange things scare him easily. Clang a metal dog food bowl against the floor and he scrambles under the bed.

Darwin waiting for us to start riding again.

So with some concern I put the harness on him, took him outside and brought him up next to the bike. To my surprise, he stayed calm. Connected him to the bike and he just looked around as though saying “well? Are we going now?” Walked the bike around the yard once — barely — and then hit the street. He had no trouble at all, just started running alongside the bike like he had been doing it forever!

So although it was a mixed review from the poodles, Darwin gave the WalkyDog a full thumbs up. Since then, I’ve taken Darwin on many rides, sometimes with Renee and sometimes on our own. I’ve also taken Myka numerous times.

Concerns and Safety

Obviously, there are some risks when bicycling with a dog. All the risks associated with bicycling (traffic, road hazards, and so on) are compounded when you have a living creature attached to your vehicle and running alongside you.

But you know, there are risks in everything. We could get hit by a bus while walking across the street. Our dogs could run off while hiking in the woods and get hurt. There are no end to the bad things that could happen. And the positive aspects of bicycling are just huge. The dogs love it. They get better exercise than on a walk, and they seem to love seeing us “run” at their same pace.

When I first started researching the WalkyDog before we ordered it, I saw a comment online (I can’t remember where) that said this was a terrible idea because it was essentially chaining your dog to a treadmill that could break his neck if he tried to stop. I sort of wonder about someone who says something like this. After all, the bicycle is not powered by some sort of inattentive robot. It should be powered by a human who actually, you know, cares about the dog running along and can pay attention to pretty obvious signals. The “treadmill” in this case can be extremely responsive to the actions of the dog.

When I ride with a dog, the ride is all about the dog. I go the dog’s pace, not my own. When he slows down, I slow down. When he speeds up, I monitor his speed and make sure he’s not overdoing it, although sometimes it is amusing to just relax and let him tow me down the road. The point is, I’m not going to be getting massive amounts of exercise since I am constrained by the needs of the dog.

Ready to go!

I’ve found that it works well to position the WalkyDog so that it is almost perpendicular to the bike, but pushed back just a bit. In this position, I can see Darwin (or Myka) in my peripherial vision at all times. If he slows down and drops back a bit, I see the change immediately and can adjust.

It is also necessary to be extra-alert when biking with a dog. For example, the other night we passed two skateboarders flying down the hill. Darwin doesn’t really like skateboarders very much — they move fast and they make funny noises. He wanted to chase the first one, and so I had to veer sharply the other way to get his attention and get him out of the way of the second skateboarder.

I usually talk to the dogs quite a bit as we ride, which helps keep them calm and helps teach them what to expect. When we make turns, I call out the direction we are going. Both Darwin and Myka now know what “left” and “right” mean. Darwin also knows that “Let’s Go” means he needs to stop looking around at whatever is distracting him and keep moving.

Advantages of Biking with Our Dogs

So far, in 2011 we’ve ridden about 120 miles with the dogs. A few of these rides were before the WalkyDog, but most were after. Sometimes we take two dogs at once, now that I can take a dog too. It is a little more chaotic with two, as they tend to compete with each other a bit. For example, Myka insists on being the lead dog. She does not do well if the other bike and dog are in the lead.

The dog who has benefited the most has probably been Darwin. He can be a difficult dog these days. He loves the poodles and Cricket but is iffy with other dogs, so he can’t go to the dog park for exercise. With bicycling, I can take a short lunch break during my workday and give Darwin a good workout. Then in the evening we can take the rest of the dogs to the dog park.

The best part of it all is, I usually come home from a dog bike ride in a good mood.

On the bridge during an evening ride

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