it made me sad to see a dog's lead attached to the waist of someone walking smartly

[AbsolutelyPatsy]

thereby lack of stopping, sniffing, doing business.
just walking for exercise.

am i wrong?

"Tied to to its owners bike I highly doubt a dog would just sit down and not budge."

Mine communicates very well. If he doesn't want to go somewhere he just doesn't go.

'Yes, if people are riding bikes with their dogs in places where it's hazardous for themselves and/or others, that's wrong. But none of us were arguing that point.'

OK so you agree. If not for the dogs sake then for a safety/ hazard reasons it's not a good idea. Great!

@JaniieJones

'Sorry, just seen this. I feel sorry for your dogs if you don't get any of the communication they will be trying to make with you. '

Oh no you misunderstand. The pp kept saying dogs tell us things! I said no they don't. They of course stand by the door if they need a wee, go to the cupboard for a biscuit etc. So yes in that regard they let me know what they want but no, I don't think they'd be able to 'tell me' they didn't fancy being tied to my bike for a brisk 30 min non stop run.

They can't talk y'see and dogs tend to trust their owners and hope they won't do stupid things with them.

'They can't talk y'see'

Jeez. I can see this isn't worth pursuing any further!

@JaniieJones

'Yes, if people are riding bikes with their dogs in places where it's hazardous for themselves and/or others, that's wrong. But none of us were arguing that point.'

OK so you agree. If not for the dogs sake then for a safety/ hazard reasons it's not a good idea. Great!

Yes, I agree with you on that point, which was not the point we were actually discussing. Have a good day, Janiie.

Unless it was bouncing and dragging along behind I wouldn't think it was mean. The dog might have just had a mega run and sniff around a field and be walking home?

@TurquoiseBaubles

"Tied to to its owners bike I highly doubt a dog would just sit down and not budge."

Mine communicates very well. If he doesn't want to go somewhere he just doesn't go.

Same here. Same with any dog owner I've discussed this stuff with, too. Dog communication is a common topic in the dog park, and they've all got their ways of getting their points across

Oh no you misunderstand. The pp kept saying dogs tell us things! I said no they don't. They of course stand by the door if they need a wee, go to the cupboard for a biscuit etc. So yes in that regard they let me know what they want but no, I don't think they'd be able to 'tell me' they didn't fancy being tied to my bike for a brisk 30 min non stop run.
It’s exactly the same though. You’re looking for cues that your dog needs a wee by it going to the door. People who intensively exercise dogs will be well versed in spotting the cues that “tell them” the dog is tired. I’m wouldn’t get any “I’m tired” cues from my dog after a walk to the park and a short time throwing the ball about, most dogs wouldn’t be tired after that.

Er, my dog goes on a variety of walks every week:

• an hour's walk around the woods, off lead
• a 5k or 10k run with me/DH, on a waist lead near roads, off lead where we can
• a walk to the local nature reserve with a Frisbee or ball which he chases, fetches and repeat x 100
• a half hour walk to the beach where he chases sticks in and out of the water
• walk along the river, jumping in for a swim/chase a stick
• a run alongside us as we cycle
• a half hour walk after dinner around the pavements on a lead - sometimes he just has to fit in with us if it's a busy day.

If you saw me on the walk around the pavement, and judged my dog walking on that, you'd be leaping to very unfair conclusions.

If you go on other threads on MN, you'll find people who believe a dog should never be off a lead.

Don't assume this is the only walk the dog gets. My dog loves to go running with me. But the main purpose of the activity is exercise for me made more enjoyable by the dog's presence, not stimulation for the dog. I'm not stopping every time he wants to sniff something, because that would defeat the purpose. He gets plenty of slow walks with DH where he can stop and sniff all he wants. The choices here are the dog keeps pace with me, or the dog gets left at home. The dog prefers keeping pace with me to being left at home, so that's that.

Also, the dog might have medical reasons for needing more intense exercise, such as weight loss or cardiac conditioning. That's not going to work if he's stopping to sniff things every few seconds.

@JaniieJones

'You don't seem to realise that dogs and owners are responding to each other all the time. Dogs tell you when they're tired. They tell you when they want to run.'

We've always had dogs, they don't 'tell you' anything. I've managed to respond perfectly to them without tying them to a moving bike.

They don't tell you when they're tired they usually keep on going until the responsible owners take them home and lets them know it's rest time. I've yet to see a dog having a nap on a beach or in the middle of the woods. Tied to to its owners bike I highly doubt a dog would just sit down and not budge.

You are wrong. My dogs tell me when their tired, hungry, thirsty etc. If you dont hear it from yours, that's your problem. Some dogs do well tied to a human on a bike, some (mine) dont. But I guarantee mine love me riding as fast as I can (not very, I'm old and unfit) and they keep up, veer off to see a squirrel, stop to pee on trees, race to catch me up, play tag in the big field etc. If I had a little dog with short legs that was never bred to run then i obviously wouldnt ride 10 exhausting miles with them. I still reckon I'd prefer a dog taken out on a bike ride than bored to tears at home all day.

@JaniieJones

'Yes, if people are riding bikes with their dogs in places where it's hazardous for themselves and/or others, that's wrong. But none of us were arguing that point.'

OK so you agree. If not for the dogs sake then for a safety/ hazard reasons it's not a good idea. Great!

Is it so inconceivable that it's possible to safely exercise a dog from a bike, that it's a recognised sport with codes of conduct and international competitions, and has literally saved the lives of some dogs who could never have had their needs fulfilled in a pet home with nothing but plodding walks?

My dogs are retired now but back in the day you either sought permission from a private landowner or obtained permits for designated training areas from for e.g the Forestry Commission. The trails were signposted and often had time constraints so you had to be out early in the morning before other trail users. Evidence of public liability insurance had to be provided. Completely different concept from numpties dragging their dogs about on pavements or busy public parks.

@GeidiPrimes
you got me!

"Lovely. Are there a lot of cart dogs kept as domestic pets"

I had a Bernese Mountain dog. There were originally bred for herding and as draught animals for pulling carts. You clearly don't know as much about dogs as you think you do

Just walk your dogs and throw them a ball. Interact with them fgs

Throwing a ball is not the benign activity you think it is - can cause problems with the spine (spondylosis) due to the sprinting from a standing start, twisting turning and leaping. Especially when people use those god awful flingers

I see a woman regularly in my area, walking her dog really fast. It's a wee westie. I couldn't keep up with her and I'm a fast walker, poor wee dog was scampering along behind her. And her walks are long as I pass her at several places. I think dogs need to be able to stop and sniff and do doggy things

I walk my dog on a waist belt as I have fibromyalgia and my hands aren't very good. Plus the training class she goes to is for reactive dogs and every owner wears a belt for safety reasons for both dog and human

@LimitIsUp

Just walk your dogs and throw them a ball. Interact with them fgs

Throwing a ball is not the benign activity you think it is - can cause problems with the spine (spondylosis) due to the sprinting from a standing start, twisting turning and leaping. Especially when people use those god awful flingers

What if your dog doesn’t like catching a ball? Not all dogs do. Mine couldn’t care less. Is it such a leap to imagine that not all dogs are the same and get their congestive and physical stimulation from different things like people do?

I am posting this because my flatcoated retriever has spondylosis of the spine, probably exacerbated by ball throwing in the past - I realise it is slightly off topic, but since ball throwing was mentioned....

Did you mean to quote me Formaldeheidi ?

I wasn't advocating ball throwing but addressing a comment from another poster. Perhaps I should have put the first sentence in quotation marks to make it clearer

@LimitIsUp

Did you mean to quote me Formaldeheidi ?

I wasn't advocating ball throwing but addressing a comment from another poster. Perhaps I should have put the first sentence in quotation marks to make it clearer

Ah gotcha. Sorry! No I agree with you.

no one has picked up on my treadmill question?

anyone do that?

i used to watch Caesar, 8 years ago, and in america dogs were doing this very regularly

Throwing a ball is not the benign activity you think it is

It's also bloody boring. It gives nowhere the mental and physical stimulation that bikejoring or canicross does where the dog has to focus and be ready to respond to commands.

If all you can be bothered to do with your dog is fling a ball at him at least look into flyball or disc dog. I can't think of a single breed that would be fulfilled by someone tossing a ball at him a few times a day.

Flyball, disc dog and agility are my go to sports but my latest dog is a rotty/bernie cross so I am well aware I may need to shelve my frisbee in favour of a bike once he's fully grown.

my ddog is mad for a ball

she loves mostly pushing a football around with her nose/mouth

@AbsolutelyPatsy

Most dogs are but for most dogs it's not enough in the way of mental stimulation which is just as important if not more important than physical exercise.

I've only ever owned 'working' breeds so I can't vouch for lap dogs. I can't imagine it would be enough but I could be wrong.