Anyone cycle with their dog?

[HappyHolidays75]

Could you recommend me a suitable lead or bike attachment?
We've only done a short first attempt with a normal lead, but dog mostly off lead.
I think I need to be better prepared for a longer ride.
Thanks!

The Highway Code (which is not law) specifically advises against this for your safety and that of the dog because of the risk of entanglement with the lead or the animal. There's always the risk of the dog heading off in a direction of its own choosing or stopping and dragging you with it.

You may end up off your bike with various injuries, and the dog would be far more likely to have serious injuries to its neck, back and limbs.

I'm not a believer in it, but there are things of there to assist in making it marginally safer to do this. Just never ever hold a lead in your hand if you carry on with it, and make sure you have a drink available for your dog as they'll be working a lot harder than you!

Should have said, even if dog is off lead, if you run over the dog or have to brake suddenly for it, are you prepared to deal with that? Insured etc?

We cycle with the dog on holiday. We have him off lead trotting or cantering between the two bicycles but mainly on tow paths. You can get harnesses with special bike attachments but we just think he’s safer and less likely to get in a tangle off lead. Never had a problem thus far. He follows the lead bicycle very happily and maintains a good distance. The second bike can always see him and can slow or stop if he decides to sniff. Usually once he’s going he just runs in formation- but then he’s been bred for generations to do exactly that.

Thanks!
Never near roads if that makes any difference. Cycling slowly across field / river bank yesterday. Yes dog is insured.
When i needed him on lead i stopped or walked yesterday which got me thinking how do others do it to enable us to keep moving.
Usually I just walk with dog and kids might cycle.
You make many valid points!

@cherrypavlova that pretty much describes what we were doing.

I've only ever cycled with mine off the lead. Have very possibly put him on a very short lead whilst passing through busy areas and just cycled at a walking pace. I know it's not advisable though! I very nearly ran him over once and it was horrible. He didn't bat an eyelid, but I've made a conscious effort to only cycle slowly since then

remember that most dogs are not designed to run continuously. They run in bursts, so running alongside a bike is pretty hard work for them.

What breed of dog do you have?

Some are perfectly designed for running for miles - huskies, malamutes, dalmatians and similar.

But most dogs aren't designed to just run and run like that. My concern would be overdoing it and causing an injury to my dog if they weren't used to it, especially because if you keep going, the dog will keep going as well - they don't like to show weakness!

How far are you planning on going? Has he/she done that kind of distance before?

Ours loves it but agree it depends on breed. We’ll do twenty miles arrive back hot, tired and wanting to relax whilst he’ll be wanting more. We wouldn’t cycle with him anywhere busy or where cars could go.

Dog is a collie. He's done 10 mile mountain hikes (mostly on lead to stop him doing 20) and similar distance flatter walks partly off lead (so ran further).
Rarely cycle with him, but have did about 12 miles in forests off lead once but a family bike ride with lots of rests and a picnic, not fast at all.

We used to mountain bike with ours when he was younger. Mountain biking means you're going slower and the dog can keep his own pace. We stopped for lots of water breaks. He loved it. I wouldn't do it on leash. There's just too many things that could go wrong.

Be very careful where you do it. On shared cycle/pedestrian routes it can be a nightmare for other users. I almost got pulled off my bike on a bike trail when someone's dog on one of those bungee leads suddenly decided to switch side of the path without warning. Yes, it could equally have been a dog belonging to a pedestrian, but my experience is that pedestrians are usually in much better control of their dogs and much more aware of their surroundings (and know when to bring the dog back to heel if necessary).

Where I used to live I'd thankie see a lady cycling with two lurcher-type dogs running with her. She'd only have one on a lead and the one off was a bloody menace if another dog went near. Not easy to keep apart when she'd come flying round the corner. The loose one took a chunk out of my GSD's tail hair. Last time I saw her she had both dogs attached to the bike. The moral of the story is, all other things being safe etc., please make sure your dog is under control.

A friend has handlebar extension things and runs her Japanese Akita from it. Seems to work okay.

I'm waiting'till my two Rotties' training is more advancedbefore I try with them. They're pretty good, but I don't fancy them choosing to go in outside directions when attached to my bike! I'll use the same attachment things as friend has. My GSD would just run alongside and not need attaching. The only thing I'd have to watch with her is when she wants to get too close, so would consider the same handlebar thing for her.

All of the above would only ever be off-road.

MrsMozartMkll. I think poorly trained dogs and inconsiderate owners are a menace wherever you are but particularly if you or other people are moving at speed. We don’t attach as his type was bred to trot or canter alongside moving things like carriages or fire engines. He’s truly at his finest then and seems to stay really focussed on just keeping the pace and moving with us.
He could always spot a squirrel and zoom off but that hasn’t happened yet when cycling. It does when walking at a slower pace. We keep him off lead as we don’t fancy ending up in the canals or rivers and he can stop if he ever needed to. We carry water with us and luckily in the part of France we do the towpaths are pretty empty and away from roads. We rarely see anyone else.

We’re mindful of his paws too as he’s not used to running on tarmac over long distances. Luckily most of the towpaths are grass rather than anything harder - more challenges for us than him.

I used to use a Springer with my BC. You have to build it up - dogs aren't used to running continuously.

I also think you’re asking for injury if you suddenly expect a fat lab or Dachshund that usually does no more than sniffing around the local park to run fifteen miles. They, like humans, need to be prepared for longer distances and healthy enough to do it. Franky is a young dog who runs at least ten miles daily at home so it’s just a small step up to accompanying bicycles.

It’s a recognised sport. Bikejor! Depends whether you want the dog on the front or side?

Google bikejor and a shop like inner wolf and you should find what you’re looking for.

OP I’m sure you know your dog and if you have a collie which arent for the faint hearted, you’ll be sensible enough to practice this with caution

I realise I've said Springer and that could be misconstrued as a Springer spaniel!

I mean I used a Springer Bike Attachment. It's designed specifically to attach a dog to a bike.

remember that most dogs are not designed to run continuously. They run in bursts, so running alongside a bike is pretty hard work for them.

^^

This.

Used to cycle with my old collie, just trained her to trot alongside my bike while I kept her on a long leash. Now have a vizsla and I've also trained him to jog alongside my bike. We have bikejor harness and front attachment but for some reason he doesn't like it!
He'd rather jog alongside mum! I use vocal commands to control him.
We are semi rural tho, so he's only on lead for a short while!
We do it about once a week and we stop at the local burn for a rest and drink. And never in hot weather!

Meant to say, Ive only accidentally run over him once! Collie way too smart for that! But I don't go too fast, so I can stop in time! I ring my bell to warn him!
It's great fun once you have the commands nailed, both dogs enjoyed the challenge of running with mum! Collies have a natural working lope they can run for miles, the viz has found his lope too!
😁

Just use a harness and an extendable lead here, so it can be dropped easily (jogging leads that attach to you would be dangerous) but it depends on the dog and the terrain - wide shared use paths here.

Ours is a collie he loves it, we only go about a couple of miles each way, parking up and walking/going to cafe in between

I have seen some horrendous dog and cycle combo's. The most common one round here is some poor dog (and it's often a collie with a thick coat, but I have seen it with staffies) trotting fast alongside a bike - and having to trot really fast or even 'canter' to keep up. The dogs invariably look extremely hot and out of breath, and generally unhappy. In these cases I think it's just a lazy way of walking the dog. But, obviously for some breeds that were bred to run for miles, like huskies, it's fine, with due regard to the temperature of course. I always think though that half the fun of walking for a dog is sniffing and exploring, and how do dogs attached to bikes indicate they want to pee or poo?
The only time I cycled with my dog, I put her in the basket on the front, but that was a Yorkie. She didn't like it!