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Riding with a Puppy

Deyv

Deyv

Deyvil
Mar 26, 2002
416
0
Montreal
We are thinking about getting a puppy soon. We know that we probably won't be able to ride with him the first year so I am thinking about riding with the puppy in my bob trailer for the first season.

First question: How young can a puppy ride with us?

Second question: Will the fact that we will make him ride in the trailer for the first year cause problems when we will be ready to make him ride with us? Don't want to train a lazy dog.

Anyone has experience on this?
 
B

bean

Turbo Monkey
Feb 16, 2004
1,335
0
Boulder
If the puppy is in the trailer, any age old enough to adopt should be fine for riding as long as there's some way to make sure it isn't going to jump out. It wouldn't be much different from riding in a car.

I doubt you'll have many problems getting a young dog to run along with you. Too much energy is usually more common than laziness.

When we got ours the vet said to go ahead and run with him, just not to force him to go past the point where he wants to slow or stop. Usually he's good for something in the one to two block range and then we slow down.
 
BadDNA

BadDNA

hophead
Mar 31, 2006
4,257
231
Living the dream.
I can tell you that my Australian Cattle Dog will outrun me on any ride. We didn't start riding with him until he was nearly a year old and we spent the better part of the first year on obedience training. Once I knew I could take him hiking in the woods off leash and wasn't going to have any issues with him wandering too far or not coming when I called him we began to introduce him to bikes. I'd ride around the yard while my wife kept him on a leash, giving him a "leave it" command any time he showed a desire to go after the bike. Once he was able to do laps of the yard on leash we took him off leash and eventually into the woods. He still gets excited and barks a bit when we start riding but we're working on that.

Here's a short video from one of our first rides:
 
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IH8Rice

IH8Rice

I'm Mr. Negative! I Fail!
Aug 2, 2008
24,524
494
Im over here now
ultraNoob said:
Don't dogs usually imitate their owners personalities?..... I'm just sayin.... dogs are pretty empathic creatures.
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out of our three dogs, he is the laziest. our youngest has more energy then any dog ive seen, so hes the one i take on rides


my buddy totes his dog around in his trailer. he started when she was young and shes pretty good in the trailer when he takes her to work or just around town
 
JohnE

JohnE

filthy rascist
May 13, 2005
13,443
1,969
Front Range, dude...
In consult with a MWD trainer friend of mine who also trains mutts for agility competitions, he advises using a bell. Hang one off your jacket when you walk the pup, and one off your seat when you ride. Reinforce with praise and the occasional cookie...dog will follow as he associates bell w/ Dad, Dad w/ praise and cookies...
 
4130biker

4130biker

PM me about Tantrum Cycles!
May 24, 2007
3,884
450
My approach with our golden retriever puppy has been to take her on walk-jog paced slooow xc rides so she learns some trail manners while she's young. I'd say it's working pretty well, she's 10 months now and fairly well behaved on the trails. Recall once we've stopped is something we're still working on... however following while we ride seems to be an instinct for her.

My desire to let'r rip once and a while has been impossible to resist (I know I'm bad). She keeps up, but I don't want to hurt her little joints!

We thought of the trailer but she's plenty capable on the slow & short rides.
I also tried a milk crate on the back of my commuter bike rack. That was cute and funny until she bailed out and hit the pavement.
 
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ALEXIS_DH

ALEXIS_DH

Tirelessly Awesome
Jan 30, 2003
6,147
796
Lima, Peru, Peru
i have a retarded friend who has a shih tzu, probably 8 o 10months old.
he has a hardtail with a basket on the handlebars.

he rides his bike with his dog in the basket, and it includes wheelies and general full retardation.
poor dog hasnt popped out of the basket yet, which is kinda miracle considering the front wheel landing from the wheelies are hard, specially with 50mm of undamped suspension.
 
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local717

Monkey
Apr 11, 2010
260
27
Mt.Gretna/Lancaster
I have a boarder collie/german shepard (basically a boarder with the fur of a german shepard) and started her trail riding at about 4 months. She absolutely loves riding with me. Freaks out when I'm getting ready and don't take her along. She prefers DH riding over XC because she likes jumping doubles and running in berms. Riding with your dog can be a lot of fun!
 
-BB-

-BB-

I broke all the rules, but somehow still became mo
Sep 6, 2001
4,254
28
Livin it up in the O.C.
I started with my dog around 6 months by just going for a walk with her and also bringing my bike, so I would walk beside the bike and she was on the other side. Slowly I would transition to sitting on the bike but "walking" with my feet on the ground (at about 8 months old)... Then some moderate coasting (9mo old)
Flat short rides at low speed around 10mo, then short 6mi rides with some faster sections around a year.

I still hold onto the leash when we are climbing during the summer jsut to keep her from going after a rattle snake. On the downhill I just let go of the leash and try to stay in front of her.

The funniest part is that we both fight for the same lines. She always wants to walk on the smoother part of the trail as opposed to the rough gravel parts. I guess I understand though. there have been quite a few times that I would get back to the house (or car) only to discover that she had peeled off the entire layer of skin on some of her pads. OUCH!!!

 
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Deyv

Deyv

Deyvil
Mar 26, 2002
416
0
Montreal
-BB- said:
I started with my dog around 6 months by just going for a walk with her and also bringing my bike, so I would walk beside the bike and she was on the other side. Slowly I would transition to sitting on the bike but "walking" with my feet on the ground (at about 8 months old)... Then some moderate coasting (9mo old)
Flat short rides at low speed around 10mo, then short 6mi rides with some faster sections around a year.

I still hold onto the leash when we are climbing during the summer jsut to keep her from going after a rattle snake. On the downhill I just let go of the leash and try to stay in front of her.

The funniest part is that we both fight for the same lines. She always wants to walk on the smoother part of the trail as opposed to the rough gravel parts. I guess I understand though. there have been quite a few times that I would get back to the house (or car) only to discover that she had peeled off the entire layer of skin on some of her pads. OUCH!!!
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Thanks BB, this is good help.
 
L

local717

Monkey
Apr 11, 2010
260
27
Mt.Gretna/Lancaster
Yeah, def keep check on their pads! If you have stream crossings where their feet get wet, when they get on rocky terrain with wet pads, the moisture wears the pads down quick. I use something called "Mushers" for their feet. It's used for sled dogs to keep ice and snow from collecting around their feet. Annnd, both my dogs were rescues.
 
Mulestar

Mulestar

Turbo Monkey
Sep 18, 2007
1,061
0
in the dirt
Never used a trailer but my vet didn't seem overly concerned with running my pup under 1 year old. I had heard from many about the problems later in life that this can cause so that's why I asked. He said keep it under a few miles and keep an eye on her paws. I think starting her on short rides on the trail early (6 months or so) helped a lot. Getting the dog comfortable with staying with you off the leash at a young age is important. She was never much of an escape artist so it wasn't too hard. Most dogs don't require much training to run with you on the bike. If they want to run in front, a few tire buzzes usually solves that problem quickly.

These days she can go 25+ miles in good weather and keeps up just fine.
 
J

juiceguy03

Chimp
Jul 13, 2009
18
0
Mulestar said:
Never used a trailer but my vet didn't seem overly concerned with running my pup under 1 year old. I had heard from many about the problems later in life that this can cause so that's why I asked. He said keep it under a few miles and keep an eye on her paws. I think starting her on short rides on the trail early (6 months or so) helped a lot. Getting the dog comfortable with staying with you off the leash at a young age is important. She was never much of an escape artist so it wasn't too hard. Most dogs don't require much training to run with you on the bike. If they want to run in front, a few tire buzzes usually solves that problem quickly.

These days she can go 25+ miles in good weather and keeps up just fine.
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We got a rescue lab/retriever mix 4 years ago. At about a year I tried riding around the neigborhood with him on the leash. He understood immediately. a few days later did our first trail ride and now if he sees me go any where near my bike gear he get's fired up. best riding bud i've had
 
9

9nine9

Chimp
Apr 23, 2007
42
0
Deyv said:
We are looking into a energic herding dog, maybe a australian shepherds. Not rescue sorry.
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Please look into a rescue. There's so many out there I guarantee you'll find one that fits the age/breed you're looking for. Plus, once you start looking you'll realize how many dogs need a home.
Best thing we ever did (2 mental Jack Russells).
 
BadDNA

BadDNA

hophead
Mar 31, 2006
4,257
231
Living the dream.
valve bouncer said:
That's a blue heeler! Red heelers are lovely too but a bit high strung.
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Yeah, we have a friend with a red heeler cross, the two of them get along like they've been friends forever. When we bring the dogs out to trailwork together they will literally run each other into the ground. Peaceful nights after that.
 
valve bouncer

valve bouncer

Master Dildoist
Feb 11, 2002
7,843
114
Japan
BadDNA said:
Yeah, we have a friend with a red heeler cross, the two of them get along like they've been friends forever. When we bring the dogs out to trailwork together they will literally run each other into the ground. Peaceful nights after that.
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Their fur is beautiful with their winter coats, especially the reds. It's the dingo in them. Kelpies are also beautiful especially the red ones. Farm dogs really though, hope you've got a fair bit of land. Our neighbour years ago had one in town and it went barmy.
 
SloMoJo

SloMoJo

Monkey
Dec 17, 2002
379
1
New England
My Dad had a wonderful Britney named Sarah.
She loved to hit the trails .. especially when I brought the bike on a visit.

She went to the other side yesterday.
Tumors in liver & kidneys ..internal bleeding.
All happened in 24 hr period.
Ole Dad is pretty bummed.

Enjoy em while you got em.
Poops and all. ;)
 
TreeSaw

TreeSaw

Mama Monkey
Oct 30, 2003
17,670
1,855
Dancin' over rocks n' roots!
Sydney really wants to get a puppy so we've been consdering a rescue and definitely something that we can take out on the trails. We'll see how she does with a baby sister first and then decide on the puppy thing...not sure how many messy additions I can have at once in the house :)
 
Leppah

Leppah

Turbo Monkey
Mar 12, 2008
2,294
3
Utar
jimmydean said:
I miss my boxer, best trail dog EVAR.
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I'm on my third boxer/trail buddy. He's great on short rides. THe longest I've had him on was 16 miles and he was good to go. THe only thing with them is that they overheat way easy when it gets hot. Mine is white, so he doesn't go out in the heat of the summer that much. I have to spray him with children's sun screen. He ends up all black from the dust sticking to him. Great dog, just not that great for long rides in the heat.
 
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