Bicycle dog leash???

[J.R.]

I've been riding the back field with my dogs for years. My 2-year-old Border Collie needs more. I've trained her well since she was 8 weeks, she is controllable. Border Collies can run 30 mph for fairly long distances, and nothing makes mine happier than to run with me on the bike. I will keep the speeds under 12 mph and start with 6 miles or so.

My initial thought was to try one of these:

But I really think she would do better with this style. This even looks like my rail trail in winter.

Any thoughts or advice?

 

[Saratoga Dave]

Friend did the leash to handlebar thing until dog crossed the front wheel in pursuit of a squirrel that jumped onto the path. Broken collarbone and two shoulder surgeries. I saw the shorter version to the rear hub just the other day for the first time, and in the context of Greg’s story it scared the hell out of me. One of these things that is fine until it isn’t. YMMV

 

[J.R.]

Friend did the leash to handlebar thing until dog crossed the front wheel in pursuit of a squirrel that jumped onto the path. Broken collarbone and two shoulder surgeries. I saw the shorter version to the rear hub just the other day for the first time, and in the context of Greg’s story it scared the hell out of me. One of these things that is fine until it isn’t. YMMV

Thanks for the reply. I need to know the good, the bad and the ugly. I've owned a lot of herding dogs, and the border collies are by far the smartest and train easy if you take the time. That said, they can turn on a dime at full speed and that's my biggest concern. The rear axle leash would be easier to control a 30-pound dog, and having the backend of the bike pulled on would be easier for me to control and recover. I don't think the dog would like that position as much. I'm still in the research stage.

 

[Mike_V]

Your back field or MINE : "This even looks like my rail trail in winter."

Two years ago a well meaning man with a dog and a leash tried your stunt and his dog bolted in front of me on the trail, I braked and flew head over handlebars.

NEXT TIME - I will run over top of the dog to the very best of my ability.

 

[J.R.]

Your back field or MINE : "This even looks like my rail trail in winter."

Two years ago a well meaning man with a dog and a leash tried your stunt and his dog bolted in front of me on the trail, I braked and flew head over handlebars.

NEXT TIME - I will run over top of the dog to the very best of my ability.

You sure told me

 

[J.R.]

I appreciate all the comments and concerns. The comment with regard to the rail trail was only about that video looking like my trail (see my avatar pic), I don't intend to ride with the dog on a public trail. I have miles of farm tracks and dirt roads to ride.

Thanks, Dave, for your friend's anecdote. That situation was what concerned me most. As it is now the dog stays with me as I ride in the field and I'm looking to add to what we do.

These types of exercises are done with working breeds, there's a lot of blogs about it. I've trained 14 herding dogs, and my BC is the offspring of working dogs, purchased from a working sheep farm. I've gotten the working breed community's perspective and was just looking for this community's perspective.

 

[PDoz]

JR, thanks for those links. I'm in the early stages of training a young dog for riding and that second design looks interesting. The first is terrifying!

I'm of two minds - teach the dog on lead in situations where I can ride single handed vs teach the dog to obey verbal commands whilst cycling. My preference is to eventually have the dog off lead , but that's going to take a LOT of work ( and me to be fit enough to give commands whilst cycling.....)

With previous dogs, I just taught them to run beside me on a leas - but this one is agile and seemingly smart enough that I suspect she'll be up to running in front on mountain bike tracks - mid week so it's just us and the kangaroos.

 

[Saratoga Dave]

Mira just completed the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. The Baja Peninsula wasn’t enough, apparently.

 

[EMGX]

I've ridden with up two two dogs on regular leashes with a resultant disaster or two and have a couple walky dog devices that I've used numerous times over the years with dogs as large as 70+# who could run with me for miles on gravel paths at 20-25mph. The Walky Dog isn't perfect but it does work pretty well and safer than holding a leash. There are springs in the handle part so that there is some cushion between the bike and dog and the seat post mount makes for good dissipation of forces without affecting bike stability. The seat post mount does tend to rotate unless it is tightened down very securely and on some bikes the handle part has to be directed backwards some to avoid back of thigh from hitting the handle while pedaling. Overall it has been a good option.
I see that there are much less expensive Walky Dog clones now available on Amazon, not sure that I'd try to save a few dollars on an imitation though.

 

[J.R.]

JR, thanks for those links. I'm in the early stages of training a young dog for riding and that second design looks interesting. The first is terrifying!

I'm of two minds - teach the dog on lead in situations where I can ride single handed vs teach the dog to obey verbal commands whilst cycling. My preference is to eventually have the dog off lead , but that's going to take a LOT of work ( and me to be fit enough to give commands whilst cycling.....)

With previous dogs, I just taught them to run beside me on a leas - but this one is agile and seemingly smart enough that I suspect she'll be up to running in front on mountain bike tracks - mid week so it's just us and the kangaroos.

I have had great success with ACME dog whistles from England. The 575 takes time to learn, but it can't be beat for a variety of commands. I can't see me being able to use it while riding.

I've also used ACME silent whistle (not actually silent) and I could use that while riding.

She's so used to running with me that I don't think it would be long to get her used to riding somewhere other than the field. Maybe eventually off leash.

 

[Prairie Dog]

I watched a doc earlier today on this BC featured on a Japanese TV network (NHK). Hercules is a wildlife patrol dog and is on call 24/7 to chase birds away at the airport in Charleston, WV. Super smart and obviously has a special connection to his handler.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=672549470746762

 

[PDoz]

. I use to have one that pulls me on skateboard.

Our recently deceased curley used to drag the kids along on their skate boards - AND on their SUP's ! Occasionally it'd fail to recognize the difference and the kids would get dragged into the water.....

 

[J.R.]

 

[Viking1]

My thoughts would be against either tether. The first version the dog would have to speed up on right turns and slow down on left turns. I know our dogs didn’t come with owners manuals, and probably true for most people as well.

 

[Taylor57]

Thanks JR. I got to start off the day with a good cry. I had seen it before but it never gets old.

 

[J.R.]

My thoughts would be against either tether. The first version the dog would have to speed up on right turns and slow down on left turns. I know our dogs didn’t come with owners manuals, and probably true for most people as well.

I appreciate your concern, I really do. Everyone's experience is different. I've trained herding dogs my whole life. I've trained them for a variety of pursuits. One I trained to be a therapy dog at local veterans hospitals. My current BC is trained for sport. She was catching a Frisbee in flight at 3 months. She hikes and climbs with me and she runs with me on the bike. There are manuals for training; proper processes and procedures. I wouldn't consider every breed or type of dog capable of working, but a BC is very capable and they thrive on activity. They are often destructive if they don't have a job to do. I can't ride my ebike as fast as my dog can run.

 

[Kayakguy]

I've been riding the back field with my dogs for years. My 2-year-old Border Collie needs more. I've trained her well since she was 8 weeks, she is controllable. Border Collies can run 30 mph for fairly long distances, and nothing makes mine happier than to run with me on the bike. I will keep the speeds under 12 mph and start with 6 miles or so.

My initial thought was to try one of these:

But I really think she would do better with this style. This even looks like my rail trail in winter.

Any thoughts or advice?

I love to see a dog with the enthusiasm to run and pull like that. Reminds me of sled dogs, who always have huge grins on their faces when they are pulling. I think the animal protection people who object to sled dogs are way off base.

 

[J.R.]

I love to see a dog with the enthusiasm to run and pull like that. Reminds me of sled dogs, who always have huge grins on their faces when they are pulling. I think the animal protection people who object to sled dogs are way off base.

Working dog breeds that aren't allowed to work often become neurotic, destructive and mean. My 2 year old BC has a bed and she never uses it. The only time she's in it is when I have people over and I tell her to "go to bed". They are most happy when they have a job to do. Most of that is sport and play.

 

[Avg_Joe]

I know everyone says they train their dogs and I don't doubt it. You simply cannot train out instinct, though. Think about the 2 incidents below when your dog is tethered and is put into an unwanted/threatening situation, what will your dog do? Other people are careless, e.g. no control on- or off-leash so you will be put into similar situations.

I used the walky-dog thing on a bike some years ago. (In fact, if you want it, PM your full mailing address and I'll send it to you even though I do not recommend this.)

We had 2 dogs. Our civilized dog, Jacob, hated the thing. He was pit/hound mix, 50ish lbs, very athletic. He would trot alongside me, we would never go faster than a quick walk/slow trot. He'd frequently pull away as if something on the bike scared him. The spring in the walky-dog helped with that. It was clear he just did not enjoy it, so I stopped with him after maybe 5 rides.

Our other dog, Rudy, was a 45lb pittie, 10 lbs of head and all muscle. Rudy loved the walky-dog! We'd ride our neighborhood most days, then 2 things happened:

1. An off-leash dog came after us, we couldn't outrun/outride it. The dog nipped Rudy's rear end, at which point Rudy stopped so I (promptly/unexpectedly) stopped. The dog came at us, and Rudy chomped down on that dog's head. The sound the other dog made was nothing I ever want to hear again, but I calmly told Rudy to leave it and he let go. The other dog's owner was very apologetic, which is great and all...
2. A few weeks later, we were riding and a woman had a large dog on one of those retractable leashes. Her dog came at us, she did not have control due to the length of the leash/size of dog. As the dog got near, Rudy went in for the kill. Unfortunately that meant he put his snout through the spokes of my front wheel, which pinned his head to the fork, which brought me to a rather abrupt stop. I went face-first into the road, unconscious for a few seconds. Severe concussion, broken wrist, stitches in my forehead, still have scars on arms and legs and right side of my face. Rudy broke a tooth.

And not that you asked, but based solely on my experience, this is not something I'd advise anyone to do, period. Again, when your dog is tethered and not doing it's job, behavior is altered.

 

[J.R.]

I know everyone says they train their dogs and I don't doubt it. You simply cannot train out instinct, though. Think about the 2 incidents below when your dog is tethered and is put into an unwanted/threatening situation, what will your dog do? Other people are careless, e.g. no control on- or off-leash so you will be put into similar situations.

I used the walky-dog thing on a bike some years ago. (In fact, if you want it, PM your full mailing address and I'll send it to you even though I do not recommend this.)

We had 2 dogs. Our civilized dog, Jacob, hated the thing. He was pit/hound mix, 50ish lbs, very athletic. He would trot alongside me, we would never go faster than a quick walk/slow trot. He'd frequently pull away as if something on the bike scared him. The spring in the walky-dog helped with that. It was clear he just did not enjoy it, so I stopped with him after maybe 5 rides.

Our other dog, Rudy, was a 45lb pittie, 10 lbs of head and all muscle. Rudy loved the walky-dog! We'd ride our neighborhood most days, then 2 things happened:

1. An off-leash dog came after us, we couldn't outrun/outride it. The dog nipped Rudy's rear end, at which point Rudy stopped so I (promptly/unexpectedly) stopped. The dog came at us, and Rudy chomped down on that dog's head. The sound the other dog made was nothing I ever want to hear again, but I calmly told Rudy to leave it and he let go. The other dog's owner was very apologetic, which is great and all...
2. A few weeks later, we were riding and a woman had a large dog on one of those retractable leashes. Her dog came at us, she did not have control due to the length of the leash/size of dog. As the dog got near, Rudy went in for the kill. Unfortunately that meant he put his snout through the spokes of my front wheel, which pinned his head to the fork, which brought me to a rather abrupt stop. I went face-first into the road, unconscious for a few seconds. Severe concussion, broken wrist, stitches in my forehead, still have scars on arms and legs and right side of my face. Rudy broke a tooth.

And not that you asked, but based solely on my experience, this is not something I'd advise anyone to do, period. Again, when your dog is tethered and not doing it's job, behavior is altered.

Thanks for sharing your experience. I had to look past the opening sentence for the value, it strikes a negative tone that someone serious about training for more than a half century could easily dismiss the entire post. Yes, instinct, and I understand your experience with the Pitbull breed. My brother, a committed dog lover and rescuer had a Pitbull that was abandoned to a shelter at 9 weeks old. A real sweetheart and a loving dog. My brother would walk that dog several times a day for 2 years. One day during their regular walk, the dog was triggered by another dog barking, he got away from my brother and the Pitbull got the other dog by the neck and wouldn't let go. The little dog died. For 2 years the dog never showed aggression towards people, but some dogs just triggered the Pitbull. My brother had to rehome the dog.

I've owned herding dogs since the day I was born, literally. My father got me a Rough Collie when I was born, and I had her for the first 14 years of my life. That dog fostered a love for working breeds that has lasted my entire life. As previously noted, I've trained them for a variety of pursuits. The key to dealing with instincts is to know the breed, know your dog and to know how to train. What the breed will do, can do and what the breed is incapable of doing.

The question of how and whether one should, is better asked to the working breed community of owners and trainers. In this particular case, the Border Collie community. I asked here for personal experience, as it relates to bikes and leashes, because I've been on this forum for 9 years and I trust the variety of experiences here. I value your experience and appreciate your reply.