UKC

Do any of you bike with your dog? How do you train it to run in the right position relative to your bike? I think I want him just a little behind the bike, but I can't treat him when he's there to encourage him that he's in the right place.

In reply to girlymonkey:

Yeah all the time, i have 2 labradors, i try to have them by my side although the mother of the 2 likes to be in front alot and tends to nearly get run over, shes learned when the brakes squeek
Move over
When they are both in the right place i then give them both "good girls"
Now i cant take my bike out alone without them both pacing the house.

In reply to girlymonkey:

What breed ?

Positioning they will learn by trial and error !

Just one note though, you have to be very careful as some breeds are designed to go all day but be stop start, spaniels etc, breeds like GSP's etc will run all day, our cocker can do a 6 hour day in the hills but ask him to run flat out for an hour and we generally have a refusal !

In reply to Hawky:

I was thinking that by my side could be problematic if I am on single track and also in the way if I fall. Do they watch and react to narrowing trails or falls?

In reply to Dark-Cloud:

We have no idea what breeds are in him, but he is definitely powered by Duracell!! A couple of hours non-stop running is no bother to him. We are currently dealing with a crazy prey chase drive, so there are very few places he can be offlead anyway, but our local trail should be fine, and that's only 8km so distance for now is not a huge concern.
So you think just ride and let them choose their positioning?

In reply to girlymonkey:

When the track narrows they go behind me as they got sick of me going the wrong way on purpose even just turnung completely around and going back up a little they soon learned only way to stay with me is to go behind me

In reply to girlymonkey:

I have ridden with ours and a few others over the years and the tend to fall into a positions where they feel safest, but as with every dog there is varying levels of craziness, stubbornness and downright disregard for their and others safety, best just starting out with a few easy rides and see what he makes of it

In reply to girlymonkey:

Broom handle between your bike and the dog's collar...

I have gone cycling with dogs, mostly on forest gravel track. You need to manage the pace as it is pretty easy to ride faster that a dog can sustain for very long, especially if it is hot. Since you manage the pace, you can also keep the dog from running ahead. Well, mostly. I don't think I'd want to cycle with dogs on singletrack.

In reply to girlymonkey:

Jess, the collie, did 30km regularly when she was younger, she leads the uphills, I lead the downhills, the inbetweeners I let her roam, which generally means she lopes beside me. But as she is a dog and maybe not quite into mtbing as much I generally let her run where she wanted.

In reply to girlymonkey:

I saw some idiot last week on his mtb with springer struggling to keep up in the heat.
What an idiot. Hope the dogs ok.
Perhaps it's a better idea in the colder months?

In reply to Dave the Rave:

Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything daft like that. Last week we didn't even walk him during the day. He got a run and swim at around 6.30 am and then a walk at 9.30pm. The rest of the day he slept in the shade or I played with the hose with him. I'm super aware of the effect of heat on him.
For now I think we will practice in the park by our house for 5 or 10 mins just to get the idea

In reply to Dave the Rave:

Okay so cautionary tale time.

When I finally 'became an adult' (got married, moved to the 'burbs etc) we got a dog; a 3yo labrador cross with insane amounts of energy. One sunny spanish day, a couple of months after I got her, I took her out mountain biking on my local trails, and very nearly killed her.

We got to the bottom of a long downhill, and when I paused to let her catch up, after she reached me she just collapsed. I chuckled initially, pleased that I had finally manage to tire her out, but after a while I got worried. I had water and a bowl for her, but she could barely drink it. In the end we stayed there a full half an hour, she gradually polished off a half-litre of water, and finally managed to get up for us to walk the mile-or-so home (I pushed!)

I thought I had learned my lesson, but two years later my wife and I went on a (hilly) fireroad ride, and to cut a long story short, we were very very glad to find a big stream at the bottom of the last hill, into which an overheated dog promptly plopped herself down and refused to move for 20 minutes.

Moral of the story(ies):
- the bits you find easy (freewheeling down fireroads) are the hardest bits for pooch
- take loads and loads of water, and a receptacle from which pooch can drink
- stop frequently, and make sure pooch is not lagging
- pooches LOVE LOVE LOVE coming mountain biking with you, but are incapable of telling you that they're exhausted, because a) they're dogs and b) they're having too much fun

Once I learned these rules, dog and I had many great days out in hills. She is now 9 year old and can't keep up with me over a 5km run even, so I don't take her out biking any more. But we had fun, and I'm going to give her a big cuddle right now, thanks to the memories

In reply to girlymonkey:

BTW to address your question properly: my dog loved coming mountain biking with me so much that she thought it would be a great idea to hover in front of my front wheel for the the entire duration of my favourite steep and technical singletrack trails. (She only lagged behind me on the open fireroads - steep routy singletrack is easier for dogs than fireroads). I would get very annoyed with her until I realised that she was having the time of her life

I realise that this doesn't actually help you, but know that you're not alone.

In reply to girlymonkey:

Perhaps it's just me (but I know it's not) but when I go to trail centres it really pisses me off to find dogs running the trails, generally whilst they "may" stay close to the owner in reality they are a fekin menace to any other bikers in the immediate vicinity, either passing or being passed by the owner and their dog. Please leave your dog at home when you go to a trail centre - people are there to go biking, not to avoid dogs!
And I'm sure the dig mess left at these places is "never" made by trail dogs!