Anyone else billy no mate? Has to ride with his/her dog?

Pics, breeds, experiences?

Lost a favorite this time last year and just about breaking in a new one. Damned thing is just too quick..

Be interested to hear anyone else’s riding with dog experiences.

I’ll find a few pics, if the thread sticks..

Gets me out most nights on the singlespeed. Love it (if I haven’t already commuted that day, like today,when it just blooming hurts).
She’s a german pointer. Brilliant for riding with.

I found one of the chest harnesses helps with the on-the-lead moments.

we met a German pointer and a Dobey in the woods last night, scared the frikken shite out of me with 4 orange eyes staring at me 😯

Stopped to chat with the owner who’s a biker and said the pointer is awesome with the bike the Dobey was a bit thick by all accounts.

It was a pleasure to see 2 big dogs off the lead, but responding so well to the owners commands. Beautiful dogs, made me all the more want a trail dog. Really going to have to work on the misses.

Working cocker.

He’s great when out with me. Love’s being out front but you do have to watch as they’ll run til they drop!

My working Labradors are good trail dogs. They are fit, obedient, not aggressive and most importantly don’t get the way causing me to crash!

Only downside is in summer their coats can cause them to overheat, so obviously its best not to run them on the hotter days.

GSP’s look like a good bet also Spaniels they have energy to burn!

Good luck.

Beautiful, that dobermann 🙂
The nose halti never worked for us really. Chest ones are much better, although do allow the dog to pull a little bit more

Found one of Hope in flight, with my boy trying to keep up

Just started riding with my dog. Hell run with me for miles on trails. He’s not that used to bikes yet so will try a Welsh trailcenter soon where hopefully he’ll get used to other trail users.

Hi there grumpF. Sorry to hear you lost the dog.
Here is a picture of my two:

Working cockers. Not the best trail dogs I would guess especially while under the age of three or so. Just to damn scatty and liable to do something unexpected.
Older one is 4 and can and will run all day being no bother at all. The other one is a bit more challenging and can be distracted too easily. She is just gone 2 and so as Spaniels go has to be excused quite a bit. They do seem to enjoy being sled dogs though. have a long lead and a length of chain that connects them side by side to the single lead. They will then happily pull me three or four miles and you can tell they love it from the body language. Northumbrian sled Spaniels is what I tell the city folk tourists that stop and ask what ind of dog they are.

I’d get me a doggi but I don’t think they’ll be too good on the ski lifts

I’ve got a Border Collie/Pointer cross and a Labrador/Staffie cross, both will run until they drop with the bike. They go crazy when I get it out, brilliant out on a ride and never get in my way.

So is GRF called Grumpf on here too ? 🙂

I take my Jack Russell out tbh she is a bit small and if you really put your foot down you will have to wait at sone point inlike bigger dogs which will go fast all day.

But she loves it and if you want to ride down a road or get her out of the way of other riders you can just pick her up.

Dogs were born to run all day so if you’ve got one take it out with you.

Tends to be an icebreaker with walkers and other peeps we meet on rides which helps . NB I said tends if GRF gets caught nobbing his beast on the N Downs it’s probably not great for the image of the sport…

Not sure if the good GRF has been called that on here before. I just clicked who he was on this thread.

Have to say he was a perfect gent when i met him at speedweek a few years ago and is welcome to sleep with my mother anytime it takes his fancy.

Chewie (aka the Sith Hound)

A singletrack demon and very good trail behaviour, apart from when I’ve been winding him up!

Sorry GRF must be upsetting to get mistaken for the uk’s leading importer of extreme handbags and fisty lube

I’m starting to train our pup ‘Kona’ for trail dog work.
Initially I tried walking the bike between her and I but she’s so good at walking to heel that she was trying to get under the bike to get beside me. She’s unfazed by the bike and happily wanders along side. Obviously just up and down the road again at the moment but you have to start somewhere and she loves it! 😀

face time it kids next be could

(lovely dogs by the way! very envious)

just wondering how fast and how far you run your dog?

i’m still on short walks and will be until he’s 2 🙁

but he’s never gonna be a bike dog (10 months and 140lbs)

Banff, he loves it. If he gets out alot he can do 20 miles before slowing down, 10 if he hasnt been doing so much. Takes a proper big hill for me to go faster than him flat out. Took about 2 years for me to be relatively confident with him, he still has moments though, mainly with chasing rabbits.

Ok a couple a questions I have
We have a 7.5 month old Border terrier. Next month I intend to start taking him on short jogs
But eventually I would like him to be a trail dog. Judging on current experience he will have the stamina.
so two quesions:
best way to train a dog for running with the bike
How best to manage them on lanes [lead options]

Thanks!

I have a couple of loops that i take out 2yr old springer on. All around the 11-15 mile mark. We take regular stops for her but she goes crackers when we stop. Bouncing around and barking. And she always beats me home! I’m sure she’d do it all again straight after give the chance.

julioflo i found the easiest way to trin mine to be on the lead was to just find an easy offroad path and just ride up and down it loads of times in place of her usual walk. shes fine with it now. this also taught her to run to the side of me not directly in front. she is great now. only corsses the trail behind me or right out in front. very very rarely do i have to take evasive action.

I too have a question about lead options when on the short lanes which link up the bridle tracks?
Do you just get off and walk or take a chance on there being no traffic.
Mines a springer / lab cross, so is mad as a hatter most of the time, and can’t be trusted on the road.

juliflo

how big? i carry my JR on roads but she is quite a small one and naturally calm (for a terrier) and borders can be a fair bit bigger

she is now 15 months old and is quite happy going up to 20k – she just seemed to follow without needing much training – I think they think they are on a pack hunt and get on with it. I didnt take her on too long a ride before she was a year though and looked fully developed.

I keep her collar on and have a lead in my pocket just in case but generally if you keep moving they have evolved to stay with the pack as a survival instinct.

Great thread this – dogs are brilliant.

last night: full moon, bike, dog, cheeky singletrack. Marvellous.

(My dog also says can the people braking on the last berm on BKB pls MTFU and stay off the brakes as they are **** up the trail.)

I put her on the lead and ride. she knows to run on any pavement that is present while i ride on the road next to her. if no pavement i just have her on my left so shes as far out of the carriageway as possible.

if you’re looking for a running comedy dog

I think I’ll start by using the old train line for a bit, and see how we go. Might be too much for him??

Sam my Huntaway – loves a day out on the trails with the boys 😛

he is pretty good on the trails, does sometimes cut berms out! and has been known to chase deer in the other direction!

too have a question about lead options when on the short lanes which link up the bridle tracks?
Do you just get off and walk or take a chance on there being no traffic.

I get her on the lead – she’s trained to go on the left of the bike, so keeps to the side of the road with me stopping her straying out.
Bit of a bugger when going against the traffic direction (although, of course never go on any remotely busy roads) as she can’t understand why I’m trying to get her on the other side! I always hold the lead with one finger so can let go easily if necessary. Hasn’t been for a long while now as she knows what’s expected of her.
If my dog can learn it, any can!

Thanks for that. I trail run with him regularly, and he gets the idea we’re on some sort of hunt I’m sure.
Great to hear of so many bike dogs. Great thread.

As someone who has a year old English Springer and year old working cocker spaniel I have no desires whatsoever to take them riding. I’ve had more than enough run ins with irresponsible people who take their dogs out on trails and then moan when their dog gets run over.

I was at Llandegla last Sunday and I came across three dogs on the loose, not one of the owners made any attempt to pull the dog to heel or get it off the trail. The last **** was on the freeride jumps at the end and kept running back and forth over blind hills back up the trail to have a another go, 8 year old and loose cannon dog just waiting for the next poor MTBer to come flat out over a ten foot high high table top…
🙄

I trained my dog to run with the bike using three commands, heel (on my left, shoulder level with BB), back (about 6ft behind rear wheel), and go (run ahead) he liked to go about 20-30 ft, I guess at that distance he could still hear the bike behind him. I was working on LEFT and RIGHT too.

Patience, practice and loads of praise were the key to training him. Plus start young.

On bit of advice, when getting them to run behind, don’t let them run too close ie. Emergency stops, plus you’ll end up covering them with crud off the rear wheel!
I used a bar end mirror to keep my eye on him when training the behind command. Saves riding into a tree while trying to look over your shoulder.

Some of my favorite rides were with ‘Mr Fred’ the Staffie/German Shepherd cross.

Smooth collie. Barks at me for not going fast enough

@ G.R.F.

a slow 4.5 miles is a long walk for us at the moment. trying to keep him skinny and not over work him.
he’s my first mastiff so doing as my breeder tells me…

your rotty was a good looking boy!

@ scruff

i think i remember reading that dalmatians are/were coach dogs? used to keep the wolves away.
so bread to be a good bike dog.

my last dog use to come to the dj trails with me.

Here’s my Chocky lab Charlie who Is 6 . I take him out on longish 8- 10 mile rides at this time of year as It’s cool but make the rides much shorter in the summer . I also ride at a much slower pace but on the downhills just pretty much go for It as he will turn up in his own time. Great riding bud and he gets excited and starts jumping around when he see’s the bike coming out the shed.

Bring on the summer eh?

🙂

no chance of pastcaring’s bike getting nicked 😀

nah its a horrid bike isnt it?