So i’ve got 2 dogs, a 2 year old Staff, and a 3 year old American bull. The American Bull is a rescue dog and spent the first 2 years of her life eating just enough to survive and not walking more than the length of a box room, so she’s not fit enough yet to be a trail dog (once we’ve built some muscle she’ll be good for the smaller rides, but she’ll be a bit big for the longer ones). The Staff however we’ve had since he was 8 weeks old, is in perfect health and is none stop 24/7!!

I’ve been taking them both out for 2 mile rides with them on their lead’s, and at whatever pace i ride the Staff is always trying to be in front. When we’re out for a walk they’re both fine on the lead and will walk by my side, off the lead he’s pretty attentive/never runs off etc. Is it just a case of finding an empty trail and biting the bullet and letting him off?

I’m lucky I’ve got a gated Road behind where I live where I can run the dogs without worrying about traffic and other people.

My 6yr old spaniel runs brilliantly and always stays on my left side, which was pretty useless this summer in France!
In the end I put him on the lead and ran him on my right side which he again did great.

Find somewhere quiet and start slow and steady.

He didn’t need any training as such, he was brought up from a young age with bikes and what started off as a run of a few hundred meters when he was a pup just seemed to progress to the current 10 miles ish runs, 10 miles for me on the bike would prob translate into 14+ for him.

I realised every time i take Toby out for a bike run that as far he is concerned we are hunting and he generally likes to take the lead on climbs and slow sections as he can shoot off into the undergrowth or into the forest and rejoin the trail further up, On descents he is very quick at getting out of the way as he knows that the whirr of a hope hub means i’m pretty close to his arse so he hops off the trail. If the trails are dry then i make sure and give him plenty of water from my bottles, he can drink a squirt at a time and is partial to a Pink Grapefruit Nunn electrolyte drink, only on really hot/dry occasions though, I sometimes stick a snack for him in my jersey as well, if i get knackered with 32″ legs then he must be **** with 6″ legs.

Take them on a very familiar trail that they know well as you’ll have to train them to either take the lead or follow you on the bike and on familiar ground it will be easier to do this – less temptation for new scents to chase, If toby is out of sight or i haven’t seen him for a while then all i need to do is whistle and he will bark and start to make his way back to me, no matter if he has got the scent of a deer, rabbit or cat, i dunno how we learned this trick but he has just always followed this rule.

I’ve never had him on a lead, even around the town or a new place to us both, he sticks right beside me till i say go-on and when i want back beside me i say C’mere– if you can get your dog to answer and respond to a few unmistakable phrases then that helps as no one wants a dog running around, not everyone likes dogs.

They don’t get run over twice.

Well first I made sure I got him converted to 650b.

Handsome little devil you have there Somafunk!

Is it just a case of finding an empty trail and biting the bullet and letting him off?

Yes.

I have two Jack Russells that sometimes come with me.
One runs behind, literally tucked in where the rear mech sits and the other runs a few yards out in front constantly looking over his shoulder to make sure we’re still there….never trained them, they just adopted this formation….she’ll never go out in front and if something happens where she finds herself in front she’ll pull off to the side of the trail and then tuck back in behind me ASAP and he will drop back on faster descents where he cant keep up but once the trail flattens he does his best to get back in front.

It’s a personality thing i think. I used to chatter to them and call them when we first started to keep them close and to make sure they followed but it was for my peace of mind really as they didnt need it, they’ve been great, just do it.

I have a kelpie (Australian farm dog) he thinks his job is coming out mtb’ing. So much so he can hear the difference between my road bike and mtb. He won’t get out of bed for the road!!!
Anyway, from a pup I had him with me on the bike, first on a lead down a lane and then on very little rides.
As someone said, you only run over them once, they only receive a cleat once as well.
It all sounds a little harsh, but it is a dog and they learn from these happenings.

After time he won’t need a lead and will run besides you on road sections and trails. Mines been all over Scotland and the lakes and just looks mournful when I leave him behind. I’ve only ever tired him out once and that was a week in the highlands.

Make sure he will stop at command before you venture to a trail centre though.

Our Lab was ridiculously obedient so I never walked her with a lead anyway, all she had to do was run alongside the bike instead of walking alongside me. The Border Terrier we had at the time was about 7 or 8 he just picked it up straight away but it’s in their nature to follow horses so not a much to learn. Dogs follow there owners so they will follow you on a bike and as thegreatape says they only run in front of wheels once.

Mine seems to be better behaved when I am on the bike , she likes to know where you are and when riding she has to check more often . I know this sounds obvious but I always ride fairly easy when out with the dog and plenty of water stops . It’s also great fun and she loves it

We had our dog from 8weeks and she was always going to come out on the bike with us so we kept that in mind during puppy training.

First we made sure that all of the normal commands were solid – heel, free, stay, sit.

When walking in the woods we introduced a few new commands – “side” and “follow”, side meant get off the track.

We would push the bike around the garden with the dog at heel, do a few sharp turns and the dog soon learns which bits ‘bite’.

Then we went to the park and rode along with the dog on a lead at heel in straight lines at first, then including turns. Then off the lead with some ‘free’ time followed by returning to heel.

Then short loops round the woods – plenty of rests, plenty of treats and most important with ours is lots of communication, she’ll lose concentration and go chasing after rabbits/squirrels/deer given a chance.

Given the choice she will lead, and knows most of the local routes by heart, some areas she is free to run ahead, others she has to heel or follow. She knows to speed up when she hears a clicky free-wheel, but we also introduce a command ‘hup’ to get her to speed up.

I taught mine on the canal, they cant run sideways and you can use your foot to stop them pegging off in front. I taught him ‘behind’ which is really useful, you just have to put the hours in and use rewards rather than bollockings. Mine generally was crazy for the first 10 minutes then settle down.
I’ve rode into him twice at speed and over him once, every time I came off much much worse.

The very thought of my whippet being a trail dog makes me laugh.

He still tries to have sex with me whenever I ride my bike down the driveway.

😀

Our rescue needed a LOT of work to get him to walk heel but once he knew how, it was much the same as Drac’s Lab. Just shouted heel at him and pointed at my back wheel and that was it

Didn’t really train mine as such he just came along and picked it up. Hes trained to come on command and I’ve sort of got him to understand “behind” but basically I ran him over a couple of times and he got the idea.

I see this as a good thing and the dogs love it but just don’t push them as they love you they will follow regardless but may shorten their lives in the long term with joint issues leg issue etc..

So while out with dog just bare in mind the speed your traveling.

When my westie was a small dog (well young!) – I used to gently at low speed just ‘buz’ his butt- he’d shoot forward/look over his shoulder then within 2-3 times he’d learn instinctively where the front wheel was.

The most important thing is make sure he/she is fine with livestock AND can you walk him/her normally off the lead? I could. I think you need trust/be able to do this and recall very quickly.

Simon Barnes pic of me and him- descending off the steppy down bit of Rivington Pike:

Agreed. Regular stops and plenty of water are a must. Mine’s only ever been up to slow pootles through the local woods – more suited to occasional bursts of speed really.

The only drawback (apart from the unknown of sheep for some dogs) of running a dog on a bike is once you’ve done this. Your dog will expect it/NEED it. Ours loved to really stretch his legs (yes theres the eager to please aspect) but if I just walked him normally he’d be antsy/restless. If I then ran him with the bike he’d be happy/content.