I am contemplating getting a dog but don't want to compromise on riding. I ride alone do no problem in that regard. How long can dogs in general run for and how far? Anyone take a dog to trail centres?

Ive looked at this too

To be sure of getting a result I decided you needed something from a pup and let it spend time heavily around bikes so it doesnt become one of those annoying little yappy bastards you see when out and about 🙂

It also needs to be able to run 20-30km
I also wanted to get a street dog from the RSPCA not a pedigree and so because of this couldnt really guarantee it would be up for the distance

What seemed ideal for an MTB dog was some kind of collie/sheepdog, but the more I read the more I decided it was a bad idea, they really can run for ever but when youre not there they are in danger of going crackers and tearing up your house in frustration as they need a lot of stimulation being a breed bred for work all day long

Tough call

Good luck

I ride with my dog, I normally do around 15 mile with him but reckon he could go further. I ride on the moors with him at my normal speed with no problems.

Not a big fan of people riding with dogs, maybe 'cos they scare me and maybe 'cos they slow you down on the descents.

You're choice tho.

I ride with and without my dogs. For dog rides I choose a local area with lots of good stuff and a play area all in a small area. You will need to give them plenty of water and learn to recognise when they are flagging. (My Springer would run until he passed out if I would let him)

For a good long ride which has road work, I wouldnt take the dogs. Also, you can have your fav section ruined when the little tike runs in front of you and wont get out of the way!

Depends on the Dog, too. My Cocker is a lazy git and always looks pooped; the springer is quite the opposite

I take my Springer out around Blairadam. All day stamina. Sensible around the bike aswell. Great company out on a long ride.

That said, wouldn't trust him around a trail centre…too busy. There's a time and a place for a dog and I don't think 99% of the punters at a trail centre would agree that was it. Neither would I.

Took mine out around Gisburn today he didn't do the full red due to it being to hot for him and he also cut his paw removing the top layer of his pad. He'll run behind a bike no problem and hardly ever gets in my way. As mentioned above there are rides I'll never take him on however around the local route on a weekday seems fine to me. It's nice to have the company to. He runs with the GF when she goes out jogging as well. Build them up and don't push them to hard too soon as they will suffer in later life.

Spot my Springer in this clip

wot if your dog gets tangled up in someone elses bike wheels…coming up from behind…. (im thinking of the trails more so… ?
some dogs hate bike wheels…. i was out ont moors t'other week and had to slow right down as a woman shouted her dog was scared of bikes so i took it slow passed the dog then he came up and bit my tyre !!! lol..lucky i dint get a flat ! 😮

I ride with my springer lab cross, but we waited until he was about 18 months old and have gradually built up to 1.5 to 2 hours max. We try and stop at least every 20 min for a good 5 min breaqther and to give him a drink. Winter seems to be best as it's cooler and the ground is softer for his pads. I've avoided taking him out except for evening rides whilst the weather has been so hot, especially on the South Downs (my local trails) as there are so few water sources for him to paddle in.
We also save rides with the dogs for odd times during the week, or particularly bad weather, so we meet as few other riders as possible and avoid potential conflict. Despite his nature being brilliant and his recall excellent there are always people who'll be moaning on here if they see a dog on a 'bike' trail!
We've done a bit of stuff at a few trail centres but again never on weekends and usually at really random weekday times, again to avoid conflict.
He absolutely loves it, and is getting faster than me on my local cheeky route now he knows where the shortcuts are!

Be careful though, they will literally run until they drop and have no way of asking you to slow down. Make sure they get loads of rest, start of sleady and try and get some water into the route for them to cool down in, or train them to drink from a Camelbak like we've done and fill the bladder to bursting!

Oh, and he is neurotic about pooing where he can be seen, so tends to go into bushes to do it!

Once again the key here is proper training of the dog ( and owner)

I have ridden with friends with dogs a few times and seen other dogs out on the trail – including at trail centres. I saw a border collie at Laggan that was having a great time – going off the jumps flat out and getting real air – and it was not struggling to keep up with the rider at all. Saw a little terrier – the owner put it in his backpack when the going got too fast for the dog. Been out with a lurcher that knew what pace it wanted to do and would sprint a short distance or trot for miles but no way was it going to run into the ground.

So yes – if you wnat a dog by all means get a type suitable for trail runnning and take it out – so long as you have it trained properly not to put itself, you or others at any risk.

Don't underestimate how much time it will take to train a dog so that it will do what you ask and not be constant embarrassment in public – it's like having another kid. They are pack animals and as far as I can tell don't much care for being left alone. That said we have a cocker/poodle cross. Wife trained him +++ and is at home all day. He rides with us no problem and can cover 30 miles easily. Very athletic animal with limitless energy. Exercise is every, well most days, not just those you fancy riding a bike on. I agree with others who would not take their dogs to congested places like some trail centres at weekends. They can still be prone to some unpredictability despite all the training in the world. Don't expect too much when they are young – need time to mature – between one or two years. They can also find it hard going on very hot days. There will be a huge variation in what you get out of the dog depending on breed and temperament and you may find that you don't end up with what you wanted. I would look at medium sized working type dogs if you are going to get one.

Posted this before but heres my dog out in the woods with me.

I dont take him to far probably around 8 -10 miles as he is knackered for the rest of the day If I do. I also worry about his hips being damaged from overdoing it. Still its great fun as in the twisty tight woods he is always trying to get in front.

Where's coffeeking? He had some lengthy opinions regarding the possibility of dogs around blind bends getting in the way of his mincing.

As TJ said, training is key.

I'm surprised the haters haven't arrived yet…..

My dog is too unpredictable to take riding, so I don't – unless it's just down the old steam railway line to his favourite field. He's a shelter dog and he has us stumped with the training. We've tried and tried – trainer arrives, he's good as gold – trainer disappears, he's a complete arse.

He has a heart of gold and loves us to bits – and is very intelligent. We just seem to struggle with the heirachy. You think it's working, but then a switch in his head goes off and he does as he pleases.

I take my Springer Spaniel round Woburn with me. Its a big wood.

But only ever riding with the dog would be quite constraining as you can't really leave a dog in a car in summer. If you buy say Springer pup then you'll need 2 hours a day for walking and training every day for say a year before you get to go for a ride with it. Unless you say towed it in a trailer.

I hope this dpesn't sound stupid or rude but its easier for a couple or if another close relative or friend will share the load

I ride most places with a collie x pointer and an Australian cattle dog .The Aussie is great and will do 10 to 15 miles quite quickly (he is 4)the 7 year old collie x is usually flagging after about 7 miles .Mind you they run all over the place and chase everything wild ,deer , rabbits etc so they probably run a lot further than I ride.I had a collie x springer before and they have good stamina as well

Got 2 rescue border collies, they come out with me on most rides with and without other people. Never had any problems with either dogs and they certainly don't hold me or anyone up on the decents. Have done 5 + hours at coed y Brennan (sp) and he could have done more! Need to be well trained and know who the boss is though!

I love riding with my dog, it's a Hungarian Viszla, very temperamental when out on 'walks' but is as good as gold when I am on the bike, he seems to need the speed to keep him entertained.

As with the others, We'll probably do between an hour and 2 at the moment, hoping to up that to a half day or more at some point, but plenty of regular rests and make sure we stop at every watering hole for a couple of minutes to make sure he gets something to drink.

Not sure how a rescue dog would work, unless it was very young.

Dom

We have a Staffy/Jack Russell cross that has stupid amounts of energy…however…we havn't got past the 'trying to bite your feet as they spin round' phase!!!!!

Some more training required i think!

As luck would have it, 'Riding with trail dogs' is the topic for an upcoming feature. We'll also cover dogs vs bikes in general too.

My dog always unties my shoelaces when I'm going really fast down a descent (even if I'm pedalling) and when untied she pulls the laces and tries to drag me off the trails! Definately exciting going for a ride with my dog! (Been looking into velcro shoes….)

Took mine out around Gisburn today he didn't do the full red due to it being to hot for him and he also cut his paw removing the top layer of his pad

2hottie – We took our dog around Gisburn a month back – he ended up doing some serious damage to his pad – this is how he ended up (for 1 month in total!)

He said he liked the trail though 😆

We have a staff who loves coming out, 15 miles is about his safe max. As others have said the dog will keep running till he drops so be careful.

As for training, lots of short rides around a local field drumming in recall and heel/close training. If it gets excited then put it back on the lead till it calms down. If it walks in front of you just ride into it(slowly), same if it stands across your path, its a dominance thing so make it get out of your way, even if that means a collision. It will soon learn not to get in the way and be bike aware. Consistency and being pack leader is key.

I usually do a 9 mile flog-myself-to-death-session on the onespeed that kills me and the dog just shrugs it off.

My lurcher is 10 months old and I'm in the middle of training him up. The most we've done is 5 miles so far. He would easily do more but I would be gutted if I took him too far too early. Since he could go out for walks I have taken him out on the bike, quite often at the end of my ride. He's a trail natural and good as gold. Runs to heel and I actually don't think I could outrun him on a descent, he's fast as ****. I'm hoping to bump up his distances in the near future.

Border Terriers are great for bimble style rides of up to 10 miles as long as it's not too hot and they have plenty to drink on route.
Sunday around Dele http://www.flickr.com/photos/25655510@N02/4696201599/in/set-72157622989236075/

Sporting Cocker for us, will run all day if you'd let him. But I keep him to 10-15 miles once a week.

He's a good breed, as they always are 'checking' you, consequently they don't roam.

We have a local ride that is known amongst my riding buddies as 'the dog run', as we can ride from home and it takes in cycle-paths, bridleways, cheeky-trails and estate roads – so don't need a lead.

Not my local 'dog run', but the one at my folks:

Sam my huntaway comes out for up to 5 hours – loves it. and no problem keeping up. Does like to go off chasing rabbits/squirrels on the climbs though. My mates enjoy riding with him as well.

I looked into this a lot and decided that I will wait until I am not so busy training the kids before I start training a dog. However, when I do get a dog, will probably be a Trailhound. Seems a perfect mix of easy going, family friendly, but able to run like hell!

Trailhound Clicky

My Dalmation comes out most days with me for at least 2 miles, up to 20 when we have time. Summer he gets hot and his paws have got blistered in the past so I keep those shorter. Local trails have lots of stream crossings for drinks/cooling but I always take a metal bowl and more water than I need.

He's 5 years now, took me about 2 years of bike training to trust him, but he'll still take off after rabbits and deer occasionally and he will go up to other interesting people sometimes which I try to not let happen but sometimes he just doesnt listen, this Im still working on. I've made sure hes fine with horses.

I started taking him down the local canal, he coud only run in 2 directions, letting a dog loose in wood / open land is a big step, dont forget many dogs simply dissapear which is a great shame.

Ive picked sticks out of his legs, thorns from paws and once he landed on a branch which had to be removed from his chest by a vet so its not all good.

He's found a few sweet bits of singletrack aswell. Trail dogs are great, just like another riding mate.

Trailhounds look amazing – never heard of them before. should make a perfect riding buddy! 8)

got 2 red setters, they love it. out every day between 5-13 miles depending on weather/ other commitments.had dogs in the past (from the pound as well) who were very happy with a daily run. Read somewhere it meets a dogs natural instinct to chase.Been round coed y brenin, just be careful with the paws/pads on the constant rough surface.Try and find water for them. (stream/pond etc) I think my setters actually try and race me on our fave downhill bit!

My Pointer (as the Viszla above) is great for up to a couple of hours. Haven't really tried her for longer than that as (especially in this heat), she noticeably flags after a while.
Key for me is to take routes which involve lots of stream crossings.

Couple of (quick, unedited!) videos –

My laboradoodle, Fifi makes a great riding companion. She is good up for 15 miles, but it really depends upon the terrain. Fast sustrans type routes, tarmac = BAD. Sweet twisty single track with lots of contours = GOOD. My local routes have lots of stream crossings so no worries about keeping her cool. It works really well as fun terrain for me is also good for her.

I find in terms of training, she is really well behaved off the lead when cycling, basically because she knows she needs to keep up, and she has learnt that if she runs off to play with another dog / rabbit / squirrel etc she will start to lose me. So now she sticks with me whatever. When I first started going out with her I used a lead that was elastic (like a bungee) that meant I could keep her in check but she couldn't pull me off the bike. It worked really well. She also learnt very quickly that if she stayed in front it meant it was very hard work for her pulling me up the hills….

Great fun riding companion, and I really miss her if I go riding on my own for any reason.

I run with our black lab but was worried about riding with her – she keeps up no problem but I don't want to damage her hips/legs. A mate rode with his lab from an early age and utterly knackered the poor dogs hips.

Other breeds might be okay?

Love running with our dog – she mocks my pathetic running efforts by sprinting up every hill then wanting to play at the top.

I'm hoping our dog, a lab collie cross rescue dog will eventually calm himself down enough to be a trail dog. He has so much energy I think that taking him riding would be great. Only problems at the moment are that he likes to chase rabbits and deer. I used to go on short runs with him and was fine and on unfamiliar ground he sticks fairly close and doesn't like losing sight of you, but he's reluctant to come to heel. If you call him he'll run up to you, but not stop. He prefers to run past, playing a game.

Now that he's getting older (he's about 4) he's finally sussed that if you call him, it's not always to go back on the lead, so I think I'll give it a bit more time and select my route carefully and see how he gets on.

Bearing in mind it took us 2 years to stop him weeing on the living room floor.

He's not thick though, he can nose the key round and unlock the back door to get out if he wants (not that he does that much these days) and normally can crack a latch within 5 minutes. 😉

He may be a complete arse of a dog, but he looks good with the bike…..