He’s only 9 weeks old now so I realise I’ve got a while to wait but I’m off the bike til the autumn anyway.

Where do you ride with your dogs? How often and how far?

yep, everyweek.

3yr old Lab. do about 5 miles, but he has done 15. slow pace so he can sniff about a bit. clocked him at 25mph and still pulling away from me ….

Just give it plently of water and watch it, they cant shout STOP

s

yes every-week 7 year old ridge-back staffy cross,30 miles no probs.mostly in dark peak but been to all the trail centres, As above keep your eyes on them they can’t shout stop 🙂

Yup, Boxer X Spaniel, 2yrs old now but started him early at about 4months with very short/slow ones to get him used to the bike. Echo what everyone else says about keeping an eye on them.

Great fun though, best riding buddy ever!

He’s only 9 weeks old now so I realise I’ve got a while to wait but I’m off the bike til the autumn anyway

Wait until he’s at least a year old. You can do a lot of long term damage, hips/joints. There is a lot of information here on STW about puppies/dogs and trail riding. Use the search to find them. 😉
EDIT: I just looked and couldn’t find any

…I don’t ride regularly with the dog, as she does field trials and scurrying during the summer and beating in the Winter. She’s coming up for retirement in a year or so (just turning 6), so she’ll be hitting the trails with me.. I can’t wait! Currently I’ll do 6 miles with her, but when she can do it full time, it’ll only be once a week, 10 miles possibly more or less. Springer Spaniel btw.

Ridgeback -staffy cross – now there’s a name that will put the willies up some on here!

Ditto – seems early for long exercise. Check the vet/breeder?

FFFT…. this isn’t the thread I thought it was 😯 !!!

Krap, vats my dizlexiya kikin in agayn… ment to say TFFT (Than **** for that).

Dont wurry Ive joyned va DNA. Va Nashnul Dizlexic Azosheashun. Dey shud ce me ryt !

Often do 10 miles with my labrador. As said above, wait till 12-18 months first or joint damage is likely.
Once took her on Dalby red route(last october)…. she splept for 2 days afterwards!

Once a week for about 6-10 miles for my 3 year old springer/lab cross. He always gets 2 hours plus of walking/ swmming anyway so seems to cope with that easily.

Hi,

We do regular 15-30 mile rides with our collie ( or 2 x 12-15 mile day rides at a weekend as short rides) – 5 years old and she loves it – she yelps the house down when she sees the bikes or loading the van – she was started out at 18mths and built up over time – apart from a 6mth lay off due to injury ( hit a hidden fence post in the snow at full tilt = 2 hour carry across my shoulders back to the van ) she is good to go – just dont thrash them on a road – ours will trot all day at 7/8mph and top out 25/28mph when given the secret turbo word….

She has done a lot of trails – all of exmoor / quantock / mendips ( 6 – 8 hr days max 40/45 miles ) plus big hills like helvellyn / skiddaw / high street / snowdon / cadair idris / a fair few munros etc with her and all the trail centres I can think of… Regular on the long mynd etc !

I suggest getting a high viz coat as that really helps other trail users / car drivers / bike / horse riders see her running at the side of us.

She is very well trained ( think one man n his sheepdog style ) to the point of asking for a positive command to cross a trail junction etc.

A fleece coat is a bonus at the end of a ride to keep them warm and dry off.

Ruffwear kit is great – she has a harness ( helps with lifting over styles or up steep faces when hiking) and booties / panniers too for long days out… Second keeping them well watered – a fold up bowl is useful as is a toy for when you stop for lunch…

Oh, get a tick tool as they will pick them up… learn some doggy first aid and carry some vet wrap etc and learn the signs of an adder bite and enjoy riding with your dog.

I prefer riding with ours to most humans I know…. she is certainly quicker than most ! Yes I do carry her poo out too…

paul

Weekly with a Field Cocker, about 12 miles.

He’s very good, and on the climbs he’s off chasing stuff but always comes back to order – and on the downs he moves off the trail when his name is shouted, to let me past.

Luckily around us there are lots of animals, consequently troughs – so never carry water. But he does love banana’s and flap-jack 🙂

Was out my with 2.5 yr old ridgeback yesterday around gisburn ( always go mid week, nice and quiet) so distance wise around 11.5 miles. I’m sure he could do more but I’ll build him up slowly so I can eventually do some trails in the lakes with him.

Never taken my Springer with me biking. Mainly because if I did for example 5 miles he’ll run 8 because he goes backwards, forwards and side to side running in the bracken, woodland and fields.
So I only take him on xc runs
12 year old Springer, loosing his eyesight, but still goes bananas if he see’s my running shoes. He sounds like castenets when I’m putting them on.

weekly or more rides with my 3.5 yr old lab. he loves it. no problems with overheating or water this time of year because there is plenty of water about in puddles and streams etc.

Long days out in the summer you have to be careful, take plenty of water with you and whenever you find a stream with some water in, stop and let him have a cool down.

i never make him run on road, i keep it down to a trot.

he does 6-10 miles night rides easily on local bridleways. has done 15-20 miles in the summer, but i made sure he had plenty of stops and water.

also echo comments about tick removal tool, we take a little first aid kit, and if we go away we find the phone number of a few local vets before we set off.

I ride with mine most days, he’s better than me though and can ride drop offs faster and rides an SS, Ti 69er, he is well into niche.

Yep, every day. Singlespeed, night lights, whatever the weather.
(Unless I’m too knackered from my commute)

Usually a half hour to an hour round the local thicket, longer on the weekend if I get the chance.

4 days a week in and out from work – about 4 miles each way, mostly off-road. she’s glad of wednesday off and is quite tired come the w/e, when she normally get’s left at home when i go riding. she still get’s 1.5 hours or so a day even then though. she likes being at work because she get’s lots of fuss, but rarely switches off as a result. i think this makes her more tired than the exercise!
welshie/field spaniel cross.

Wait until he’s at least a year old. You can do a lot of long term damage, hips/joints.

Agree here but both my Vet and the breeder reckoned 2 years. Also please bear in mind most breeds aren’t ‘designed’ for prolonged periods of charging around and you’ll do long term damage to your dog by taking them on long rides (there are a few exceptions. Dalmatians spring to mind). Dogs are meant to sprint fairly short distances for hunting purposes or longer periods of ‘trotting’ – not 5 hours of hard graft. I’ve seen some dogs in a terrible state out on the trails trying to keep up with their owners. So then, either short rides at a fast pace or longer rides where the dog can just trot alongside.

Dogs are meant to sprint fairly short distances for hunting purposes or longer periods of ‘trotting’

This always comes up, but does anyone really make their dog sprint constantly for a whole ride?
My dog gets similar exercise whether I’m walking or riding – she runs a bit, jogs a bit, sniffs around a bit, runs some more. Faster than me uphills, slower downhills.
I guess my dog, a pointer, is better suited to it than a lot of dogs, but it strikes me that any responsible owner would know when the dog needs a rest.

but it strikes me that any responsible owner would know when the dog needs a rest.

Most, yes, and I suspect you are one of them. I found a dog last year slumped in a muddy hole trying to cool down in a terrible state – breathing at a scary rate. Mid summer on a hot day. We gave it water and calmed it down and waited for the owner to turn around and come back. Rider took off again at full tilt in an attempt to catch up his riding buddies. Not cool.

Now, who would let their dog do that?! 😉

Nice pic! – I had one of those nutters a few years back. Difference here is that you are waiting for the dog and giving it a chance to recover (assume it’s you who took the pic). That said, by the time your dog takes to dunking itself in a muddy hole it’s a pretty good indication it’s time to stop. 😀 (excluding of course dogs that just like to dunk themselves in muddy holes in any circumstances)

Yeah, where I take her in the summer (ah, please come back summer!) there’s plenty of opportunities to dunk in the river (or indeed, muddy puddles) when she gets hot.

😀