Some time ago I put a thread up about getting a dog.. I wanted a Border Terrier, Missus wanted a Jack Russell.

In the end we compromised and got a cross.

3 months in and I can safely say I’m sold on the little sod, I think he’s fantastic. Despite the best efforts of the family (and none from me) he appears to be firmly my dog and I would love to finally get the trail hound I’ve always wanted.

The question is, how do you start? he’s five months old and the minute, I don’t want to take him out too soon, but want him to become used to bikes and their wheels (the training of our old Boxer was halted after he lay in a puddle in front of me and I ran him over).

Any tips?

I started by driving dog and bike to a place where it could be done safely and training her to run alongside the bike on a lead first.
Lots of praising for running in the right place, not pulling on the lead and not running under the wheels 🙂

I’ve ridden with a trailhound a few times and was told that he was trained by crashing into him if he got in the way. Sounds pretty brutal but if you ride as if he’s not there and smack into him he’ll soon learn not to get under the wheels.

Listen to Dezb. He (sometimes) speaks sense.
Oh and not too much running at that age. You won’t do it any good.
Our springer learned for a mixture of careful practice and crash test dummy. She soon learned that me on a bike couldn’t stop dead from 10-15mph. Although hitting her usually shortened the stopping distance.

I trained my dog over the famers fields at the back of mine, a couple of miles at a time with lots of treats (until he/she gets it!) then you can start to slowly build the miles, wait till it is around 10 or 12 months old tho.

Canals or somewhere they can only run back and forth not sideways off chasing squirrels. I crashed a few times into my dog, they soon learn to not run at /into / stop infront of bike.

Lots of stops for water, you need a route with streams or something or carry a little bowl and use your camelback.

And I taught mine ‘behind’ – good for when you get them running on proper singletrack.

Likely a little young for riding with as you mention but no harm in getting it used to bikes.

We stopped riders while out walking and asked them to give the dog treats (yes, it was embarrassing as we did it for allot of things, large bearded chaps, ladies with prams etc).

Started with a little bit of dirt track that I rode up and down all afternoon with the dog walking to heal. Luckily having a lab cross it will do anything for a snack so picked up most things quickly.

Just be patient and at that age don’t overdue it.

EDIT: Reported you for starting dog post without photo. For shame!!

teach them to heel on foot walking/running first and with the bike will come naturally.

Try and train the dog to look forward occasionally. Rode into a guys dog on the trail a few weeks ago that just ran along in front of him, staring at him. Shortly after hitting me, the dog ran along looking at the owner and got hit by my mate also. Must have been a long day out for the dog!

I’ve recently started with mine. She did have a habit of stopping randomly in front of me so i keep shouting to her as we go, she seems to understand ‘Run on!’ as a command now. OTOH when she’s behind me, she sometimes goes off track and then you have to call her back. Fortunately her recall is very good. For this a mate suggested a bell on her collar, so you can hear when she’s behind (or rather when the bell stops, so has she).

Watching her run over singletrack is fabulous – she flies over the dips and ditches as if they weren’t there with ears flying like a furry dumbo.

Listen to Dezb. He (sometimes) speaks sense

There goes my reputation!
Forgot to mention – with the on-lead training, steer the bike with your “good” hand and hold the lead very loose on 1 finger to minimise the risk of being pulled off (the bike 😉 ). Although, with a dinky little dog, that might not be such a risk, but you still want to be able to let go quick to avoid the tree-between-you-and-dog type scenario.

scruff – Member
And I taught mine ‘behind’ – good for when you get them running on proper singletrack.

This.

Rode a couple of times with someone whose dog insisted on being in front and then wouldn’t go fast enough on the downhill bits or move over. PITA.

Our springer has a habit if undertaking on berms, terrifying!
He is Pro DH’er fast mind!

Learn to whistle properly and get the dog to respond to it. On some long downhill sections I can pull out a good lead on Cass. Being able to reassure her that she’s still heading in the right direction from afar is useful.

Definitely don’t make it run for a while. My last JRT-x suffered from cruciate issues for a while & I’m sure it was down to over-exercising when he was a pup.

Leading them with a short lead held with one finger is usually my way of introducing a dog to riding. With Cass it was different. This was her first ever time out with me on a bike. Magic dog. Crap Video: [video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-1-20n1UBk&index=5&list=UU0-aM4kVqLpav9arO_39_OQ[/video]

Indeed the whistle and “WAIT” are the 2 most important commands on our jaunts.

Walked my Border Terrier on the trails first, then did a few runs with him. One tip I got which works a treat is to put cat bells on him so I could hear where he was as well as see him. Biggest problem I had is being a BT he just wants to keep going inc when we reach a road crossing (Epping forest has lots as u go from one section to the other) so I stop and put him on the leash at least 10/15 yards before the road. Even when he is on command if he sees something across the road killing instinct will take over.

+1 for cracking on and letting them learn the hard way. Worked for my dogs.

Even when he is on command if he sees something across the road killing instinct will take over.

I think you’ll find a pointer has similar instincts, but is twice as fast! (Plus its a LEAD, not a leash in the uk)
You gotta train em to come back when called before any trailhounding is an option.

think you’ll find a pointer has similar instincts, but is twice as fast!

Well my lurcher does that and is twice as fast as a pointer!

We trained ours by running him on the park. The excited barking was the hardest thing to overcome. Friends dog them appeared to learn by watching and following our dog.

No anyone else with a trail hound?

Well my lurcher does that and is twice as fast as a pointer!

Indeed! Do you ride with the lurcher the? My mate’s is too lazy!

Dont ride with her no. Dont think it would be very safe for her or me.

 for cracking on and letting them learn the hard way. Worked for my dogs.

This makes me think I’m right.

Collins English dictionary

leash (li?? )

Definitions
noun

a line or rope used to walk or control a dog or other animal; lead

Word Origin
C13: from Old French laisse, from laissier to loose (hence, to let a dog run on a leash), ultimately from Latin laxus lax

If we are going get pedantic might as well go all the way eh 😉

I quite fancy the idea for pootles around the local bridleway network but wouldn’t try it on singletrack. I have had a couple of small offs due to “trail” dogs deciding to sit in the middle of a trail or bound up to me to see who I am. Both can be a bit off puting if you weren’t expecting them. Our dog causes enough carnage already without spinning wheels being added to the equation.

Thanks for the replies all.. I would only go out sith him on local rides to start with, probably just by myself.

Fin our Boarder Collie was eight months old when we started to take her out, we had a long talk with the vet beforehand to ensure that we weren’t doing it too early. She had only been out on the local trails and took to it straight away. She usually runs on the left hand side at the side of the back wheel but occasionally will run five to ten metres in front if she thinks we are going too slow.
Over the holidays we went up to Scotland so she had her first taste of Glentress trails and loved every bit of it. She was better than me over the jumps. Sunday saw her progress a bit more when we took her from Langsett, up onto Cutgate and back down North America.
We also check her feet and pads at the end to ensure they are OK
Short and frequent to start with was the vets advice and it seems to have worked with Fin

Have fun, we are

Hmm. why can’t I make these vimeo links work?

[video]www.vimeo.com/67476747[/video]

[video]www.vimeo.com/108772777[/video]

[/url]WP_20150105_21_43_43_Pro by ijbedds, on Flickr[/img]

Here he is.. again.. not having much luck with the Flickr!

Good advice all round thanks, I think I’ll start getting him used to the bigger wheels whilst walking, hard work now will be worth it when he’s older from the looks of the pictures. He’s great with pushchairs so I’m hopeful that he will get the hang of it

As a runner I was always keen to have a training partner especially as a lot of my running is on paths/parkland. We got a Lakeland terrier however she is rubbish 🙁 barely goes out and runs the other way when I get her lead out. She is about 9 now and is a useless lazy thing that sits in the corner.
Last Christmas we got a Cocker. He is ace 😀 active affectionate and does a great job winding up our lazy Lakeland which is great to watch.
He is just over 14 months old and loves coming running with me (only a couple of times a week and nothing over 5/6 miles yet)
I would say that I researched this thoroughly and spoke to the breeder who we knew well (she clips our Lakeland) and had bred Cockers for decades. I explained that I wanted him to be be very active etc and she gave me great advice. Basically dont do anything more than walks until after around 10 months when their joints etc are fully formed and then build up very slowly. I would say you shouldnt be doing anything other than walks around the park at 5 months.

Lazy Lakeland

Hyper Cocker after first hilly run!

We have a Cocker/Springer cross that is 14 months old now. I’ve taken her out on a few short (30 minute) runs and will try her with the bike soon. She’s been around the kids on their bikes since she was tiny so is well used to dodging wheels etc, hopefully that’ll stand her in good stead.

I’ve half trained her to walk to heel etc and she’ll run to heel when I’m running on pavement etc, so I think she’ll be OK with the bike.

Basically dont do anything more than walks until after around 10 months when their joints etc are fully formed and then build up very slowly. I would say you shouldnt be doing anything other than walks around the park at 5 months.

^^ This, although I would leave it even longer than that.

Didn’t take my youngest dog out (now 15 month old labradoodle) until nearly a year old. Only a mile at first at a slow pace and she was knackered, as although she will run around like a nutter all day long, there is a huge difference between ‘stop/start’ type activity and the constant running when with a bike. I’ll be getting her out again this month and building very slowly. Luckily she appears to be happy trotting along behind, unlike my two labs, who I gave up with as one kept crossing in front (despite being smacked several times with the wheel) and the other just became stressed no matter what I tried.

When charlie was a pup i use to ride around the garden just so she was use to seeing me on a bike .
Have a look at mushers secret . A mountain rescue guy recommended it to a mate of mine and it does a good job of toughning up their pads if required

I trained my dog, a Parsons Russell and saw mates train three different border collies using this method-

munrobiker – Member
he was trained by crashing into him if he got in the way. Sounds pretty brutal but if you ride as if he’s not there and smack into him he’ll soon learn not to get under the wheels.

Wait till the dog is a year old and start where there are no other riders, you need to have trained it to stay straight away on command if you’re going to busy trails.
Fast open trails not really suited to even fast dogs IMO as they don’t have a freewheel and tire quickly, for instance I only take my wee dog to Innerleithen XC if I am with a slower rider that he can pal around with as the descent from the Minchmoor is a bit fast for him. He loves the DH courses and other more technical stuff as he’s faster than me down them, GT red is a fair contest though.

Although a very fast trail he made it down the Fort Bill WC course a couple of times before being knackered!

Mine “got it” after losing some tail fur

Sith Hound in action