evening/morning..

we’ve recently had a new addition to the household in the shape of a border terrier.

just after a bit of advice on the best way to train Ted how to run along side the bike with me. I’ll obviously avoid the road and trail centres with him. At most it will be some moderate XC in the middle of nowhere or the canal path.

He’s not had all his injections yet so not even been on walkies, but I thought I’d ask around here to see if anyone had any tips on getting him started with the bike when hes old enough.

Cheers

we used to take the dog. basically the knack is to get them to respect the bike rather than fear it. Try some short slow rides with someone walking him on a lead with you.

We had the issue that on longer XC outthere rides there were mostly sheep etc. trail centres were better though mostly when it was quiet of through the week.

Don’t run him too hard or too long too early or you will break him. I started cycling slowly with extending lead and tried treats as a reward. She will now happily run along with the bike but does get distracted by smells and I have to stop an call her.

Taught my collie to heel properly off the lead and he’ll do it now whether I’m walking, running, riding or even on a quad bike.

Riding with a dog on a lead is asking for trouble…

I’ll obviously avoid the road and trail centres with him.

don’t know why, there was a brilliantly trained/behaved 14(ish) week old lab at Glentress on Saturday!

We have a border terrier and was bought in the hope she would run alongside the bike over hill and dale. The reality was very different. Our border terrier is very scent driven and will just take off after a squirrel, fox, pheasent, and we are forced to just wait for her until she returns. We have tried all the methods of food rewards etc and it doesn’t work so no riding alongside the bike.

Not suggesting this will be your experience and you may well find it Ok!

There was a good article on this last year in the mag. you can do some preparation training, but I wouldn’t get serious until he’s 6 months old. You really want him to run ahead of you, which he will probably do naturally anyway. But the first thing is to introduce a training regime, which is as much about teaching him to learn things, as it is about teaching him specific things.

Its a case of training yourself too.
Riding one handed and anticipating when he is likely to cross you or stop.
Ride slow at first.

We were advised not to even attempt to try it until she was at least 18 months old when her bones were fully developed as you can run the risk of Hip Dysplasia which they can be prone to anyway. Just be very careful.

Thanks for info.

Regarding trail centres, I would have thought taking dogs on a red route would be frowed upon? bit dangerous on singletrack etc.

I have read a few things regarding the border terrier picking up a scent and wondering off, fair enough if that happens with him. Running along with the bike is a nice to have really, if he’s not interested them I’m fine with it.

We were advised not to even attempt to try it until she was at least 18 months old when her bones were fully developed as you can run the risk of Hip Dysplasia which they can be prone to anyway. Just be very careful

Exactly this, although 18 months is probably being a bit overcautious. At 6 months you can start taking a dog for longer walks and at 1 year start getting him to run with the bike. Like children, puppys have very soft bones and getting him to run with the bike before then will cause irreparable damage. Get him running now and he’ll be crippled in later life

I just don’t understand how people think that getting a dog to run long distances at a very young age is acceptable. It’s against every scrap of advice from experts. A one year old dog is the equivelant age of a 7 year old child – would you force them to run miles at that age?

Another thing we were advised from our vet was, when we started walking her, only go for very short walks, 10 minutes maximum and then increase the length by 5 – 10 minutes a month up until she was 1 year old.

Started out driving bike and dog to the start of the trails (I call them trails, but it’s just a nice flat thicket area with options for long or short rides).
Kept dog on a loosely held lead (just looped around little finger to make letting go easy). Riding short distances to get dog used to being alongside bike and not run under the tyres (they do that a few times, but soon get the message).
Once she was used to it and learned some basic commands – “WAIT!” being the most important one – started letting her off the lead.
Lots and lots of praising when they get it right.
They need to have walking training and commands like ‘heel’ etc before you start, I think.

To begin with I thought it was never going to happen, as I thought I’d try getting her used to the bike by riding it in the garden with her. She bit the tyres. It was no indication of how she’d get on with trailhound training!

yeah, one more thing – when it’s warm, make sure you go somewhere where there is water for the dog to jump into!

I have two Jack Russells, one runs behind the bike, the other likes to be in front….didnt need to train them, they just did it….i dont go near roads though.

My springer was 1 year old(as advised by the vet) before he went on his first ride/run.
I had taught him to run with the bike by riding up and down the 30m or so driveway we have so when he first went out he was pre-trained to run with the bike.
I had to retire him from riding at age 5 as he’d had a major back spasm whilst riding at Cwm Carn.
About 6 months ago he ruptured his cruciate and had to have quite a bit of surgery resulting in a broken leg with a Ti plate and screws in his leg. The vet didn’t know if this was caused by riding or not.

Best advice is don’t even think about it until the dogs bones are fully developed i.e. one year old.

Nice border btw.

Two dogs here who both behave differently when they’re out on a ride with me – my springer thinks its a race so always likes to go ahead by a few feet but always to the side, never run over him yet! Spanish water dog just hugs the real wheel and I dont know she’s there.

‘Heel’ and ‘wait’ are commands which yor dog should be good/perfect at before you start training IMO.

Two dogs but 5years in between getting them so trained seperately…not sure if it would be as easy training two dogs at once though. Trained my spanish water dogs first….cant say for definite but when I got my springer it was like he just copied her so training him was easier.

Started them both on the lead with the bike first, walking pace with lots of ‘heels’ and treats every couple of hundred meters to reward their good behaviour if they did well. Do not wear SPDs for this initial training!!

Until you are confident I woulkd stick to quieter rides then slowly introduce busier walks where you ride past/towards other cyclists/walkers/dogs.

Try to take in a couple of streams/brooks for your dog to safely drink from en route.

As said above do not take young dog on big rides for the reasons stated. I started by going on very slow rides with them for say a mile, trotting pace.

Old water bottle on your bike to put full poo bags in to.

Persevere…..it will be worth it but dont rush it.

Old water bottle on your bike to put full poo bags in to.

Er, what if you forget what you used it for… 😯

Some very good info here. However Instead of using voice comands I use a whistle
http://trailhoundwelfare.org.uk/downloads/TrainingRecall.pdf

Ok – I expect to be flamed for this response so the context first. I ride (obviously), have dogs who I walk twice a day and have friends who like to combine riding and dogs when riding with me, even if I don’t. I have thought about taking my (well-trained) dogs with me before but refrained largely for a very simple reason.

If you are on a bike, can you ensure their (your dog/dogs) safety and can you ensure the safety of other people and other animals? Pretty simple question, that we can each take our own views on. FWIW, my friend can’t, yet still persists to the extent I don’t feel comfortable riding with him after near misses with cars. I am amazed that his dog is still with us – and that leaves aside the obvious issue of ensuring that our dogs are well behaved with other people/dogs/animals.

Sounds like you choice of route/rides makes these risks lower than for others and others have made great advice re dog’s welfare. So excuse me, for taking a more cautious view, but I have seem too many near misses for comfort. I love the idea, if not the practice!

I don’t ride with my collie nr roads.

The best and most useful skill we taught him is to lie down where he is and stay there. No point having a great recall if the problem is in between you and them….

Thanks for all the honest advice.
There is obviously a lot to think about.

The last thing I want is for the dog or anyone else to be at risk & I’d feel the same as you if my mates dog was all over the shop. Riding is meant to be fun at the end of the day.

Need to spend loads of time with him on and off the lead and gaining the trust first I guess before even considering the bike.

Oh and for anyone considering getting a border terrier , do it! Best thing we have ever done 🙂

If you are on a bike, can you ensure their (your dog/dogs) safety and can you ensure the safety of other people and other animals? Pretty simple question

Not really a simple question. As said, depends where you ride with the dog. Now mine’s trained to safely be on the lead with me, I ride to the trails with her on lead. Then let her off when we get to the safe place. I actually ride back the same way with her off lead, but she’s more obedient when tired! People are safe… as for other animals..wel, depends how quick they are 😉