[Closed] Does a Golden Retriever make a good trail hound?

Trail hound?

retrievers aren't hounds for a kick off

My experience of Golden Retrievers is that they're great family dogs but they like to run off exploring interesting smells....

it has 4 paws a long pink tongue, slobber and a wagging tail, and might occasionally go....Woof!

Doesn't that constitute being a hound?

Or would you prefer: [i]canis lupus familiaris sequor[/i]

Retrievers are lovely lovely family dogs but probably too stubborn to run around after you on a bike!!!

hmmmm,

primary motivation is for my son, who is mildly autistic, so a chilled out fluffy friend is the order of the day, but with potential keep fit whilst I ride the trails. Any other suggestions?

Biggest crash of my life was due to my retriever: single log bridge, big ditch, I gave dog right of way. Flew about 20 feet and broke frame and forks. Not the best trail dogs and not necessarily designed for long running. Reckon something like a dalmatian or viszla would be better

I think mudshark is right. They're called retrievers after all. If you have a tendency to throw balls all day while out riding fine? Other than that i'd look at another breed.
Apparently, 'carriage dogs' are good - like dalmations.

i had a black labrador when my son was born, i used to take my son on the back of the bike and the dog ran at the side.
i spent lots and lots of time looking for the dog who had followed his nose somewhere.
we had him put to sleep when he was 12.
i currently have a 18 month old black labrador bitch, who justs attacks my tyres.
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My brother had a Black Lab, and she would run for miles and miles, so maybe it's all about them liking biking too?

A Collie would be a good shout - lots of stamina & trainable (ish)..

Border Collie will run for days. Seem to enjoy chasing bikes too. What about a deerhound? It'll leave you in the dust, with the added benefit of scaring the beejesus out of anyone you bump into in the forest at full pelt!

Collie - trainable (ish)..

collies are cool, but not ultimately patient with kids. My dilemma is well...erm...a dilemma?!!?

AndyRT
collies are cool, but not ultimately patient with kids

Depends on how they are introduced to them. Collie Lab cross ftw.

We've got a German Shorthaired Pointer and he's ace- he's only 8 months old so I'm taking it fairly easy with him but he'll do an hour with me on a singlespeed no problem. Today I'm feeling a bit guilty as we had his nadgers off today 😥

I sense this might sway the thread a little (typing with crossed legs)

A word of warning on the collie option. They [i]can[/i] be difficult pets due to mentally high energy and intelligence levels. If they get frustrated or bored, you're in for a world of problems you can't even begin to imagine.

Also, they [i]can[/i] be nippy and aren't always the best option for children. Of course, if you can give a collie all the attention and stimulation it needs, you could end up with the best dog in the world. But think carefully and don't get a dog from a working line.

Apart from the running with bikes bit, I'd recommend a Retriever.

Spaniels are popular on here, quite enjoy a run so I've heard, and are probably a better family pet than a collie, on the whole.

can't see the pics Dorset Knob...

Staffie?

We are with Pop, I did the research, needed to be good with kids great with bikes, mountains, and horses, and be trainable, willing for others to look after him and have others wanting to look after him, ended up with German Shorthaired Pointer has been great but nine years on we are back with SS suits both of us. Kept him entire - never had a problem. good luck

[img] http://www.flickr.com/photos/34422701@N08/3197762764/ [/img]

I have a Blue Merle collie.
Will run as long as i an cycle! Then want to play ball again once we're home!
He's fantastic with children. Just sits there as my niece dresses him up with necklaces and hats! They then go walk around the garden, he's never far from her side.

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It's taken a dog debate to generate my first post on here!
My folks are on their second retriever now, having got their first when we (my 3 bros and I) were all sub 10 years old. Absolutely brilliant family pets and would highly recommend one, especially if you have a young family. The dog used to go down a storm in the old folks' home when on grand-parent visiting duty, due to sedate temperament (not the grandparent...). Also totally at home in the great outdoors (again, not the grand parent). I think one would be fine to take on your bike- you'd just have to get it fit. A guy in my office takes his labrador out running whilst he's on his bike, no probs.
My old boss had a german short-haired pointer. Again, a really nice dog, but I think from what you've said, the retriever might be a better bet with the family.

Thanks JA, glad to be of service, welcome

Another vote for the German Shorthaired Pointer here. He's great out on the bike, tends to keep about 30 yards in front on the uphills and is quite happy to run behind us on the downs. Managed Carn Ban Mor no problems 😉
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And Ben Rinnes
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We've gone and got another one now, he's only 6 months so won't be out with the bike for a while yet.
They also make suberb family pets they're both brilliant with my young neices and nephews

Another GSP here, she's nuts, but out on the trail just stays with me. Loves the running - just got back from a night ride actually. Was fab.
Vid from the other week, Dezb Jr. on the trailerbike. (Excuse the wobbly pic, was a handheld Ixus 🙂 )
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can't speak for the others , but i used to have a giant schnauzer. big black hairy and ran all day up and down the beach following the motor bike . wonderful animal great with kids its just -------- in winter she had a long coat an it trashed the back seats, they stank bad. shame shes not around now. but a good choice of trail hound (and there coats dont moult)

pop larkin, tell me im reading that wrong.

you have an 8mth old whp that you run for an hour.
that is not good.

He said a GSP. Why is it wrong?

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Greatest trail dog ever! He'll run and run and run.
Will race you down the single track, becomes aware when you are closing in behind him and hops off to the side, lets you past then tucks in and follows you down.

Its my business partners Hungarian Vizsla named Alfie - official BBB tail guide ;).
He was the runt of his litter, pee's like a girl and is very confused in his sexuality (although I guess many of us would be if we'd had our balls lopped)
Alfies best mates with a German Short Haired pointer, whilst not as agile as Alfie, could run through a wall (infact they both ran through my girlfriend who subsequently required knee surgery + titanium)

The pointer is more of a swimmer.. Viszla definately the trail dog.
That said, we've another friend with a Viszla and this one simply doesn't understand the concept of bikes.

drawback with Viszlas? - can need a huge amount of personal contact and be quite 'nuts' (alfie didn't chill out till about 2) Very pretty breed though IMO

My Lab shep X is only just one, so we've not done much with her on trail yet. Probably wont do anything like the rides we do with the Viszla either.. She's quick, but i think will suffer in the heat and chances are she's not going to be that durable in the hips 🙁
Longer haired dogs are a chore to clean up after too 😉

Viszla more agile than my pointer? No way! Race ya!

Had a flat coat retriever and he would have been great on trails after he was 2 or so. He ran all day. Sadly this was before I found mountain biking. All the golden retrievers and labs I have encountered have been too lazy, crazy or just plain soft to be good bike dogs. They breed small black labs round here as working dogs and I'm sure they would be ok. Can't see better than a collie/lab cross for your needs i.e family pet and bike dog. Good at fetching sticks from the river too!

+1 on the carriage dog idea - although most of the dalmations I know are a bit nuts. If I were looking for a trail dog, it would either be a border collie, a deerhound or a dalmation.

As it is, I have a two year old lurcher - looks like a big, hairy whippet with a bit more meat on him than most whippets.... Doesn't come out riding with me though - he's good for quick sprints (crazy-fast) but doesn't enjoy sustained running.

EDIT: I should mention that living with a long haired dog is like living in a cloud.

An English foxhound makes a great pet & will run until it wears it's legs down if necessary - impossible to tire out

I have my eyes set on a [url= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Kelpie ]Kelpie[/url]. Kinda like a tougher Boarder Collie.

Speaking Foxhound typa dogs; the [url= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_Terrier_(Smooth) ]Fox Terrier[/url] is an amazing runner. In my Zimbabwean farmer ex-life we had one which would run about 10k a day and still chase pickups. I'm not too keen about their temperament though.

We had a dalmatian for 11 years,choosen after looking at all breeds intresting character rode loads with us, great dog to go out with mileage was easy but just check the surface his pads would rip up on some, pacing was important climbs they will be ahead and will try and stay ahead on the downs meaning a lot of stress on the joints. BUT dallys will run off and eat any dead or rotten carcasses, they are head strong, when he was a pup he would like to cut across the front wheel after several near misses my wife ran over him he never did it again, they will pick up a smell and follow it sometimes getting lost, I lost him on some singletrack then heard him howling like a banshee took me 40 mins to find him. Ours was the best house dog I have ever owned but he was knackered all the time which is the point these are high energy, highly intelligent, highly greedy dogs that need exercise and a firm hand, he also had some weird phobias, placid around some dogs but ridgebacks and labs seemed to have a pathological hatred cows wanted to lick them..........no idea..but we were stampeded on more than one occassion, kids think they are great but they might not like the attention.
Mypartner works with adults with disabilites and he waas tremendous around lots of people but it was hard for him to pick up some singals, e.g eye contact so we always kept a watch on him, so have a good look at the nature of the dog not necessarily the breed.
As he got older 9 yrs old he stopped comming for rides with me, it was lashing down and he just sat in the car park and would not move, 6 months later he would not run and then he started having ops for stones in the bladder and kidneys common breed problem we had him put down a year ago, be prepared for heart break if you get a dog. Mike Ferrentino wrota a great article on the death of his dog in bike
If you are prepared to put in the time they are brill, buy from a household breeder and see the mother of the pups, get them trained get them trained again and exercise them, they love luxury and are fools and will amke you laugh, cry, swear and curse.
To date we have not got another dog if we did on the list would be
dally
german wired hair pointer

good luck 🙂

Border terrier everytime! Great dogs

Mine's a springer staffy cross breed, I got him from the rescue center over a year ago. Hes wasnt trained and very very boisterious. I found taking him on rides a nightmare at first. Wouldnt listen got run over a few times but it has helped train him. I've got him to run and keep close when slow and at a distence when moving faster. still gets the odd ASBO moment when wildlife gets spotted.

But it is good to ride with him, seems to rely enjoy it. I'm meeting more riders with dogs on the trails there dosn't seem to be a particular breed but are all medium to larger animals.

If you get a puppy it will be easyer to train. Thorough breds are more expensive and have inherent problems. Cross breeds are cheaper, go wrong less, live longer but can get some funny looking dogs.

I intend to get a dog at some point and have decided a Rhodesian Ridegback is the dog for me. Can run all day (and catch Lions if there are any around) but is the laziest dog ever if it's at home, quite content to curl up and sleep all day. Sounds too good to be true!
From a year old you can take them out on all day epics!!
Sounds like they need to be trained well in the early days, but what dog doesn't, afterall, you can't teach an old dog new tricks!!

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my border terrier is crap with bikes but makes a great ski-dog

here he is with the missus

My labrador is an excellent trail dog. He will run all day and after his initial pee will not deviate from about 2 feet behind the back wheel.

Great with the kids also

Sorry bearback...that is one ugly dog!

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I've a working cocker spaniel called Suze (got her from guy who bred them as gun dogs) - she is brilliant out with the bike, energy to burn, initially she was a bit hyper but she's 2 now and has calmed down, lovely nature and great round the kids. does tend to disappear when the rabbits are about but as yet hasn't caught one of them

Eureka Moment - why not get a rabbit? Fast, low maintenance, cheap and ready supply in a forest near you!!

clocked her the other week at 26mph and was sure she was just taunting me to go faster

I've a working cocker spaniel called Suze (got her from guy who bred them as gun dogs) - she is brilliant out with the bike, energy to burn, initially she was a bit hyper but she's 2 now and has calmed down, lovely nature and great round the kids. does tend to disappear when the rabbits are about but as yet hasn't caught one of them

Eureka Moment - why not get a rabbit? Fast, low maintenance, cheap and ready supply in a forest near you!!

clocked her the other week at 26mph and was sure she was just taunting me to go faster - the dog that is, not a rabbit

BearBack: A good mate's got a Hungarian Vizsla and I'd agree with everything you said....... a bit mad, very fast, run for ever.
Personally I'd go with the Spaniel option. I've got two working cockers and they're great family dogs but love to get out as well.
Springers have more energy to get rid of but slightly dippy. Cockers are lovely but keep well away from 'show' dogs as they're effectively useless at everything apart from growing big ears. Proper working cockers are [usually] bigger, more muscle and, if they've come from a good pedigree, will need little training. Ours will never venture more than 30-40 meters away from you and makes them a lot easier to take on trips as you're not worried about them hurtling off into the next 3 fields - unlike the Hungarian Vizsla!
Oh, and the Vizsla is a beautiful dog..... that's just an unflattering photo.

GNARGNAR - Member
Sorry bearback...that is one ugly dog!

How pointless and wrong can you be

Bearback, that is a fantastic photo! That is one happy hound!

I've just got a lakeland terrier who I'm hoping will be a good trail dog when she's older. They're bred to run for 30 miles or so while hunting foxes on foot so should have good stamina. So far she's fantastic with kids, but she's only five months old so that might change, although I hope not. Another option for you might be an airedale terrier - lovely dogs (meant to be one of the only breeds that will babysit kids) and lots of ability to run as well. Probably not as fast as some of the ones mentioned but plenty of stamina.

I used to have a labrador/collie cross and he was a really sweet dog as well as very clever, so might be good with your son.

Thanks momentum, I'll take a look

DezB -

How wrong can you be

Is that a rhetorical question? That is one fugly dog, unless you happen to think it's an attractive dog but hey each to their own. I doubt the guy is going to go to the shed, strangle his dog then blow his brains out over the head of it.

DezB

How pointless can you be

More or less pointless than commenting on the relative beauty of one bike/car/woman vs another? Or commenting on someones kitchen or hedge when they post a picture of a bike? I don't know, how do you quantify pointlesness? Are you the arbiter of relevance on stw? Why have you been so slack of late?

[i]Posted by seizednuts

If you get a puppy it will be easyer to train. Thorough breds are more expensive and have inherent problems. Cross breeds are cheaper, go wrong less, live longer but can get some funny looking dogs. [/i]

Good advice here. Crossbreeds and mongrels should live longer, and have fewer health complications.

Soobalias
He is a GSP and as I said I take it 'fairly easy' by this I mean downhills are casually taken so as to avoid damaging joints and as I'm on a singlespeed the uphills are taken even more than 'fairly easy'.
To be honest when I take him for a walk in the woods he tears around just as fast and as far on his own chasing birds and squirrels.

Pointless: the thread is about how good dogs are as trail dogs. Not how pretty they look while running in a particular photo

Wrong: Vizslas are beautiful dogs. Unless you like Chinese Cresteds or something.

[i] doubt the guy is going to go to the shed, strangle his dog then blow his brains out over the head of it. [/i]

Oh, and what a surprise you'd get carried away with your response.

and..
[i]Are you the arbiter of relevance on stw? [/i]

I'm just commenting on your post, just like you're commenting on mine.

DezB - Member
Pointless: the thread is about how good dogs are as trail dogs. Not how pretty they look while running in a particular photo

Did I break the internet?

Wrong: Vizslas are beautiful dogs. Unless you like Chinese Cresteds or something.

I change my mind, they are sexy sexy bastards.

Oh, and what a surprise you'd get carried away with your response.

Hyperbole [hahy-pur-buh-lee]
–noun Rhetoric.

1. obvious and intentional exaggeration.
2. an extravagant statement or figure of speech not intended to be taken literally, as “to wait an eternity.”

[i]Did I break the internet?[/i]

Yes. Again.

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I'm with Hicksville, have had 5 Dalmations including my current two, get them trained and trained again as hicks says. Will run all day if you pace them right and will love you so much in return just be prepared for the eventual heartache, mine are 9/10 now so not much longer i'm afraid.
As a breed they suffer from bladder stones two of mine had them although never the bitches, just remember to feed them on a low protein diet, most of the dry dog foods are quite high in protein, tinned Chappie is very low.

Just remembered something I looked into some time ago, try a google search for Lakeland Hounds, these are bred and trained for running and can be obtained as retired dogs whne they are quite young with plenty of life in them still, the best bit is that most of them will ignore livestock, Dalmations are not so good at ignoring livestock!!

My 5 year old Golden Retriever is a just gorgeous. Great family dog, loves long walks, but I wouldn't take her out with me while I'm biking. They get distracted by everything that moves (squirrels, rabbits, other dogs), they love the water, they love mud, they love to roll in unsavoury sticky stuff.....far too much going on for them to follow a bike!

Here's mine

From this
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To this....oh please, no more photos...
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To this!!!
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and finally this.

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Well, here's some random pics of my dog, being as everyone else is at it. Two and a half now, from a rescue centre and finally beginning to resemble a sentient being....

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Last one....

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Another vote for a flat-coated retriever here. It would be fluffy and soft enough for you and are great outdoor dogs with lots of stamina. Also better looking than a Golden in my opinion.

Or you could go for a Setter........

Is that Sandend user-removed?