Just curious as the Missus and will be acquiring a rescue dog in July,
Problem is she wants a pug type dog, I want something that isn’t gonna hurl over after a mile walk or suffocate trying to chase me on the bike,

Any problems with losing dogs?!

Seen a couple of riders with their spaniel, seemed proper on the ball, smelly dogs though!

Would like a short haired if I can,

Of course all dogs are different and have their own personalities! Trust me to get a lazy ass collie!

Yes, when he was younger, our staffie cross used to live for trail riding, he couldn’t get enough. It was hard to get the kit sorted with him excitedly bouncing around and jumping in the car. Really good on the trail once we got going though.

yup take my hound out trailing couple times a week, couple hours sometimes 15 mile rides, not too fast though, loves it, weimaraner btw, 5 years old,

Working Cockers are good, and keep them shaved.

We’ve just gained a second, a 2 y/o rescue Springer to keep him company. Luckily we’ve space/land and surrounded by accessable land.

yep take my 2 year old rhodesian ridgeback everywhere with me biking. Took her to llandegla on saturday and did 13 miles. She loves it, only gotta push the bike past the door and she’s ready to go but a walk without a bike and you’ve gotta trick her out of her bed. Cant take her anywhere natural though because of sheep and the like so we just stick to trail centre of local forests. Also got a 10 mile loop I can ride straight form the house along canals and local walking areas and only tiny bit of on lead jogging alongside and she loves all of it.

yep loves a bike, barks if we’re too slow or resting too long. He’s brown.

Probably part staffie and other dogs with some lurcher somewhere in the mix.

I’d love to with our Parsons Russell. But she’s thick as two short planks. Will run off and never come back 🙁

We take a rescue lurcher out with us, mostly trail centres as less roads, though we have successfully ridden some natural stuff around us in the lakes.
Being a lurcher he is more of a sprinter, so gets a bit knackered on longer rides, Glentress Red is about his limit (we did this yesterday).
He _loves_ downhilling with me up in our local wood, the 15mins up, 2 mins down sprint thing suits him much better.

He does like to chase deer a bit, so we have to be careful. Sheep are not a problem after some training.

Sorry to hi-jack, but has anyone taken a German Shepherd?!

I know your getting a rescue but I would advise against pug, their faces quite literally do not work. They cannot breathe, they been so inbred they barely function and my mates ended up incontinent, and without the use of its back legs. If you want a functional hound get a working breed, i.e. a dog that was bred for purpose not for looks.

sandal100 – Member
Sorry to hi-jack, but has anyone taken a German Shepherd?!

Good question.

Golfchick- yep, our ridgie is exactly the same. Goes bananas when I get my mtb out of the shed and if I don’t take him with me the wife says he gets a proper sulk on for hours in the house. 😀
OP- deffo recommend a ridgeback. Originally breed for for traveling big distances tracking big game then still be able to put a 200 yrd sprint in at the end. Of course you would have to build up the miles but they are more than capable.
obligatory pics of our dog, Rogue :

Stunning dog, not sure how many ridgebacks I’ll find in rescue centres?!

god I wouldnt dare go biking without her! Ive left her in back yard before while i loaded the bike up out of view…. she was over the 5ft fence in a matter of seconds. Ive shut her around a back garden with a huge piece of wood, bucket of water and dog gate in her way and done the same, loaded the bike up out of view an she was by my side in seconds.

Not sure if I’d recommend a ridgeback from a rescue anyway… not unless it was a ridgeback rescue. They’re big dogs (shes just under 40kgs) and i think handled wrongly or mistreated they can be a lot to take on. Extremely loyal and can be very aloof with strangers and I think unless the previous owner knew what they were doing then the damage is already done… and if the previous owner knew what it was doing then the dog wouldn’t be in a rescue lol!

I see loads of spaniels and border terriers as trail dogs and they look like they handle it superbly. Spaniels atleast are fairly sponge like when it comes to training so even if they’d been treated like rubbish I think you’ll easily fix things and border terriers I suspect are in rescue because they’re tenacious little things (as with all terriers) but that wouldn’t matter so much as thats probably what you want from a trail dog!

my lab/Alsatian cross used to come but she is too old now, its heartbreaking watching her sad eyes as i load up the bikes. have a younger (4ish) labradoodle who can bang out 20 miles round afan as fast as i can but i always rest him up for a day afterwards.
used to go for wild rides too, but the lab in them means they are constantly looking to me for direction so livestock isn’t an issue

the spaniel recommendations sound good to me, but they can be a handful in the house. dont get too hung up on a breed though, go walk loads at the rescue place and look for one that is more interested in YOU then stuff

also, personally i wouldnt ride distance or speed with a dog before they are 3 as they aren’t developed properly till then and always keep a close eye on them when you stop. a dog can and will run itself to death.

they love it mind, like proper love it. running with the pack is primal enjoyment for them

German pointer here – brilliant trail dog.
Yeah, lost a couple of times early on, but she found her way back to the car 🙂

Hijack – how old was your dog when you started riding?
My Poppy is 5 months ish, a boxer whippet X, and runs like billyo when out in the open. I don’t force her to do anything but she’s well up for a wee sprint with me when I run. I’ll give her a year before bike stuff though.
I’m hoping this adds to the OP’s post

At 14 months she started to come with me but not on major long rides. Once she surpassed the 18 month generally advised age we built up the distance. She just over 2 now and we regularly do around the 13 mile distance but always have a rest day the next day and she’s quite clever in that once she best tired she doesn’t kill herself to keep up. If I’m alone she just kept me one corner in sight and cuts every corner in sight to save on distance.

Good kennel in bromsgrove called bumble hole (really) they deal with dogs that haven’t met the grade in the forces. We have had a lab cross and a springer from there. Very well behaved dogs when you get them due to their training.

Depends where you based but could be worth a call to them

I take my Dalmation with me, hes getting older now so I have to lower the miles, he used to do 20 miles fine. Plenty of previous threads on training them to run with you, it takes a while !

how old was your dog when you started riding?

My dog wasn’t born when I started riding! 😉

We didn’t get her til she was 11 months, so by the time she was trained, I guess she was 13-14 months.

OP- deffo recommend a ridgeback. Originally breed for for traveling big distances tracking big game then still be able to put a 200 yrd sprint in at the end. Of course you would have to build up the miles but they are more than capable.

Awesome, he sounds like some sort of Jens Voight cloning experiment gone wrong!

DezB – when did you first take your GSP out? How old? I have an 8 month old dog and want him to ride with me, but not sure how to start, off the lead straight away and hope?

20121006-_MG_2759 by eddie.jenkinson, on Flickr

Ive got a beautiful patterdale terrier who loves coming on rides with me (she sulks if i dont take her too) she was easy to train and even though she’s only 1 she has done a few 15 mile rides up to now, i started at 8 months with 2 milers round local fields to get her used to it and let her know whats expected, she’s small enough to carry if anything happens to her too 🙂
Note: i saw a lovely Lab suffering with sore paws half way round Llandegla a while ago and the guy could do nothing about it, poor thing, at least with a smaller dog you can carry

I tried taking my GSD once. Wasn’t my best idea. She was more interested in sniffing and randomlyu stopping infront of me. I’ve relegated her to hill walking. According to that martin clunes dog programme, shes left footed which explains a lot!

and you’ve gotta trick her out of her bed

Typical Ridgie then… lol I’ve had 4!..

want another one but the time isn’t right.. tryRidgeback Rescue

One Caveat though… Ridgies are BIG dogs and highly intelligent (ergo will run rings round a gullible owner) and definitely not for the first time dog owner.

Currently we have a Black Lab who loves to potter along on gentle runs but the star of the show is our Australian Kelpie “Kona” (yeah I know) who loves to tear up the trails behind us (in front of us/around us)

As a pup

3 months ago with Milly the Lab in Thrunton Woods

We took our Spring Charles for a test run at Thetford last summer.

She followed for about 20 meters then would catch a scent and run off then catch another one then another. We’d hear her barking in the distance and when we were fraught enough she’d come back, follow for another few meters and bugger off again.

Not taken her again, she’s got too much adventure in her to run after a boring old bike.

Shame though she loves to run, just not after a bike. 🙁

DezB – when did you first take your GSP out? How old? I have an 8 month old dog and want him to ride with me, but not sure how to start, off the lead straight away and hope?

As above, started just over a year old. Used to drive to the “trails”, then progressed to taking her on the lead, loosely held with one finger.. (she had me off once, I was off guard as we arrived back home.. she saw a cat. Never did it again 8) )
Now I can do either, on or off lead.

This is our Red and Tan Kelpie “Copper” basically a set of lungs on legs. Their Stamina is amazing. Very good temprament too and real character.

So good we bought another one…rescued with a bit of Border Collie mixed in,can give a Greyhound a run for its money.

Copper and Whisky

can give a Greyhound a run for its money

I doubt that. Greyhounds are blindingly quick. Watching one run down our lurcher in a straight line is an amazing sight. (till the lurcher starts turning and said Greyhound ended up on its back sliding across the field)

As GolfChick said – I take Scooby my 2 1/2 yr old Irish Setter if I’m at Delamere, Llandegla or other trail centres, but I’m not sure I’d want to take him up on open trails due to livestock.
He loves it and is constantly barking at me if I dare to have a rest.
Keeps me fit though 🙂

@anagallis arvensis – the greyhound in question is Millie a 5 year old bitch in our village. Admittedly Whisky throws in the turns when Millie gets close…

@tacopowell – every dog is different, but there are generally breed characteristics which run through the breed. Look these up, don’t ignore them! There are good and bad aspects for each, and it is just a matter of figuring out what is more important to you. As a real generalisation herding dogs love to work, are easy to get running with a bike, but need loads of exercise and can be a problem with sheep. Gun dogs are probably the easiest to train, are loyal pets, happy to run or sleep, but can get easily distracted by scents on the trail. Sight hounds are fast, happy to sleep all day, but can lack stamina… There are many more…

For each ‘type’ of dog you some that total contradict the breed traits, but it’s a good starting point.

We have Copper and Whisky above. They are superb with the bike, will run all day, are reliable off the lead and will also run by the bike on harnesses for the road. But we give them about 2 hours walks / bike runs a day, and have the space to keep them outside during the day, they maybe wouldn’t suit everyone.

Good luck with whatever you get – and remember to post a picture when you get it!

Yup …

photo by jerrypc69, on Flickr

One thing I’d definitely add is don’t forget to build up their tolerances for the surface you want them to run on. A friend brought his dog to degla with me (he regularly ride cannock with him) and was surprised when half way round he had burned through his pads. They’re like feet and need tolerance building up and pads thickening and you’ll need to keep a constant eye on their feet too as they can so easily cut them and rip nails open. We’ve had to take a few breaks now due to zivas feet and having to give them chance to heal. They have amazing feet but need chance to work and heal.

“Back in the day” I used to take one of my Springers out, he’d run off in front which was fine as I could see him, then he’d dart off into the undergrowth and I’d loose him, Springers are a bit like that. I had many a fine hour playing in the woods and forests around where I used to live, I miss that dawg something rotten. Funny, his brother never really wanted to come out, I mean he did of course, but big brother used to be chomping at the bit each time I got home.
I did get worried during Bramble and Ivy seasons, his paws would wear out a bit and sometimes bleed between the toes, but he seemed happy enough to want to come out, so that was it really.
As time went on we both got used to pacing each other, he’d either follow or off out in front, if it was somewhere new then he’d naturally follow, somewhere we both knew and he’d be off in front..
Proper dog Banger was, proper dog. Miss him like crayzeeey.

Oh and be prepared to be upset as they’re a lot faster than you! There’s only one place in the wyre that I can outpace ziva and I have to go 30 miles an hour downhill to do it. She’s known for looking at you at the last stretch of the loop to challenge you to a race. My fiance and I have fallen for it a few times but she always proves to be victorious! Little bugger knows exactly what she’s doing but she likes to remind you that she’s just waiting to be top dog!

We have inherited the farm dog who follows us and the guests who use the trails around the farm.
Always seems to disappear for a while before finding his way back.

Make sure it’s not one of those dogs with a hatred of bikes!