Im wanting my Labrador pup, 4 months old to come on the trails with me once hes a few months older. Who out there takes there dog on the trails, how do you get them to stay with you and not dart off into the undergrowth chasing the wildlife? Any training tips whilst hes still young?

I used to ride around the garden when mine was a pup just to get her used to me being on a bike . Recall is the biggest thing for me , as long as she comes when I whistle it’s pretty much just like a normal walk . Build up slowly plenty of water stops etc etc . Riding with your dog is brilliant

Recall and being happy running alongside/behind the bike are vital.

I ride a bike while walking the dogs. I don’t go for a ride and take the dogs with me. If you look at it that way you won’t break your dog.

Not until at least a year old, especially a Lab as you’ll destroy his joints and have all manner of problems in later life, trust me.
Short slow stints to start, max 20min at trundling pace and gradually build up.
Make sure that in the next 6-8 months you work in the ‘skills’ he will need to go along with the fitness and strength that come with age.
Get his recall perfect. Try and recall him to one side of you, and keep him there as you walk.
Get him to not just stop in front of you but to the side.
Think long and hard about it with your Lab, hip problems are so prevalent and not nice for the dog or your wallet.
Our springer lab cross is now at the age of 6 suffering with hip displasia and on a constant supply of pain killers, supplements and hydrotherapy. He used to love running with the bike, and I had followed all my own advice but when the vet showed me the x Rays of his hips and commented on the stress cracks in his hip around the socket that were signs of repeated high impact activity, and were now part of his problems I felt as guilty as hell. The dog will love it, right up to the point it buggers him up. Some dogs just shouldn’t di some things…

Mattbee +1

Tick

Want to look in to doing this with my Lab pup

I taught mine using the canal, where he could only run forwards or backwards. Flats and downs he’s fine in the woods, on climbs he goes off sniffing. ‘Behind’ is a good training tip. Ride with pockets for treats, bags and leads.

Why?
Do a proper ride without the dog.
Do a proper walk with the dog without the bike.

I taught mine using the canal, where he could only run forwards or backwards.

That wouldn’t work with either of my Spaniels, as for them there’d be a 3rd option… 🙂

^ agree with him. Dags are for walking, then you can pick up their poo.

Why?
Do a proper ride without the dog.
Do a proper walk with the dog without the bike.

Because you can do that as well.

If the terrain allows it, ride as many hills as possible and do the downhill bits in techy Woodland.the doggy will manage these a lot easier than you.obviously belting along fire roads is a no no. Take plenty of treats on the initial rides(and let him know you’ve got them!) to get the dog to come to you when call. Enjoy!

Not until at least a year old, especially a Lab as you’ll destroy his joints and have all manner of problems in later life, trust me.
Short slow stints to start, max 20min at trundling pace and gradually build up.
Make sure that in the next 6-8 months you work in the ‘skills’ he will need to go along with the fitness and strength that come with age.
Get his recall perfect. Try and recall him to one side of you, and keep him there as you walk.
Get him to not just stop in front of you but to the side.

Add to that – Let the dog dictate the pace. if he needs to stop for a rest, stop etc.

Hi
Defo what Mattbee said you will destroy your dogs joints if you take her/him out to early and he/she won’t be able to run with in years to come

It’s hard I know as I have a Hungarian Vizsla that loves to run

And I’ve waited over a year before I took her on a ride which she absolutely loved going by the tail wagging all the time
But she was very tired for a few days after so she was rested (hard for a vizsla) and given extra food

I took my boys with me to Thetford forest we stopped several times to session the bomb holes which gave her opportunities to stop if she wished but went of sniffing and hunting while we played , her recall is good so she came straight back

I did have a HiViz type coat on her which just covers her back so she could easily be seen by other riders and me

Work on the recall with treats etc etc puppy and dog classes can help with that take it slowly through the year or more if needed and then you will have years of fun

Another tip I was given to help with recall when Mika was younger was to go into a field and when the dog is not looking is to run away

The dog will notice this and run after you (fingers x)

Stop call her name and give treats when she came to me do this a few times with and with out treats but make loads of fuss etc etc

what mattbee said.
oh and I only take my patterdale out for rides in wooded areas, better/softer ground for joints and paws, I remember a rider with a black lab at Llandegla a few years ago that was half way round and his dog was limping badly and in much distress which played on my mind for a long time.
build your dog up slowly and take water and treats out with you, I use cooked liver cut into chunks in a ziplock bag, (if the dog knows you have them you chances of recall will be much better) trust me 😉
Oh, and never ride an Overweight dog to (try) and get them fit.

I trained our lab on the towpath too. If he jumped in I accelerated away to frighten him and he’d jump out again. His paws ended up sore once at gisburn so i always go easy on gravelly type stuff. He won’t go in the back of my estate with the seats down if my bikes in there for some reason so i have a seat cover for fronts. First time I only put one on passenger seat and by the time I’d walked round to get in he’d jumped accross and shit up the drivers side 👿 He loves it but I never do the full route cause he’s my best mate and I don’t want to break him.

Miss Houns took the piss out of me when I suggested these for when our pup grows up

(Well my copy and paste is borked, stupid ipad. Google Ruffwear and check out their boots for dogs)

After 12 months don’t do too much and too often but enjoy it while it lasts you’ll have 6 great years.
Archie our Border Terrier is 7 now and he’s ok over short distances but we’ve stopped longer ride/runs as it makes his joints stiff afterwards now 🙁

PS this thread is useless without pictures 😉

I can highly recommend these http://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/dog/dog-healthcare/dog-health-supplements/flexible-joint-supplement-in-tasty-chicken-bites

I’m tempted to take Guinness, he may be small but this little fella is rapid and can jump, not surprising being a grade 5 agility dog, I’m just worried about running him over!!

My Golden Retriever loves a lap of the Kitchener in Sherwood Pines but thats pretty much his limit. He has, in the dry, had sore paws afterwards which I guess was the hard ground. He has a head strong sort of temperament and would carry on long after he’s knackered himself and I need to keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn’t do himself any damage.

Disappears into the wilderness, stops and sniffs everything, rolls in every bit of animal poop she finds and is generally a pain in the arse when riding. Love it! 😀

My dog is currently out of action after she snapped a ligament whilst I was out with her, she was regularly out with me before.

Make sure you’ve got pet insurance (I’m sure you probably have) she has had to have one of her joints plated and fused as it wasn’t fixable it’s well into the thousands now.

As for training I didn’t start with her until she was very good at coming back and following me whilst walking of the lead, she was about 2 years old by then. The. It was just short rides with very little to distract her, didn’t take long at all to get the hang of it.

What are whippets like for riding with? We’re thinking of getting one in the new year, wouldn’t mind something I can take out for short local rides when walks get a bit dull.

I do different rides with dogs than I would do without…but tbh its a great experience but you just have to pace the dogs and not go full mental all the time….I’ve springers which are natural trail dogs tbh.

I actually think its the best riding….more mellow

I take a fold up bowl an water for them and the odd treat and sometimes fit them with dog handles to aid them in getting over/dragging them out of stuff….

But recalls everything we trained ours be getting them to go between to me an MrsDOD and made it a game and also used long leads you basically let them trail them behind and grab/ stand on them when you want to stop the dog shooting off, sorta gets them used to freedom but you can still grab em..

Mine are good with directions and hand signals as well.

+1 Houns booties 🙂

what’s weird is they can get splinters/seeds in their pads and it heals up to quickly which means the vets gotta cut pad open an clean which isn’t much fun/cheap.

good info guys. Any suggestions of types of dogs best suited to trail company and of course as family dogs?

Smogmonster do you intend to neuter him at 6 months, if so this reduces the levels of hormone he produces which can affect his growth plates and create future orthopaedic problems I would advise speaking to a specialist orthopaedic vet and possibly consider some precautionary xrays when he is over a year before embarking on serious trail running for him.

ade9933

Defo a Hungarian Vizsla

you tube Amber the trail dog and you will see what i mean
its what got me on to the bread Mika is great family dog as well

they are very high energy dogs and need a lot of attention MAKE SURE YOU DO YA HOME WORK re a new pup

Yeah deffo, If I didn’t know about the homework beforehand I certainly did after my sis bought a pedigree springer spaniel from gun dog lineage as a family pet…

Off to you tube now… thanks.

This is Chewie, at his peak he could hold 25mph for around a mile slightly downhill. He’s 5 now and we tailor the rides to suit with lots of climbing or single speeding. He loves singletrack and knowing the trails he’ll take short cuts and snake the lead just as the trail finishes!

The key things are building up slowly and make sure that the dog gets plenty of rest between outings.

The ruffwear trail boots are ace. Perrin is on his 3rd set – there’s benefit from the trail socks too, they stopped a bit of rubbing. If you’re going to get some make sure you measure the pad size carefully.

i did read about a wax that our USA friends use for the dogs in the snow to protect their paws
just had a look on the web and found Paw Wax 50g Dog Paws Protector £5ish
which seems to help protect the dogs paws and give grip

i might try it for a winter ride

Labs aren’t the best trail dogs. They are prone to hip and knee joint trouble and they also have one of the densest furs of any dog so are very prone to overheating, they are water dogs bred to bring in nets not to run all day. My advice is wait until your pup 18 months old start out at around 30 mins, max out at around 3 hours and make sure most of that is climbing, also stop for a few water breaks. My lab is 11 now and came out with me most weeks for a few years, she’s fine although a bit arthritic.
Also check the dogs paws carefully after every ride for cuts and seeds etc..

as dude of doom says
I have a pointer, 3 years old now, she comes out with me on the bike, her recall is excellent, 4 whistles and 2 whistles for a change of direction. followed with an arm gesture to take the left or right at the junction, Usefull when we’re in the woods. She loves a stick, so no running alongside the bike. She’s respectfull though and takes a wide birth when passing. Didn’t teach her, just something she does, I keep her out front if i can and keep the commands to a minimum, always follow through and try to remain consistent.

I tend not to ride the bike with her through the summer or hot days, the ground is way to hard and could blister her paws, the thing is to be sensible. The rest of the year she may come along once or twice a week for an hour. But, it’s a different kind of ride, plenty of stops also use a foldaway water container, off ebay for a couple of quid. Puddle stops etc, now she runs through the puddle and skims the top for refreshment. I try to be mindfull of my dogs physical state, this is for my dogs benefit, I just happen to be on a bike, is my attitude. Just take it easy.

Pad wax is pretty good stuff, we use it when we do days in the kayak, seems to help his pads stay supple and not dry out.
Reilly has retired from biking now, a bit of off road jogging suits him, other than that messing about in the sea is his all time fave. As he’s got older and started having problems he’s also become much happier sitting at the bottom of a crag helping keep the belayer company, so I now do a hell of a lot more climbimg!

I started off my Border Terrier running first and I would also take him for walks on the trails I planned to ride so he could familiarise himself with them. I also put some bells on his collar so I can hear him all the time if he bolts into undergrowth. Has done (stop/start) 4 hours with me but I usually restrict him to 2.5 max with plenty of water stops & treats. Also stick to the SS with him not geared bike.

Yeah deffo, If I didn’t know about the homework beforehand I certainly did after my sis bought a pedigree springer spaniel from gun dog lineage as a family pet…

We’ve two spaniels, a Springer and a Cocker but they are both working stock – consequentially totally different.

The Cocker was a brill riding dog, happy at 10 miles and always in front unless it’s a descent; when he moves to the back.

In fact you can see his tail wagging in anticipation: