The two things to avoid are:
1, Running at a constant pace (the dog not you)
2. Running further than the dog is happy with (hard to tell as he will do anything not to loose sight of his dad)

There are plenty of ways to do this. Run / walk, build up slowly, stop to play etc. You know your dog best. Enjoy.

This thread title spoiled it for me :(

I may have been playing this a little too much…

Now getting the same pictures repeated :( must be a limited data set of pictures – I was hoping that it would just go on for ever….

Whisky – our “Colliepointador” TM with her ribs showing if the foreground – think some dogs are just like that :-)

Our two get 2 x 1 hour plus and extra 20 mins at bed time, so similar I guess. In addition they live outside during the day in a large pen / garden so spend a lot of time playing (two young dogs under 18 months).

We have a similar issue with one who has grown, but shows her ribs. The vet was more than happy with her condition however, commenting on how nice it is to see a fit dog. In your photo your dogs looks to be in great shape, he is young so I wouldn’t worry about trying to bulk him up too much (our skinny minne is very, very slowly getting a better cover on her, but it is taking time, she is about 14 months old now).

Also – what 5thElefant says – it you want to tire him out then train him / make him think for 20 mins instead :-)

Cool.

Anything for £1k is going to be light, the feeling of a road bike is amazing after riding MTB’s.

You need to think about tyres though. Road bike tyres typically run from 23 – 27mm wide, most being 23/25mm. On railway lines and cycle paths skinny tyres will feel uncomfy and risk damaging the rim. If I were you I would ask if the bike can take slightly bigger tyres, maybe 28 or even larger. This will depend on the wheel rim and the clearance of the frame and may dictate which bike you go for. Also are you going to ride in the winter? If you think that you might want mud guards, over the thicker tyres you will also need to check the spec of the bike.

If I were you, I would also think about CX bikes with slick tyres. You can also get a CX bike with mechanical discs for that sort of price – heavier but very useful in the muck. I also ride with dogs and am happier with the stopping power of discs and slacker (less twitchy) head angle of the CX bike when they are about (but your may be better behaved than ours!!).

Hope this helps – not sure if I am just making it too complicated!

Guess it depends what you want to do…

I bought an Orbea 2nd hand from Ebay for just £300 and it is a great wee bike. It is a womens specific, has a triple chain ring and i love it. (EDIT – An Asphalt – just looked and they are no longer produced – an Aqua looks like the replacement and is just under the £1000)

I was into mtbing first, and like you didn’t really ‘get’ the order of road components – but as I looked into it I decided that it didn’t really matter so much on a road bike, and that getting a good fit was far more important. I live in Scotland and wanted a triple chain ring as I much prefer spinning up hills to pushing up them. The Orbea was a lucky find on ebay.

After riding the Orbea for a while I found myself getting more into touring and planned to ride Lejog. At that point I went to a local (to my parents) bike shop to buy a touring / audax bike. They were superb and fitted every aspect of the bike to me (bar width, stem length, crank length) and I bought a brand new perfectly fitting Ti audax bike for £1500. Again it was based on getting the fit right rather than the componentry. I would seriously recommend them (if you are near Yorkshire – Spa cycles in Harrogate) but that would be for touring rather than racing…

Sorry – lots of waffle, but basically – what kind of road riding are you looking at? Carbon forks always good if you can get them (IMO), triple chain ring if you are thinking of heading up this way, apart from that speak to a bike shop to get an idea of sizing (I understand Ribble are good at this – they take a lot of measurements over the phone and tweak the bike to fit you) and then try some.

I run Sram apex on the touring bike and Shimano tiagra on the road bike. Both work slightly differently to each other, but both are fine. Apex has a larger granny – which is great if your planning to carry any weight – and means that I am fine with a double chain ring on that bike.

I sometimes double dip in my boyfriends Assos cream… he’ll never know… :lol: :wink:

Any help?

http://www.gardenlaw.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=16194

No baby here – just two older kids (8 & 10), so maybe it doesn’t apply to your situation… but…

We found that rides with the girls are just a nice way to pass the time with the family, and never really satisfy the need to actually ‘ride’. This may change as they get older. If we do try and mix the two things then we head to a trail centre with a cafe, so that the girls get a couple of hours ride, and a couple of hours playing about and in the cafe. We fit our rides around this, swapping over at half time.

To be sure that we both still get rides in during the week we have switched to road bikes for quick blasts from the house (individually). To make sure that it actually happens, and so that each of us knows when we are needed to look after the kids / walk the dogs etc, we make a plan at the start of each week, so that we each get a couple of mornings (before work) and an evening, even if it is just an hour it all counts.

It has taken us a while a get the balance right, and you do have to make some compromises… getting up early, planning quick and easy meals for nights when one of you has bike time, riding alone alot of the time, but it means that you each get some time out and then can enjoy the family spins as a social event.

EDIT – Just read your post above – by using the morning / evening times alone, it means that (in theory) we are both still fit enough to enjoy a ride together when we get the chance.

Think I’ve found the answer :wink:

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/anyway-to-change-my-username

:D

We went to Stockholm last year – stayed with friends so the destination was set.

However we saw plenty of scenery just out side the city without having to travel far (maybe not wilderness – but certainly a lot nicer that any other capital city I have been in).

If you are into kayaking at all, and if your kids are old enough, then rent a canadian canoe (I think you have youngish children?) and have a couple of days wildcamping on the islands that make up part of Stockholm. We intend to go back and do that some time. The water is very sheltered and you can have an island to yourself just a few km off shore from the city, or use one of the many B&Bs or bunk barns that are set up for visiting paddlers.

Its only snow – don’t have a meltdown… :wink:

Hmmmm….. we have, in the past, brought the box through to the lounge with us.

:D

That is a risk…

Buy a box? You’d cane the lot and think ‘blimey that 3ltrs of redwine went quick’!!!!!!!!

Have we met? :wink:

Sound counter productive, but if you just want to cut down, buy a box.

That way you can (in theory) just have a glass without the incentive to ‘finish the bottle’. Works best for us if the box is kept in the pantry, so you can’t just top up the glasses without thinking either.

I’m surroundedbyhills’ burd.

Works for us (but auto correct just made that ‘burden’… Take from it what you will :wink: )

Slight hijack – I’m also replacing radiators – but trying to do it without changing the pipe work, so am looking for sizes to fit the existing valves.

When you buy a radiator in a box from the like of B&Q does the width measurement relate to the body of the radiator, the length of the lower edge (so including the slight protrusion at each end) or a pipe to pipe measurement?

I realise that there is some play in moving the pipes, even if this means cutting a larger hole in the floor boards.

We recently got a second dog (rescue) to keep our original dog company. Having two dogs is great, watching their interactions and seeing them charge about together makes up for any additional poo picking.

Downsides:
Kennels – we now put them both in kennels if going away as it is too much to ask the MIL to look after both, but they share a kennel, so it doesn’t cost double.
Food – I also keep running out of food as I forget they eat twice as much…
Bad habits – these haven’t spread, as the two dogs have totally different characters. We now have two different sets of bad habits, but on the positive sign the new dog is naturally eager to please and some good habits are being shared.

Things to check for:
Sex – it is generally recommend to get a second dog of the opposite sex to reduce the chance of fights, we ignored this and have two girls, we haven’t had any problems.
Energy – getting two with similar energy levels helps, both for exercising them, and in their own interactions.
Age – our original dog was 18 months, when the rescue arrived at 9 months. We chose to have two similar in age as they are both high energy dogs. We didn’t want one getting old and slowing up while the other was still wanting long runs. It does mean that in 12 years we will have two old dogs, but again I hope that they will be companions.
Top dog – not sure if this is a real issue. In our house the humans are top dogs, the dogs are just the pack. Yes there has been the occasional growl or put down, but it is quickly forgotten. Again it will depend on their personalities.
Rescue centres – will generally ensure that the two dogs get on before letting you take the rescue away. For us the rescue centre was 3hrs drive away, so I took Copper with me, we went for a walk with the new rescue and gave them a run in the pen. Copper did have a bit of a nip at the newbie, but settled as soon as I stepped in. I think that the staff were more interested in how I handled the two, than how they actually got on. Brought Whisky home that day, separate crates for the drive home, then both put out in the garden for a few hours to settle. Would say it took Whisky a couple of months to come out of her shell, but never any real problems between them. They are in the house / run together all day, but I do use separate crate beds at night.

For us it has been all good. Copper (the original dog) is a bit highly strung and is the most obstinate, intelligent, at times insolent dog I have ever known (we love her to bits). Whisky is a beautiful, friendly, obedient softie, but a real airhead. Together they are the best of pals, united against the cat and constant amusement for each other.

johnellison – have you just started a new job? Work with someone called ton? :wink:

EDIT – hmm, think i need some sort of disclaimer here… not calling anyone dull… :oops:

Maybe not the greatest scenery… :-)

:D Yay… we all need 4 x4 to drive on the nature, then maybe just let the dogs look out of the windows, they don’t really need to get out do they :wink:

Think its the tarmac landing which causes the problems…

EDIT – So maybe take a spare bed as a landing pad??

Great Glen way? Not ridden it, but am planning to. Sounds like a good track, not sure about accommodation on the way, we were planning to do it in a day, but guess you would need a couple of days.

Edit: Thread here…

In my opinion the vet would have no idea how the injury was caused… but presented with a dog with a limp and an owner citing jumping out of cars as the only exercise its had in the past 2/3 days then yes – a diagnosis of ‘injury caused by jumping out of a car’ would seem fair (from the vet). You will have no way of knowing what else the dog may have done while with you ex, so guess you have to accept it as a possible cause.

All you know is that your dog has an injured leg, so pain killers and limited exercise make sense, then as above… if jumping out of cars hurts then she wont be so quick to jump out again next time. It could have just been a bad landing (two dogs jumping at the same time and twisting) or it could be unrelated.

I don’t know a lot about labs, but i seem to think that they can suffer from joint issues as they get older, and although 6.5 isn’t old, she is no longer a pup. From what you say I’m sure that they are fit and not overweight. If it was me I would just keep a close eye on her for a while, give her a lift down from the car for the next few weeks, then see how she goes. Dogs sprain their legs the same as we do, if i sprained my ankle playing football, it doesn’t mean that I would never do it again – but I would be cautious!

Nice :-)

Would love a steel road frame – that looks very classy!

Do you really need to know out of curiosity ?

No, not really. The only serious reason would be to try and get her feed right. She is presently on double rations to try and keep a bit of flesh on her, but it has been suggested that I throw some greyhound feed into the mix to increase the carb ratio.

I suppose I was hoping that someone would say… ‘my Collie x whippet x pointer x wombat looks just like that…’

Will have to settle for the collipointadoret *

* the ‘et’ for Rich T and his whippet (or should that be a Whillipointador)

Thanks :-) @ DezB

Heinz 57, Bitza, Mongrel… happy to go with all of that… but would just really like to know what flavour!

As for agility – yes, running – yes (SBH’s job), biking – yes… she loves all three!

^ :roll: :D

Could try a dead chicken…

Doh :oops:

:-)

More like interpretation failure :wink:

‘Please do not open this bag if you do not intend to keep the product inside’
(ie don’t open the bag if you intend to remove the product from inside the bag) – your interpretation

or

‘Please do not open the bag if you do not intend to keep the product inside’
(the product inside is non returnable once the bag is open) – Perfect sense!

:-)

Ohh… now can we get the other half of the story from iain…

Time for a ‘My Aunties neighbours destroyed her garden’ thread :wink:

Wonder which of you lives next door to us???

Prepared and dug over veggie patch last autumn… had visions of spending the spring evenings planting veg, playing in the greenhouse and sipping a wee glass of wine in my best ‘Barbara Good’ fashion.

But the reality is a few packets of seeds sitting in the greenhouse and an elephant sized mole making his way across the lawn and into the veggie patch, waiting for me to plant his dinner…

So to keep me going…

Any tips for a newbie veg grower? What varieties for central Scotland? What will grow easily despite the weather and the fact that, given the choice, I would rather spend time on my bike than tending my crops :?

(slight) hijack…

The first round is in Aberfoyle on Sat. There is a light dusting of snow – but all rideable I believe.

Details here[/url]

Guess you will have tried all the local outlets – but Flying Fox in Alva sell Transition, not sure if they have any demo bikes – might be worth a call.

Flying Fox[/url]

surroundedbyhills – Member
Just cancelled first trip to Coed Y Brenin..

scruff – Member
CYB was riding fine at the weekend, just a bit of ice & snow at higher levels

Its the camping bit that’s put us all off :oops:

We’ve had 5 on a Mazda 6 before – but only for a short distance as a shuttle. Took pedals & saddles off and turned bars. Have no idea if this was within any weight limits, if I remember it was a calmish day… was thule roof bars (wide) and various thule / halfords racks.

As above, mush easier to borrow a rear carrier and split the load.

We liked ‘The Puppy Listener’ by Jan Fenell

Not a training book as such, but more about how to set the boundaries both through actions and voice. Not something I would follow to the letter, but gives an idea on how to deal with certain situations, as well as the basic training.

Dog training classes… were good for us with the first dog, we progressed along the Kennel Club ‘Good Citizen’ route. When we got the second dog, we just worked it along with the older one at home and things fell into place easily. Agility is great (once they are old enough) and gets you working with directional commands which are useful on the bike too.

1 x workshop
2 x bike store
1 x wendy house
2 x kennels
1 x garden store
2 x wood stores
1 x greenhouse
3 x mahoooosive molehills

Someone did remark that our garden looked like a shed sales display area once, but it’s great having everything in its own place, with room to get them all in and out easily. :-)

I think that the trick is to space them out. Our wood stores and kennels are down one side of the house and look fine, the garden store and green house are in the top corner and look ok… but the workshop, bike stores and wendy house are all in a row along the fence line and it does look a bit over kill!

Yeti here. Tow ball alone doesn’t cause an issue, the rack certainly does cause them to scream as you put it into reverse.

I don’t mind it as it reminds me the rack is on (if no bikes to see out of rear window), and easy to turn volume off.