Bikes And Dogs

I go wide. Way wide. And fast.

Horses? Real slow and wide but only when the rider gives me a nod or wave.

I'd consider it a little on the dangerous side to tie the dog to the bike frame and ride along. However, I'd feel much more comfortable riding near someone that's holding the leash and seems in control of their dog. Plenty of dogs are quite obedient and won't run off suddenly or jerk riders in the wrong direction, potentially causing an accident or something.

I am wary of any dog I encounter. That goes double for owners walking dogs on a leash.

Last week, I swerved off a paved trail to avoid an oblivious couple walking a dog with a 15' leash. They did not move with the usual "on your left" so went beside the trail, I forgot that with it being recently resurfaced there was about a 4" lip from the pavement to the grass. I looked for an opportune place to hop back on, but I biffed it and fell maybe 75' in front of the walkers.

Luckily I was going pretty slow and just scraped my knee and hand some and broke my cycle-computer mount. My ego was more bruised than anything else.

There are leashes designed to attach to bikes, that allow dogs to run alongside. Or trot.

I hate extension leashes, and everyone walking dogs these days seems to use one. I've seen big dogs break the thin nylon length that reels on and off the handle, and yank the handle right out of their owner's hand when they take off after something.

Walk your dog on a 6' leather leash, and hold the leash with two hands--the lead hand halfway between the handle end and the dog. Only way you have control over your animal. There's nothing that brings a smile to my face, as a dog lover, than seeing a dog properly leash trained, under the confident control of its owner.

I don't think I can put that much faith in a dog pulling me around. At any given time he could tug you in a wrong direction and you are going down.

I also give those people a wide berth because I never know what the dog and or the rider might do. I have dog, I walk the dog because I don't trust any animal to be on leash that I'm holding while attempting to ride my bike! Sometimes I take my MTB on a trail and have the dog run ahead with no leash. She'll run ahead quite a ways then comes back to see if I'm coming then runs ahead again, like she's telling me the path is clear.

I have a hard time keeping up and keeping my feet on the ground when I just take my dog for a walk. If I tried to attach them to me or my bike, I'd break my neck within 5 minutes.

That has got to be a well trained dog to not go in a different direction then the bike is. If a cat would cross the road would the dog deviate and go after it? Hard to imagine a normal dog not wanting to.

Dogs can get used to go riding with you as long as they are trained. It will need time away from traffic to make them learn. If they are not used to, traffic can make them not focus on the track thereby causing am accident.

Exactly. I wouldn't take an overweight lazy dog new to ride walking with me on a bike but I would have no issue training the dog to run alongside me. It actually took my husky a year or so to get immensely comfortable running alongside.

I used to have a dog that would run beside me as I ran or biked. I don't think I'd ever try it with a leash. Never on a road either. A couple loyal customers have very well trained dogs that run with us when we ride. They wear the bells so we all know where they are. They're awesome to have with us on the trails. This is just one of many reasons why dogs are so much better than cats.

As far as encountering them. You can usually spot a well trained dog, and a well trained owner for that matter. I give berth accordingly.

I attempted to teach my dog to ride but he kept trying to chase himself. I think it is a conflict of interest besides the clip ins intimidate him and his tail and spokes just don't get along.

The only thing that really scares me is people riding skateboards that are pulled by their dogs. That seems totally reckless, way more so than bikes.

I haven't been riding long so I haven't encountered this on a bike but I've seen it a couple times on foot and it didn't look too dangerous as long as the dog is trained properly. I'm a little sketched out because you can't assume a random dog is trained properly but I get over it when I see the rider not having any problems.

It would be kind of nice to try this with my dog when I was more experienced but he's probably too small. He's also scared of everything so it wouldn't work out. That's a shame because he runs really fast.

Personally, I find it a little strange and worrisome. Dogs are still dogs and could suddenly run off or something even if the dog is well behaved. Whenever I pass by someone, either on their bike or walking, with a dog, I give them a lot of space because I am weary of all dogs. I am not a dog person at all, haha.

I haven't had any issues with this, but it's not a common practice in my town. I am more concerned about dogs not on leashes. I was once chased by a dog that was not on a leash. I was going up a decent incline and literally could not accelerate much, I sure tried. I was barely able to outpace the dog, which fortunately was not a breed known to attack people. I /think/ the dog was just playing, and the poor woman was yelling at the dog to come back the whole time. She was in s parking lot, so she may have just gotten the dog out of the car and hadn't fastened the leash yet.

This is my 6 week old full blooded gator pit. She's vicious and mean. Really mean!

I think that it may tire the dog out. Also it could be dangerous to the dogs feet because you cannot feel how hot the road is. I would just say to pay attention to those things and don't do it when it is too hot out.

I don't really like it when I see it. It isn't that dangerous for the person on the bike, but it icould be really dangerous for the dog. What happens if the dog gets too tired to run without the owner realising it?

Seems like a hazard to me. Especially if it's a big animal and a little rider. Doesn't take much for a dog to suddenly decide it wants to chase something and pull you right out of the seat! Probably going to be a safer idea to walk your pup and ride your bike afterwards.