Bikes And Dogs



I love dogs and I have 3 inside our house. But I never even think of bringing them along when I go biking. I want utmost safety for my dogs and being on the road exposes them to health risk - some stray dogs are spreading diseases. Aside from that, our dogs will just panic at the sound of a speeding vehicle, much more large vehicles like trucks. What I do is bring our dogs to the park and have the housemaid handle them while I do some laps on my bike. Our park is called oval because of the oval-like pathway.
 
It is an issue for cycler yes, if we have dogs. Personally for me, if I have a very big and heavy dog, then I won't tie him to my bike. That would be illogical.
 
I would be way to afraid to actually do it. I think I would do it, if it was a very well disciplined dog, but I would probably go really slow at first, but driving on roads with cars, is something I would never to. I have seen people do it, and I just shudder when I think of the possibility of the dog going after a car.
 
I mainly ride on paved trails, and am having the concern that there will be occasions that I need to get off the trail. How am I supposed to get back on safely? I think the trails here are several inches higher than the grass/dirt too.


maydog said:
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.
 
Where I live, it's super common to see cyclists with their dogs alongside.

On the trails, the dogs are usually off leash. It's fun having them along, but I don't think it's the safest option. We've never had any trouble but trying to stop short if I dog got in your way, or colliding with one, could be really dangerous for both the rider and the animal.

I've only seen people bring bigger dogs or hunting dogs and they don't seem to have any trouble keeping up, but a smaller or less 'athletic' type dog would have a hard time.

Most of the trails we ride on are miles away from any cars or really many other people, so there's not much danger of the dogs running off into traffic or anything. I absolutely hate when I see people with dogs off leash near the road or on the sidewalk. I live in a low income area and lots of people get around by bike and sometimes you'll see dogs running after them just inches away from the traffic and it scares me so much :( The poor dogs don't have a chance.
 
I'm a huge animal lover and have a dog of my own. I never cycle while having my dog on a leash, I think this can be a bit dangerous and jeopardize both the cyclist and the animal. When one is on a bicycle, they need to be attentive to all road traffic. That's not possible when one's focus is divided on what their dog is doing. That's why I always take my dog for a walk, on foot only.
 
Just to add, the other day I saw the newspaper delivery guy on his usual tricycle. But I was surprised that his dog was riding in tandem behind him. His dog was standing and looked like doing a balancing act as the tricycle moved. When he stopped, I pulled over (I was on my way to the market that morning) and asked him why the dog. He said that his dog loves to ride on his motorcycle that it would be jumping to the motorcycle ahead of him when the dog sensed that he is to go on a delivery.
 
Dogs can be nasty, if I can go wide I go, if I need to go through some place I might prepare myself for impact of grab a stick to scare the dog.
 
I think it is a safety issue. I know there are leashes designed for it but I don't see that it is any safer. Biking with a dog just seems like a disaster waiting to happen.
 

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