# I survived!!!



## doxsee (Jun 14, 2007)

I went biking with Jayda for the first time ever today. It was just a short ride because she is young and hasn't been worked up to anything yet. But still, I thought I'd end up on the ground at least a few times and come home with some bruises and scrapes.

I came home without a scratch!! She was very well mannered. We even passed other dogs AND a squirrel ran right in front of us.

She is such a good girl


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## JerzeyGSD (Jun 26, 2008)

Wow, very impressive!


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## Timberlinek9 (Mar 20, 2008)

Great job


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## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

Good job! Do you use an attachment or just bike her on a leash? If you use an attachment, which one?

I prefer to bike using a dog bike attachment because IMO it is much safer. I'm always interested to hear what people think of the different attachments available. I have the K9 Cruiser which is pretty good, and the Springer which didn't fit my bike. I've used the K9 Cruiser with 5 dogs so far and it worked well even with my untrained foster.


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## pupresq (Dec 2, 2005)

> Quote:I prefer to bike using a dog bike attachment because IMO it is much safer.


Me too! One random tug on a regular leash held at the handle bars and you can fall on your dog. I like the shock absorber action of the Springer attachment. Ours has seen us through multiple dogs and requires very little training, but I have never tried the K9 Cruiser, so can't compare. 

Congrats on your successful bike ride!


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## Nikkia (Jul 27, 2008)

That's great! Glad to hear there are more people riding with their pooches!

I use a regular leash with Nikkia but I tie it to my seat and put it behind my leg cause even with the bast trained dog it is still hard to hold it on the handle bar. She always heels and only pulls me when I tell her to like when we are going up a steep hill and it's a little to much for me she helps me out. (She wears a harness for that reason.







) I've been biking on leash and off leash with her for over a year and she has never pulled me down. I've only fallen once and that was when I was riding a little to close to the side and the handle bar hit a tree my hand was all scraped up ouch!


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## doxsee (Jun 14, 2007)

I was just holding on to the leash. She's the first dog I've biked with before (Jester has a bad knee). I think this is definitely something she'd enjoy. I'd like to get a bike attachment for sure. the only one I've looked into thus far is the Springer. I also need to replace my bike itself


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## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

If you get an attachment, one thing I would suggest since you need to replace your bike is to bring the attachment to the store with you. I did this with the Springer and found that NONE of the bike that fit me would fit the Springer! That's when I bought the K9 Cruiser instead, and then I waited until it arrived before buying a bike so I could be sure it would fit. It seems more "universal" in fitting than the Springer. I think that the attachments that hook on to the seat post are more likely to have trouble fitting every bike. There are also several others on the market that attach in different places.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

I am still working with the leash in hand. But it is good to know that the springer may not fit. I use a 50cm frame, and because of that size, the pedals can overlap the front wheel causing problems. I have the bikes, so now I just have to find the right kind of attachement. 

Do you feel like you do not have as much control when the dog is attached to your bike? Does the dog recognize the lack of a human touch?


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## pupresq (Dec 2, 2005)

> Quoteo you feel like you do not have as much control when the dog is attached to your bike? Does the dog recognize the lack of a human touch?


Do you mean with an attachment? If so, I'd say I have more control and I haven't noticed any difference in the dog's attitude. What I like about the Springer is that it holds the dog a safe distance from the bike - (s)he can't get too far away but can't get up in the tires or gears either. Also, the spring thing acts as a shock absorber so even if the dog lunges off in a different direction you won't get pulled over. The Springer has the dog right next to you so you can look down and there she is, you can talk to her, praise, give a pat when you stop at a traffic light, whatever. When I used to use the quick safety release, I would also have the dog's leash attached to their collar and the leash in my hand on the handlebars but there was no way for the leash to go taut unless the safety broke. I've since stopped using the safety release so now I don't feel like I need to hold the additional leash unless I want to. 

Re getting it to fit - we didn't have any problem mounting ours on the bike. The only issue that I ever have is that it occasionally pivots very gradually towards the front so that I kick the edge of the arm when I pedal. It's easy to kick it back though and once back, it'll stay there anothe couple months before slowly easying forward again. We may just need to reglue and tighten it. I think it works best to have the arm angling ever so slightly backwards rather than at 90 degree angle to the bike, so you avoid this problem.


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