# For those that bike or scooter with your dog, question?



## pancake (Oct 2, 2012)

I bought an electric bike so I can bike with my dog. I have bad knees and the electric just helps assist for long distances, hills, etc. Any way, she's only 6 months old so I viewed it as an investment for when she is older. I probably wont be able to use for a few more months. The reason why I bought it now is because I got it at a great deal. 

For those of you that have a bike and ride with your dogs alongside it, how slow do you have to go? I underestimated how annoying it is to be kind of wobbly going at slow speeds. With your full grown GSD are you able to get speeds that aren't terribly boring and cumbersome to maintain? 

I was thinking about selling the bike and switching to a scooter because scooters are cheaper, theyre lower to the ground and just generally more easily manueverable. It's much easier to control at low speeds than a bike. And because of that I can ride with my dog much earlier than I can ride a bike with my dog. Downsides are maybe that when my dog gets bigger, it might be not enough weight and stability if she pulls. 

So one is potentially better when she is older, one is better now. Someone offered me close to double what I paid for the bike so I need to decide if I should keep the bike and wait or trade for an electric scooter. If anyone has experience, please let me know. What to know how fast you can ride a bike with a dog, downsides, upsides, etc. anything.


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## OffgridAlex (Dec 11, 2012)

My 4 month old can run faster and longer than I can ride. I don't think you will need to worry about going slow for your dog. 

Have a go on a scooter before you commit to one, they are very hard work on the knees, your non pushing leg basically has to hold a semi squat position for the entire ride.


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## kiya (May 3, 2010)

When I go on the roads, I go pretty slow, I've worn my rear brake pad to nothing from braking all the time. I usually keep them in a jog/trot. There are only a few dirt trails that I will run Lakota on. During the summer when the ticks are too bad on the trails I stick to the roads. I started taking each dog individually. I have a 10, 8-1/2 & a 3 yr old. When I take the 2 older dogs out with the bike I go as slow as I have to, which means I am not getting any exercise because I'm mostly coasting & braking.


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## mandiah89 (Jan 18, 2013)

If you have a bad back and feel you will be unstable on the bike should she pull I would recommend the scooter... I am an avid mountain biker and when I use to bike my GSD Diesel, I never had a problem and we were going 30 - 38kms/hr on a straight stretch and a general speed of 20 - 25kms. We were on a straight stretch one day and had her running flat out with me and she stopped dead in the middle of the street to poop! Well, didnt I go flying and got hurt (stupid me wasnt wearing a helmet). So I would recommend the scooter if your not 100% sure you could take something like that should it happen


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## pancake (Oct 2, 2012)

Hmm interesting. So looks like the dogs can handle the speed. I am just worried that with speed comes with dog's joint wear. dont want to mess their hips and elbows up by going too fast on concrete. We dont have any trails here so it would be mostly on sidewalks and only be in the neighborhood residential streets. 

The scooter is less dangerous in the sense that I won't get launched and its lower to the ground so that's good. But maybe not as stable cause its so light weight with smaller tires. The bike however, would be pretty risky if I high sided off of it. 

The scooter I am looking at is an Ezip electric scooter with a seat. Also I need to add that the dorkiness factor is in play here. You look much more normal with a bike than an electric scooter with a bike seat. It's a bit odd haha
OR i can buy those dog scooters with those large bike wheels and make my dog pull the scooter and work harder. Obviously would have to do this after she is a bit older. she's only about 6 months right now.


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## Caledon (Nov 10, 2008)

I believe the endurance run/ride (forget the exact name) is 20 km at 10 km per hour, with two 15 min breaks. We have not done it, I was just researching it when I took up biking with my dog to use as a guide.

Biking around my neighbourhood, I keep her at a trot and vary my speeds at 10 to 18 km per hour. In the non snow months I go daily about 3 to 5 km. She is trotting on pavement most of the time. I apply an invisible boot to her paws.

Last summer we did a trail and again, I kept her at a trot. I can't remember the exact distance but I think it was 12 to 15 km.

Very rarely do I run her beside my bike. I don't want her to run on pavement.

Dakota did stop once to have a poop. Never did that again. 

I use a springer bike attachment.


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## SukiGirl (Aug 31, 2012)

You are going to want to wait until the dog does most of its developing and growing. Too much running on pavement at a young age can damage joints. I waited until Suki was about 9 months old to start running her alongside the bike. Even now at 13 months, I do not take her for long distances on the bike. Only a max of 1-2 miles. She runs when she feels like it and slows down when she wants. The rides are more about her and less about exercise for me.


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## hunterisgreat (Jan 30, 2011)

Bike only with an adult dog, and keep them in a ****trot*** not a full run


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## kiya (May 3, 2010)

pancake said:


> Hmm interesting. So looks like the dogs can handle the speed.* I am just worried that with speed comes with dog's joint wear. dont want to mess their hips and elbows up by going too fast on concrete.* We dont have any trails here so it would be mostly on sidewalks and only be in the neighborhood residential streets.


I heard of a study once, don't remember the details but it showed how damage was done early in life from excessive sports training in humans, no different with dogs. I used to be so much more regimented about exercising the dogs. Years ago I practiced a lot of endurance training with my horse. Everyday the horse & dogs had to go out. 
Now I definately take it much easier.


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## pancake (Oct 2, 2012)

Yeah at this point I want her to get used to the bike so I would be walking the bike with her next to it and have her getting used to the new thing she's never seen before. If I can get her to trot, then that's fine but I see the realistic time frame at least 3 months away. If it'll be okay then I dont mind keeping the bike. 

Maybe I can position it so she will walking on the grass portion of the sidewalk most of the time while I ride on the concrete.


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## Kyleigh (Oct 16, 2012)

I don't bike / cycle or anything like that ... but in the summer (Ky was just over a year old) I was at the cottage and I was on the ATV and was going everywhere, she followed no problem. 

She wasn't leashed or anything, but I let her go at her own pace (I was going about 10 km/h for most of the ride). Sometimes I sped up (40-45 km) and she had a blast running after me ... I kept that speed for about 30 seconds and then brought it back to normal!

If you can do it somewhere where the dog can be off leash, I wouldn't worry too much about YOUR speed, the dog can certainly keep up!

Your other option, once your dog gets older / more developed, is to have your dog pull you ... Kyleigh can pull my 60 pound nephew on a 40 pound dog sled .. so if you were on a bike, I'm pretty sure your dog could pull you ... you'd just have to give her a "pedalling start!"

Have fun!


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## Andaka (Jun 29, 2003)

I have a scooter and sometimes use it with the dogs for exercise or to get from one end of a dog show site to the other. I would wait until my dog was at least 18 months old, and start with 1/2 mile. I added 1/2 mile every week until I got up to 5 miles for exercise.


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## frillint1 (Sep 2, 2010)

Don't run to long at first go slower and not long periods of time. You need to let the pups pads toughen up. If you go to long you will burn the skin off their pads running on sidewalk/concrete. I learned that the hard way

I just got some roller blades for exercising my boy as I don't have a bike right now. I have been teaching him not to pull while walking him and while rollerbladeing I got so tired and I tried and tried to get him to pull, but he wouldn't


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## pancake (Oct 2, 2012)

Andaka said:


> I have a scooter and sometimes use it with the dogs for exercise or to get from one end of a dog show site to the other. I would wait until my dog was at least 18 months old, and start with 1/2 mile. I added 1/2 mile every week until I got up to 5 miles for exercise.


Yes this is what I was considering as well.. something like the ezip 1000. Being electric it frees you up from having to move your feet everywhere and you can sit and cruise. The new ones look pretty nice actually. 



frillint1 said:


> Don't run to long at first go slower and not long periods of time. You need to let the pups pads toughen up. If you go to long you will burn the skin off their pads running on sidewalk/concrete. I learned that the hard way
> 
> I just got some roller blades for exercising my boy as I don't have a bike right now. I have been teaching him not to pull while walking him and while rollerbladeing I got so tired and I tried and tried to get him to pull, but he wouldn't



I would roller blade as Im pretty good on them except if they pull me into traffic, Im screwed. The stopping power on the roller blades are wayyy more dangerous and slower than disc brakes or bike brakes so that kind of scares me. I like that the idea of them burning energy to pull me though. but I guess groundwork is everything. 

I just took the bike out and sat on it and gave it a little throttle. My dog was running in front of it, looking at the wheel, sniffing grass, etc. So all I did was coast with both feet on the ground to see how she fairs. She's just getting used to the bike but I think with a little training she will do just fine. I have to instill heeling when walking first so she gets used to the idea of walking beside me, not away from me or in front. But I am hopeful now. 
I saw a few youtube videos of dog leashes or ties where they cant really pull or pull out in front like the springer but man are they pricey. Sometime I will consider when she's a bit older and I have her heeling pretty good. 

Was a hard decision esp since its not like I can use it right away. someone offered me twice what I paid for it in cash. (for the bike)


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## huntergreen (Jun 28, 2012)

i only walk my dogs on pavement, i believe running/trotting/biking on pavement will catch up to your gsd joints in their later years. having said that, if you start with good leash and heel training, you should be able to adapt that training almost instantly to you bike or scooter.


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