If your dog is not a fan of boots, there is another option for protecting their pads from the harsh winter elements. Learn about Musher’s Secret all natural paw pad wax. There was a great write-up about it recently in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. See it here.

We just got another shipment in directly from Canada and have availability in the 60gram and 200gram size cans. Our winters in Texas are not harsh, but I still use Musher’s Secret on Parker’s paws to keep them conditioned and from getting cracked since we bike together often. Order here

Parker and I during Texas blue bonnet season

Biking can be an extremely enjoyable activity for both dog and owner. We recommend biking for dogs that are at least 20 lbs. Your dog needs to be in good health and it is ideal to get a checkup with your dog’s vet before beginning any serious exercise. Dogs with slight builds will be able to bike for longer distances than heavier or more muscular breeds so keep this in mind when deciding how far to bike your pup. Breeds such as Bulldogs and Pugs that have flat faces are not designed for distance running because they can become overheated very quickly. Biking is not an activity for puppies. Your dog should be at least a year old and a minimum of 20 lbs to start biking. They should be closer to a year and a half before biking long distances.

What Equipment Do I need?

Below are my suggestions based on biking my dog for the past couple of years starting with the essentials:

Essentials:

• A specialty dog bike leash such as the WalkyDog or Bike Tow Leash

Useful:

• If using the WalkyDog, a non-restrictive comfortable dog harness is recommended – preferably with padding. Using a dog harness with the Bike Tow Leash is a personal preference. If using a harness with the Bike Tow Leash, it is important to make sure that it doesn’t allow your dog to get too far forward on the bike. This will make it harder for your dog to determine when you are turning towards him/her.
• Something to bring water along for the ride. It is very important to keep your pet hydrated.
• Paw pad protection. It is important to monitor the wear on your dogs paw pads. They will toughen up over time, but products such as Musher’s Secret can help condition, protect, and toughen your dogs pads in all types of environments.
• Cooling vests for summertime heat. I strap a large thermos with ice water to my bike and take Parker’s cooling vest along for the ride with us.
• A dog bike trailer. A great way to go on extended rides so your dog can rest when tired. Or you can bring your small dog along for a bike ride in complete safety.

Getting Started

Some dogs take to this type of exercise right away and others need to be acclimated a little more slowly. The best way to start is to attach your dog to the bicycle and just walk alongside your bike on the opposite side of your dog. You want them to understand that this is no different than taking a normal walk. Once they have going straight down, practice turning left and right and then u-turn to either side. If your dog is nervous being close to the bike you may want to extend the cord some to give them a little more space. You could also add a leash extension or create your own custom length line if using the WalkyDog. Once your dog seems confident, hop on your bike and ride slowly at first practicing the same maneuvers. It is best to begin in an area with few distractions so that your dog will focus on you. It is best to bike at a trotting pace, just make sure you never go beyond your dog’s pace. If your dog gets nervous and freezes up DO NOT attempt to keep pulling them along. Immediately stop and start walking next to the bike again.

How Far To Ride

You cannot just start biking miles on your first time out. You need to gradually increase your dog’s stamina. According to canine expert Christine Zink, D.V.M., Ph.D, you should gradually increase the distance you travel by 5 to 10 percent every four to six exercise sessions. She recommends that once you reach a distance of 2 miles, you should limit biking to every other day providing a day of rest for rejuvenation of the muscles. Extremely fit dogs can run a maximum of 10 miles per day if the sessions are broken up (less if riding on pavement, which can be tough on the skeletal system). Personally I even feel that 10 miles is too far. In the summer months this is much too far in one setting. Parker and I usually ride 2 to 3 miles everyday or every other day. Obviously, be sure to stop to rest occasionally and always monitor your dog for signs that nature is calling. Also monitor your dog’s pads for cuts or scrapes. Consider using a good paw pad wax or even protective booties if riding on rough terrain often.

Dealing With Summer Heat

During the summertime when temperatures spike, it is very important to only bike your dog during cooler parts of the day and for shorter distances. If biking on pavement be sure to check the temperature of the pavement before biking. Make sure to bring water along for the ride and take frequent breaks. Consider bringing along a dog bike trailer to give your dog a rest on the way home. You may even consider looking into a dog cooling vest. Keep an eye out for signs of heat exhaustion such as if your dog’s tongue becomes very wide and curls up at the end.

Want more help deciding?

We have answers to all your questions about biking with your dog and if it is the right activity for you and your pup/s. Browse through our dog bike leash buyer’s guide and if you can’t find an answer to your question, email us and we will promptly get you the detailed answer you are looking for.

BABE’S BIKE RUN from Stephanie Ash on Vimeo.

Check out more of her pictures here. And if you are ever in need of a Winnipeg photographer, a Winnipeg wedding photographer, or a Winnipeg portrait photographer check out her site.

I’m always trying to explain to people how much stability our dog bike leashes give the rider. Usually the first thing people say when I tell them the business I am in is: “You sell what?! That would never work for my dog. He/She would pull me over instantly”. The thing about the 2 dog bike leash models we sell is that they are designed with the laws of physics in mind to give the rider the most control possible while also making the ride safe for your dog. It is hard to understand this until you actually get on the bike and try it. That is why I try my best to convey this through the many videos on my website. My dog Parker is an extremely strong 75 lb Lab mix and I try to push the limits constantly with him – testing every scenario I can think of to see how well the WalkyDog and Bike Tow Leash perform.

75 lbs is one thing, but what about the largest breed on the planet – the Great Dane…. When my friend Ross first suggested we give it a try, I have to admit that even I was a little hesitant. Ross has a 170 to 180 pound Great Dane named Diesel. This dog is huge! One day he was running full out and broke a 6 inch diameter fence post off clean at the base like it was a toothpick. So anyway, I decided to give biking Diesel a try today. I figured that if I felt comfortable biking him, then there wasn’t a dog out there that couldn’t use our leashes. As you can see in the video, Diesel is actually as big as the bike so I knew that the WalkyDog wouldn’t be the best option because it wouldn’t be able to clear his back. So I decided to try the Bike Tow Leash. The Bike Tow leash does a little better job absorbing the pulls of extremely powerful dogs anyway so it was going to be my best option.

No offense Ross, but Diesel is not the best walker. He was lunging like crazy when we were taking him outside to hook up to the bike. It was all I could do to hang on. Luckily I was using my trusty EzyDog Cujo bungee leash. At this point I was really starting to have second thoughts, but once we attached him to the bike he started to calm down a bit – probably because it was so new to him. I walked next to the bike with him to get him used to the idea and then hopped on and we were off. The video above is the very first run and he did amazing. Even better was that I felt in total control during the whole ride. Ross was so surprised to see how well Diesel did and the amount of control I had, that he decided to try it out himself – sporting his stylish Newberry Automotive shirt and all. So in the end I spared myself a trip to the ER and got some great video instead. I am positive this would have never worked just trying to hold on to a normal leash. This definitely drove home for me that we are carrying the absolute best gear on the market for biking your dog. Hopefully Diesel will continue to be a guest star for The Dog Outdoors in the future. Okay – I’m done rambling now.

Before offering this bike leash at our store I put it through the same rigorous tests that I do for all our products. On one particular test run I decided we had to offer our customers this leash. Here’s what happened….

Wet conditions, uneven terrain, crazy powerful dog on the scent of a deer …

So I was riding along and saw a good size buck about 50 yards out. Parker had caught his scent but hadn’t seen him yet. For some reason the deer wasn’t moving at all and I figured now would be the best chance I had to really test this thing. I kept getting closer to him until I was about 10 yards from him. Then I yelled to Parker – “Deer!” and he looked up and saw him. He bolted for him as if he had the strength of 2 dogs, but to my surprise I kept perfect control. I never even had to stop to put my feet down.

In this video I tried to demonstrate the amount of control you have when biking your dog with the Walky Dog. Hope that comes through in the video. One of these days I will have to purchase the rights to some new background music although now I am kind of getting used to this same song. It is almost like it has become the WalkyDog theme song.

I also got a great email last night from another happy customer that I thought I would share (see below). These emails keep me going. Thank you to everyone out there helping to spread the word of dog biking and the WalkyDog bike leash. We sincerely appreciate it. Keep the emails and pictures coming!

A very nice email we got…

“Just wanted to take a moment to thank you for our Walky Dog leash and harness. It came today and my husband and I were excited to see Marley’s reaction. She LOVES it!!!! We briefly tried holding her on a loose lead while biking and realized how dangerous that could be, so this is just what we’ve been looking for.

Installation was so easy! In minutes we were out turning heads and getting lots of smiles from our neighbors. I was taking it slow at first but Marley caught on very quickly and when I looked over at her, she wasn’t lagging but pulling me to go faster. I’m sure Marley wants to say thanks too!

Wonderful products and fast delivery….you guys are great!”

1) Make sure to bike your dog during cooler parts of the day – especially when riding on pavement. The hot pavement can damage your dog’s paws. If you do have to ride on pavement – during cooler parts of the day – it might be worthwhile to look into purchasing some dog boots or paw pad protecting wax like Musher’s Secret. I have been using Musher’s for the past week and it works great to condition and toughen Parker’s pads since he rides on pavement for a portion of our bike rides. I plan to sell Musher’s on our site The Dog Outdoors soon. It is all organic too and can actually be ingested with no harm.

2) Make sure to bring water along on your bike ride.

3) Limit the distance you ride (especially when it is hot). Dog’s have to be conditioned just like humans to walking/running distances. The last thing you want is for your buddy to get heat stroke!

4) Use a harness when using the WalkyDog. A nice padded dog harness will be much more comfortable and safe for your dog. A good harness will not rub or chafe your dog’s skin.

5) Always Always ride at your dog’s pace! If they look tired or are lagging behind – it is time to quit. Never drag your dog! If you acclimate your dog to the WalkyDog from the beginning they should be right at your side or – in the case of Parker – actually pulling ahead. Check out videos at The Dog Outdoors to see what I mean

6) The WalkyDog Low Rider (the attachment for smaller dogs) will not be ideal for all smaller dogs. We do not recommend using the WalkyDog with dogs less than 20 lbs. Some people prefer to ride using the normal attachment with an extended cord. See this video to learn more about options for biking smaller dogs

7) For powerful pullers leave off the clear plastic rubber piece under the jaw clamp. This will keep the WalkyDog from moving. You may need to also tighten you seat post in some cases. Also check the wear on the cord occasionally. Powerful pullers will sometimes wear down the cord slowly over time. You can buy replacement from Lowe’s or any hardware store. I have also been testing some super strong military cord that can be used as replacement cord or extension cord for your WalkyDog. I plan to sell this on my site soon as well. This stuff is strong! Contact me if you would like some in the meantime.

If you ever have any questions feel free to contact me by going to the contact us link at The Dog Outdoors . We use all the products we sell and have thoroughly tested everything. We love questions and feedback from customers and of corse potential customers – so keep them coming.

-Scott

Took Parker out to do some offroading with the WalkyDog bike leash. I got a VholdR action cam a while back and decided to try mounting it directly to the WalkyDog leash to get shots from a different perspective. The video is not HD – I got the camera before they released their HD version. It is quite shaky because of all the bumps, but it still demonstrates how much fun you can have with the WalkyDog. When we got to really getting offroad the camera became too shaky so I didn’t include all the clips. We had a ton of fun though and the VholdR is really cool for getting hands-free video. I wish I would have waited a few months more for the HD version though. Oh well. Enjoy the video – CHEESY music as always for your listening enjoyment I really need to get some new tracks at some point…