Strange one....Dog companion for Rides

equinefunk

Hi,

I'm looking to get a dog to accompany me on some of my rides, I normally ride between 10-20 miles, not super fast. Are there any dogs that could be recommended or what you have?

I will be riding in areas where the dog won't jeapordise wildlife other cyclists etc.

Thanks in advance.

nicklouse

TBH get down to a rescue center and ask them what do they have that will be suitable as you have other considerations to think about such as when you are not out on the bike.

how much daily exercise does the dog need. do you ride daily or not. kids? flat or house? garden or not?

equinefunk

Hi, we have a big garden, children & I have time to walk everyday & ride about 3 times a week. The ride companion would be an ideal.....wondering what or if anyone else had a recommendation then I would look at that breed to see if it ticked the boxes for my personal circumstances.

waby1234

Perhaps try a younger border collie. We've got an old guy, but young ones need plenty of exercise and love to run. I've seen one up on Cannock Chase running around Follow the Dog!

thistle_

You'll need a really well trained one unless you have it on a lead. If it can run off out of control it will find some wildlife or cyclists to be a nuisance to!
Maybe one that's not too excitable and is happy to plod along by your side?

NIcklouse's idea of going to a rescue home is a good one. The people there should have a good idea of a dog's personality. You might still have to invest some training time in him/her.

equinefunk

Thanks for the advice Guys....I am an experienced dog owner, unfortunately my own dog died this morning, she was too small to take cycling. So I know all the pitfalls etc and how to train a dog, just looking for a breed recommendation.

angry_bird

Border Collie? Springer Spaniel? Vizsla? Weimaraner?

Generally regarded as quite intelligent and generally have decent stamina...

Tom Barton

Brother/sister in law have border collie who has seemingly infinite energy and should keep up no trouble on a ride. My family have always had springers and again, fitness is no issue, perhaps take a tad more training to focus them a bit more being a hunting dog and can 'to and fro' a bit.

I guess a husky type dog or similar fit working dog would be ideal as they like to run in straighter lines than the springers and won't try to herd you like a collie (again alot of this depends on training I grant you).

cat_with_no_tail

I've wanted a Vizsla ever since seeing this vid: Awesome dog is awesome

70\ʹspenguin

Cat With No Tail wrote:

I've wanted a Vizsla ever since seeing this vid: Awesome dog is awesome

Was going to link this too! One of my fav vids!

paul.skibum

I cant find it now but there was a great vid on pink bike a while back of a guy riding with his dog - the dog was only small but chased him down clearing jumps and doing drops - it was amazing. But I cant find the video..... :oops:

equinefunk

paul.skibum wrote:

I cant find it now but there was a great vid on pink bike a while back of a guy riding with his dog - the dog was only small but chased him down clearing jumps and doing drops - it was amazing. But I cant find the video..... :oops:

I've seen that it's a westy chasing a guy through Boltby Woods near Thirsk. My dog would keep up for a short period then get knackered. I want something that would run for a long distance. I've seen people running with Wiszla's so I'll check them out.

taff..

I'd suggest a dog that was bred for running alongside carriages, large dog, long legs and efficient running style - Dalmatian

cooldad

I hate dogs on trails. The Koreans have the right idea.

chez_m356

cooldad wrote:

I hate dogs on trails. The Koreans have the right idea.

and china, i once saw what looked to be a 6 month old alsatian type dog crammed into a wicker box on the back of a moped, pointed it out to the mrs as i thought it was a bit cruel, she then informed me, that the rider would be taking it home to eat

Roostoids

I think its great. used to love going with mine and it really tired him out. took a minute or two to realise the back wheel would hurt if he ran into it and after that he just followed me.

Good luck with it and also, sorry your old mate died.

Fleur333

My dog is a collie cross spaniel type, about 1 1/2 and he just loves to run, he probably does twice the distance, and I'm out for 2 hours on my mountain bike. He was a bit excited to start with and ran all over the place, as he didnt understand what he was supposed to be doing, but he soon picked it up, he gets soo dissapointed if I dont take him, but watch out as they get super fit!

Stu Coops

I have a rescued dog, she's a staffie cross lab and absolutely loves the natural stuff but i do only take her where she won't bother anyone else just be considerate as some dogs will struggle if your flying down hills just have to ease up for them and remember your riding 20 mile plus and they have to run most of it so build them up slowly and make sure they got a drink.

paul.skibum

equinefunk wrote:

paul.skibum wrote:

I cant find it now but there was a great vid on pink bike a while back of a guy riding with his dog - the dog was only small but chased him down clearing jumps and doing drops - it was amazing. But I cant find the video..... :oops:

I've seen that it's a westy chasing a guy through Boltby Woods near Thirsk. My dog would keep up for a short period then get knackered. I want something that would run for a long distance. I've seen people running with Wiszla's so I'll check them out.

Could be - I had a feeling it was some trail on the north shore but sounds like the right kind of dog.

Somewhat unrelated but once when my mates and I were on holiday in Morzine, we arrived mid afternoon and decided to go for a walk on the first afternoon - walked through town and up Pointe du Nyon - on the way through outskirts a dog (eating a mouse) ran up to us and started following us - followed us all the way tot he summit of the mountain along the way any time he heard a car he'd jump up on the bank or wall to get out the way, then jump down, he then followed us all the way back down and as we got close to where we'd met him he ran off to a farm building just off the road. Street savvy and just out for a stroll, best kind of dog (walks himself when you cant be bothered!).

Another time out on a club ride in the chilterns a setter came running out of a house and followed us up the hill, he wouldnt go back and just loped along besdie the leader with a "is that as fast as you go?" look on his face. Followed us round the whole loop and when we got back close tohis house we took a detour to return him, his owner just said "oh I wondered where he'd gone".

equinefunk

paul.skibum wrote:

equinefunk wrote:

paul.skibum wrote:

I cant find it now but there was a great vid on pink bike a while back of a guy riding with his dog - the dog was only small but chased him down clearing jumps and doing drops - it was amazing. But I cant find the video..... :oops:

I've seen that it's a westy chasing a guy through Boltby Woods near Thirsk. My dog would keep up for a short period then get knackered. I want something that would run for a long distance. I've seen people running with Wiszla's so I'll check them out.

Could be - I had a feeling it was some trail on the north shore but sounds like the right kind of dog.
I might be wrong...this is the dog video I was thinking of:
http://youtu.be/gGbpdLmueZM

cat_with_no_tail

Immense! Love it.

I've always has a suspicion that a Parsons Jack Russell would make a good trail dog. Very fast, loads of energy, damned clever, and legs slightly longer than the regular Jacks so should have less of a problem keeping up. Although seeing the vid above, I bet a regular jack would be good too.

DodgeT

Great vid, he was catching the rider towards the end too

pilch

Rate my Daaaaaaaag

I have a pointer, he loves coming out with us on the bikes, he particularly likes to be in front, good fun racing him through tight singletrack (4 legs v 2 wheels - he's usually quicker)... this can sometimes result in near carnage if he spots a squirrel or other wildlife as he tends to stop dead & point at it...

mattyg2004

Beagles. They have immense stamina.

We followed one around Grizedale a few months back. 3 Lads were up from Birmingham the beagle managed 10 miles at a pretty good pace.


Our Beagle is 5 months old now and follows the bike really well for short trips. We really shouldnt be pushing him to far over a mile until he's 1 yr old as it can bring on early arthritis.

Beagles can be more difficult to train. But they were bred for stamina and whole day runs.

VWsurfbum

Angry Bird wrote:

Weimaraner?

Generally regarded as quite intelligent and generally have decent stamina...

Mine knows his left and right better than my wife and doesnt complain about getting dirty on the trails, he loves coming out on the trails, especially at night!

passout

I think that a Border Collie is the obvious choice, as long as you accept that they need a lot of exercise by any standards. I think a Springer Spaniel would also be fine - especially if from working stock. I've had springer and they are loads of fun; some of them can be manic though - mainly due to age & lack of exercise I guess...you can say this about most breeds I suppose. Cockers would be too small. Labs are a maybe - they sometimes suffer from bad hips & some say not to run them too much when they are young to avoid this. I have a Black Lab now & she is OK when I'm on a bike (family days out mainly) unless she sees another dogs in which she goes mental & ruins everything. Breed is important but their is significant varaition within a breed (pot luck) and training is obviously a massive part of it.

passout

70\'sPenguin wrote:

Cat With No Tail wrote:

I've wanted a Vizsla ever since seeing this vid: Awesome dog is awesome

Was going to link this too! One of my fav vids!

That's a great vid - never seen it before.

Walks with my dog are more like the 'Fenton' vid though - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtB1HQt6ak8
Shehas actually cornered a Roe deer twice now. The last time we were on a family walk, our lab shot off, and steered past a deer past us and into the corner of a field; the doe virtually collapsed from exhaustion and just sat there about 1m away from us staring at us. The dog never bites or savages them, just likes the chase! she sort of nudges slower / younger rabbits with her nose rather than biting. She is unusally fast for a lab.

cooldad

passout wrote:

70\'sPenguin wrote:

Cat With No Tail wrote:

I've wanted a Vizsla ever since seeing this vid: Awesome dog is awesome

Was going to link this too! One of my fav vids!

That's a great vid - never seen it before.

Walks with my dog are more like the 'Fenton' vid though - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtB1HQt6ak8
Shehas actually cornered a Roe deer twice now. The last time we were on a family walk, our lab shot off, and steered past a deer past us and into the corner of a field; the doe virtually collapsed from exhaustion and just sat there about 1m away from us staring at us. The dog never bites or savages them, just likes the chase! she sort of nudges slower / younger rabbits with her nose rather than biting. She is unusally fast for a lab.

Awesome, another uncontrolled dog. And the reason I support the Koreans.

adm1

equinefunk wrote:

Thanks for the advice Guys....I am an experienced dog owner, unfortunately my own dog died this morning, she was too small to take cycling. So I know all the pitfalls etc and how to train a dog, just looking for a breed recommendation.

I would recommend a Scottish Deerhound. They were bred specifically to chase red deer all day across mountain terrain - so pretty much ideal as a mountain bike companion. Oh - and they are FAST too.

They are also fantastic animals as family pets - loving, loyal, non-aggressive and just gorgeous to look at. They don't eat particularly much and after a run, they'll quite happily just lie around on a bean bag or couch all day.

I have one - eight years old now and she used to come out biking with me. A perfect companion - she would run alongside the bike for hours. Sadly she hit a tree at full tilt while chasing a rabbit one day (not while biking) and nearly lost a leg. Made a great recovery, but her days of long cycle rides are now over.

I'm going to get another one as a pup next year and will be training it to run with the bike when it's old enough.

prowbiker

I`ve been riding with my black lab for 6 years - he`s 7 now but is never more than a few foot away from me.
We go looking for lakes/ponds/streams/rivers etc and he loves it, as do I.

Black Lab my choice, finest breed imo. ( as long as you don`t need you/your dog to look ' really hard ' )

matt-h

Angry Bird wrote:

Border Collie? Springer Spaniel? Vizsla? Weimaraner?

Generally regarded as quite intelligent and generally have decent stamina...

As quoted above.

i know a couple of people with a collie and springer
Just make sure the Springer is from a working line