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Post by quiver on Oct 24, 2007 21:17:38 GMT -5
I do quite a bit of multi day hiking... A friend of mine likes to take his weimaraner when we go on these hikes... they make great trail dogs.
Does anyone have any experience with MTB with a trail dog? Is it a good idea... or does he/she cause more problems than its worth.
Based on the speed of a weimaraners (30-35 MPH)... I'm not too worried about him keeping up.
Assuming proper training is done to build up the discipline of the dog...
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Post by azdrawdy on Oct 25, 2007 5:43:04 GMT -5
Hopefully oddcouple will speak up here. He takes Ruger out all the time. Keg Creek, FATS, Lick Fork. The dog does great up to about 15 miles, and I know he really would rather ride WITH the dog than without!
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Post by seenvic on Oct 25, 2007 7:42:38 GMT -5
I used to take my lab mix riding. She knew every inch of every trail around here. Then her hips started giving her trouble and that had to end. It was sad to go riding w/o her as she wined and cried when I loaded up the bike and left her at home. The best dog I've ever ridden with (other than my dog ) was a wienriemer (sp?) named Yagger. He could run all day and on the fireroads could keep up. Some dogs catch on to staying w/ the group, but I've been with some that don't. For a dog to stay with a group ride, the dog must realize that it can drop you on the climbs, but gets dropped on the descents. My dog figured this out and got ahead of us going up hill and knew shortcuts to keep up with on the downhills. At times I didn't know where she was, but I thought she always knew where I was. Worst thing that happened was when she gotted sprayed by a skunk on a night ride at the old Tower. It was harsh riding with her back to the car, and even harsher driving home with her.
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Post by quiver on Oct 25, 2007 7:54:57 GMT -5
What did you do to train her so well... did you start by doing short road rides and build up to trail riding?
Or did you just jump on the trail and go....
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Post by seenvic on Oct 25, 2007 10:42:12 GMT -5
What did you do to train her so well... did you start by doing short road rides and build up to trail riding? Or did you just jump on the trail and go.... It was so long ago I really don't recall. I know I never took her on road rides. I think I just took her on shorter rides and over time her endurance increased.
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Post by jtaylor on Oct 25, 2007 11:29:55 GMT -5
I have my son's lab mix now that he is in the Navy. We rode some of Bartram last Saturday. That is a good trail to start since it is flat, has a nice surface, and has lots of places to stop and let the dog get a drink. We only did 4 miles. I would never take a dog on the road! I know of some problems dogs have with their pads, so the mileage increase needs to be gradual. I think most dogs will stay with you instinctively, or you could carry a tennis ball....... Maybe you could go out on a short run with a leash.
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Post by hyperflea7 on Oct 25, 2007 12:05:35 GMT -5
We've started taking our mutt down to the towpath at the Aug Canal trying to get her acclimated to running with us as we ride (no leash, of course). She (the dog, that is) is doing really well and is learning to get out of the way of oncoming bikes, joggers, etc. The next step will be to see how she does on a flat, easy trail. She sure seems to love it......and so do we!
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Post by chileanrastabilly on Oct 25, 2007 14:12:27 GMT -5
For what it's worth, I have mixed reservations about "trail dogs". I've had more than a few near misses with dogs on the trail which could of caused significant injury to myself or the dog. I own two dogs that I would love to take on rides but I don't for fear of them running away or getting into trouble(bikes or other dogs). The canal would be a great place but there are a lot of distractions around there. I would probably head to Lick Fork as Horn Creek is not really ridden that much IMO. It's a short 5.79 mile loop and my Springer Spaniel used to really like it. Just my $.02.
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Post by brianW on Oct 26, 2007 17:11:10 GMT -5
Out of courtesy to other riders I would only take a dog that you can control by voice command, go on the less traveled trails, train them to follow you (not the other way around) and do not to forget to have a leash just in case.
I have never ridden with my dog, but have taking her trail running, hiking and cross country skiing. I never had any problems with other people on the trail with my dog. I only had one problem and that was with an "aggressive" dog that was of the leash and I had mine on one. Just my 2 cents. -brianW
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