Biking is an exciting and fun activity. It could get more interesting if you share the experience with your favorite pet. Biking will allow both you and your dog to burn energy, stay in shape, and develop a stronger bond during the process.
However, cycling with your dog comes with a challenge, as you must know everything to make this activity safe for both of you. So, how to bike with your dog?
Take a look at this guide, and learn all the best ways to make biking a fantastic and rewarding activity for you and your fur buddy:
Table of Contents
What to Prepare Before Taking Your Dog With You
It is important that you keep yourself safe at all times by wearing the right gear or equipment. You must prepare a helmet, knee pads, and cycling shorts when you ride a bike with a dog.
You should also ensure that your pet is safe while biking. Make sure to get your pet the right harness or bungee leash. Make sure that dog leash will not get caught in the wheels or any part of the bicycle.
You can also use a basket or trailer with a safety strap to keep your pet protected while on the road.
Biking Alongside Your Dog
Step 1: Train your dog
At first, you should familiarize your dog with the activity so that you can control and guide it during cycling.
The best dogs you can go along with while biking are those already leash trained. So, if your dog is not accustomed to using a leash, you must leash-train your pet.
Before you introduce the biking activity with your dog, make sure that your pet does not pull, stop, or immediately run ahead while you are walking.
Step 2: Walk your dog alongside your bike
Walking with a bike is a new activity for your pet. So, it is important to familiarize your pet by keeping it as close as possible to the bike.
Bring your dog and bicycle to a park or outside your house. Make sure that you do not ride on the bike. You just need to walk with your pet and the bike.
Make sure your dog follows your pacing and does not get too excited or lazy while out for a walk.
Give a dog a reward if it shows the right attitude and follows your command properly. Reprimand your pet when necessary.
Step 3: Give commands
When a dog riding bike with owner, it is important that your dog knows some verbal cues and commands.
Simple cues like slow, fast, stop, away, and close can go a long way. It will help you communicate better with your pet, especially when riding bike with dog on leash.
Be consistent with your tone, facial expression, and sound level while giving a command. Reward your pet for every positive response.
Step 4: Ride the bike slowly
If you are confident that your pet can properly follow commands and has developed the right attitude, you can now ride on the bike while your dog is on a leash.
However, you should do it slowly while practicing the dog with different commands.
Make sure that your dog can keep up with your pace while demonstrating the right behavior.
Step 5: Increase the speed and difficulty
Once your pet is familiar with you riding on a bike while it is on a leash, you can now increase the speed and difficulty.
However, it is still important to note that the speed depends on how much stamina your dog builds.
Do not speed up abruptly because it can shock your dog. Remember, the legs and paws of your dog are not used to this kind of activity.
You can also level up the difficulty by creating obstacles on the road or mountain biking with dog. You can pass through humps or high-slope terrain, too.
Biking With Your Dog on a Trailer
Another way to bike with your dog is by using a trailer. In this method, you only need to train your pup to keep steady on a trailer.
It is ideal for medium or large dogs where you can easily pull them to your destination. This tip is also perfect if you want to bike with two dogs.
Nevertheless, getting your dog familiarized with the trailer is still crucial. Remember, a dog on a bicycle is a new setting for it. And, it is essential to build up the behavior correctly.
- You can begin by teaching the dog to get in and jump out of the trailer. Practice it slowly, and reward your dog accordingly.
- Then, as your pet master gets in and out of the trailer, you can proceed to train the dog to behave and keep still while being on the trailer.
- Ride on your bike slowly while you bike with dog carrier or trailer.
Biking With Your Dog in a Basket
For small dogs with short legs, the best option to take your dog on a bike ride is using a basket.
Make sure you attach the basket to the handlebars, so you can easily see your dog in front while biking. Use a strong and durable basket that can accommodate the size and weight of your pup.
It is also essential that the device comes with a safety strap to keep your pet in place while on the road. You can read some Reddit ideas for the best basket for pets.
Similar to the other methods, get your dog accustomed to the basket. Lift and snug your dog in the basket.
Make cues and commands to keep it steady—reward and reprimand based on positive and negative behavior.
Conclusion
Bicycling with dogs is a rewarding experience not only for you but for your pets, as well. However, you cannot instantly ride with your pet without training it. It is a new experience for them, and they must develop the right behavior and attitude while biking with you.
Hopefully, now you get a grasp on how to bike with your dog, you can help it develop the correct behavior and skills for the activity.
“I ride my bike to work for years, but is that enough? Our carelessness towards our surroundings has taken a toll on the environment. And now, everyone is responsible for changes; even the most minor contribution is counted. With this hope and spirit, I started with my partner to establish Biketoworkday to help more individuals commute to their work sites on their bikes.”