So we got a dog a couple years ago. Started him riding on Fromme / Seymour last year and getting more into it now. He loves it but I do worry a bit about him getting hurt following me down the faster or more janky sections of trail. Anyone here have any tips about keeping dogs safe on trail, more dog friendly trails to hit, or any other tips regarding riding with dogs?
Riding with a dog
Avoid fast flow trails and stick to slow, tech trails? Depends on dogs energy levels I guess
Pack lots of water, don’t let ‘em overheat (almost killed my dog that way), have them under control (recall and a “move” command), train em to stay off of bridges and jump landings, train em to run in the right position in the group and have a great time!
Posted by: tashi
Pack lots of water, don’t let ‘em overheat (almost killed my dog that way), have them under control (recall and a “move” command), train em to stay off of bridges and jump landings, train em to run in the right position in the group and have a great time!
+1 on minding the heat/duration/water availability. They'll run themselves dead for you, unfortunately. I've run into a handful of cases in the past few weeks with people clearly having their dog out on really long rides, often involving paved roads, in temps between 25-30C. Devastating to see.
I abandoned the idea when one of my dogs stopped to roll in fresh bear or cougar shit and was completely covered in it. Not fun. In fact, I'd rather ride with my cat after that experience.
Last edited by: BC_Nuggets on May 25, 2023, 10:41 a.m., edited 1 time in total.
Posted by: BC_Nuggets
I abandoned the idea when one of my dogs stopped to roll in fresh bear or cougar shit and was completely covered in it. Not fun. In fact, I'd rather ride with my cat after that experience.
I feel like the "trail dog" concept has fallen out of fashion a little of late. Not to sound like a wet blanket, but I think it's mostly a good thing for both the dogs and the other trail users.
My opinion is, if people really feel the need to do it, do it early morning or late evening, cooler temperatures, and fewer people on the trails. Go slow and plan routes that make sense from a traffic perspective. I've seen a couple people badly hurt cut off by dogs. Every dog owner is the same "oh my dog knows better". Yeah ok. Your dog is a dog and the situation you're placing it in much of the time when having it chase you down trails is not fair for the dog or anyone else.
Last edited by: Kenny on May 25, 2023, 12:18 p.m., edited 1 time in total.
Posted by: Kenny
Posted by: BC_Nuggets
I abandoned the idea when one of my dogs stopped to roll in fresh bear or cougar shit and was completely covered in it. Not fun. In fact, I'd rather ride with my cat after that experience.
I feel like the "trail dog" concept has fallen out of fashion a little of late. Not to sound like a wet blanket, but I think it's mostly a good thing for both the dogs and the other trail users.
My opinion is, if people really feel the need to do it, do it early morning or late evening, cooler temperatures, and fewer people on the trails. Go slow and plan routes that make sense from a traffic perspective. I've seen a couple people badly hurt cut off by dogs. Every dog owner is the same "oh my dog knows better". Yeah ok. Your dog is a dog and the situation you're placing it in much of the time when having it chase you down trails is not fair for the dog or anyone else.
Having been riding with my own Labradors for around 30 years this makes sense. My dogs needed a good couple hours every day or two of decent exercise. My knees and sometimes feet weren’t up to walking as much so riding was preferred. Usually I went alone on trails where I didn’t really expect to see anyone. I wouldn’t take the dogs riding where it was crowded. in the 90s it wasn’t nearly as busy on the trails but it’s getting busier now. If it was hot, early rides or swimming. We did a lot of Nordic skiing at Whistler Olympic Park where they have off leash dog trails. Even then the odd Karen would get all pissy about dogs on the off leash trails.
Biking with a dog might sound good until you're riding a skinny only to look ahead & see the dog on the skinny ahead sitting down looking at you. Then what do you do? Not to mention the dog chasing & bothering wildlife. My opinion is do the dog, yourself & other riders a favor & leave the dog at home.
I used ride with a guy that always brought his dog, it was pretty well trained, but it would come into my peripheral vision and made it difficult to concentrate on the trail, and the odd time would dash in front of me out of nowhere. I’m not a fan of riding with dogs. Not to mention the dog shit on my tire the last time riding.
We have a family dog, there’s no way I’d take her riding. I’d feel horrible if she caused an injury to a rider or she got hit by a rider. No way I could face my 13 year old daughter if she got harmed. Not only that, I’m sure I’d be liable if I caused an injury to another rider. I have no insurance for something like that, financially it could be catastrophic!
Last edited by: Ouch on May 28, 2023, 5:35 p.m., edited 1 time in total.
I've had a bunch of negative dog experiences on the trails the last few years. From poop on my tires/shoes to being chased by aggressive barking dogs to actually being bitten [no injury]. So ya I'm not a fan. I like dogs in general, but they are so rarely trained and controlled well by their owners that I can't get super enthusiastic of seeing them on the trails unleashed.
Posted by: mike-henry
So we got a dog a couple years ago. Started him riding on Fromme / Seymour last year and getting more into it now. He loves it but I do worry a bit about him getting hurt following me down the faster or more janky sections of trail. Anyone here have any tips about keeping dogs safe on trail, more dog friendly trails to hit, or any other tips regarding riding with dogs?
If/when I take my dog riding it's usually in the fall/winter months when there is ample water in the creek beds etc. It's also cooler, and sometimes less busy. I also try to avoid the really high speed trails - at least the long ones. My dog is fast in bursts. The watershed is pretty good for riding with a dog if you go early/late but it is technically not an off-leash park and you should expect to encounter horses. For some dogs that is a no go.
Irresponsible dog owners have their mutts off leash. Stupid people have no clue. If this was me, I seriously think at least 1 of those dogs would have to go to the vet afterwards. You can't fix stupid.
Last edited by: Stuminator on Nov. 22, 2023, 9:07 p.m., edited 1 time in total.
I came across a commercial dog walker while riding up the Fromme climb trail last week.
Dogs were totally out of control and chasing/barking at me to the point I was bracing myself for an impending nip on my calf. Super frustrating. Some are ok, but some of these people actually make money off the backs of trailbuilders yet seem to give zero fucks about people actually using recreational trails for recreation. Seems insane.
Never really sure how to handle these situations, as escalation never seems to help, my general tactic is to evade, but I am sadly not fit enough to out run crazy dogs whilst pedalling up the executioner connector. Lol
Last edited by: Kenny on Nov. 22, 2023, 9:43 p.m., edited 1 time in total.
My dog feels dogs aren't getting a fair shake in this thread and wants to leave this one comment for you to consider: WOOF
I love dogs. I love cats. I love riding. Nothing pisses me off more than people on ebikes flying up the roads because they can, not realizing that their dogs have to keep up. As I said to one rider.....you dog does not have a motor. I don't think they let the pooch rest before going down at mach 3.
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