Maggie and I finally succumbed to temptation and got ourselves a puppy!
Related: How to Carry your Dog Safely in a Pet Basket
In our defense, we did exercise sufficient restraint to at least get a really small puppy. Billy’s father is a 3.5 pound toy poodle, and his mother is a 10 pound Yorkie Poo (½ poodle, ½ Yorkshire terrier). So we know two things:
- Billy will not grow very big
- Billy’s father is a very brave, determined and athletic fellow
These are both good things, IMO. But now we have to figure out how to integrate Billy into our cycling lifestyle – we don’t want to leave him home alone while we go cycling. Billy will be fearless enough to go cycling with us, and small enough to fit in some kind of basket. Now we just have to figure out the best and safest way to accommodate him on our bikes, and get him trained to it while he’s still young.
I once tried to take an older dog cycling. He was not used to it, so he whined in his little basket. No problem, I thought, he’ll calm down once he’s used to it. Then he threw up, and the wind ensured that I was instantly covered in dog vomit. At which point I realized he was whining not because he was afraid, but because he felt nauseous. Needless to say, we never went cycling again.
I am trusting that Billy will turn out to have a stronger stomach, especially as we will get him used to cycling while he is still a pup.
So this is my aim: to get my puppy cycling just as comfortably as this little dog. First, however, I will need to find the perfect basket to accommodate my perfect dog.
UPDATE: Here is my post on the pet bike basket we eventually chose, and the way our Axiom Premium pet bike basket worked out. Spoiler alert: the Axiom Premium Pet Bike Basket works really well!
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Hi, your new little bud is cute! Try to find a Nantucket Basket Co, who make bike baskets, and some designed to take your pet in. The have a wire top, highish and round, so that your pup can look out, but is not able to jump out.. I think Denman Bike shop sells Nantuckets, but not sure if the pet variety type in stock. They may be a bit pricy, but they would probably work. I think you can also order directly from the co. too.
Thanks Paddyanne, I will check it out. I want him to safe yet have fun too.
You can check out this site:
http://www.littleshopofterrors.net/page/page/3936754.htm
http://www.amazon.com/Dog-Bike-Basket-Bicycle-Seat/dp/B0019W2DBM
I’m also sure eBay might have something.
Thanks Ryan, there was some totally cool stuff on the little shop of terrors. Had no idea there was such a range of possibilities.
I thought I’d chime in with my solution for bigger dogs. I’ve had great success exercising our 80 lbs mongrel using my bike.
I hold the leash with my right hand so I can have my left on the brake at all times. The dog does not get much slack so she can’t dart around in front or behind my bike.
It’s important to have some weight advantage on the dog if you use this setup, our dog pulled my wife right off once. She’s not tried it again. Even at full steam the dog has little success affecting my ride.
Do not tie the leash to the bike though. You need to be able to let go of the dog if things go south.
Thanks Rob, wish I’d read that 15 years ago – before the day I was riding with Jester, my very large german shepherd, tied to my handlebars. It was pre-dawn on a quiet road, no cars, no people, and he was a calm, well-trained dog. What could possibly go wrong? BUT … suddenly an unleashed dog zoomed up out of nowhere and tried to attack Jester. He was caught unawares, panicked, and bolted in front of my bike. Which of course brought me to a very sudden halt, causing me to fly gracefully over the handlebars and hit the road hands-first. Lot of fun. Never did that again …
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