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PartyBullshiit
March, 2024

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Mountain Biking With Your Dog?

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Troy.
Posts: 5070 - Karma: 12,545
Hey guys, I hike with my dog right now, and he digs it. I bike a fair amount, but I try and bike with my dog, he feels the need to be in front of me on the climbs and downhills, causing for many locked brakes and ejections.

For those who do bike with their dog, how did you train them to not jump in front of you?
May 10 2012 12:02AM
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gotti
Posts: 4269 - Karma: 4,548
put a treat on the back of your bike just high enough that he can't get it. problem solved. next
May 10 2012 12:05AM
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Janky
Posts: 1323 - Karma: -100
lol
May 10 2012 12:09AM
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Puzzled
Posts: 4267 - Karma: 4,448
Why would you even try to bike with your dog in the first place? I hope you roll over him.
May 10 2012 12:11AM
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taylornicky
Posts: 2889 - Karma: 2,579
I guess just by walking/running with my dog and making her stay by my side, she learned to run next to me while mountain biking. I didn't really train her to stay directly by my side. Sometimes she does run off ahead if she sees a pond or something, but she doesn't run away or anything like that. I would just say give your dog time. Good luck!
May 10 2012 12:13AM
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Troy.
Posts: 5070 - Karma: 12,545
You are the worst kind of person. I hope you step on a lego late at night.
May 10 2012 12:14AM
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Darth.Maul
Posts: 2472 - Karma: 652
I dunno i guess just outrun your dog. My boxer used to chase my feet so he would stay to the side of me and run with. Now hes old and has eye problems So unfortunately last summer was the last time that happened :(
May 10 2012 12:17AM
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dubtwo
Posts: 590 - Karma: 114
you did NOT just go there
May 10 2012 12:17AM
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californiagrown
Posts: 9794 - Karma: 2,014
your dog thinks its the leader of your pack. get that bitch in line and she will FOLLOW you when you walk/run/bike with her.
May 10 2012 12:20AM
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JIBpsy^^
Posts: 2851 - Karma: 36
My dog is too old to sustain my mtn biking speed for very long. Its a bummer
May 10 2012 12:21AM
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gotti
Posts: 4269 - Karma: 4,548
most dogs are trained like that. And stepping on a lego huts man. thats pretty mean
May 10 2012 12:21AM
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Troy.
Posts: 5070 - Karma: 12,545
Its just annoying/dangerous when he decides to stop on a downhill section.
May 10 2012 12:52AM
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CrotchKiller
Posts: 9037 - Karma: 6,940
why wouldn't you bike with your dog?
May 10 2012 12:52AM
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ShredMasterPlus
Posts: 1159 - Karma: 807
First time I went with my dog she ran right in front of me and I ran over her nose. That was several years ago she got the point right away haha.
May 10 2012 1:40AM
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Lansfield
Posts: 2708 - Karma: 321
Fuck ya, I'd bike with my dog if she wasn't a pug...
May 10 2012 8:47AM
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I_Am_Mod
Posts: 13214 - Karma: 3,753
use one of these brah!

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May 10 2012 8:55AM
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Ali.
Posts: 380 - Karma: 68
this was on pinkbike a while ago. pretty cool.

May 10 2012 8:56AM
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triebby
Posts: 8670 - Karma: 2,189
I'm actually good buddies with Ross, and Lily is an awesome dog. He just started of slowly on manageable terrain and worked her into it. He basically just took things step by step and would stop and scold her when necessary to make sure she stayed behind. It might sounds tough, but if you dog does run in front of you when it's not supposed to, a little tap from your front tire won't hurt. It will scare the dog enough so that it knows not to run in front again.
May 10 2012 9:20AM
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theBearJew
Posts: 10951 - Karma: 15,633
lost it. best comeback on NS
May 10 2012 9:40AM
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Puzzled
Posts: 4267 - Karma: 4,448
Cause he get in front of me causing me to slam the brake and eject. -OPLOGIC
May 10 2012 12:22PM
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Cufe.
Posts: 1950 - Karma: 262
I rode with my dog for many years, sadly he isn't quite up to the task of it anymore but I can share my two most important insights to the topic none the less.

First and most important thing is to make sure the trail isn't just single track. I had the same problems as you with him jumping infront of me and I was able to solve them by riding wider trails (usually 4-6 feet across was best) that way he could run around but both he and I had the room to move around each other if he ended up in my path.

The second big lesson I learned was to keep taking him out, if you only do it once in a while he wont learn how you work on a bike, you need to allow time for both of you to learn how to work around each other on trails.

So, hopefully those help, I also tried to keep him at home for the days where I wanted to go hard on my bike, I usually just took him for long easy XC and AM rides. Usually I would aim for a 3-5 hour ride, he usually would be pretty happy for that; less than that and he would just be too excited the rest of the day and more than that he would sleep for the next two days.

One last piece of advice, try to limit the time you're on concrete with them, I know my dog tore his paw pads once or twice after a longer ride followed by a ride home on cement. (solved by driving down to the trail head with my truck then heading off to ride)
May 10 2012 12:45PM
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zbphoto
Posts: 7789 - Karma: 12,037
That is so sick. I've always wanted to go skiing and have my dog run behind me, he loves jumping through piles of snow and getting face shots. I know pollard does it with his dog.
May 10 2012 1:16PM
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Bmo.
Posts: 4907 - Karma: 2,667
i lost so hard
May 10 2012 2:10PM
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shorty_T
Posts: 2725 - Karma: 761
+K for great comeback!

That pinkbike video was also our inspiration for making our dogs follow us on our bikes. my girl has learned the sound of my brake rotor so when I tap, she moves over. She learned by doing it wrong the first few times.
May 10 2012 4:10PM
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janetSkis
Posts: 112 - Karma: 14
that was awesome
May 10 2012 5:19PM
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Troy.
Posts: 5070 - Karma: 12,545
Thanks for the input guys. Guess this will need some more training than I had anticipated.

Only my dog would take getting tapped by the front tire repeatedly as a challenge to go faster than me.
May 10 2012 6:14PM
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TACO-DOG.exe
Posts: 11986 - Karma: 12,239
scuba diving with your dog?

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May 10 2012 6:33PM
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daannnnieel
Posts: 5163 - Karma: 4,293
I love how irrelevant some of the posts are. I didn't train my dog to run beside me, she learned by herself. For the first few times on the descent parts of the trails just take it slower.
May 10 2012 8:17PM
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