Gun Dog Forum

Help me design the ultimate 2 dog suburban roading machine.

I live in the suburbs and roading from a 4 wheeler is not an option in my neighborhood. I would like to have something that I could do that is quick excersize for the dogs and something I can do without traveling too far. I have a field a couple of miles away that I let the dogs run in a few times a week.

I have roaded Cooper off my mountian bike at the end of last summer in preparation for the fall hunting season. I have a nylon harness and I held on to a leash and my handle bar at the same time. I had some close calls at first untill Coop got used to it. There is no way I could make that work with two dogs.

Now I would like to take both of my dogs out for a pull. I have been looking at some products designed for a sport called Skijouring. Apparantly this is where you cross country ski or roller blade behind your dog. I found a bungee line that will absorb shock if the dogs try to take off.



It is supposed to connect to a belt for skijouring. I suppose I could connect it to anything.


Then I could get a couple of roading harnesses like this from Dobbs Dogs





Now here is the hard part........ I need to find something that I can connect to my mountian bike. Probably out front connected to the frame. It needs to hang out far enough to keep it away from the front wheel. I am hoping you folks would have some ideas here. Worst case scenerio, I will weld something up. I just hoped there was an easier answer.

What do you think? Recipe for disaster? -or Creative genius?

12 volt
There is a guy down my way that makes his dog drag some welding lead and heavy chain behind their harness's.
This might be a safer way.
I think my pup would drag me to death if I hooked him up to my bike
You going to the training seminar that TAK is having?

Hey, I tried it. A cat ran across in front at 90 degrees to our path. My V took off after it. You can guess the rest. Bang, slam, ouch!

I started hitching him up to a little red wagon with bad bearings and a bag of food in the back. No more wrecks and he has bigger hams than a power lifter.

If you have the room, an even more convenient trick is to modify a human's treadmill. Cut the sides and lengthen them. Replace the belt with astroturf-type carpet. Put plywood sides on it and a cross bar. Hike the front end up as far as possible. Hitch his roading harness to the cross bar, turn it on, and sit back in air conditioned comfort while he runs his butt off.

Best,

I have some friends down in AZ that built a scooter looking thing to road there dogs! Kinda like a Sled dog would pull a sled. The scooter is only a matter of pounds and Brian I would guess way in there at 200 plus and his dog pulls him just fine.
I have not seen this in action but he told me he let the air out of the tires to slow them down! At one time i had a picture but not anymore......

Cats are pretty hard on the guy tho!

I just threw out a motorized dog walker I designed. I could put 4 dogs on it but when I used to put Rip on it I could`nt put any more dogs on it with him. He had them airborn, it was not pretty.

A good friend of mine that finished his 2 Britts in the field let them pull his VW Beatle a couple of miles down a blacktop road. Worked real well. He got them started and just shut the key off when he was rolling.

Ezzy

I have seen attachements that hook to the rear wheel mount that have a short leash on them. I can't remember where it is that I saw them though. I am not sure how 2 would work on a bike, but that is an option I guess. Though I do like the vw beetle option too.

there is a device that hooks to a bike called "The Springer" I believe. Don't know about one on each side though.

That is it right there.

12 Volt, I am sure you have life insurance, but am I listed on it! I can PM you my ssn# and all that kind of stuff!
Get your Brother-in-law to tape it!

I'm sure I might be able to provide a winning clip for America's funniest home videos.

I was considering doing the same thing for the GSP I am getting this summer. I am also curious about how others have "roaded" their dogs in suburban areas...

Jon

There is a lady that use a granny style tricycle with a roading bar mounted across, some what like the one you find on an ATV, she roads 4 sled dogs, 2 on each side at a time down the dirt road by the house, I haven’t yet seen her use the peddle once.

SC

I use our local high school track and heel the dogs as I go around I also drag chains. Kill to birds with one stone teaching a dog to heel and endurance!
I still want to see ol #12 take the ride with Cowboy and Cooper!

Zoom, Zoom, ZOOM!

Tak, he may become another flying UFO

Ezzy

Try this... you'll be the talk of the street.

http://reshaequip.com/Sacco_dog_carts.html

Course, seems to me, your dog could join fitness club for a while for that price

mountaindogs wrote:Try this... you'll be the talk of the street.

http://reshaequip.com/Sacco_dog_carts.html

You'd be the talk of the street allright......

That thing is just HUGE!!!

The dog might get in shape, but I sure won't.

You'd have to road me before the season opens just to get me back into shape.

Jon

A co-worker uses a modified treadmill to exercise his pitbulls. If I am not mistaken he purchased it already setup for roading dogs. The belt free wheels so there is no motor to control and the platform inclines to increase difficulty. He places a temptation (treat) in front of the dog to get the motion started. In the past I have used the harness and large chain, about 3' in length on each side. To take the shock of dragging the weight along the ground I used a large black bungee cord on each side. This also places the chain behind the dog so there is no problem of the chain injuring the legs. Worked good and a short session is all that is needed.

BOL

Coveyrise64

I do have a treadmill in my basement that has a variable incline and such, but I don't want to modify it since I use it daily as well. I guess I could probably come up with something though. Get one of those roading/bike harnesses, and connect it to the front bar or something. It would definitely need a safety release of some sort if the dog falls. I could also make some removeable sides too.
It sounds kinda funny though...treadmilling a dog...

Jon

For those of you that have 4 wheelers they are a great way to get a dog in trial/hunting form. True does nothing for your waist line, but it is great for the dogs!

TAK wrote:<snip> True does nothing for your waist line, but it is great for the dogs!

What do you mean, TAK? You're a big boy, but geez, I'd think you'd get *some* exercise pulling that 4wheeler! You must have the legs of a Clydesdale for it not to effect your waistline at all!

:naka:

Best,

Greg Jennings wrote:

TAK wrote:<snip> True does nothing for your waist line, but it is great for the dogs!

What do you mean, TAK? You're a big boy, but geez, I'd think you'd get *some* exercise pulling that 4wheeler! You must have the legs of a Clydesdale for it not to effect your waistline at all!

:naka:



Best,

No no Silly! Hook the dogs to the boom arms off the wheeler.

My legs are like Kan Kan girls just a bit more hair

http://www.dogscooter.com/dogscooter/scooters1.htm

http://www.dogscooter.com/dogscooter/photos.htm

http://www.dogscooter.com/dogscooter/carts1.htm
http://www.dogscooter.com/dogscooter/scooters9.htm


THis is the one I need!
http://www.dogscooter.com/dogscooter/scooters14.htm

TAK wrote: No no Silly! Hook the dogs to the boom arms off the wheeler.

Dang! You mean *I* get to ride the 4-Wheeler?

I'll have to talk to the wife when she gets back from her 4-Wheeler ride!

Best,

If I understand roading correctly it is running your dog on pavement or gravel to get them in shape as well as toughin up their paws. So here is an answer to the Urban hunter. I went out tonight on my new bike with Murphy & road in big circles around a big parking lot of a business behind our place. That is a thought you might try a school parking lot or maybe a church. I didn't have him on a leash he just ran around in circles while I road after him mostly. I did have to call him when he got distracted, but he did pretty well. Keep it short maybe 5-10 minutes. Murphy's paws are a bit sore he didn't favor them at all, but after we got in he started giving them some attention & after looking at them I will only run him for 5 minutes or so when they have healed up a bit.

I wouldn't road a dog on pavement at all. When I road mine I do it off a bike with a springer. I ride on the sidewalk and the dogs run on the grass next to it. Pavement is not only hard on the pads but also the joints. And five minutes roading won't accomplish anything. I road them between 4 and 7 miles depending on their condition.

Enjoyed the humorous discussion. Am going to add some fodder for the jokes.

Was looking to solve the same problem myself. Had done the bike routine before and knew the consequences. While I was trying to figure out a good system, I got one of those harnesses you had in your first post, already had the harness, and had my female GSP pull me. She seemed to love it, until one night the inevitable happened, she thought she saw something in the bush, stopped, and I went skidding. Bruised or cracked a rib.

So I found a Blauwerk Mountain Scooter on eBay. OK, you can start the jokes now, about perhaps some degree of lack of ability to learn a lesson on my part. The scooter works good though, now if she stops, I just hop off and its inches to the ground and you land on your feet. With a bike, you are on a seat and it is going to send you flying, to land on everything but your feet.

The one issue I am still working on, like you, is holding the leash up above the tire, so it does not wrap the front tire if the dog stops or slows too much. Found it helps to tie the lead to the verticle post the handlebars come out of, run it backwards and up and over the handlebars and brake cables. Does not completely solve the problem but helps. Am looking for something I can use to just clamp a stick about 14" long to the handlebar and going directly forward. Then just use rubber bands to hold the lead up in the air suspended from the stick. With the scooter though, it is not that big a deal because you can just hop off and thereby stop quicker.

Only problem I am having is that because of the fall I took, the dog is reluctant to pull hard, so like any training issue, I have had to backstep. I have my wife be my "rabbit" and run in front of us egging the dog on. Looks really silly, but it is working.

When I had my trial dog in town for a short vacation, he would pull me at 15-20 mph for three or four miles one way, then back again, without a problem, but he is much more trained to pull than the house GSP.

Have a good packed clay trail to run on. Would not road on pavement. Slips pads pretty quickly.

Am doing this for a few minutes every night to get the dog pulling again. Will report back with pics when I get everything working.