Hi , Everyone looking for sound advise on starting points with regards taking your Husky out with you cycling , I have seen all the attachments on sale for your bike , really interested in what sort of time / distance i should or not being doing with my 6 months old Female Husky .
The area i live in has a good choice of mixed surfaces wood areas , hard paths , tracks , grassed areas .
really interested in good starting point , she will run along side my bike , not sure how long time i should be do this form of exercise , i do not want to hurt her growing bones etc
Any help would be greatly appreciated

A puppy should really not be running with you until she is about a year old. Puppies should only exercise in free form (ie- running around a yard) and only on grass. Hard surfaces like pavement can stunt their growth and cause injury. Puppies bones and joints are still fragile and developing until about a year old.

Another thing: puppies don't have the cognitive development to stop when they are tired or they need to like an adult dog will. She will run and run and run to keep up with you. Exercising puppies should be as simple as a game of fetch, letting her run around the yard or playtime with other puppies.

However, once she is old enough, hook her up and go Start off slowly and build her up. Keep an eye on her breathing and if she starts to slow, that means it's time to stop. She will build stamina just as a person would, so just observation and diligence on your part and you will both be fine

thank you for your comments

No problem Sorry it took so long for me to respond :p Life has been busy!

Good luck! And welcome to the forum Go post a Welcome Mat thread so we can get to know you and your girl

I run when Nero wants to run. Probably around 120-150m at around 14kph average. We have been building up speed & distance for a while now. We ran on the beach the other day for about 200m but thats cos he was uber excited. I can tell when he's tiring because he will slow to my side rather than running up ahead of me.

That's great as long as it's not on pavement As said, running on pavement, concrete or other hard surfaces is harmful to a puppy's bones and joints.

I would like to start doing this with Willow, when she turns 1, thanks for that tip Tori! I do not have any equipment yet...not even a bike. Any suggestions on the best type of bike and equipment I will need. Is this something I should try on my own or do I need a trainer to get us started? ANY an all tips are welcome!

For the record...I am not new to bicycling. I grew up on a bike. I just need to replace my last one. I was about to purchase one when I thought I better ask if there is a type of bike I should get if I want to attach Willow to it. I never tried this with Dakota in fear of him pulling me down. I know Willow could still do this to me, but she really needs more exercise than Dakota does.

I went to a fleamarket and got a $25 mountain bike, glad I did as it has be pulled over more times then I can remember while trying to fix lines and the dogs NOT staying! We have talked about 2 websites to buy from for harness and lines. And start the comands while walking befor getting on the bike. Sorry I'm on my phone or else I would give u the websites

SPRINGER!!! Buy a Springer. www.SpringerAmerica.com

I LOVE mine!! Shelby and I have been biking since she was 6 months old. Shiloh was 4 years old when we started.

The springer is alot easier then messing the lines and doing the full bikejoring, but that is alot of fun to with a well trained dog!!



If you are biking in town, and can't keep the on the grass, invest in some booties! Well worth it for saving your dogs feet! http://www.ruffwear.com/Barkn-Boots-Grip-Trex

We just use Musher's secret becuase the majority of the time, they run on the lawn.

Thank you!!! I will be checking out those links you gave me. The video was great! It looks like alot of fun. I think Willow will love it.

That's the best looking biking system I've seen. I wish I knew about it several years ago.

I biked with my two previous huskies, and alternated between several attachments to the bike.
None worked well when "Mr. Squirrel" dashed across our path. This resulted in multiple pileups.
I finally settled on the "ten foot lead being held by two fingers on the handlebars" method, so I could let go instantly if a squirrel tried to taunt us. I lowered the seat on my mountain bike every time I went out so I could get my feet on the ground FAST !

Where I live now, it's way too hilly to bike, so we mostly run. I've found I don't need Mushers Wax or booties unless the pavement is really hot (This is probably a non issue for us, because Bodhi and I run early) or we are running on sharp rocks.

As a cyclist for many years, I would urge you to please always wear a helmet and shoes with closed toes when cycling. Equipment can fail; other dogs can run off a porch; a cell phone using driver can veer off course at you. It only takes a second. A fall at speed on a bike can cause serious injuries.

This is so cool! I'm definitely going to look into this for Kody and maybe Mya!

We have Walky Dog and Ginger loves it!
You can detach the rod from the seat and walk around with it as a leash. The leash attached to the rod is springy so if she pulls, there's some give and doesn't yank her. You can also adjust the length of the leash. JD just has it pretty long in this picture.

Cool! I just looked up the Walky Dog and saw one of their videos. Seems pretty easy to do! Did Ginger take to it right away or did she freak?

Ginger took to it instantly.

I love my Walky Dog. Frankie took to it instantly too. I was in complete shock how focused he stays.

Wow that's awesome you guys! I need to get me one of these asap! Well, a bike first..lol! I've been wanting a bike for a while now and this just gives me more reason to get it!!! I don't need anything fancy so it shouldn't be too pricey! I'll probably try to start Mya off first, now that I think about it. She's calmer on walks and might adapt better than Kody. Plus he's only 6months so I shouldn't use it with him just yet. He goes around the park once (it's about half a mile) and he's already asking me to go back home. Yet he runs like a crazy dog @ the dog park. Go figure! Poor baby is confused..lol

Wow that looks like so much fun!!! I'll have to pick one up!

I want a walky dog!! Those look so fun.

My only concern is... when Reiko sees a :

- Bird
- Cat
- Squirell
- Dog
- Blowing leaf etc

he "forgets" that I am attached and tried to go after them. I'm not really sure how to train him out of that. Do you think I should wait for him to stop that before I look into riding with him? Other than that he's great on the leash!

I ride with Konrad occasionally, best bet to try and get by certain distracting things is teaching mushing commands. I found a website a while back with a list of the basics, and some ideas to teach them. Best command is "On By", works basically like a "Leave It", just have to use it before they get totally derailed (it's supposed to mean keep going without slowing down). We practiced on a leash a ton before I hooked him up to a bike, He actually took to "On By" quicker than most of the other ones, probably because he already had a solid "Leave it".

Seems that the website I had found before is being reconstructed and most of the content on it is down

Oh good idea! I'll try to find a site like it. Thanks!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHjmABFfG

Here's a video of mushing commands right around the 6 minute mark. It's for dog scootering, but the commands are the same.

You can start with the commands while you're out walking so they get used to the commands and respond by the time you get on a bike.

Ginger seems to be more focused when she's out scootering or biking and doesn't seem to be aware of squirrels as she is on walks. So they may be more focused when you're out biking.

The walky dog also has some shock absorption so if they tug it kind of pulls them back without tipping the bike. If I see something first, I usually speed up so he runs faster and misses it. I was really amazed about how focused he stayed on the run, I really expected more wipeouts,lol. We had one accident on the bike where we both wiped out, but that was because an unleashed dog came at us and Frankie freaked out of fear causing me to completely lose control. (that owner got a piece of my mind).

I like the idea of the mushing commands, I never thought of that. I think I'm going to start working on them.

Nikolai and I use a Walky-Dog and we also know (and use!) our mushing cues every day on walks. He's a total rock star... we don't know "on by" but I just say "hup, hup, hup" if I see him starting to be interested in something and slowing. He's just so smart.

I just bought a bike today! Now I gotta order the walkydog so I can get Willow out for runs. I can't wait to wear her out!