It might depend on the dog, (breed), time, temperature etc. I see no problem for short time and if the person carries water and is not riding fast. Most dogs seem to have the tongue sticking out, just running by themselves.

I think it is dangerous to both. You can never tell when a dog will dart in front of the bike or charge off in any direction.

I think it depends - we have a puppy - 36 pounds & LOTS of energy. I depend on my DH taking her on a run in the morning in order to be able to stand her the rest of the day!

Dog Whisper helps them release energy by roller blading with them.

He also recommends treadmills for some.

Most dogs LOVE to run......I do! :0) I'm glad the dog isn't left by itself at home. I think to myself .....that owner and dog are inseperable!

Just as dogs are taught to walk, sit heal, on and off a leash and work with a disabled person dogs are taught to run by a bike on a leash.
I would not expect a dog to just do it without some teaching and practice. A well taught dog is more obedient than many young children. So long as the pace isn't to fast and the dog is given time to rest and water, in most instances, it is a safe way to exercise a dog.

LIL

Hey, I can speak from experience on this one. I will never ever never again ride a bike with my dog on leash. Never.

We did it for several months and everything was just dandy. Oh she'd run herself silly and I clocked her at 17 mph and I'd be pedaling as hard as I could trying to keep up.

And then one day, I had to stop fast and I only had one hand and hit the rear (right) brake and at the same time, I hit a slick patch (rain puddle) and my left foot slipped off the pedal and I won't bore you with the details, but I ended up in the emergency room. The surprise was that my wrist could swell up *that* big and NOT be broken.

My wrist was weeks healing, and my bike needed some repair and the only one who wasn't injured was Teddy the Dog.

Now I use the "walkie-dog" (see link below) and it's grand. However, when I bike with Teddy (see pic), I pay close attention to her and make sure I'm keeping up with her and/or not pulling on her. She's the pace car in our pairing and I let her determine speed.

In these hot months, she can't go more than a couple miles before she just STOPS.

But seriously, if you know anyone riding a bike with a dog on a leash, warn them: It's an accident waiting to happen.

Here is a link that might be useful: WALKIE DOG

Our neighbor races the greyhounds and he rides in his truck with the dog on a leash every evening. I have often worried about the dog getting ran over..

Well I have tried (years ago) to ride a bike with a dog on a leash. Dangerous for dog and human.

My neighbor was out with his Dobbie on lease and he was on a bike. I stopped to talk to them and the dog ran over to great me and pulled the neighbor off the bike and drug him. I felt awful. I think its dangerous.

A puppy should NEVER be run, whether by bike or by runner. The growth plates and joints are not fully developed. It's like asking a human child to run a marathon. Make sure the dog, whatever breed, is at least 18 months old and has been checked out thoroughly by a vet before forced workouts. You are asking for joint problems. And many breeds of dogs are not meant to be run like that in the first place.

And yes, actually, assuming the dog is of proper build and maturity, the bike rider is more at risk of an accident than the dog.

I wonder how they are able to tell if the dog is tired. I see people doing on hot days here in FL. At least roller blading the Dog Whisperer can monitor the dogs.

That's my thought too, Lisa. Riding is a bike is so easy compared to running that a bike rider might to be aware of how hard the dog is working compared to him/herself.

Only an idiot would do this and I speak from experience. Many years ago, I hopped on my son's bike and took my Afghan hound for a run. Bad move, a very stupidly bad move. She bolted, I was thrown from the bike and had a major concussion. It was like a soap opera. I had amnesia. To this very day I can't tell you my name...just kidding... but I lost three days of my life. This happened on a Monday night and two days before I had bought a room size braided rug at John Wanamakers for the new house we had just moved into. After my fall, I walked into the living room and gasped..where did this rug come from? So , no a very bad idea. Another tragic story concerning dogs and accidents.....my very best friend from age 13 and a big animal lover too had a mastiff who weighed 160 pounds. About four years ago she took the dog out at midnight and the dog pulled her over and she smashed her head on the walk. She was unconscious for a few hours, came to and her husband took her to the hospital. Over these last years her condition deteriorated into Parkinsons and a year ago she was put into a home and last month had a feeding tube put in. She is flat on her back and cannot speak. So people , be careful with your dogs.

I think it's a bad idea for the reasons rosemary and lily speak of.There is a lady that rides by here every day with her dog running beside her.I have often thought about what could happen if the dog gave out and keeled over or alot of other scenarios.This is a black lab.It looks like an older dog and is quite a bit overweight.May be the reason she runs him.Also I see her in the heat of the day.This is Albuquerque,NM.Can I say HOT! I'm sure his feet get really hot on the pavement.I feel sorry for the dog and in a way I think it is abuse!

Horrible horrible idea for the dog. I have two large active dogs. They get walks. They get play time. Dogs don't need to be run. They get more active playtime with each other, their toys and retrieving. Dogs don't know how to slow down on their own. By the time they would they could be exhausted and/or injured.

Last fall a women was killed in our area while walking on a park trail. A on a bike was running his dogs. Their leashes became entangle with the pedestrian and threw her to the ground.

A dog on a leash attached to a bike is under direct control of it's owner. It is irresponsible,thoughtless and stupid to run a dog like that.

I would like to see the practice outlawed.

Actually WildChild, some dogs *do* need to be run, such as herding breeds like Teddy (Sheltie), and Australian Shepherds. They're super high energy dogs and getting them good and worn out is the ticket to a happy, happy dog.

I can walk that dog for days and she's still itching to get out and run. It's the regular trips to the dog park that wear her out, and even then, she won't stop herding the little white poodles. She seems to think they're sheep.

Rose

Rosemaryt... I was using the term as a verb. Of course they need to run but they don't need to be run as in going jogging.

Well maybe a sled dog but that gets us into another whole area of people giving proper environments for working dogs and making accommodations for them as you do by letting Teddy run off her energy at the dog park.

My dogs run like yours do. Playing with each other and other dogs etc.

We're both saying the same thing really. :-)

That's eerie Socks! I was going to post the same topic yesterday. I thought of it, and just wondered what people thought.
Thanks for reading my mind and taking care of it!

I love, love seeing pics of Teddy Rosemary. I keep forgetting he's a Sheltie. Just gorgeous.
I didn't know they were herding dogs. That would be so cute seeing him herd the smaller dogs (sheep) LOL

I always remember meeting a Briard for the first time.
They said he likes herding the little grandchildren.

I, too, think running a dog from a bike is a very bad idea. But Rosemary, your Teddy is gorgeous!!! What a beautiful dog. The second picture makes her look like a collie. Shelties are so smart and sweet. That's really funny about herding the poodles. I can just see it. In fact, I would like to see it.

This reminds me in some ways of motorcycles on the freeway. In both cases, the ones on the bike are going to be the loser in 95% of the accidents and a *big* loser in a good number of those accidents. It's not good for the dog either IMO. Not as big a problem safety-wise for the rider if the dog is small, but to me it's much harder on the dog and approaching if not reaching cruelty. And a dog that weighs nearly the same, or sometimes more than the rider, common sense says when they bolt, bad things happen to someone trying to balance themself on a few square inches of ground contact.

I'm not a fan of people taking their animals with them on bikes either, whether motorized or not. Now should I go into what I saw with a guy on a motorcycle with his kid strapped into a trailer? ARGH!

That's funny about the poodle herder. Maybe he thinks they're sheepdogs? :)

and not to mention the other bike riders he will put in danger, if his dog runs in front of their bike.

Moni... stepping off her soap box again