Cycling with your Staffy...

I've bought a cycle and was wondering whether anyone else cycles with their Staffy? On a walk I always have to slow Storm down as he trots along a bit quicker than I do I've been doing about an eight mile round trip with him at his pace, he's in front of me most of the time unless it's downhill, then I slow down (mostly). I stop for a break half way and give him a drink and a rest and have been doing it every other day. As I'm doing it to improve my fitness, I don't want to over do it with him as he's 7 next month. I'd like to increase the distance we are going to 16-20 miles is this feasible?
I've borrowed a cycle in the past when I was working shift work and cycled around our normal walk route when I got home late at night. This covered a distance which took a hour and 20 minutes to walk in about 30 minutes
The route is nearly all on a dedicated cycle path which is a mixture of tarmac and gravel paths and mainly along side a river so he'll be able to cool off in the summer at regular intervals as he loves to swim.
I've been paying close attention to his pads and they seem fine and his claws are looking great, I've only had to have his claws done once in four years after he couldn't walk far for several months due to slicing a whole pad off on a back paw in the local park (assumed glass or split drinks can).
Any advice would be appreciated.

I was doing it with Tilly until Tommy came along as he is too young to do this until he is 18 months , just trying to find time to get Tilly out on her own for a decent length of time is difficult so nothing now until we get some longer days

Considering the dog's health, jogging / trotting 16-20 miles in one shot sounds a bit high.

I don't know what a safe upper limit should be, but just as a reference, we built our Staffy up gradually to go running with us. At a speed of around 10-12km/hr, he jogs 10km five times per week, then 20km once per week and he still has plenty of energy to race around almost ceaselessly for an hour a day in the forest. Unlike humans, he had the muscle and cardio fitness to manage these distances easily from the start. Like humans, the main issue was to give him time for his joints and tendons to adapt to the stresses of repetitive movement, so we increased his weekly distances slower than he would have liked.

Considering your health, aren't you concerned that he'll see a friend, a cat or a grounded pigeon and take you down at speed?

sorry I have to admit I didn't really pick up on the 16-20 mile question and I would think not. You have to build up gradually , but in all fairness I wouldn't make 16-20 miles and certainly not at any kind of pace so I recklon Tilly is quite safe with me

TS06 wrote:Considering the dog's health, jogging / trotting 16-20 miles in one shot sounds a bit high.

I don't know what a safe upper limit should be, but just as a reference, we built our Staffy up gradually to go running with us. At a speed of around 10-12km/hr, he jogs 10km five times per week, then 20km once per week and he still has plenty of energy to race around almost ceaselessly for an hour a day in the forest. Unlike humans, he had the muscle and cardio fitness to manage these distances easily from the start. Like humans, the main issue was to give him time for his joints and tendons to adapt to the stresses of repetitive movement, so we increased his weekly distances slower than he would have liked.

Considering your health, aren't you concerned that he'll see a friend, a cat or a grounded pigeon and take you down at speed?

I was planning on building him up to those distances over time and would stop two or three times for him to chill out in the river and give him a drink, doing 8 miles I have taken about a hour and 3/4 including a 15 minute break 20km is about 12.5 miles did you take a break for this distance? This 8 mile route is one I walk with him quite frequently. I would probably do the longer 16-20 mile once a week. I could go quicker but have been going at his pace although I can't keep up with him going uphill
Previously he nearly had me off the cycle when he spotted a squirrel in the dark and tried to run through the front wheel. He's had me off my feet a few times so it is possible that he'll have me off the cycle at some stage, for that reason I do wear a helmet, mostly he is in front of me thus reducing the chances of collision.

The danger to you shouldn't be underestimated either... During a run with my wife, our little fellow spotted one of his buddies down the street and made a lunge right across my wife's path. Down she went, luckily with only bruising, no breakages.

In that case, it's not like a stumble, where you can take some of the energy out of your fall before you hit the ground, it's like having your legs swept clean away. Now, we are much more careful and if we see anything at all which could provoke a rapid change in direction, we brace for it, ready to yank the leash against the movement.

Anyway, if this happened on a bike.... well you can imagine...

As someone who has gone over the handlebars of mountainbikes several times, without any canine interference at all, I would recommend not doing it. Fortunately, I always managed to land on my head, so I was fine.

Dave wrote:sorry I have to admit I didn't really pick up on the 16-20 mile question and I would think not. You have to build up gradually , but in all fairness I wouldn't make 16-20 miles and certainly not at any kind of pace so I recklon Tilly is quite safe with me

I was going to ask how far you were covering after your previous post.
My route is mostly an old railway track so is very slightly uphill on the way.
The 8 mile route is 6 miles flat and 1 mile uphill quite steep (jelly legs when I get to the top ) 1 mile downhill on a muddy path. Storm got plastered in mud yesterday top and bottom as he was behind me some of the way

TS06 wrote:The danger to you shouldn't be underestimated either... During a run with my wife, our little fellow spotted one of his buddies down the street and made a lunge right across my wife's path. Down she went, luckily with only bruising, no breakages.

In that case, it's not like a stumble, where you can take some of the energy out of your fall before you hit the ground, it's like having your legs swept clean away. Now, we are much more careful and if we see anything at all which could provoke a rapid change in direction, we brace for it, ready to yank the leash against the movement.

Anyway, if this happened on a bike.... well you can imagine...

As someone who has gone over the handlebars of mountainbikes several times, without any canine interference at all, I would recommend not doing it. Fortunately, I always managed to land on my head, so I was fine.

I know how your wife feels he's wiped me out twice whilst on foot, second time I landed on him though so was cushioned slightly.

iamajc wrote:20km is about 12.5 miles did you take a break for this distance?

Yes, there are always at least two short water breaks, even in Winter. We carry one of those little Silicone rubber collapsable bowls. It fits easily into a pocket.

The breaks aren't required because he is tired. In fact, if we are off road and he is off leash, then as soon as he's finished drinking, he's off again

I mention that, because I watch for any indication at all that he has had enough, whether that is joint or muscle stiffness or just lack of enthusiasm. It never happens, so I think we have the balance right

iamajc wrote:....second time I landed on him though so was cushioned slightly.

There's a certain natural justice here... if only a Staffy could form the connection between his action and a one-off consequence.

TS06 wrote:

iamajc wrote:....second time I landed on him though so was cushioned slightly.

There's a certain natural justice here... if only a Staffy could form the connection between his action and a one-off consequence.

He's never done it since...

personally im against it as the dog cant get a rest also the damage to joints muscles etc are not worth the risk

I personally love cycling with my dog, I usually let him pull me as fast as he can until he slows down then I left him have an hour running about the park then go a slow pace back but that not including the park is about 4 miles. I think it depends on how fast your going if its just a slow trot I reckon he'd be alright. Maybe not 16 miles though that sounds a little ambitious. Only problems I've had I'd with other people being stupid and letting their dog run onto the cycle path so I usually tie my dog onto the bar next to the back wheel so he's not in the way of my pedals and it stops most dogs from running in front of me. I've also taught mine a strong leave it when I see dogs and things so he doesn't try running after them so you could try that

I would be very careful cycling with a dog on leash. My son used to take the dogs out running with the bike. Lily sliced the top of her foot on a broken bottle which got infected and she needed antibiotics and metacam from Vets. The Vet told me about a greyhound she had in that got tangled in the spokes in a freak accident and broke 2 legs. I don't allow them to go running now with the bike.

Chiara wrote:I would be very careful cycling with a dog on leash. My son used to take the dogs out running with the bike. Lily sliced the top of her foot on a broken bottle which got infected and she needed antibiotics and metacam from Vets. The Vet told me about a greyhound she had in that got tangled in the spokes in a freak accident and broke 2 legs. I don't allow them to go running now with the bike.

Storm has lost a whole pad just running in a park, either glass or a split drinks can. I've been looking at these cycle lead
this keeps him away from the cycle but under control. It's got built in springs for shock absorption. I don't have to go on roads much as within 300m I'm on a cycle path which is about 15 miles long before it goes onto roads and I won't be going that far with him. I follow him so he is setting a pace which he is happy with. If I walk with him I generally do about a hour and a half walk and don't keep up with his natural pace and have to slow him down. On the cycle I'd say we're averaging about 5 miles a hour and to walk the distance that we cover in 1.5 hours takes about 2.5 hours and we stop at least once during that 1.5 hours for 15 minutes (during which time he whines at me to get going again.) Once it gets a bit warmer there are multiple places where he can get into a river which he loves to do and this will keep him cool.
My main concern was the distances we will be covering as I don't want him to suffer from over exerting his muscles or ligaments, I have walked him for greater distances in the past but don't have the time to walk him that far on a daily basis. I'm cycling with him every other day to give him time to recover and he gets his normal walk on the other days.

iamajc wrote:

Storm has lost a whole pad just running in a park, either glass or a split drinks can. I've been looking at these cycle lead
this keeps him away from the cycle but under control. It's got built in springs for shock absorption. I don't have to go on roads much as within 300m I'm on a cycle path which is about 15 miles long before it goes onto roads and I won't be going that far with him. I follow him so he is setting a pace which he is happy with. If I walk with him I generally do about a hour and a half walk and don't keep up with his natural pace and have to slow him down. On the cycle I'd say we're averaging about 5 miles a hour and to walk the distance that we cover in 1.5 hours takes about 2.5 hours and we stop at least once during that 1.5 hours for 15 minutes (during which time he whines at me to get going again.) Once it gets a bit warmer there are multiple places where he can get into a river which he loves to do and this will keep him cool.
My main concern was the distances we will be covering as I don't want him to suffer from over exerting his muscles or ligaments, I have walked him for greater distances in the past but don't have the time to walk him that far on a daily basis. I'm cycling with him every other day to give him time to recover and he gets his normal walk on the other days.

Do you mean the "Walkydog" like this



I would thoroughly recommend it , but you have to make sure the clamp is super tight on the seat stem or it will move quite easily , especially with a little tank pulling on it. A greta feature is that the tube detaches very quickly so you can use it as a lead if you were parking up the bike and had to walk somewhere near

Dave wrote:

Do you mean the "Walkydog" like this



I would thoroughly recommend it , but you have to make sure the clamp is super tight on the seat stem or it will move quite easily , especially with a little tank pulling on it. A greta feature is that the tube detaches very quickly so you can use it as a lead if you were parking up the bike and had to walk somewhere near

Yep that's the one.