Is this a bad idea?

I have been working my dog by running her next to my truck. Always with 2 people. I hold the leash in the bed of the truck so my dog runs on the drivers side behind or next to the back wheel. my girlfriend drives with the window down so i can tell her to stop if need be.
Any thing i have over looked? I have ran and ran with her and she still is ready to go and i am half dead trying to breath. But since i have been doing this she has more wind, stronger,leaner, and a better dog at home!!! She does about 2 miles at around 10mph or less and sometimes she does short sprints at about 15 mph.

 

I dont know that I would do that, well I wouldnt. Sound a little to dangerous. What happens when your girl doesnt hear you tell her to stop, or you drop the leash and she ends up under the truck or a passing vehicle? Sounds like you need to get in better shape also, maybe she can sit in the truck and hold the leash while you run...LOL..j/k. It just sounds unsafe to me.

 

I agree with BlaizenJ-I guess I would have to see how your doing that,,I have done that with dogs before in isolated places,,it depends on what your trying to do, as far as building muscle in certain areas,,or just working her out for the exercise,,I like them in a gait vs. a trot.

 

thanks for the response
yeah i have thought about all these possibilities and just dont see it happening. reason being her being behind the rear tire.
passing cars are not a problem on this road.
lol it is funny that you say i need to get in better shape. I recently quit cigerettes(4 weeks) so i could keep up with the damn dog. lol but still not even close. at the speed i go she could go allll day!!! but i am working on it.

 

Hey Cheese,

I used to run my dogs with a truck all the time. I live around allot of gravel, not traveled very often roads and I would pick the isolated ones, pull over and let the dog out, then drive off, I didnt use the leash, and would hollar and encourage them as they would run. It worked them very well, and was wonderful for them, then I graduated to the river, and that is even better. Sounds like you have a pretty good system of you holding the leash and as long as your sweetie can hear you, it wouldnt be bad. Are you using an extra long lead? I'd go to a feed and seed and get a horse lead(cheaper$$ than a dog same length and quality)at least 15-20' long. Also, when I ran them on the gravel, there was grass on the side of the road and that was better on their feet than the gravel would have been, but I would cringe running one very hard on concrete. What are their feet looking like?

 

I was just picking on ya...LOL! Sometimes I just cant help myself..hehehe!

 

Actually i intentionally use a short lead so that i can keep her behind the back wheel of the car. I sit on the the open gate and keep tension on the lead so she cant run under the car or anything.
I definately keep a better eye on her pads since i have been doing this. the road is dirt.

 

I used to think it was good fun too, and the dogs sure enjoyed it! I normally get out and hit the road myself, but every now and then when I didnt have the time, and needed to get alot of distance in, in a very short period of time, I'd take off in the truck....

All was well until Odin made a mad sprint for the drivers tire, caught it, and also the bumper. I didnt run him over, but only grazed him with the side of the bumper. At 15 mph it doesnt matter, your heart will drop. Injured ankle, although it shows no signs of being broken, I've had to stop working him on any fast paced running activities for awhile. After I gave him a couple weeks off, we went to the flirtpole, and he reinjured it twice now, while making sharp cuts. Its a good thing with him its excersise only, because now he would never make it through a keep in one peice. He's been limited to short walks, and a ton of springpole work to burn the energy, with a full massage of the ankle after every "workout" to releive pressure and make the swelling go down many times.

For the others, I still use the 4-wheeler if I can get a running start. I can't keep tires on them, as if the dog could catch at 60 mph, they'd grab hold and spin with that damn tire! Much quicker to maneuver incase the dog has a stupid attack, better field of vision, and more control over your dog and your surroundings.

I dont know if I would ever implement chasing a motorized vehicle on a dirt road into a keep, as with all that dust flying, you know they are catching quite a bit of it in the lungs.

Purplepig-swimming is where its at. Too bad the season for it is finished here, I will be out swimming the dogs again as soon as its possible to do so! Water does wonders!

 

good point 14 rock. I really dont see her getting a tire the way i do it but you are correct shit does happen.

She usually swims in a creek but i have been treating her ears for an infection so i was trying something else.

 

Using any type of powered Vehicle is dangerous for your dog. Besides getting run over which is one of the main concerns what you think will happen if your dog sees another dog or animal and deceides to pull in the opposite direction of your vehicle? he will rip all four of his pads to shredds or you will let go of his leash and loose your dog and end up in a accident with another animal.

 

Put cotton in the ears. As to what Rock said, he sad a strong sentence as to the four wheeler,"running start". As I was typing that, I was thinking about how I'd let them get distracted and take off so that they were always behind me, 30 feet or so. As to the dust, they would usually, without exception find their way to the grass on the side of the road. But yea, the swimming is better than all else I have tried. We park one vehicle at one landing, and drive to another, usually we use two that are 7 miles by road apart. Put a boat in, and get away from the landing, and then splash in the water they go. Use the trolling moter(strong one) and go up or down, usually down river. They'll swim for awhile, then run to catch up, then swim tryin to get into the boat, On the rare occasion they catch the boat, we let em ride a few then they'll get all excited about some critter or something, and SPLASH, here they go again.

It is not quite cold enough to stop that yet here. but it is definately not a year long event. Have been looking at either a slat or carpet mill, but am really interested in the swimming tanks. Would love to figure out a way to make one to save on the $$$ which I cant afford the ones I have seen.

If you get the runnin start, you wouldnt need the long lead, as you would stay ahead of the dog, but hey, if it is working for you... As with anything, something can go south. Catmills have been know as great for the dog, but have also killed some.

Rock sorry you injured the dog. Once an injury takes place, odds are that it'll bother them from then on, from what I have seen(in the joint I am talking about).

Later

 

I never worried about other animals where we work out. I run off-leah, in that area, right now its the middle of a harvested corn field. From time to time, I'll use the states nature preserve My point being, we're far enough out, no one is going to be out there,besides me. If an animal spots another, and takes off after it, no problem, I'll chase em down eventually, or one of my dogs will. I dont have to worry about domesticated animals, what my animals can catch, they can eat. I dont recommend this for everyone, and especially no one who doesnt have the room to safely do this, if they so choose. When not on a vehicle, and walking through the same locations, the lead is on, as I can't chase them down then!

 

I had considered the car thing because riding the bike with him isn't an option and rollerblades, well, I'm not so good at that. Phantom doesn't like swimming. He freaks, so I wanted to try something new. He also HATES the treadmill, funniest crap you'd ever seen if you ever saw it. I mean, on a tail gate, with them where they can't get too close, would it be ok? I mean, I know the bad things about it, but I'm not going to be leaning over the side of the bed or anything.

 

My husband came up with a solution to stop our dogs from getting to close to the wheels when we take them on bike rides. He made a wooden leash! Carved a handle at one end and attached a hook-up at the other with some chain attached for play room. Keeps your dog from being able to run in towards your bike.

 

I used to run one of my dogs with the car. The area I would take her is nothing but farm land, My Uncle's farm. I used a really long lead. I'd loop it around my arm rest in the car. I'd let her go at her own rate. If she wanted to walk, we went very slow....if she wanted to run, we went a little faster. She'd let me know when to stop so she could potty and go right back at it. She enjoyed it. She is no dummy; she would watch the tires so that she could see which direction I was going to turn. It worked well for me. I've moved now, so we don't get to do that as much. But, sometimes we still go out there and have some fun =)

 

I always wondered about riding a bike with a dog. Seemed dangerous to me!

 

Yea it is, i was doing it with my dog for a while, and i thought i had all control over the situation so i let my guard down and don't u know the damn dog pulled me the hell off the bike and had me face down in someone's yard, so yea from then i don't use the bike just hand walk.

 

OUCH!! X50!!!

 

yea im just glad he pulled me on the grass and not on the asphalt road, cause that wouldn't have been pretty at all

 

i ride my bike with my dogs all the time! i guess it depends on the dog.... i was conditioning my blue male (running him behind my car on a dirt road where there was NOBODY) he hated it when i went to go he would run in front of the car so i couldnt go! i have a couple other dogs that dont mind it. but i prefer my bike because im beside the dog.... my dog will run itself to death so i have to watch him close.

he knows "slowdown" "stop" and "faster" all in one day.