Hi Eric,

My latest Bubbie adventure:

I decided that Bubbie needs more exercise. Since I’m only able to jog about 1 mile/day.  To ‘keep up’ with me Bubbie only has to ‘walk fast’.  While I’ve tried to increase my speed to get her into a slow ‘lope’ the cost to my lungs and muscles is just too much to pay.  So, I had observed a number of people in the neighborhood ‘running’ their dogs while on bicycles and thought this would be a great idea.

To start I went and GOOGLED: “Dog Biking” and discovered that this is something that needs to be taught.  Well, we know that Bubbie is ONE SMART DOG…so, I followed the ‘RULES’:

RULE #1:  It is best to use a mountain bike!  Well, good for me cause this is what I have:

RULE #2:  Your dog should be at least 20# and be older than 1.5 years!  Well, good again, Bubbie fits the bill:

RULE #3:  “Introduce” the bike to the dog.  Let the dog sniff the bike so she will feel relaxed:

RULE #4:  Train your dog over a few days to feel comfortable beside the bike.  To do this use a leash that will ‘play-out” so that she won’t get too close to the bike.  Also if she wants to run a little faster, the standard leash might be too inflexible.

So, off we went. For three training sessions I just walked and scooted on the bike with my foot with Bubbie closely beside me.  I’m doing this on the street right in front of our house early in the morning.  So, today I get up at 7AM and haul out the bike, hook up the Bub’s and OFF WE GO!! She did so well, I thought, hell, why not get on the bike and pedal.  I did, and she loved it and ran slowly beside me.  I pedaled a little fast for the second round and…..BUBBIE TOOK OFF!!!!

She ran so fast, the leash SNAPPED and fell into pieces.  She RAN LIKE A BAT OUT OF HELL and waited for me at the gate!

Later this afternoon Gabe and I took her (me on the bike, him walking).  At about the halfway point, I took the old leash, hooked it around the handlebars and off we went. She was AMAZING and although I didn’t go too fast this time she was in a slow lope.

Today I ordered a DOG BIKING SYSTEM for the dog which looks amazing. With this system, she can actually run beside me and I won’t worry that I will be pulled from the bike.  Take a look at the video of it.  I’m really excited to be doing this with her. She’s so easy to train!