Biking with your dog and a leash is that legal?

  • Thread starter Thread starter k_squared
  • Start date Start date
Join the discussion
Registration is free. Start your own thread to ask a follow-up.
Sign up Log in
6 replies · 2K views
k_squared
Messages
62
Reaction score
0
Just wondering, cause I've taken that up... even at 9 years old, my dog's stamina is better than mine. I can however, pull 25 mph on a bike, so that's how I've started to exercise him...

Thanks!
 
Physics news on Phys.org

Discussion

Haha, as a kid, I did this with my dog. I don't know if it is legal in your area - you would have to check your local laws - but you do need to be careful that you don't over-exercise the dog. A dog can run itself to death, literally. Also, watch his/her feet and claws. Too much running, especially on rough surfaces like concrete and asphalt, will injure their pads. A dog doesn't understand when it's over-working itself, say for example when it is running too far on a hot day, so you have to be the brains in the operation.
 
Last edited:
Should be legal -- just be careful...

Go easy on the dog. They aren't marathoners, they like to run for fun, and sniff around. Also, they are worn out more by the temperature than the distance.

Go easy on yourself -- my old roommate used to do this with his dogs and more than once bit it on the concrete.

I personally prefer to take my dogs places (parks, trails, and such) where I can just let them run free. But that's often not legal.
 
I don't know if it's legal, but it's dangerous. I knew someone who tied the leash of his two big dogs to his handlebars to exercise them. Worked well until they spied a squirrel. He wound up with a broken collarbone.

He recovered from that only to have even worse luck.

He decided jogging with them early in the morning, before the Sun rose, was a better idea. They were working on the bridge on the road he chose to jog down, so the only way across the bridge was to run down the traffic lane. He figured that was a little dangerous in the dark, so he figured he'd just run down and across the creek instead. It being dark, he didn't notice that the bridge had an abuttment that dropped about twenty feet straight down instead of a nice gentle slope. One of the dogs broke his fall, but he still broke a couple vertabrae in his back. The dog died. The other dog ran for help. A passing car ran over the dog and killed it. The driver was able to hear the injured jogger's calls for help when he stopped to try and help the dog.
 
BobG said:
I don't know if it's legal, but it's dangerous. I knew someone who tied the leash of his two big dogs to his handlebars to exercise them. Worked well until they spied a squirrel. He wound up with a broken collarbone.

He recovered from that only to have even worse luck.

He decided jogging with them early in the morning, before the Sun rose, was a better idea. They were working on the bridge on the road he chose to jog down, so the only way across the bridge was to run down the traffic lane. He figured that was a little dangerous in the dark, so he figured he'd just run down and across the creek instead. It being dark, he didn't notice that the bridge had an abuttment that dropped about twenty feet straight down instead of a nice gentle slope. One of the dogs broke his fall, but he still broke a couple vertabrae in his back. The dog died. The other dog ran for help. A passing car ran over the dog and killed it. The driver was able to hear the injured jogger's calls for help when he stopped to try and help the dog.

Wow -- bet that wasn't the answer k_squared was looking for -- just wow-horrible.
 
I wouldn't dare to leash my powerhouse dog to any wheeled conveyance, unless it had 4 wheels and really good brakes. I don't even snowshoe or ski with him on-leash for fear of personal injury. Maybe an un-motorized go-cart chassis would work - he could certainly tow me around.