Great way to experience each other...
Pepperagge said:
So my question is if anybody out there (BruceBrown maybe) could give some advise on how to get started.
I got my first dog as an adult in January of 1991 when I was 27. She was eight months, "sheperd mix" according to the Denver Dumb Friends (pound) but actually half trailhound, half snackhound, and half heinz 57. She and I spent many fine days one on one, exploring places in CO where we weren't likely to be worried about crowds. We had to put her down two weeks ago today. We had the priveledge of her company for over 13 years.
Rosie was a hard-core energy dog when she was young. She was the smartest dog I've ever been around. And she could run all day long. We did lots of days where my odometer read 35 miles, thousands of feet of elevation would be changing hands, hundreds of chipmunks would lead her off on her own side trips. She also was a frisbee dog, a great swimmer, and a fly-fishing fanatic.
She started showing signs of arthritis when she was about 7. By the time she was 10 we had to give her glucosomine and chondroitin and have pain relievers available for after hikes. She didn't want to go biking any more. For about the last 2 years she was really stoved up. Her hindquarters were in really good shape, but her front leg "elbows" were large and not very mobile. She never got overweight, and we kept her as active as possible, but by the time she was 11 she was a stiff old dog.
I tell you this just to give you an idea about the importance of being judicial about how much energy you allow your dog to expend. Not to tell you not to do it, just to let you know that activity can have consequences. Bruce mentioned this. Allowing the dog to develop is really important. Most dogs are fully developed, in terms of skeleton and muscle, at around 18 months. Really, the heavy endurance exercise should wait until then.
For myself, though I miss my dog very much, I have little regret about decisions made during her life. We took good care of her, and she had a good time. If I had it to do over, I might have waited until she was a little older to do some of the really long days we did in the summer of 1992. She was a year old by then, but really not fully developed. Her energy level was off the charts. We started playing frisbee as a way to run some damned energy off the dog so that we could all get maybe 6.5 hours of sleep.
I think the frisbee was better for her than the mountain bike rides. Bursts of activity rather than long slogging grinds.
But she loved those rides. Those rides, on the Buffalo Creek section of the Colorado Trail, and Kenosha Pass to Georgia Pass, and down here, near Browns Creek in Chaffee County, they'll live in my memory for always.
Pepperagge said:
Should the dog run in the front or behind?
How do you teach her to stay away from the wheels other than the hard way?
I've known people who got their dogs to ride in strict formation. Usually behind and just to the side. Heeling.
Rosie would do that if she was tired, or if I called her over. That's a given, by the way. Your dog has to come to you when called. The first time you call. Strict formation is probably necessary if you're going to be going where you'll encounter people. I always took Rosie on weekdays, or someplace very remote. I was never dealing with the crowded multi-user trail. And for what it's worth, I would not ride with a dog today in a place where I expected to see people. I have dogs, but I mostly do other things with them.
For the most part, Rosie kept an eye on me and figured out where we were going while we were riding. When I was rolling downhill, she'd race me when it started and she had the wind. I can still remember how she'd come up alongside me, shoot me a look, and then take off, kicking small rocks into my face as she took the lead. If it was a long downhill, like from Georgia Pass down to Jefferson Creek, she would get behind me and I could just go at my own pace. She would fall behind a little, but she would follow the trail and/or my scent. She might show up at the bottom two minutes behind me.
Ah hell. You don't need to know all that, and I need to go to bed.
Listen, herding dogs are the best bike ride buddies. And they need lots of exercise. Enjoy your dog. Love your dog. I'm sure you will. Be a little conservative about the times and distances until she's 18 months, if you believe my advice. And never subject her to a really long ride without first helping her train into it. Gradual increases. Just like Bruce said. Just like you'd do for yourself (unless you like to be really sore). It's just not nice to pick a dog up off the couch and make her run for 4 hours. Cuz she'll do it without complaint and suffer the effects without complaint.
As for trail manners, train her in the way that you are comfortable with, for the situations where you hope to ride. I don't think there's any right way. General obedience is the foundation for all other training. Leashes don't work when you're riding. The dog has got to do what you tell her to do, when you tell her. If you get a smart herding dog trained properly, she'll desperately want to do what you want. It'll just be a matter of getting the message across clearly.
Good luck.
