Show us your pets!

[Deborajen]

Ditto on the trailer question.

I'm thinking about getting the Doggyride Mini for our 25 lb. American Eskimo. From the dimensions, I think she'll fit but I'm not quite sure. I've read lots of good reviews on it.

How do you like your trailer? Looks like your dog's having a blast!

(Sorry for the thread hijack.)

[Zen]

not a hijack, just a drift

[TsPoet]

not a hijack, just a drift

Patiently waiting for us to get our act together


and drifting


The hook hanging off the side of the trailer in the first pic is a leash on a bungie, he asks out of the trailer when he wants to walk, and back in when he's tired. I only do this on the trike, since he walks about 6 mph and I can't go that slow on a bike without falling over.

(There is also about 20 lbs of camera equipment in the trailer)

[Trekhawk]

The dogs look like they are having a wonderful time in the trailers. Thanks for sharing your snaps.

[colby]

The hook hanging off the side of the trailer in the first pic is a leash on a bungie, he asks out of the trailer when he wants to walk, and back in when he's tired. I only do this on the trike, since he walks about 6 mph and I can't go that slow on a bike without falling over.

Jealous! There is hope for us yet. He looks positively content.

[Selkie]

I've often thought about trying this with my goldens. Unfortunately, I don't think any of them have the proper temperament for it.

Colby, you are so lucky you can bring her to work. What a great way to cheer up people on the way to work---"WOOF, good morning, I enjoying the breeze!!" Betcha that before too long, she will really love commuting w/her mommy.

TS--your dog needs doggles to complete his "co pilot" look!

[Deborajen]

Thanks for all the info and pictures - very helpful! Abby is crate trained but she gets car sick, so I'm anticipating some adjusting time for her to ride in a trailer. We just adopted her in February and she'd been a puppy mill dog (she'd been seized after the breeder had failed 6 of 8 inspections), so she's had lots of new experiences in the last few months. And she does seem to be getting used to the car - gradually.

We're supposed to be getting a new dog park about 2 miles from home. Abby likes to run/walk 2-3 miles, so a trailer sounds like a good way to get her to and from so she can enjoy some good play time. Then we could take her on longer rides as well - more bike trails and parks within a few miles.

[Tuckervill]

My dog Zeke LOVED the trailer when I took him on the Katy Trail. I never even considered getting him used to it, because he's such a good car rider. He "got it" immediately. Letting him run with me (the trail is deserted on a 100* week day in August) was the most fun ever. When he got tired, he'd ask to get back in the trailer. Awesome.

(I used a baby trailer, by the way.)

Now that I have a second dog who weighs twice what Zeke does, I don't think I'll be towing any dogs any time soon.

Karen

[TsPoet]

Thanks for all the info and pictures - very helpful! Abby is crate trained but she gets car sick, so I'm anticipating some adjusting time for her to ride in a trailer. We just adopted her in February and she'd been a puppy mill dog (she'd been seized after the breeder had failed 6 of 8 inspections), so she's had lots of new experiences in the last few months. And she does seem to be getting used to the car - gradually.

Murphy took to the trailer right away, loved it. He hangs out in the trailer like he's entitled.
Finn on the other hand.. as soon as it starts moving there is complete and total panic. If you want to train a dog to a trailer, I recommend feeding them in it in your house for a week or two, then gently rock it with them in it... then try it on the bike.

[colby]

What kind of trailer is that?
I dig the sunroof.

Ditto on the trailer question.

I'm thinking about getting the Doggyride Mini for our 25 lb. American Eskimo. From the dimensions, I think she'll fit but I'm not quite sure. I've read lots of good reviews on it.

How do you like your trailer? Looks like your dog's having a blast!

It's the DoggyRide Novel. I got the Novel rather than the Classic (or whatever the other one is called) for the additional features and weight capacity (so I could carry other stuff on the roof rack if I needed to). She can lie down in it and sleep in her curled up doggie position - looks pretty content when not moving . The trailer itself is well built, super easy to assemble (one crossbar to pop in, though stubborn because you have to stretch the fabric a bit), and the wheels go on and off easily (push a button and pull/push, they come off/go on). It doesn't lie flat when you take the wheels off with bike attachment on, so we put a book under one side to keep it flat and stable without having to take the hitch attachment off when we're at work. To attach the hitch piece to the bike, you just pop out your skewer, put the hitch on, put the skewer back through, close the quick release, and it's pretty secure. The hitch mount on the trailer attaches to the bike via a secure pin and a backup cable. It moves very nicely. Until you go uphill. Then it moves nicely but feels like dead weight. You're not supposed to go over 15mph in it, and it definitely feels less stable at 17-18 (going downhill anyway, I am hard pressed to pedal at a consistent 15+mph depending on conditions even when it's flat and maintain a "forever" heart rate). The trailer is flat and a little slippery on bottom, so you'll want a dog bed or the mat to go inside of it and make it more comfy.

It's been a learning experience adapting the dog to the trailer. At first, it was mega stress and anxiety. Even hooking her in to the leash attachment and closing it up, she'd try to jump out, stress pant, the whole nine yards - thankfully not to any serious extreme. We did one ride in it to teach her that it goes from home to work and work to home, which she figured out after just that one ride with her smell-o-vision, but wasn't a fan of going over bumps and being closed in, it was stressful. We've done about 5 rides so far, each one getting progressively easier. We had 2 weeks of rain inbetween our first 2-3 rides where I just let her sleep in the trailer and put her smelly old dog bed in it instead of the new memory foam mat. That helped a lot. Then I had her sleep on the memory foam mat in place of her dog bed at work, and now it's a smelly memory foam mat inside the trailer. Eating in the trailer, letting her go THROUGH the trailer, having her sit for a minute, all helped along the way. 1 bag of lean treats later, we have a trailer-compatible dog.

Also, she really struggled with getting into it with the wheels on and it moving as she stepped in (she does weigh 70 lbs, and the kickstand helps but not enough), so we put books behind the wheels to keep it from moving as she gets in, kind of like blocks. The trailer kickstand doesn't reach the ground when it's attached to my bike, but is nice if you are in the process of disassembling. She is well behaved enough to sit and wait while you detach.

Today was her first actual ride being able to stick her head out of the sunroof - my husband rode with us and kept an eye on her. She did awesome and definitely enjoyed it more than being closed in. She took in a lot of information with her nose and did some woofing at surprised passers-by. A tiny bit of whining on the way out/back, but she got into the trailer without any stress, she sat down, she let me roll her through the office to the bike, and she rode most of the way without scratching or anything to "ask" to run (or just be let out) instead of ride. I want to get to the point where I can let her out of the trailer, she can run for a while on protected areas or at the dog park, then she gets back in and we continue our ride through streets and crowded terrain.

I ordered a package deal from Canine Commuter that included the trailer w/bike attachment, the roof rack, the leash (we just attach one side so she can move around easier), and the mat. They ship from the factory, which is in Western WA. I'm glad I got the leash though a regular short leash would probably work fine (there are hooks on top and on bottom in the trailer), I have yet to put on the roof rack, and I think a dog bed would serve the same purpose as the mat to her (or get some foam at the craft store and sew a cover on to it, but I am lazy).

I looked at the Burley Tail Wagon, which she would barely fit in but not be able to carry cargo, and then spotted the DoggyRide reviews. I compared it to one or two other brands, but decided to just go with this one. It is very nice. If I could have found one on eBay/Craigslist, I would have snapped it up again in a heartbeat. It's expensive, but being able to bring my dog to work even in the heat, take her places as she gets older and is unable to run as far, and smell new smells, is pretty awesome.

Here's a picture of her on her dog bed for size reference, the interior of the Novel is basically 1-2" shorter on all sides than this bed - the dog bed curled up a bit when stuffed inside. I think a Golden or Shepherd would have a little less room to maneuver, but still be comfortable in this size.



Whew, that was long-winded, but it's stuff I wish I could have read when I was looking.