At what age....

Cliqmo

Cliqmo

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...Can I start taking my 7.5mth old (total fruitbat :eek: :rolleyes: ) of a working cocker start coming out on bike rides with me?

I know there is a 5min per month of age rule, so he can come out for 35mins- but how intense can that time be?? I'm no Lawrence Armstrong but 35mins with a bike is going to be much faster than a 35min walk- so should I cut the time down? Or just not cycle with him yet?

Also, as I have your attention :p he comes to the stables with me most days and spends an hour or so each morning and evening milling about and making a nuisance of himself whilst I muck out etc- this isn't meant to be included in the 35mins is it? :eek:

Any advice welcome :)
 
I always go by no forced exercise, as in free play but not on lead esp jogging or cycling, as it's a bit more forced than running or cycling, so as much as I take the 6 month old cavi I have in over the field and let her hoon around for the same amount of time, she can stop and lie down when she pleases, I would maybe still keep on with the non forced for that period of time but maybe not bike rides yet.
Maybe be build it up and start from 10 mins at a time with some off lead free play at the end till he hits a year.
 
I wouldn't do it, agree with Cayla that free exercise is best for young pups, then they can decide when to stop. I never give my GSDs more than a very short walk until they are at least 9 months old, and wouldn't consider fast work like cycling until over a year.
 
It's a slightly different situation, given that I want my dog to actually pull the bike rather than just run alongside (I assume you mean running alongside), but at 7.5 months I was walking mine in a harness and bungee line, encouraging her to stride out ahead of me and introducing voice commands for left/right/stop/go, just for short walks a couple of times a week.

At nearly nine months I got as far as hitching her up to the bike with a bikejor line and then, with me walking behind pushing the bike along, encouraging her to trot along the track after my OH who would reward her when she caught up to him. The sessions were short, no more than fifteen minutes at a time, so we stopped while she was still really keen to go. No running involved at all at this point, however much she would have liked to!

Now the weather is so hot I won't touch the bike at all; we'll 're-back' her so to speak this winter when she'll be almost 14 months and work up to doing some short runs, but I don't anticipate doing any real distance rides until the following winter when she'll be two.

Just thought that might give you some idea of timescales. :) I don't see why you couldn't perhaps ride around a field on a cool morning, encouraging the dog to follow you and introducing some basic stop and go commands so you can control him while you ride. Just keep it short and fun. :D
 
Thanks for the replies... I had suspected as much! Running alongside the bike does such a wonderful job of taking the edge off our vizsla that I hoped he could join in too (I can't seem to dent his energy/enthusiam at all :rolleyes: ) but we will have to be patient!!


Out of interest does anyone else find training with their pup stimulates and engages the dog so much that they get quite hyper afterwards? We always have several laps of wall of death when I have been training with him? :confused: I think I still have a lot to learn about spangles :p :D
 
How long are your sessions? I'd still be keeping them pretty short, like 10-15 minute bursts every so often. At this age they will get bored very easily.

You can use the 'free' command as a reward as well as treats and praise - so that he gets a wee run around if, for example, he has heeled well for you for a number of paces. Break everything down into elements, so he is working for the right to run around, as well as for a ball or for food.
 
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