# Bikejoring issues



## Sibe (Nov 21, 2010)

I've been working with her since she was about 4 months old, and she's just over a year now. Lately she's been lurching off the trail/sidewalk and stopping randomly and refusing to go. Her paws are fine, the harness is right, she doesn't need to potty, I can't figure out why she's stopping. She's just randomly jumps off the trail and stops, and sometimes even sits. I back her up and try to go again and she walks off the trail.

I just came back to San Diego from Colorado and there are wide dirt paths here with fences on each side so maybe that will help, but the entire thing isn't fenced so it's still something I need help fixing.

Then the other week she spazzed out, ran off the sidewalk, zigzagged, ran across to the other side which caused me to fishtail all crazy, and I crashed into a tree and went flying. Fortunately the only injury was a gash in my thumb from hitting the tree and a scrape on my calf from the gears, and the bike was fine except a slipped chain and the shifter was turned completely down from impacting the tree, but it could have been worse. I don't know why she's been acting up or how to fix it!

Could running with other dogs that really know what they're doing help? It's like she's suddenly confused as to what she's supposed to be doing. I tried having her follow after my husband but it didn't help.


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## RBark (Sep 10, 2007)

There are many possibilities. How long does it take for her to start trying to stop? She might have a muscle injury that is not healing properly. Maybe take a couple weeks off from bikejoring and let her get some free activity (as in, no structure... dog parks, running at the local park, anything where she can go at her own pace).

Just give her time to heal anything that might be injured before you start again. I would prefer to rule out a physical injury before working on training. Dogs are great at hiding their injuries. So she may not be limping or showing any obvious distress.


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## MusherChic (Nov 6, 2010)

Good points RBark.

Sibe,
All dogs have off days and sometimes they just need a brake. Like RBark said, give her some time off to heal physically, mentally, whatever needs healing. Maybe take her with you to run with some friends yet don't actually run her. Let her stay and watch the other dogs take off and she will quickly learn that staying behind is no fun. 
I've also found that dogs can be divas too. lol I have a dog who has to have certain things done a certain way and she doesn't like to run when there are puddles on the trail. The other dogs will just plow through them like they aren't there but Jazz thinks there's koodies in the water or something. 
So for your dog it might be the trail surface. If by sidewalk you mean a concrete sidewalk then I would try to find some place else to run. Sidewalks can cause burns and sometimes the injuries on a dogs paw are so microscopic that you almost literally need a microscope to see them yet they still can cause a lot of pain while running. Plus it's hard on the joints.


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## Sibe (Nov 21, 2010)

Thank you both for your input!
She usually tries to stop after not even 10 minutes, though at first it's stopping to pee, check out the local garbage on the side of the path, etc but once she gets going we're typically good, it's just been the last few times we've been out that she's been randomly slowing and stopping to look at me. I don't know if it makes a difference, but she doesn't flat out run, never has except occasional quick sprints. She goes at a trotting pace where joggers can almost keep up with us, and faster runners pass us. Dogs are truly great at hiding injuries but she is a typical dramatic husky, letting everyone know when she's in pain. It could still be possible though. I give her free run several nights a week and go to the dog beach about once a week or so. We don't bike more than about once a week usually.


I do run mostly on dirt, but there are stretches of concrete sidewalks along the routes. I do dirt as much as possible.

We haven't gone on a run since I crashed so I did some experimenting tonight. We took it slow and any time she started to pull off to the side I stopped her. As soon as she set foot back on the dirt I praised her and got her going again without much trouble. After a couple laps around the park (small park) she seemed to be getting in the groove, ignoring the baby duckies pretty well, not darting off or zigzagging. She mostly only pulled off to pee, there were a couple times when trash or the ducks or a running leaf caught her attention but she did so much better tonight than she's done the last several times we've been out. In the areas where she was trying to step off the dirt into the grass, the next time around I'd catch up to her just before that spot and hold her on the path.

I also noticed tonight that the closer I ride behind her the more she skips of to the side like she's nervous I'll hit her. When I give her more room she seems *much* more comfortable (I use a flexi lead since she doesn't pull so it prevents sagging or getting tangled around things, so I can be close to her or about 16-20' back).


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## Indigo (Mar 31, 2011)

Ouch! Biking with big dogs is srs business.

I will add that my dog went through a phase where he would try to veer off course as well. He didn't have anything physically wrong with him; may or may not be the case with your dog. From what you wrote I think it's a matter of her being nervous of you behind her. Of course since I can't watch you two working together I have no idea if that's actually the real problem.

What kind of setup are you using? Usually bikejorers will have an bar or other attachment at the front to keep the line out of the way of wheels where they can get tangled. If she doesn't know it already, teaching her to line out (pull the line taut for you on command) can help.

She doesn't actually pull you, at all? Has she ever been hit from behind by accident? Even a little bump? That can really make them paranoid.

Even if she hasn't I would recommend getting the right line for this kind of activity. I used a 1-dog bungie line, it protects your dog from jolts on the harness that can make them nervous. It can also save you from being jolted around to the point of flying off your vehicle, whether it be skis, bike, scooter, sled, or cart.

It's also a good idea to keep a consistent distance behind her. I don't know what your level of biking skill is, but err on the side of caution and slow down or stop if she is spazzing out. Stay as far back as practical and try to get her to keep the line taut. I say this 'cause I don't want to see you posting next from the hospital! Remember, you're the driver of the vehicle, she's just the dog-power.

With my dog it got a bit better when I ran him with a friend's dogs that were very motivated and that he couldn't pull around. If other dogs around him were excited, he would get excited too, I used it to my advantage in many different venues. I don't know if that will work for you as well.


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## Sibe (Nov 21, 2010)

Setup is just clip flexi lead to harness lol. She won't pull. Any pull at all and she thinks it means she should slow down and walk next to me, thanks to walking on leash. I refuse to have a dog pulling me around on leash so worked hard with her to not pull.. wish she would pull now! Should I try walking her with the harness on and encouraging her to pull maybe? I'm not sure about the best way to go about showing her that pulling is a good thing when we're biking, but not while on walks.

I did bump her from behind once :/ It was right at the beginning of a ride, told her to go and she took a couple steps so I put my other foot up on the pedal, then she didn't keep going and before I could get my foot down again and stop, I turned the wheel to keep my balance and try to go behind her but hit her on the upper thigh. It was a very gentle bump, but I did hit her. Not even enough to get a yelp or run her over at all, just a bump. That was last fall and the issues have been the last couple months, so not sure how much of a role that plays.


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## MusherChic (Nov 6, 2010)

One thing I've learned with teaching my GSD to bikejor and walk well on a leash is it is very hard (for me and my dogs anyway). lol Before I started bikejoring and sledding with Ellie I had taught her to walk nicely on a leash. After a year of sledding and bikejoring, most of that training was all gone. It was as if Ellie had turned somewhat wild and all she wanted to do was run. When I walked her she always made sure that there was no slack in the leash so I was getting pulled everywhere. 
I can still walk her now but not before I have either run her a little ways or played a good game of fetch to somewhat tire her out. 
That's really all the advice I have in that department. Ellie is the only dog I have that has one foot in the pet dog world and one foot in the sled dog world. My other dogs are either sled dogs or pet dogs, not both, for various reasons. 

Something that could really help is to teach her 'On by!' (if you haven't already). Take her out with her harness and the flexi-lead like you would normally do but walk behind her instead of bike. When she gets interested in something besides the trail ahead like trash or ducks or whatever, say 'On by!' and start running. When you've passed the distraction, give her lots of praise (yet keep walking/jogging). I did this with my dogs and now when I say 'On by!' they speed up and we fly past the distraction.


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

MusherChic, in your opinion can dogs learn that it's ok to pull sometimes and not other times? Like, ok in a harness but not ok with a collar? Or do you think once you teach them to pull, they're gonna pull all the time?


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## MusherChic (Nov 6, 2010)

> MusherChic, in your opinion can dogs learn that it's ok to pull sometimes and not other times? Like, ok in a harness but not ok with a collar? Or do you think once you teach them to pull, they're gonna pull all the time?


Oh I'm sure some dogs can learn it. I haven't had any luck with it though. When I taught Ellie to pull, thats all she wanted to do. If I get some energy out of her I can walk her on a leash and she will do pretty good but otherwise she will pull my arm out of the socket. 
She knows the difference between a collar and a harness but the drive to pull is still there. Since I used to race her, I really encouraged pulling and running. I didn't keep the balance between pulling and walking. 

With the most hard core and passionate sled dogs I think trying to teach them to walk on a leash is just asking for your arm to be ripped off. lol But with dogs who are used to being a pet or just aren't as "crazy" as say racing sled dogs then I think a balance between walking and pulling can be achieved.


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## waterbaby (Jan 20, 2009)

Sophie walks nicely on her collar and pulls in her harness. She's not a crazy puller though. We move at a steady trot. And her life is balanced fairly well between pulling and LLW. Just like MusherChic said. We'll see though. I'm still trying to build her drive to pull. In general, her pace is just perfect for the type of skiing we do, but it would be nice if I could talk her into picking it up a little when we have really good conditions. I'll be curious to see if that changes anything.


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## Nil (Oct 25, 2007)

Are you sure the harness is ok? That would be my first guess. I know you said it is...but have you had her physically lean into it and then looked at it and felt around? Maybe it is riding up into her neck a little when it's taut?

What time of day are you going? The ground can get warm quick in San Diego. Also, depending on where you are, some of it may be a sand type texture full of crushed up shells. There have been problems with paw pads getting irritated over the sandy/rocky surfaces there. 

Would doing some sort of tire training help? To teach her to really lean into the harness and pull with her chest? 

Hav you tried running with a second dog to see if that gets her more into it? I know my dog is ok on her own but when paired up she is all work. 

Just throwing things out there. Kind of puzzling.


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## Sibe (Nov 21, 2010)

Nil said:


> Are you sure the harness is ok? That would be my first guess. I know you said it is...but have you had her physically lean into it and then looked at it and felt around? Maybe it is riding up into her neck a little when it's taut?
> 
> What time of day are you going? The ground can get warm quick in San Diego. Also, depending on where you are, some of it may be a sand type texture full of crushed up shells. There have been problems with paw pads getting irritated over the sandy/rocky surfaces there.
> 
> ...


I am considering getting a different harness. I got her one that is a classic X-back, designed for pulling, but since she doesn't pull I'm wondering if it's fitting oddly. When she leans into it, it fits how I believe it should- but since she isn't leaning into it, I think it might be bunching up. It doesn't seem to be rubbing on her and certainly not pinching her neck, but I want to try a different harness to see if it makes a difference (very much considering the Urban Trail Harness.

We go in the later afternoon or evening usually. If it's really hot, we don't ride and I avoid asphalt entirely at any time of day. The dirt we run on doesn't have crushed shells, there a rocks here and there but it's not very gravel-y.

Tire pulling or other weight pulling has crossed my mind. I'm really not sure how to go about teaching her to pull and don't want to mess her up which is why I haven't tried it yet.

I haven't run her with a second dog yet but I think it could really help her. I don't know anyone around here who bikes with their dog though.

Do you ride aound the San Diego area? I don't know of any good spots and just go around the dirt trails in the neighborhood, it would be great to switch it up some!


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