[Zesti_V]

For those of you who use bike trailers, do you have any tips on training/acclimating dogs to using the trailer?

We bought Jessie a Burley Tail Wagon the other day and look forward to taking her on rides when our weather cools down. Before we put the wheels and cover on the trailer, I moved one of her blankets in there and asked her to spend some time in it, which she did with no issue (blurry pic attached).

After our morning walk, I took her on a slow and short ride of about 3 blocks today. She was fine initially, but eventually she started whining and then moved on to yapping and pawing at the mesh. I praised her only when she was being calm, and when we came to a stop in our driveway she was nice and quiet. She didn't bolt from the trailer when I let her out, and I immediately rewarded her with a jog up and down our street. (She's not food motivated, so treats don't really help me.)

She's excellent on car rides- the first few times we took her she whined for a few minutes and then settled down. I'm thinking the same will be true of the bike trailer, but wanted to see if anyone had any training ideas I could implement that don't involve treats

 

[Dechi]

She might want to be in on the action. Do you have a way to let her walk a little while, or trot, before putting her in the trailer ?

I know my dogs (toys), especially Beckie, would go nuts if she didn’t get to walk/jog/run with the bike !

 

[SamieNorman]

Zesti_V, I do not bike train but I am very interested in seeing what people say about this. But if I were to give any advice I would just say that repetition always helps! Also maybe try toys since treats dont work? I personally would only have certain toys for biking so they are new and fun each time. But that's the extent of my knowledge on this.

I am wanting to train Norman to run/jog by me with a bike (since I am a terrible runner). So I hope you have luck with this!!

Can I ask where you got the Burley Tail Wagon?? I love it!

 

[Zesti_V]

Hi Samie (and Norman)-

We actually gave up on the bike trailer after a couple of days and instead opted to try a bike handlebar basket. Jessie immediately took to the basket and enjoys 2x daily rides after her walks. The only disadvantage of the basket for us is the way it tethers to her harness doesn't leave her much room to turn around. So I just stop when she starts to fidget so I can unbuckle her and face her the other way, then she settles in for more riding

I did genuinely like the Tail Wagon- it seemed really well built and designed. But it was way too big for an 11lb poodle who hated being that "far" away from us. We bought it from and returned it to Amazon, so there's probably going to be a really good used deal through Amazon Warehouse soon if you want one!!