Liz Murray wrote: << I was surprised to read about people attaching their dogs to their bikes . . . Do people do this alot? Just curious>>
Liz, I've seen people do this a lot with dogs of every size. Those I've asked told me they believe it's great exercise for them and for their dog. Over a long period of time, a close friend of mine had two German Shepards, a Labrador Retreiver and then a Golden Retreiver and some mixed breed dogs - and those are just the ones I remember right now. One of her main purposes in having a dog was to accompany her on her weekly bike rides (when weather permitted). Every dog developed horrible orthopedics, most while at early ages. All dogs were eventually put down for this reason except one (that I can remember). She kept changing breeds thinking maybe it was just the breed or the pedigree involved. When it happened to the mixed breeds, too, the lightbulb turned on in her head that maybe that kind of exercise was harming her dogs. For myself, I wouldn't be concerned about the safety during the exercise so much as what it would do to my dog's orthopedics. I will never, ever subject any dog, much less a large breed dog like a Berner, to that kind of exercise. I learned this lesson from watching my friend and her dogs. Please know that I applaud anyone who has positive experiences bike-riding w/their dogs longterm: to each, her/his own experience. Cheers, Esther Wilson Lavina, Montana __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Calendar - Free online calendar with sync to Outlook(TM). http://calendar.yahoo.com
