[Closed] Trail dog training tips

ride into them. they soon learn.

do they walk in front, alongside or behind when you aren't on a bike?

In front - always wants to take point

Mine runs in front all the time, unless we're going downhill when with a quick shout of his name he steps aside and then drops in straight behind.

If going too slow or if I stop for too long he barks at me 🙂

& there's your problem, train her to walk to heel to the side, nose level with your legs. Get the basics down and the trail dog bit will be easy. 😉

Not my dog, but I used to ride regularly with a friend's dog who'd learned to step off the trail if she was leading and was going to stop or the rider was catching her... as said I think that was learnt from being ridden into a few time though!

They seem to stay a lot cleaner (fox poo excluded!) if they're in front rather than a couple of inches off your rear tyre 😉

My dog much prefers to be in front, despite the fact that she is often in the way. If I'm cycling near home and she ends up behind she often decides to give up and goes home!

She's a stubborn bitch but will give it a go.

Any tips on getting a good "heel" going? We've used Cheese and HotDogs to great effect in the past but interested in any tips

It would be good to get her more controlled as I only ride currently on loops with no roads as she always runs about 10-15m in front and which dangerous near roads.

All good training in dogs is about reward, so yes food is the main way to achieve it!

Andy - totally agree - the big challenge I have is as soon as we go into the woods food is off the agenda as all the other smells take over.

train to walk to heal. once you've cracked that the riding will sort itself out.

Mine runs in front and hates being overtaken. If he's tiring or I'm faster he pulls over and drops in behind. Clicky hubs and hup-hup make him run faster. I garmin'd him one day now he's top 10 on several descents.

LOL on the Garmin - I'd love to have a dog GPS to see how far she runs

My dog isn't a 'trail dog', but I cycle with him most days

After one bigger-than-expected crash, involving me coming off and some blood on my part, he stopped being stupid - he used to change sides by running in front of the bike, he now runs behind...

A little touch will soon learn'em

Try a brush pole with the lead clip at the end. Cycle one handed. Only short distances. With the dog behind you. Then reward. Repeat as necessary. It may not work. It is worth a try tho.

Lovely dog. Terriers are the best.

I used an extender leash in a bumbag to train our dog to run at my heel when on the bike. I had enough freedom of movement to follow the trail and keep away from him but could just put my hand on the leash to correct him if and when needed. We started off walking with it so he could get used to it, then on the bike on an open field, then on trails and building speed.
We went through a lot of chopped up hotdogs as rewards during this time!

As mentioned ride into her. Once it'll hurt, after the second time she'll run beside/behind you.

I ride with my dog just to be with him wether he's in front behind quicker slower clean dirty or whatever he's just with me . Enjoy the fact your out with him and enjoy the fact you have a dog that wants to stay with you cos there's lots of other things in them there woods that could distract him. You want a fast ride then leave him at home

Just out of interest if the dog is behind you how do you know it's not pooping on the trail.....

Yup teaching to walk heel in the correct position (head alongside legs) is what I'd do to start. Teach whilst on the lead with gentle pulls on the lead to show her the correct position. No need to be aggressive - you are teaching not instructing or dominating. A lead should only be there as a safety line to stop an impulsive sudden move to something of interest. The dog should never tug on the lead, and walk alongside the same on or off the lead. Then teach off the lead using your finger to feedback to the dog correct position

I don't reward with treats out of the house - its bribery and the dog will soon succumb and distract to a higher offer. Dog gets a treat back home though.

I use "back" and "front" as calls to let the dog know where to be relative to the bike. And these can be taught whilst walking to heel, both on and off the lead.

Persistence and consistency are key. People laugh when they see a small staffy glued to my back wheel, and she knows she can pop off to explore ahead whilst I'm wheezing up a hill.

Oh and anyone who rides into a dog to teach them to get out of the way is a **** 😀

An instructional video. How to jump a log. And how not to! 😆

ha ha that's brilliant. Loving the embarrassed walk aftr the plant 😀

Aye start with the walking to heel. If you can't control him on foot you have no chance on a bike. I started mine very young with short rides in the park after my main ride. There can be no compromise though, back and heel must mean exactly that and you can't ever let the dog have its way. Mine runs along side unless it narrows where he goes behind. Got some rough unedited footage of him last week. There's a bit of this where he's not in shot but you can see his tracks in the puddle alongside. I love that bit for some reason. I didn't realise how often he stops for a sniff and piss and catches up though. He can do that, he's faster than I'll ever be.

I have ran my Stafford girl 3 times. She still runs out ahead.she put me over the bars in one crash. She was fine. The other dog, the aboves son. Stays at my side all the time.
There is no quick fix. Patience is key.
Train then reward is the best in my view. Running over or impacting the dog, will only stress you both.