My puppy is now 6 months old. I have a knee surgery planed for February, so he will be 11 months when it happenes. As I wont be able to take Mango out then for at least two or three weeks, I'll make some arangements, but I would like to take him out as soon as possible. With a bike it will be a lot easier. My neighbour has a 1yo boxer and has been taking him out on a bike for a good month, so I guess it's possible. But he would have to be trained before I go to hospital. Anyone has experience with this?
I wouldn't exercise my young dog this way at all. It's is high impact and damages joints and muscles. I would not do large amounts of exercising until my dog was at least 18 months old and I would not do cycling with any of my labs ever. I consider it far dangerous to their long term health.
In addition to being hard on the dogs joints, running along side a bike can be dangerous to both the dog and rider. Many years ago, I tacoed the front wheel of my road bike when my Malamute got in the way. It did not hurt the dog or me, but it could have. I ski with my dog sometimes, but she is not on a leash when going down hill, so she can stay at a reasonable distance, and I can turn without pulling her. Years ago I used to roller blade with our first Lab. It worked ok because I used a 25ft, 1" wide retractable tape lead, and I could drop it at any point because Ginger would not take off regardless of the lead. It was only there to comply with the leash laws.
As a cyclist I think you need to concentrate on cycling...a young adolescent dog also needs full concentration. Personally I would not mix the two....I did run with my malamute though who was delightfully calm and steady...not tried to run with my lab though....she would bounce about and trip me up in excitement
I absolutely agree with the others - mixing a young dog and running next to a bike seems dangerous for BOTH of you. Plus in February...yikes. Better to safe even if Mango doesn't get the same amount of exercise. Maybe you could enlist friends/family to help out with her walks and such instead?
Your dog is too young for such kind of activity, especially for labrador. If you afraid your dog will be bored, try with "nose work" games. This will exhaust your dog in a 15-20 minutes, believe me
Thank you all for your answers. I guess I will ask my friends to take him out for a few more weeks and then call the dog walking service, and take him to the dog park more. I hope the weather in February will be warmer.
Don't forget that mental exercise also tires your puppy out. If the physical exercise needs to be limited for either your health or the dog's, then mental exercise is a great substitute.
I think it depends on where you live. I have a bike and go with my two. But we are in the country. We meander down the gravel farm road and they sniff around the ditch. I rest. We continue. No leashes. Little traffic. I like to tell people I am excersizing but... I can't imagine doing it in town with traffic, a young pup and worrying about my new knee. Good luck with your pup, your knee and learning some new games.
