If you like to cycle like me but still wants to be with your dog, here are 3 practical ways I have learned on how to carry my dog on bike ride. Of course, there might be more than 3 ways but I find these other methods to be non practical and is not something I would do myself. Method one and two are for small dogs while method three is for how to take a big dog on bike ride. Read through them below and see if there are other practical ways that I might missed.
#1: Buy a dog bike basket
Buying a dog bike basket or carrier like what I have recommended in my “best dog bike basket review” article is the easiest IMHO. You purchase it, fixed onto your bike, put your small dog in and you are set to go. The maximum weight for your dog should be in the range of 20lbs to 25 lbs. 30lbs might be stretching it but you can try. You can also decide if you want a front or rear seat rider option. I prefer this method to method #2 because it exerts less pressure on the owner, especially on my back, which isn’t the strongest in the world. Moreover, the cost of a dog bike basket is cheap so no skin off my wallet.
#2: Carry your dog in backpack
Another easy option is to carry your small dog in your backpack when riding. The best thing about this method is that you don’t have to spend extra money as you can simply use whatever backpack you have now that is big enough to hold the big. However, I personally think there are a couple of cons with this method:
- Lack of safety features: For dog bike basket or carrier, they usually have some form of safety features to prevent the dog from jumping out. The one I have has a covering on the basket that completely protects the dog even from the rain!
- Physical stress: Depends on how big is your dog, your back will feel the strain of carrying the dog, especially when you are riding on a long cross country trip like what I like to do.
Due to the above 2 points, I do prefer taking my dog on a dog bike basket vs in a backpack.
#3: Bike trailer for dog
If you have a big dog, then the above 2 options wouldn’t work. The best is to get a dog bike trailer instead, like the picture on your left. It is like pulling a small dog house on the back of your bike. This option is great for bigger dogs.
I love these trailers since they also offer the same safety features as my dog bike basket. The only thing I didn’t use them is because my dog is small so using this will be an overkill + she wouldn’t be able to stick her neck out and watch the scenery 🙂
Anyway, I will want to do a review of the best dog bike trailer after I get the chance to do some research and to speak to some of my friends who have this in their home. I might test a few out just to get a sense of how they work and whether it is convenient to use.
Is it legal to bike with a dog
Before I go, let me talk about this issue as there are some readers wondering about whether is it legal to bike with a dog, whether they are in a dog bike carrier or on a lease. After checking with a lawyer friend, he says there is no outright law forbidding such actions. There are only 2 particular instance you need to be careful with:
- Control: You need to keep at least one hand on the handle. If somehow you are impaired from doing this when you are biking with a dog, you can be charged
- Careless driving: If the dog distracts you to the point of careless driving, such as swerving your bike suddenly to check on your dog, then you can be charged as well.
As long as you bike safely, then there is no reason to believe you are violating any laws. However, do note I am not a lawyer so please don’t use my blog as a defense if anything happens LOL.
Conclusion
It is fun to carry your dog while you bike. Putting them on a lease is not ideal as it can tire the dog out or it might be lead to other accidents like the lease getting caught in the wheels. What I have suggested here are the most practical in my own view.
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