Thinking About Taking Your Dog for a Bike Ride?
Let’s Talk Safety First.
Because fun and safety go paw in paw.
Thinking about taking your dog along on your next bike ride?
Amazing! A breeze in your hair, your pup trotting happily beside you—it sounds like a dream.
But before you strap on your helmet and clip the leash, let’s pump the brakes and chat safety. Because biking with your dog can be a blast... if you do it right.
🐶 Not All Dogs Are Born to Bike
Your dog might be adventurous, but biking is a whole new world of sights, sounds, and fast-moving wheels. Start by asking: Does my dog enjoy movement near them? Are they confident on a leash around distractions? If the answer is “ehhh, not really,” then a bike ride might not be the best match—and that’s okay! There are plenty of other adventure options (and we’ll be covering those in future posts).
If your dog has experience working around other things with wheels such strollers, wheelbarrows, ATV's, mobility scooters they may take to walking next to a bike rather quickly. But if they do not, you will need to go at a much slower pace.
🚲 Training Before Touring
Introduce your dog to the bike slowly. Walk it beside them. Let them sniff it. Reward calm behavior around it. Then, practice short, slow walk-alongs with the bike to build comfort and communication. Trust is everything!
You'll also want to make sure that you have a heavily reinforced "heel" behavior around a wide variety of distractions. If your dog impulsively jerks towards people or another dog when your on a walk, it's going to be even worse when your moving at a good speed. On walks, I don't expect my dogs to stay in heel position long term. However on a bike, if we are moving they need to stay in heel while we are moving. We are also going to stop frequently to give them a chance to explore and sniff a bit. It won't take long and you will learn all of your dog's favorite places to stop and sniff!
🧰 Use the Right Gear
Put down that leash in your hand—seriously. It’s a recipe for tangled limbs and sudden wipeouts.
A harness is a must! Do not do this on collar of any type as you could do some serious damage to your dog's neck. A solid y-front harness that allows your dog full range of motion is perfect! Always use the back clip as well. I'm a firm believer in a dual clip leash for walks, but the tangling risk on a bike is just too great. Stick to the back clip attachment.
Use a proper bike attachment for dogs with shock absorption and enough distance between bike and body. Or use a hands free waist belt or shoulder strap leash where you can maintain that safety connection while keeping both handle bars on the leash.
Safety first, always! Do not allow your dog off leash to run beside your bike unless you are on a trail away from roads and traffic AND you have a solid recall. I will use a waist leash with Belle to ride to the trail, then let her off leash to explore a bit. Since she likes speed, Belle mostly chooses to heel even when she is off leash. Azul on the other hand, doesn't do well off leash in nature, only recalling when there are not other animals nearby. I take Azul on bike rides in town when we can more easily use a waistbelt leash.
☀️ Be Heat-Wise and Hydration-Smart
Check the pavement with your hand. If it’s too hot to touch, it’s too hot for paws.
Bring water for both of you. Stop often. Your dog’s tongue shouldn’t be dragging along the trail like a flag of surrender. Panting helps a dog cool off, but if their tongue starts to swell, it's a sign of overheating.
⏱️ Keep It Short and Sweet
This isn’t a race. Start with short rides, especially if your dog is new to this. End on a good note—before your dog is exhausted or overwhelmed. Think quality over quantity.
❤️ Know When to Say “Not Today”
If your dog is fearful, reactive, recovering from an injury, or simply not interested, skip the ride. There’s no shame in choosing safety and comfort over Insta-worthy moments.
This has been especially important for Azul! If weather is too hot, he will overheat very rapidly. Yet if it's over-cast due to rain coming in, Azul is likely to have some joint stiffness. Neither make for a comfortable trip for him. We opt for a slow sniff-a-bout on those days and save the bike ride for cooler days, often later in the evening when Azul is most likely to have some energy and less chance of stiff joints. Azul's trips are also shorter and slower than Belle's trips, simply due to his age and health issues.
Biking with your dog can be an awesome bonding experience—but only if it's built on preparation, patience, and play.
Stay tuned for more “Thinking About Taking Your Dog…” posts—coming soon, we’ll cover safe hiking tips, beach days with pups, and navigating dog parks like a pro.
Because your dog’s safety is part of the adventure.