I have a 2 year old, 113 lb Malamute,named Jack, who has more energy than any other dog I know.He also has a mind of his own and loves to pull. I had been researching bike leashes and initially ruled this bike leash out due to the cost. But as I read more comparisons I felt that the Bike Tow Leash might be the safer,easier to use choice. And it is!
Jack is also one of those Malamutes who is afraid of his own shadow so I was worried about how he'd react to the bike so I walked him with the bike at first and then hooked him up. He took to the bike tow leash like a duck to water! In no time at all he was flying down the road next to me. He did try to stop a couple times and all I felt was a very slight pull on the lower part of the back wheel as the center of gravity is so low. When he got distracted by a person walking by, I verbally redirected him and we kept going . I finally have a way to give him the exercise he needs and the run he craves.
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I compared online reviews videos and literature of the Walky dog, the springer, and the sunlite dog bike attachments, along with the Bike Tow Leash and ended up choosing the Bike Tow Leash. I have a woman's bike with a low seat and therefore I didn't like the walky dog or the springer because they would not fit below my bike seat, and the shaft of the walky dog interfered with pedaling on some bike models. I liked the bike tow leash because it kept the dog away from the bike so that a herding breed would not be prone to try and bite/herd the back tire, as well as preventing the dog from swiveling from one side of the bike to another, unlike the sunlite, which might get a dog tangled in the spokes/tire/chain. Also, the ease of which the BTL (Bike Tow Leash) is attached to the bike is a real strong point for me because no tools were needed, and finger tightening was the only torsion needed to secure it. The fact that I could easily monitor my dog's condition because of her position next to the bike was the clincher.
I literally ripped the thing out of the box, slapped it on my bike, snapped the lead on my dog and jumped on the bike. My dog has never been led off a bike and we were whizzing around the neighborhood. I couldn't even feel it when she and a dog on the other side of the fence has a race/barking/jumping match. And I am not a very good biker, having not been on a bike in a decade. Yes, this was a foolhardy experiment.
The only downside is the price. My bike cost less than the BTL! You could buy almost 5 Walky Dogs (that Amazon price right now is amazing) for one BTL. I am considering getting a walkydog for my boyfriends bike because of this, since his seat is high enough to accommodate the walkydog
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I have two dogs. One of them is a small, 20 lb jack russell terrier. I have problems finding anything he won't break or get out of. He is a hyper little thing and jerks in all directions unexpectedly when walking him. I bought the best dog bike leash after doing research. I also have a walky dog, which would be fine for most dogs, but I feel more comfortable with this one. This one does not allow him to cut in front of the tire or close to it. He learned to use it in one try. Both my dogs do great with the tow leash and I feel comfortable (and I am a scaredy cat). He responds easily to turns in both directions. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT. As with everything, you must keep an eye on the dog in case you might have to stop quickly and with the doggie tow he is within my view at all times. Have a fun and safe ride.
Honest reviews on Bike Tow Leash Dog Bicycle Attachment - Red
Got this the other day and first I must say for what you get I think it's quite overpriced at $146.00! My dog is a border collie/beagle mix and weighs about 45 pounds. Basically the device works, it was easily attached to my mountain bike. The only problems I had were that I wish it was maybe not quite so flexible as it is. My dog is quite the puller, and when he does the leash flexes forward to easily and causes the dog to come in too close to bike when it does. To counteract this my dog learned to simply pull forward and out away from the bicycle at the same time, which puts a lot of side pull on his collar. If the bike leash was stiffer it would lessen the dog having to pull forward AND out away from bike.
This wasn't a problem for me on the bike and as others have mentioned the bike held steady very nicely when my dog tried to pull away hard or divert from our general direction as when he saw a rabbit he wanted to chase!
The other issue with the leash being a bit too flexible is in the backwards direction. Sometimes when making a right turn the dog on bike leash would lag behind and the leash would flex back to easily and rub on the rear wheel. This only happens in certain situations and once I learned to slow way down when negotiating certain right turns it was not a problem. I do worry about it when we are moving down the road at a good pace, hoping he doesn't suddenly see something to our right and behind that causes him to want to go that direction or similiar situations as the bike leash will easily flex back enough to rub on back tire and could get messy. It woud be nice if the bike leash was flexible like it is through about 20 or 25 degrees fore and aft but then got much stiffer after that much travel.
Other than the high price and the flex issue I mentioned. The device basically works and I have no doubt Arthur and I will put a lot of miles on it!!
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We have a Borador (Labrador and Border Collie Mix), her name is Zelda, she is 1 year old and has WAY more energy than I thought possible. We went to a trainer to help us with walking her, he said that we cannot even start to think about walking her without draining her energy first. Before we got our Bike Tow Leash she would almost rip our arms off when we tried to walk her, she had so much energy she would tug to the point where she looked like a zombie because she would walk on her two back legs. This product solved all of that.
The product itself is super easy to install on my Trek 3000 series with no disc brakes, however, I found that I could not install it on my girlfriend's Trek 6000 series because of the large disc brakes, I couldn't figure out any way to mount it on there. Not a big deal though. This Bike Tow Leash is great for working dogs with lots of energy, we don't even need to peddle the bike half of the time, she'll just pull us. She's super-fast too!
Some things I've learned about the BTL, is that you definitely need to communicate with your dog, let her/him know when you are slowing down by saying "wait, wait, wait...." before you come to a stop. I would make the dog "sit" as well whenever you stop or before you take off. When taking off, use a command like "heel" or "go!" or even "mush!", this will let the dog know when you're ready to go. If making some advanced maneuvers, make sure the dog is paying attention to you and say "this way!". Try saying "left" or "right" when making turns.
Pick up some of the musher's wax stuff for your dogs feet if you plan on running on concrete or black-top, it helped our dog's feet.
Other tips:
Try to use the BTL after the dog has already used the bathroom, otherwise make sure you bring bags to pickup.
If your dog starts to slow down for some odd reason, try taking them to a grassy area and see if they need to use the bathroom, our dog actually learned how to use the bathroom while running so it is now a bit difficult for us to know if she needs to go.
If your dog gets really excited around other dogs, make sure you tell him/her "leave it!" and pedal away from the distraction.
Make sure you bring enough water for your dog on long rides (20 minutes or more), dogs can drink right out of the bottle once they realize the bottle has water.
Get a COMFORTABLE harness for use with the BTL, after a few uses, make sure the harness has not caused any rubbing or rashes on your dog's skin.
Do not be afraid to ride in the rain! Your dog needs exercise every day
