# Jouring/Urban Mushing Scooter



## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

I use a mobility scooter to walk my Molly and I even 'run' her occasionally....when she gets tired she jumps on and rides at my feet. The kind of scootering you do depends on how much physical activity you are capable of. It sounds like you want some physical exercise too! I don't know what condition your knees are in but the joring with having to 'push off' looks a little hard on the knee joints to me! The recumbent bike I think I would worry about being able to remove myself quickly enough in an 'dog emergency'!
Have you thought about wether or not these can be used on sidewalks? It's illegal in some states, while mobility scooters are legal just about anywhere! I have taken my Son's Goldn Ret on walks just by tying his leash to the armrest and holding Molly's (my mini) leash in my hand, one dog on each side, and they did fine! 
Another option is a Three wheeled adult tricycle with a dog walking attachment added, but again I don't know if you would be legal on the sidewalk. I would not walk my dog in the street, people are too 'unaware' in my opinion!

P.S. My mobility scooter does not look like an old lady machine and it is sidewalk legal!!! hahaha!


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Both of those ideas scare me a bit for safety reasons of crashes and leash entanglements and such. I have a bad knee and so I don't do big long strenuous outings with my dogs. They play in our yard and they do lots of brain games when there is snow around. Since we don't have sidewalks it isn't really safe to walk in the streets when they are narrowed by snow. When the weather is nice I take them for short sort of strolling walks where mostly we just enjoy the neighborhood. There is no strenuousness to those walks. Brain games of training in the yard replace training in the house. 

Making a dog work its brain will make it even more tired than running miles and miles and it makes for a better behaved dog too. A trainer friend of mine has a client with a German Short Haired Pointer. The wife used to ride miles with the dog running alongside the bike and the dog was still very hyper almost all the time. Once they started going to my friend's canine gym classes where there is physical exercise with lots of thinking and problem solving the dog settled down.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Sorry - this may be one of the bits of negative feedback! 

I walk my dogs in an off leash area that is also a cycle track. I have noticed that when people cycle with their dogs the dogs are unable to give the polite signals that make for peaceful greeting or ignoring - they can't slow down, or walk in a curve, or turn their bodies to the side, or any of the other cues that courteous dogs give to show that they are friendly. Instead they are forced to run directly towards other dogs in a way that is at best rude, and at worst can be misread by the dog as aggression. The leash position on the scooter you show gives the dog very little freedom of movement, and is fixed to one side - my concern would be that you risk setting your dog up for a lot of reactive encounters that may rebound upon his own behaviour. 

Molly's mobility scooter is more easily stopped and started, allowing time to sniff and pause and generally enjoy the walk. And it would be much easier to ensure that you can keep yourself and the scooter between your dog and any dogs that are potentially reactive.


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## Entellechy (Jun 10, 2017)

Hi ozmommi,
I currently do Bikejoring with my 7 year Australian Cattle Dog and will be training my new pup Olaf to run with the bike too. It will be 2 years before he will be strong enough to do any kind of 'pulling' though. 

I liked the second bike you listed ... the Sunseeker Recumbent. You could pedal along to help your pup if he isn't into pulling. My Heeler usually runs ahead lightly pulling while I pedal on my Mountain Bike. We usually cover 6 or 7 miles on the bike trail and she loves it!

I have her trained to come to me when people (with or without) dogs are approaching. We stop and get over to let them pass. If I have to pass someone in front of us, I call out... reel Handi close to me, and pass leaving as much distance as I can. The dog figures it out. 

Training is important. It helps for them to learn "Gee", "Haw", "Tighten Up" which means get out in front and wait, and "Go". To train Handi to "Tighten Up" I harnessed her up and tied the harness-line to to a tree. I used meat to entice her and said "Tighten up" .. as soon as the slack came out I would reward. Make sure you use a "Stretch" line so there is no jerking. They sell them on Mushing websites. I have my bike setup to keep the line off the front tire.

Bike Joring is an up and coming past time for everyone to enjoy... no matter what level they are or speed they go. (We go slow) =)

If you have any questions... message me =) and sorry about the sideways image. I don't know why it did that!

https://www.facebook.com/lynn.king.186/videos/10208147514525847/


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