I had a couple short rides with my dog this morning. He is having a terrible time riding in the bike trailer I bought him. I don't understand though. He was initially happy to ride in it. He would bark and whine after about five miles, but I just figured I needed to gradually work on longer distance. Now he starts whining after we ride just a block or two. I tried giving him a bone that I thought might occupy him for awhile but he devoured it in 5 minutes and started barking, jumping and pawing at the mesh enclosing the trailer.
It's weird that he is excited to get in the trailer still. I don't even need to offer him a treat. He's fine in it until I'm on my bike and he can no longer see my face. My only thought is maybe I could try having someone else pull it sometime, while I ride behind him. The last time he behaved was when I had a friend ride behind us, so maybe that can help. I would love to know if anyone has any experienced advice on this.
Anyway, after all this, I was feeling really cranky and not myself today. It's a combination of missing an entire day of riding, too many kids and too much family time in general. I think my family almost doesn't even know the real me at all as I get irritable whenever I spend too much time with them.
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After driving up to see my dad for Father's Day (and my mom, but they're long divorced), I immediately got on my bike upon arriving home. I just rode straight south to the outer harbor, up to the top of the peninsula, then took a short reading break on a rock by the water. Along the way I came across a couple of grazing deer who let me get fairly close with my camera.
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I rode a little further south to Gallagher Beach, and read some more. This is a great place to watch the sun as it sets over Lake Erie. But I was getting antsy and wanted to ride, so I decided to ride north to a bridge where I would have to settle for watching the sunset over Canada.
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I got to the bridge just on time, but this was probably the worst place to watch a sunset as the sun was blocked by the Peace Bridge. Well at least the sky was still beautiful.
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The sunset shot would have been awesome if you had moved to your left or right and got the sun in the centre of the arch
Couldn't really do it from the bridge I was on though. I would have had to ride to a different spot altogether.
The deer look exactly the same 3,000 miles away...
These ones speak with a Midwestern accent.
Duuuude, how cool to be so close to those deer! Here it's only possible to see them inside farms, and it's kinda luck to spot one.
Have you tried letting the dog walk by yourside while cycling? Maybe he'll be tired enough to enjoy the trailer; or you could try an open trailer before.
It's strange though, my dad's dog used to be really annoying travelling on our station wagon's trunk, he barked and wanted to move to the front seats. But dad insisted, until one day the dog learned, now he travels pretty quiet, we even forget he's there.
He will bolt left or right to chase cats so I wouldn't trust him while riding. He's pulled me off my feet in the winter. I tried opening the top and he leaped out despite being leashed, almost choking himself. I don't think I should just keep taking him as it's stressing him out to be so worked up. You would think someone was hurting him with all the noise he's started making. It's so weird as he was enjoying this. He even gets excited and jumps right in when I put the trailer on my bike. He starts yelping as soon as I start moving it.
That's really odd, what on earth made him change his mood, there must be something annoying him over time.
Wishing for you to find out, it may be really cool to travel with a dog as companion.
I thought maybe it was the heat, but I took him out at 6am the other morning and he still hated it. We drove near a highway once, the sound of which set him off, but I've been taking him to quieter streets and it makes no difference.
It sucks, because this was part of my plans for summer touring and riding. I mean I wasn't sure if he could handle long term but I was planning on taking him along for some trips closer to the area at least.
Wow, really beautiful! Kind of cool how the sunset spilled over and all around the bridge!
Definitely hear you about family, mine can really drive me nuts sometimes, but it's usually when I'm resisting accepting them as they are & I get irritated that they won't act like I want them to in my mind (ie - why does my Mom always have to say that stupid thing?! Who cares, because she does, it doesn't even matter, why do I care, why can't I just let her be who she is? LOL). Family knows how to push all the buttons because they're the ones who installed the damn buttons. I struggle with this quite a bit.
I love that you got your dog a trailer, I really wanted to do that for mine after her surgery as part of her recovery program, but I lost her a week after. It sounds like you're on to something with maybe it being that he can't see you, maybe he feels insecure? Do you talk to him while you're riding so he can hear your voice? I'll keep thinking about this, it would be so cool if you guys could adventure together and have it be a fun experience for you both!
I talk to him. It used to keep him calm but it's not working anymore. I might just try taking him down the block and stopping there. Maybe that won't set him off. Then I can gradually increase the riding time again.
Yeah, the family thing just leaves me feeling so negative. I want to be a positive person.
That's so interesting, I'm so curious as to why he's agitated. Does the trailer have one of his beds in it or anything? Maybe a t-shirt that you've been wearing that smells like you? I came to learn with my pup that most of the time when she was aggressive, it was coming from fear, so that if I could make her feel safe and secure it got better. The same is probably true for me if we're gonna be honest LOL!
I feel you on that family stuff, it's hard. Especially as we grow into our own adults and then when we gather everyone snaps back into the toxic family dynamic of when we were little. I don't have it figured out at all. But I do find that when I can just accept them for who they are without trying to change them in my mind or wish they were different, the more peaceful I can be with myself. Also, when I can just be comfortable in my own skin & happy with who I am in the moment, it's less stressful. I try to practice this a lot, ask myself why I'm bothered and let it go. It's really challenging AF.
I have a blanket from the house in there. I could try the blanket from his crate.