I do most of my riding with my dog. I learned this week that my Australian Shepherd can keep up with me on my 36”. That was a game-changer for us. Now, I don’t have to leave him at home when I go on 36” solo rides. (I don’t take him on any group rides.)
I can’t imagine attaching my dog to my waist as I used to do (when I used to run) with our ENO running leash.
I use a retractable leash, made by TUG, that I bought on Amazon.
TUG 360° Tangle-Free Retractable Dog Leash with Anti-Slip Handle | 16 ft Strong Nylon Tape | One-Handed Brake, Pause, Lock (Large, Green) Amazon.com
I don’t have to correct him by “tug” or feel very often, unless another dog lunges at us from across the street. In those moments, I push the lock button and hold on if he startles. It only takes a “tap”. 99% of the time he is directed by voice if necessary. I don’t use normal dog-training cues as I never learned them. Just tone of voice to encourage him to continue doing what he just did (ie. direction change), or to slow down. I do use three actual words. “Other Side” to move to the “inside” prior to a turn. “Turn” to cue him that we will take the turn at the next opportunity (intersection). “Whoa” to stop. Slow down sounds like “UUHh”. “Stop doing what you are thinking about doing” sounds like “AAck”. Speed up sounds like “UP”. He doesn’t naturally pull, as he is normally checking behind himself to see where I am. Jim T may be shaking his head, as I think I have a dog that would respond well to being trained “correctly”.
This brings me to my main point. Safety. I don’t believe the canicross runner was a unicyclist. If they were, I don’t believe he/she ever experienced wearing a non-retractable dog leash around their waist, and then have the dog cross over to the other side of the unicycle, behind the rider, and then have the non-retractable leash lay across the moving tire, which promptly “ate” the leash, and dragged it right into the unicycle frame. When that happens, the unicycle stops as quickly as if your shoelaces wrapped around a pedal axle. In my experience, it’s not fun, and it can end badly.
In my experience, the non-retractable aspect is dangerous if I don’t hold the leash in my hand or have my dog to stay on one side of the unicycle at all times, and/or cross in front. Sometimes he has a brain fart and wants to cross over behind me rather than in front of me. However, watching your video, I see you and your dog have a different style of riding, and your control of the leash keeps it away from your wheel. My dog stays close to the side of the wheel much of the time, as my training has consisted of me working to keep him from pulling on a leash as opposed to allowing him to pull against a harness.
That being said, I have played with the idea of buying a dog running harness to use with the retractable leash. Recently, my dog and I were riding on the left side of the road (against the flow of traffic, in the U.S.) with me on the street and my dog in the grass beside the road. In this area, I ride on the left so I can see traffic coming, as I can’t guarantee passing motorists will give me much space as they pass. A cop car was approaching from in front of me, while another car was approaching from behind me on my right. On my left, someone had placed a gas barbecue grill in the grass by the street.
All of us met at the barbecue grill at the same time, with the cop car approaching from the front and the car behind me both speeding up to pass the dog and unicycle first, rather than waiting for one or the other. As a result, they both passed us with racing engines from two different directions at the exact time we passed the barbecue grill. My dog freaked out. If you’ve ever seen a horse spook, my dog did his best impression of one, and pulled backward on his collar, and slipped right out of his collar as I had an uneventful UPD that happened to look dramatic to the cop.
I am lucky that my dog actually responds better to commands while off a leash than while on, and he stayed in place as I walked to him and put his collar back on. Shortly after I put my dog’s collar back on, the cop returned to check on us after seeing the UPD.
That experience has me contemplating a harness for the dog to use on our rides so that he can’t slip out of his collar. Any suggestions with regard to a certain brand/style/design/model are appreciated.
Lastly, I really enjoyed the video. Kudos to you for managing the leash and the camera “selfie stick” throughout the video! And, thank you for enlightening us on a new term (to me), canicross! A quick search now has me learning about proper harnesses, elastic leashes and a canicross belt (although I am still hesitant with regard to the elastic leash and canicross belt).
