Training a dog to stay in a basket for bike ride...need ideas and comments.

[dogs4life]

So Hank is way to small to run beside us on bike rides so we've been looking into basket's so he doesn't have to stay home alone.

Method 1

Here's one set of instructions from Training

1. Tie the dog securely in the basket with a dog harness or rope.

2. Walk the bike with the dog in the basket a few times before taking him for a real ride.

3. While walking, talk to him and keep a hand on him, urging him to sit and relax.

4. Ride up and down a level driveway or level area in front of your house for a few days letting him get used to the movement and turning motions. Keep your hand on him if necessary. Make the sessions short at first and gradually lengthen as he becomes more comfortable. (The best rider in the family should do this, as your worrying about falling will alert him that he is not safe.) If you are not a strong rider, take it much slower and make the sessions with the dog shorter.

5. Find a bump or rough spot like you would normally encounter while riding and go over it repeatedly telling the dog at the same time "here's a bump!" Constantly reassure him each time until you notice he is able to anticipate what is going to happen and seems to be more relaxed about it.

6. Try to anticipate things that might scare or excite your dog and expose him to them slowly, with your reassurance and praise each time. Riding near loud traffic, encountering large dogs, cats or squirrels and riding very fast are examples. When encountering these situations let him know barking, jumping, standing, etc. are not acceptable and give him appropriate commands- push him down in the basket if necessary. If he reacts badly try to make it clear that it is not acceptable without prolonging the encounter. Example: If he tries to jump out of the basket to attack a Rottweiler, speak to him sternly: Push him down but keep going to let him know you are not stopping. This is not the time to stop and let him get to know the dog. THIS IS THE TIME TO RIDE. He will start to relax and even start to ignore other dogs and situations if he is exposed properly.

I think #6 can be handled better, love to hear your thoughts.

Method 2

Here are some of my ideas and of course I'm going to use the all-mighty food rewards and praise for "wanted" behavior.

1. "Basket" - Teach Hank to load himself while basket is on the floor - luring or shaping Hank to jump and stay in the basket. When I've get a good "stay", I can move on.

2. Test Anxiety - See if he'll try to jump out when I move the basket around by hand. We'll take baby-steps on this one as I hope to get him de-sensitized to the moving basket and coax him to sit-stay while moving the basket about. He's fine with a his crate being moved and being in a backpack with sides 1/2 open, but I suspect the basket will be different.

3. Harness & 2-point tether - Hank will need to be tethered since he's bug, bird and cat crazy and cannot resist any of them.

4. "Leave it" - Teach Hank to ignore birds, cats, rabbits, squirrels, lizards and other irresistible chase items. He's only 50% reliable on this one and needs more reinforcement.

5. Then I'd work on skills 2-5 from method 1.

Love to hear your thoughts.

[calgal]

I used the leash the first time to tether them in the wire basket. Then I made 8" leashes with the hooks at both ends which works perfect. Never had any problems with them wanting out at all. They took to it like pros.

[dogs4life]

I wish my Hank was easy but he cannot resist chasing "prey".

[Carrie]

I agree that #6 could be handled better. No sense in associating punishement with a Rottweiler. LOL It might make him want to get that Rottweiler all the more. But yes...the gradual getting use to things is great. A couple of statements in there show me that the person writing this is missing some important points of behavior. 1: "Make sure that the dog knows it is "unacceptable." Dogs don't think like that. They can't relate to our particular value system like that. Better would be to reinforce the dog at a high rate of frequency while he IS behaving the way you like. And then distracting and giving him an alternative when he isn't....or better yet, trying to intercept him before he stands up or barks or whatever and giving him an alternative for which he can be reinforced. Use high value treats.

Point 2: Talk in a reassuring tone. If the dog is uneasy or afraid, which he may be for a while, you are reinforcing that feeling and behavior that goes with it. It's best to stick to reinforcing the behavior and times where he seems just fine emotionally and ignoring or at least not making too much fuss over him if he seems nervous or freaked out.

3: Pushing him back down in the basket. He won't learn to control his own behavior very well if force is used. If he has a harness on and is tied, he isn't going anywhere. I'd let him gradually get use to things so he can learn to control his own behavior, reinforcing his staying down if you deliver at a high rate will help him learn. And most importantly, introducing these distractions gradually...starting out with none, adding one, then two etc is going to help you avoid the behavior that is mentioned there....the standing up, barking etc. But that is only if he's been amply socialized in the past.

I personally would never take a dog in a basket on a bike. But that's because I'm a lousy bike rider....been in the hospital 3 times with serious injuries. LOL.

Are you thinking that eventually you would expect him to be reliable to stay put without a harness and tie down on him? I would never take a dog like that without being anchored. You can't trust that one time he won't leap out after something no matter how well trained. Instincts are instincts.

What if you fall? Do they have helmets for dogs? That's something else I'd worry about. Of course, I'm a worry wart. Maybe there's a basket that has a roof on it? LOL. If it were sort of low, that might help secure him too.

Anyhow, good luck. If all else fails, there are always walks.

[dogs4life]

Originally Posted by Carrie

I personally would never take a dog in a basket on a bike. But that's because I'm a lousy bike rider....been in the hospital 3 times with serious injuries. LOL.

Yikes! I've never fell since I was little, it's possible though and something to consider.

Are you thinking that eventually you would expect him to be reliable to stay put without a harness and tie down on him? I would never take a dog like that without being anchored. You can't trust that one time he won't leap out after something no matter how well trained. Instincts are instincts.

I do expect a reliable "stay" but I agree, instincts are powerful so we'll keep him tethered. I'm sure he's be OK if he jumped, my bike is not that high off the ground but injuries are a concern, we don't like owing the vet monies

Maybe there's a basket that has a roof on it? LOL. If it were sort of low, that might help secure him too.

There is one with a roof and I was considering it too. It looks like an antique fish bait basket.

There's also the kid trailers but we don't have one and they're quite bulky.

Thanks for your thoughts!

Anyhow, good luck. If all else fails, there are always walks.[/quote]

[Dangels]

Hmm, i'm really not sure.... although I take my dogs for bike rides with me, they do run along side of the bike. I've never put a dog in the basket, just in case I happen to have an accident with the bike. I just don't want anyone to end up getting hurt. But, if you are taking him for rides in the bike basket, I totally agree that he should be tethered. I also think (not totally certain) that there is a special type of harness made for bikes to put dogs in. That might be something to look into as well.

Best of luck!

[dogs4life]

Dangles - Thanks for your comments. Hank is only 5 lbs, he's actually 1/2 the size of most cats. So running on-lead beside the bike it not something I'd like to try. Right now the basket is the next best thing to staying home alone.