new dog sport

Maui and my new favorite way to exercise is to play chase the
fourwheeler. He gets tons of exercise and I never run out of energy.

shore...

I take my dogs out with the quad, too, only I keep them
on-leash and we go out one-at-a-time. For us it's for
conditioning and to do speedwork. The dogs really love
being able to cut loose at their own speed.

MauiJNP...

Cali was on leash (a 30 foot one). Next time I think I'll use the 50 foot
one so she has more freedom.

Mark Shaw...

As an example of the far-other end of this spectrum: when my
brother lived in NW Colorado he once told me that a common way
for the locals to exercise their dogs was to drive them out
5-10 miles south of town on a BLM road, put them out of the
truck, and allow them to chase the truck back home.

I once saw a photo of an outrigger setup on a quad that
someone was using to condition hunting dogs. I've looked
for one online but haven't been able to find one. It looked
a lot safer than what we're currently doing.

MauiJNP...

I was trying to find something similar to what some people use on bikes. I
am not having much luck either. If you ever find one specifically for
fourwheelers or at least one that works well enough, please let me know
where you got it.

Mark Shaw...

It would probably be pretty easy to rig something like that up
out of PVC and such from Home Depot. Think of a Springer, but
on a grander scale....

Usually Cali gets tethered to me and is put in my coat with only her head
sticking out (similiar to what I did with the poodle I had growing up who
road in a sling from when my brother broke his arm, she was only 4 pounds)
but today I let her in on the fun. She is amazingly fast! She and Maui ran
side by side either along the fourwheeler or behind it. I had my eyes on
them constantly, I wasn't going that fast and I could stop on a dime but I
never let them get close enough that I had to worry about hitting them if
they changed directions suddenly. It was pretty fun and they are exhausted
now. While it won't replace regular walks, it seems like a fun way to burn
some extra energy. What I guess I need now is a sling for when one of them
rides with me, the coat/tether works ok for now but I'd rather get something
more permanent for longer, bumpier rides.