But even with all that going for us there are still 2 things which cause problems off lead. William isn’t a very social dog, and if other dogs leave him alone, that’s fine, he ignores them. But if another dog gets in his face and won’t go away, then he can get snappy. We always warn other owners that this can happen if their dogs approach William, then it’s up to them if they want to call their dogs away. The good thing is that he never goes after another dog unprovoked.

The second problem is that William is a big scardy cat :) Sometimes he gets spooked by a noise or another dog barking, and if that happens, he can just run. We’ve worked really hard at the wait command for just such occasions, and now we’ve got to the point where we can break that panicked dash for cove. Even so we’ve had one or two scary moments.

Sadly I think any dog, no matter how well trained, can have a bad moment and be inattentive. But you’ve done amazing things with your 2, and I’m sure as they get older and calmer, they’ll become much more reliable.

Also, think how useful it would be for people with aggressive or very timid dogs.

I would have thought that there aren’t that many people in our situation where your dog loves to play with others but can’t be trusted to stay close. Most breeds aren’t like that. A lot of people would value an enclosure to keep their dog away from others – either during training or because of behavioral problems.

There’s a dog enclosure at Ballahouston (too close to the road for my liking). Sometimes when you use it everyone is very considerate and if a dog is in they’ll always ask if it’s OK to enter. Other times you go and there are some really inconsiderate people that shove aggressive dogs in and drive everyone else out.

I was told that there used to be an enclosure in RG but they did away with it because it wasn’t used. The majority are happy to let their dogs run free in the park. So to make it worthwhile and of value to more people maybe a bit of creative thinking is needed?

I didn’t know that you’d taken things so far! Just a thought and it might not be appropriate but have they considered an enclosure that could be rented out at certain times – for agility practice etc?

Sounds right to me. Every time we fall off it will be my fault!

And then there’s those pesky Beagle types to think about. I’ve tried running with both of them tied to my canicross belt and they can never resist having a play fight when I least expect it. It’s one thing dragging two wrestling dogs behind you when you’re on foot, but on a tandem? Nope, I’m dedicated to my doggies, but not that dedicated.

I think biking will work, too. My sister and I hiked with Dolly yesterday, and the mosquitoes were really bad so we ran for the last two miles — Dolly thought it was a game and stayed right with us – she loved that we were going so fast. Of course, we were doing a lot of screaming and dogs always like foolishness, too!

I’m guessing that if you keep up your great job of training and add this for fun & exercise, you’ll see a big difference in even just a year. Maturity will sneak up on your two, and you’ll have the best behaved Beagles ever. I can’t wait to hear about it!

I don’t bike with dogs, but have done a lot of urban biking, and my hubby grew up in the wilds of Canada and has done a lot of mountain biking. I consulted him, and we agreed that the fit of the bike is the hardest thing to get right, and the most important. It depends on what you’ll be doing, terrain-wise, and how comfortable you are. I always ride a bigger bike than a real, hardcore mtn biker would, because I feel unbalanced on the smaller frames. Maybe take some lessons, just to talk about bike fit and strategies for staying upright — it’s really different than road biking, in my experience, and mtn bikers know a lot of cool tricks for not wiping out.

Expensive helmets fit better & are lighter. Fingerless gloves with padded palms are awesome — cuts down on fatigue, protects your skin if you wipe out.

In terms of bikes, they’re so hi-tech now we have no idea what’s good. But we both doubt the need for titanium frames with shock absorbers, and 4k price tags. And here’s our final thought — tandem??

Even without dogs, in our house we call them divorcycles. With dogs, it’d be a bloodbath! I’ve seen people mountain biking on them, and I think they’re crazy. That gasp in the forest is me, staring. Lumpy terrain and two bodies shifting around . . . nope.

Then again, if anyone could train two Beagles to tandem mountain bike, it’s you two. But, I’d suggest stacking the odds more in you favor and going in pairs. 4 wheels good! No offense Kirby.

Check out http://keeponsledding.blogspot.com/
She does a lot of biking and bikejoring with her sled dog team in the Yukon. She might have some tips!

Kym, it must be impossible with two littermates. It’s bad enough with young dogs 10 months apart!

Julia, Dolly sounds a bit like Biggles. He’s quite ‘needy’. If he were our only dog I think he’d be one of the few Beagles that you really could walk in any reasonably safe place. Beanie on the other hand has a strong independent streak. But on the plus side she’s quite calm and focused and is very good at checking in with us regularly. The combination of the two of them is bad. Biggles latches onto Beanie and ignores us when we’re all out together. Also, Biggles is extremely excitable and he manages to get Beanie wound up and looking for mischief. When we first got Biggles a lot of people advised us to keep them apart for the first few months so that Biggles would bond more with us than with Beanie. We did try, but they were going frantic to be together and we gave up for the sake of peace! Fortunately we did always do lots of separate walks, training and play sessions so we do have a good relationship with Biggles. It’s only outdoors that he latches onto Beanie – I guess because she’s more fun.

Sam, I had a bike as a young child but was never interested and haven’t been on a bike since about 6 years old!! Paul has never ridden a bike. However, I do think that it’s the solution to our problem. Things are going well on the surface with our two – we make sure that all activities they do involve us and it is keeping them close. But we worry that they aren’t getting enough exercise and also we feel that we aren’t able to satisfy all of their needs and there could be a rebellion at some stage! We run with them but it’s just a slow plod for them. I really think cycling could be the missing piece of the puzzle that keeps our two fit, happy, contented AND IN SIGHT!!!!

So, watch this space if you want a good laugh. We’re going to buy a couple of mountain bikes, learn to ride them and then tackle being in control of a bike and a couple of unruly Beagles! We’ll try and get the highlights on camera for your entertainment!

Any suggestions on a first bike? What kind of price range should we aim for to get something that won’t fall apart after 5 minutes? How did you go about introducing your dog to running beside the bike? All tips welcome!