How to bike with your dog safely: the rules before the first ride

Not every dog belongs beside a bike. Puppies and adolescents with growing joints, flat-faced breeds, very heavy dogs, seniors and dogs with a strong chase instinct are poor candidates, and your vet should clear any dog for sustained trotting before the first ride. The dog also needs a reliable heel on foot, plus a stop and a leave it that work around squirrels and other dogs. If the dog still pulls on an ordinary walk, a bike turns every lunge into a fall.

The Houston caveat is heat and pavement. From May to September ride only at dawn or after dark, and before every ride put the back of your hand on the pavement for seven seconds; if you cannot hold it there, the dog cannot run on it. Carry water, choose shaded routes and keep rides short, because a trotting dog heats up far faster than a rider coasting beside it. Park trails such as Terry Hershey Park set their own rules for bikes and leashed dogs, so check the operator's current rules first.

A dog that lunges toward a squirrel or a cat while you ride is the most dangerous version of this, for both of you. That dog is not ready yet: go back to walking the bike, work the leave it, and do not ride again until the dog passes the same distractions calmly on foot. A dog that lags, slows or pulls back is telling you it is too hot, too tired or sore. Stop, walk it home in the shade, and ask your vet if it happens again.

A dog that drifts toward the front wheel usually has too much leash, or was never taught its position beside the bike. Shorten the line or try a rigid attachment, and go back to riding at walking pace. The cause underneath all three problems is the same: the ride went faster, longer or busier than the training beneath it could carry, so slow the ride down to the training.