Jeter has endless energy and his favorite thing to do is run along side the bike. I understand all the talk these days about being pack leader and how on walks its important to not let the dog be out in front.

When we walk he try's to be out in front and I have to remind him with the heel command to stay by my side. He is pretty good but needs consistent reminders. I have another dog and she is content with walking at my pace and is not a very high energy dog. She would be content to be a couch potato.

I used to ride with both of them tethered to the bike and Jeter pulls and wants to run. Dakota cant keep up and she tires out much more quickly. So now I bike with Jeter and when we get back (usually about 20 minutes) I get Dakota and the 3 of us walk together. She is good with just the walk.

Jeter needs the extra exercise so it works out well. My concern is that I let him pull the bike and go as fast as he wants. He seems to thrive on it and loves it. By letting him pull me and lead the way am I making things harder on the walk when he needs to be more restrained and I am I screwing with the pack leader dynamic?

Alec, in my opinion, your dog can discriminate between a workout in which he's out front, and a walk or other activity in which he's by your side. They are just different activities. Use different commands when running ("let's go" or whatever) versus walking ("heel") so he won't get confused. Definitely avoid using the "heel" command to reign him in when on a run, otherwise it would be confusing. If it seems the dog pulls harder on your walks, that's a training issue and opportunity. Get back to basics and teach him to heel again. Might take some individual walk time with Jeter until he's reliable. Don't want him being a bad "role model" for the other dog, right?

Upland game hunters regularly condition their dogs by what they call "roading" - encouraging the dogs to pull on about a 15 foot line out front. They usually use harnesses on the dog, and actually encourage hard-charging, out front pulling - it's a cardio workout. The handler just provides some resistance that the dog pulls against. The dogs, however, are also taught heel and when to stay by the handler's side at other times. They have no problem doing it. With my old bird dog, the harness was actually the cue for a run. She'd get all excited when she saw it come out. She had no problem heeling when necessary.

On a bike, I think I'd be a little concerned about safety. If the dog cuts across in front of you, you're screwed. Seems like that's what I would be most concerned about in your situation - and maybe you are. Maybe you need to peddle a little faster!!

Keep having fun. It's cool that you are so active with your dogs. Good for all of you!!

Ditto on Ron's post

If you have a couple of hours take a read at "Culture Clash". She has a very interesting point of view on pack leadership. Her point of view is that it's total bull
Very good read, even if you wind up thinking you still like the pack theory.

Pull training is it's own thing. I pull train all my guys on harness (running=canicrossing; biking=bikejoring; skiing=skijoring). Make sure they are old enough that growth plates have closed (around 16-20 months usually). And it's never affected their OB or view of me

Elise

How about getting a Walky Dog bike attachment. He can pull all he wants, but he is still at your side. Much safer than him cutting in front. I have one and it works great.
http://www.thedogoutdoors.com/walkydog-dog-bike-leash.html

Thanks for that link, Kamron. Looks pretty cool. Is there any spring action - or is that a bungee on the dog end?

There is another mechanism called the Springer http://www.dog-training.com/springer.htm but it costs about twice as much.

There is a spring inside, so a lunge at a prey animal/dog is dampened. Comes with three springs, and you remove them to give your dog more slack on the line. I use only one spring so my dog has more slack.

The only problem I have had with it is a nice lunge or sudden stop by the dog, turns the seat on the bike. I have had mine for 7 months now and can't imagine life without it. It's nice to be able to jog my dog 2 miles within 15 min.

Let him fun in front...it's an amazing ride (I'd do some ground driving out front first though, "on by", and directional commands will make your life soooo much easier)

My dog is trained to pull me on a bike, and has a different command to walk on a loose leash beside me. If you give him the loose leash command while on the bike he'll heel right beside you, there shouldn't be any "pack leader" issues.

I use the Springer. Its awesome! They make it for two dogs as well. One for each side. Works like a charm. When I say "out in front" I mean in front of me. I am sitting on the bike and with the Springer attachment it allows the dog to be in front of the rider but not the bike becuse the spring gives but only so much. so there is no chance of him running in front of the bike.

Jeter is not a dog friendly dog so we are working on that. The bike is great because he is so focused on running and pulling that the only time he is not distracted by other digs is when he is biking. So I use it all the time.(I just wanted to make sure I was not causing confusion between the walk and the ride in reference to him being out in front.

I will check out the "Culture Clash" recommendation. I am very interested in different points of view on pack leadership. Speaking of...I heard on the news yesterday that Cesar Millan's wife Illusion is filing for divorce. What is the world coming to?