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Dogs and Hacks

What safety equipment do you use when carrying your dog?

I use two dog leashes and cross tie her. This way she can't jump from either side, but it gives her enough leash to lay down or sit up and look out. My dog loves her ride and is always ready to hit the road and find a lake or river to take a swim in.

Red
Ginger's (Chow/Shepard/Collie mix/55#) been riding for 15 years.
H-D Hack, TLE back rest, remove seat, make platform from 1/4"plywood (padded with Therma-Rest Camping Mattress, covered with canvas & blanket),2-18" leashes attached to D-Rings(must be added)on sides of Harness (secure loop end to back of seat. Helmet, went to "Toys R Us" got a kids Police Helmet, took visor off, cut ear holes, Cut back for neck, Cut front for goggles.
http://www.sidecar.com/megabbs/photos/show-album.asp?action=comment&albumid=115&currentpos=1
Food for Thought.

We took out the seat and back rest and added dog bed too. The D rings in the floor work well for the leashes. She also has HD Leather Coat, HD Sweatshirt, HD Hat and H collar and leash when she is out of the hack. What we don't do for our dogs! I think I spoil her more than I ever did my two kids and they would agree!

My heeler's ears are more on top of her head instead of on the sides and are huge. She hates her HD hat because it folds up her ears. How did you train Ginger to wear goggles? Are they Doggles or people goggles?

Helmet: If you find a plastic one, you should be able to cut the ear holes wherever need be.
Goggles: Originally she had the big ones that can go over glasses, that is why the cut in the front is a little high. The ones she has now, are people ones, at first she tried to shake them off, now she tolerates them. Plus, she is a Ham.
http://www.sidecar.com/megabbs/photos/show-album.asp?albumid=115&currentpos=1

Found a set of Doggles Originalz at a Petsmart in Murfeesboro, TN. Ordered a set of the new model with interchangable lenses. Its the only way to get clear lenses for night riding.
Haven't made it by a toy store for a helmet.

Okay. The doggles don't work. The mediums are too small across the eyes and the Large are too wide through the bridge of the nose. Tried cutting the large pair apart and making them narrower, but it didn't work. Just the wrong shape for my baby's head.

Next thing to try: a child's swim mask and an old set of Black Fly goggles from when I used an open face helmet.

Looked at the toddler bicycle helmets. If we get the goggle problem worked out, we'll start on that and the winter suit.

Oh- almost forgot. Installed 2 rings down low to hook her seatbelt to. Gonna test that part in the morning with a low speed run (OFF the highway) to a park about 50 miles away for watermelon. Guess who got picked to carry the watermelon and the bag of wet washclothes 🙂
Also picked up an umbrella that clips to the back of those tube chairs. Looks like it will go nicely on the outside grab handle to give her shade when she has to stay in the hack. (Easily removable when on the road and fits behind the seat back.) I'll let ya'll know tomorrow night how that goes.

Wondering if anyone has experimented with a face shield instead of doggles. Seems the idea is to prevent flying objects from hitting the dog in the eyes. Since the doggles are sometime constrictive, would a face shield attached to a helmet be too difficult to adapt and work out?

Check out the following site for Dogs on Bicycles and how to make your own dog helmet.
http://www.kangarooconnection.com/dogsonbicycles.html

I ordered a helmet for my dog from the Build a Bear site that is suggested by the website above. It fit pretty good for my lazapoo. It is sort of a bicycle helmet, but works well for the small dog. Cost about $5 bucks, I believe.
Huey

Looked at the paintball face shield helmets, but they were too shallow for her length of muzzle. Might work for a dog with a shorter muzzle.

Trying a pair of human oversized goggles with the chin strap from the extra large doggles. That gets the foam well below the eye socket and above the eyebrow spots and gives her peripherial vision. Also comes down far enough on her muzzle that she doesn't have to duck her head to look forward. So far, she tolerating them for up to 10 minutes.

Tried the umbrella out yesterday while shopping (parked under a tree at the bike shop and set up the umbrella then went inside and watched her through the window). Real exciting. She sat quietly and waited for us.

Added a Kruiser Kaddy (metal cup holder on a swivel that has a clamp sized for handlebar tubing) on the grab handle for her ice chips, and a seat cover that's waterproof.

Now about that dog hair...