Dogs on Motorcycles

[doxiedog]

About 10yrs. ago.

[gec343]

Originally Posted by Mechanical Mischief

Back in Highschool I got a Collie/Sheperd mix for a GF, took him to work a few times & very quickly the dog came to me instead of her, this caused tears & all that with the GF, so I backed away from the dog a bit, watched her turn a great little dog into a spastic out of control little brat, then a few years later bail on me, then the dog. Wrong priorities on my part, should have kept the dog & ditched the GF, lol, way more loyal, & way less headaches.

Several GF's & one wife later I decided to get Dawson, guess who happily did the whole Alaska ride with me while the GF decided to pass on just Flying into Anchorage to tag along for an easy scenic week in AK & Canada riding & then sent the Dear John e-mail while I was on the Dalton? This time I got it right, lmao, GF's come & go, the mutt is in for the long haul, he deserves the same loyalty from me.

I laughed like hell, part of the way up the Vancouver Island we stopped at a Walmart, Don went inside to pick up a few things while I stayed with the bikes & Dawson for a water & potty break. Un-benouced to me there was a female Wally World employee on break quietly observing, who commented from accross the parking lot, "if you fuss over your GF like you do over that dog she must be very happy" to which I responded, "If I could ever find a GF as loyal as this dog, I probably would", she laughed & said that was fair, lol

I can totally relate to your experience. I broke up with my girlfriend of eight years about six years ago. That is when I got this little Pugsley. Believe me, it was an excellent trade. In fact, I had lunch with that old girlfriend a couple years after the breakup, and she mentioned, "you replaced me with a dog"?, to which I replied, yes, and he thinks I'm great all of the time.

Granted, something is missing when you replace a girlfriend with a dog, but at age 70, very little. I've seen the light, in fact, doubt if I'll ever have another girlfriend. Hey, Pugsley and I were enroute to Alaska in 2011, but he became somewhat sick, shivering, etc near Smithy, British Columbia, so we rode to Prince Rupert, and then took the ferry to Vancouver Island, then another ferry to Seattle. Pugsley was in the hole on that ship for 15 1/2 hours, no potty break, but never had an accident. He was ready when we got off the ferry.

Man, people without dogs have no idea what they're missing. I didn't even want Pugsley, since I love to tour by motorcycle, but my daughter and granddaughters convinced me to give it a try. Incredible, the joy he has brought into my life. Dogs as pillion buddies sounds complicated, but really, it's a piece of cake. He doubles my joy of touring.

[5punksdad]

I got a baby carrier from Target and gave it a try today.







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[Mechanical Mischief]

Originally Posted by gec343

I can totally relate to your experience. I broke up with my girlfriend of eight years about six years ago. That is when I got this little Pugsley. Believe me, it was an excellent trade. In fact, I had lunch with that old girlfriend a couple years after the breakup, and she mentioned, "you replaced me with a dog"?, to which I replied, yes, and he thinks I'm great all of the time.

Granted, something is missing when you replace a girlfriend with a dog, but at age 70, very little. I've seen the light, in fact, doubt if I'll ever have another girlfriend. Hey, Pugsley and I were enroute to Alaska in 2011, but he became somewhat sick, shivering, etc near Smithy, British Columbia, so we rode to Prince Rupert, and then took the ferry to Vancouver Island, then another ferry to Seattle. Pugsley was in the hole on that ship for 15 1/2 hours, no potty break, but never had an accident. He was ready when we got off the ferry.

Man, people without dogs have no idea what they're missing. I didn't even want Pugsley, since I love to tour by motorcycle, but my daughter and granddaughters convinced me to give it a try. Incredible, the joy he has brought into my life. Dogs as pillion buddies sounds complicated, but really, it's a piece of cake. He doubles my joy of touring.

We have been on that ferry ride, I almost got arrested on that ride.

I was very concerned about thier pets ride on the cardeck BS policy, I asked a bunch of questions before the ride & was assured repeatedly that I would be allowed down every 3 hours to check on him & let him go to the bathroom. I was also assured that a ferry employee monitored the animals for the entire ride & if there was any problems they would page us. I relectantly accepted the rules & of we went.

Most of the ride went Ok, they kept stretching 3 hrs into 3 1/2 or 4 but I kept nagging the purser & got down there pretty regular. Picture a 3 1/2 month old puppy expected to sit in his kennel for 15 hrs, you know it can be done but you better let him out to walk around all you can. Each visit I can tell he is more & more reluctant to get back in the kennel & getting more upset each time I put him back in there. Finally the last visit to the car deck they stalled & stalled until we were within an hour of arrival & then tried to tell me they were skipping it, I was not happy about it but dealt with it & then went to the stair case to listen.
From the passenger deck I could hear Dawson down there freaking out, yelping, crying, he had worked himself into a panic down there, after sitting in there for 3 1/2-4 hrs at a stretch all day with only 10-15 minute breaks he finally couldn't deal anymore. After hearing him from the passenger deck I didn't give a rats ass about thier silly rules anymore & went to the cardeck anyway & found him in his kennel in a complete panic, took me a good 10 minutes just to calm him back down. Finally the "ferry employee monitoring the animals" noticed me down there & told me I would have to go upstairs.

This is where I almost get arrested, I explained that I would stay right here with my dog, I asked all kinds of questions on conditions on the boat before deciding to go along, they were not holding up thier end of the deal, my dog is in a panic over it, so they could kiss my ass on my end of the deal I was staying right here with the dog since thier employee monitoring the animal was obviously clueless or did not give a shit & what they were asking me to do was simply cruel to the dog & I wasn't going to comply. Radio traffic ensues, soon an offical type employee arrives, luckily someone with a little compassion for animals, pretty much told him too bad as well & eventually arrived at the compromise that I could stay with him until we were 30 minutes from the dock & then I had to go up while we docked. I turned that into about 10 minutes, long enough to go back to the purser & read them the riot act & get supervisors contact info.

Result, BC Ferry System can lick my balls, will never ride with them again & will also get the "service dog" stuff before riding on any ferry that won't let him on the passenger deck. I should have known better than to think even for a minute that any ferry employee would actually give a shit about my dog, won't happen again. After that incident any ferries we rode on I just ignored the no pet rules & took Dawson upstairs anyway. Just like government, if they think I am going to respect the rules, they need to as well or I will do what I need to & deal with the consquenses as needed.

Sorry to hear Pugsley got sick on your AK attempt, I know we also had some challenges on the climate thing, Dawson is a Nodic breed so he did great in the cold but the heat was a challenge. I had to keep a soft sided cooler full of ice & water on the bike at all times & sometimes had to pull over & wet him down with the towels I kept in the icewater to keep him cool enough. I also had an aunt that parted out a couple 12v drink warmers so I could use them as electric blankets if needed, lots of riders use heated riding gear, why not a dog rider. Now Dawson would ride it out easily but puppies do not regulate thier temps as well so I had to keep a close eye on him the whole trip & on the southbound ride I lucked into a cool spell but was planning on just running at night if it got too hot for him.

I can't say he replaces a girlfriend, lol, but if push comes to shove, the choice is easy, the GF goes, they are never as loyal & complain more. Dawson will go with me until it makes him sick, literally, & never wimper at all, this means I need to be a little careful to make sure I don't drag him into overdoing it & keep an eye on him all the time when we travel.

There is no denying that some days he slowed us down a little bit & thank fully poor Don was exceptionally patient about those days. The way I see it, Dawson may have cost a few miles on a few of the days on a 2 month trip but life expectancy on these guys in 14-16 years & I will happily trade those few days for the company & especially for the kind of dog he will be largely as a result of being one of those "goes everywhere" type dogs. Even with the cost in miles thing, what he added to the whole trip was worth way more than the miles, I wouldn't trade taking him along for anything.

Hope you & Pugsley get to enjoy many miles together

[Mechanical Mischief]

Are these pics of a "first ride" we are looking at?

Originally Posted by 5punksdad

I got a baby carrier from Target and gave it a try today.







Sent from my SPH-L300 using Tapatalk 2

[deardara]

[5punksdad]

Originally Posted by Mechanical Mischief

Are these pics of a "first ride" we are looking at?

Yes. My driveway is about a mile. So we took a 2 mile round trip. He seemed to enjoy it but i might ditch the carrier and just carry him in my jacket.

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[gec343]

Originally Posted by Mechanical Mischief

We have been on that ferry ride, I almost got arrested on that ride.

I was very concerned about thier pets ride on the cardeck BS policy, I asked a bunch of questions before the ride & was assured repeatedly that I would be allowed down every 3 hours to check on him & let him go to the bathroom. I was also assured that a ferry employee monitored the animals for the entire ride & if there was any problems they would page us. I relectantly accepted the rules & of we went.

Most of the ride went Ok, they kept stretching 3 hrs into 3 1/2 or 4 but I kept nagging the purser & got down there pretty regular. Picture a 3 1/2 month old puppy expected to sit in his kennel for 15 hrs, you know it can be done but you better let him out to walk around all you can. Each visit I can tell he is more & more reluctant to get back in the kennel & getting more upset each time I put him back in there. Finally the last visit to the car deck they stalled & stalled until we were within an hour of arrival & then tried to tell me they were skipping it, I was not happy about it but dealt with it & then went to the stair case to listen.
From the passenger deck I could hear Dawson down there freaking out, yelping, crying, he had worked himself into a panic down there, after sitting in there for 3 1/2-4 hrs at a stretch all day with only 10-15 minute breaks he finally couldn't deal anymore. After hearing him from the passenger deck I didn't give a rats ass about thier silly rules anymore & went to the cardeck anyway & found him in his kennel in a complete panic, took me a good 10 minutes just to calm him back down. Finally the "ferry employee monitoring the animals" noticed me down there & told me I would have to go upstairs.

This is where I almost get arrested, I explained that I would stay right here with my dog, I asked all kinds of questions on conditions on the boat before deciding to go along, they were not holding up thier end of the deal, my dog is in a panic over it, so they could kiss my ass on my end of the deal I was staying right here with the dog since thier employee monitoring the animal was obviously clueless or did not give a shit & what they were asking me to do was simply cruel to the dog & I wasn't going to comply. Radio traffic ensues, soon an offical type employee arrives, luckily someone with a little compassion for animals, pretty much told him too bad as well & eventually arrived at the compromise that I could stay with him until we were 30 minutes from the dock & then I had to go up while we docked. I turned that into about 10 minutes, long enough to go back to the purser & read them the riot act & get supervisors contact info.

Result, BC Ferry System can lick my balls, will never ride with them again & will also get the "service dog" stuff before riding on any ferry that won't let him on the passenger deck. I should have known better than to think even for a minute that any ferry employee would actually give a shit about my dog, won't happen again. After that incident any ferries we rode on I just ignored the no pet rules & took Dawson upstairs anyway. Just like government, if they think I am going to respect the rules, they need to as well or I will do what I need to & deal with the consquenses as needed.

Sorry to hear Pugsley got sick on your AK attempt, I know we also had some challenges on the climate thing, Dawson is a Nodic breed so he did great in the cold but the heat was a challenge. I had to keep a soft sided cooler full of ice & water on the bike at all times & sometimes had to pull over & wet him down with the towels I kept in the icewater to keep him cool enough. I also had an aunt that parted out a couple 12v drink warmers so I could use them as electric blankets if needed, lots of riders use heated riding gear, why not a dog rider. Now Dawson would ride it out easily but puppies do not regulate thier temps as well so I had to keep a close eye on him the whole trip & on the southbound ride I lucked into a cool spell but was planning on just running at night if it got too hot for him.

I can't say he replaces a girlfriend, lol, but if push comes to shove, the choice is easy, the GF goes, they are never as loyal & complain more. Dawson will go with me until it makes him sick, literally, & never wimper at all, this means I need to be a little careful to make sure I don't drag him into overdoing it & keep an eye on him all the time when we travel.

There is no denying that some days he slowed us down a little bit & thank fully poor Don was exceptionally patient about those days. The way I see it, Dawson may have cost a few miles on a few of the days on a 2 month trip but life expectancy on these guys in 14-16 years & I will happily trade those few days for the company & especially for the kind of dog he will be largely as a result of being one of those "goes everywhere" type dogs. Even with the cost in miles thing, what he added to the whole trip was worth way more than the miles, I wouldn't trade taking him along for anything.

Hope you & Pugsley get to enjoy many miles together

Thanks for sharing your experience with the B.C. Ferry system. Yes, those three hour interval visits were stretched out, but in my case, the ferry crew were very professional. I did worry about Pugsley down in that kennel hole, and when he would see me coming to visit, his joy was indescribable. When leaving, you could see the extreme sadness in his face.

Pugsley and I are going to make another attempt for Alaska, but this time he'll have heated gear. Plus, my frst attempt was on a ST1300A, which was equipped with a Roadhound Pet carrier attached to the luggage rack. He was not protected well back there, too much wind, etc. I now have a Gold Wing with heated seats, and he loves the heat, plus he is much better protected from the elements. Really, I value the little characters comfort & safety more than my own.

[deardara]

[Mechanical Mischief]

Originally Posted by 5punksdad

Yes. My driveway is about a mile. So we took a 2 mile round trip. He seemed to enjoy it but i might ditch the carrier and just carry him in my jacket.

Sent from my SPH-L300 using Tapatalk 2

Tune on the gear a little & have fun, won't take long & riding without him somehow just won't seem right, bet it doesn't take long & he won't let you near the bike unless he is going.

[Mechanical Mischief]

Originally Posted by gec343

Thanks for sharing your experience with the B.C. Ferry system. Yes, those three hour interval visits were stretched out, but in my case, the ferry crew were very professional. I did worry about Pugsley down in that kennel hole, and when he would see me coming to visit, his joy was indescribable. When leaving, you could see the extreme sadness in his face.

Pugsley and I are going to make another attempt for Alaska, but this time he'll have heated gear. Plus, my frst attempt was on a ST1300A, which was equipped with a Roadhound Pet carrier attached to the luggage rack. He was not protected well back there, too much wind, etc. I now have a Gold Wing with heated seats, and he loves the heat, plus he is much better protected from the elements. Really, I value the little characters comfort & safety more than my own.

Good to hear you & Pugsley are going to take another run at it with equipment better suited to his riding needs, lol, I thought mine was spoiled, I haven't repalced a bike yet to keep him comfortable.

If you haven't done the AK thing yet it is well worth it, if you can pull it off by all means go do it. We did a bunch of it, Telegraph Creek, Hyder, Dempster, Dalton, Top of the World, Denali, Kennicot mine, South Canol, good piece of the North Canol, not sure of your preferences on roads or how abusive you are willing to be on your paint & suspension on the GW but if I were to pick just two of the dirt roads that I would place above the others not just for adventure value but also for what is at the end of the road I would pick Telegraph Creek & McCarthy/Kennicot mine. Both roads would be a bit abusive on a GW & depending on weather could be pretty challenging on a GW but they really weren't the most challenging roads we did & I really enjoyed both places, I think the historical side & the less commercial feel of both appealed to me. I really wished we had more time at McCarthy/Kennicot, would have been great to spend a whole day riding in, 1 whole day there & 1 whole day riding back out, instead we did the whole thing in a day & there was much more to take in than we got to.

Feel free to ask what ever you want when you get ready to make the run, tons of pics & the like from that trip. Whatever your taste/tolerance level for the roads, even if you never leave the pavement, just the wide open free country up there is well worth going to see.

[southforkspeedster]

Originally Posted by 5punksdad

This is the carrier i need. Any info what brand this is??


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It is called "outward hound". I bought it at a "flea" market, pun intended

[5punksdad]

Originally Posted by southforkspeedster

It is called "outward hound". I bought it at a "flea" market, pun intended

Thanks...
Petco has that brand but not that style.

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[Mudclod]

[conchscooter]

Is it not time to point out that this trite signature line needs to be proof read?

The First Rule of Liberalism: Government Failure Always Justifies More Governemnt

Proof positive the Department of Education is failing and needs more funding, I take it.