notpickard
New member
- Jan 7, 2025
- 4
- 10
hi all, thought i'd make my first post with some thoughts on getting my 60+ lb pitbull to ride around in a Riese & Müller Transporter 2. She's over 12 years old so the cargo bike is a great way to get her to places she wouldn't be able to walk to. Included a couple of pictures just to give a sense of scale. Not claiming any of this as gospel and am open to thoughts/questions. Has been pretty successful with some room to grow.
The Transporter 2 with Bosch performance has been great. One nice feature is the bucket i have has a side opening door and is low enough that she can get in an out pretty much on her own.
The only real change i made to the bucket was to put one 24"x24" eva foam tile, the kind used for interlocking excise padding, on the 'floor' of the bucket. The bucket material on its own is way to slick and she would slide all around. the foam tile is grippy enough for her paws and butt to be pretty stable an a little bit of a cushion that is works great.
To get her comfortable i worked with her for about a month.
First week I just had her get into and out of the bucket, giving her a treat each time she iterated. It did this a few times a day. Just said something like 'let's ride!' to get her outside. And would let her hop in, close the door, doo a bunch of good dog, open the door let her hop out. And that was it for a week She's very food motivated (see 'pitbull') so it was not hard to get her to associate getting to the bucket as a good time for her
The second week I got her in the bucket and pushed the bike with her in it around the block. Stopping when ever she would stand up or get nervous. I'd get her settled, give her a treat when she was chilled out and then continue. Not too different from leash training. Just stopping when she was not doing what the right behavior was in the moment, adjusting and rewarding.
Third week was around the block but riding. Same idea as walking but getting her used to the speed and motion.
Fourth week were short rides to places she knows, like the coffee shop we go to in the morning. Just trying to her used to the idea that when we get in we are going some where and she'll get to get out.
Caveat her is she is an older dog so her energy and rapidness of action doesn't really require me to be on guard for some split second choice she might make. She's not reactive to other dogs and people. So it was pretty much just the bike. Only mentioning it because i know there's a lot of variety in dog personality and in my case i didn't really have to take into account things like strapping her in.
But not we get to go to pretty far parks and new smells which she loves. So it's been a great investment in our quality of life.
Look forward to thoughts and picts of the best copilots.
The Transporter 2 with Bosch performance has been great. One nice feature is the bucket i have has a side opening door and is low enough that she can get in an out pretty much on her own.
The only real change i made to the bucket was to put one 24"x24" eva foam tile, the kind used for interlocking excise padding, on the 'floor' of the bucket. The bucket material on its own is way to slick and she would slide all around. the foam tile is grippy enough for her paws and butt to be pretty stable an a little bit of a cushion that is works great.
To get her comfortable i worked with her for about a month.
First week I just had her get into and out of the bucket, giving her a treat each time she iterated. It did this a few times a day. Just said something like 'let's ride!' to get her outside. And would let her hop in, close the door, doo a bunch of good dog, open the door let her hop out. And that was it for a week She's very food motivated (see 'pitbull') so it was not hard to get her to associate getting to the bucket as a good time for her
The second week I got her in the bucket and pushed the bike with her in it around the block. Stopping when ever she would stand up or get nervous. I'd get her settled, give her a treat when she was chilled out and then continue. Not too different from leash training. Just stopping when she was not doing what the right behavior was in the moment, adjusting and rewarding.
Third week was around the block but riding. Same idea as walking but getting her used to the speed and motion.
Fourth week were short rides to places she knows, like the coffee shop we go to in the morning. Just trying to her used to the idea that when we get in we are going some where and she'll get to get out.
Caveat her is she is an older dog so her energy and rapidness of action doesn't really require me to be on guard for some split second choice she might make. She's not reactive to other dogs and people. So it was pretty much just the bike. Only mentioning it because i know there's a lot of variety in dog personality and in my case i didn't really have to take into account things like strapping her in.
But not we get to go to pretty far parks and new smells which she loves. So it's been a great investment in our quality of life.
Look forward to thoughts and picts of the best copilots.
