Riding Safely with Your Dog: Essential Gear and Considerations

Keeping your dog safe and happy while riding is an essential part of being a responsible biker dog parent. Ensuring their comfort and security is paramount. Let’s delve into the essential Pet Protective Equipment (PPE) for a safe ride:

The most important consideration is the carrier, there are a number of options on the market, but not all are made equal. Considerations include:

• Exposure Protection: Ensure the carrier shields your dog from sun, rain, and noise.
• Accident Protection: Look for features like a roll cage, barrier from the road, and secure harness attachments.
• Comfort: Ensure your dog has enough space to lay down, sit, stand, and turn around comfortably.
• Mounting Options: Check for compatibility with your bike, quick-release options, and ease of installation.
• Legal Compliance: Be aware of laws regarding riding with pets including where they can be carried and secure tethering requirements. Research local regulations or refer to our legislation guide.

Selecting the right harness is vital for your dog's safety during the ride. A harness designed for the extreme forces associated with a collision are crucial. Take note of the buckles as these are often the weak link in the design, likewise, look at the extent of stitching. of the thousands of harnesses available on the market, only a very few number are truly designed with accident protection in mind. The Kurgo Enhanced Strength Tru-Fit Dog Car Harness is our recommendation due to its crash-tested design and durability. Ensure you choose the car variant as there is a deceptively similarly named walking harness. You can read more about the Kurgo Enhanced Strength Tru-Fit Dog Car Harness in our non-affiliated and completely independent review.

Protecting your dog's eyes while riding is an important consideration. While RexSpecs is a premium option, any goggles your dog tolerates may be suitable. Amazon has a large range of options at a fraction of the price of the major contenders and in many ways functionally equivalent.

Things to consider are:

• comfort: are the goggles padded or is hard plastic pressed directly onto the face
• shape and size: are they suited to a specific head shape, maybe specifically toy breeds or pit bulls, it's unlikely that one style is going to be suitable in both circumstances.

Train your dog to wear them gradually using positive reinforcement, start with a few minutes at a time and build up as their tolerance increases. When you do start riding, consider tethering them to the harness to prevent loss in the event your dog decides to knock them off.

In cooler weather, consider investing in a jacket for your dog to keep them warm and comfortable. Again Amazon is has a lot of choice, look for options with full coverage, including legs, and gauge the necessity based on the riding conditions. We have a general rule that if we need our liners in our mesh jackets, then our dogs need to be dressed. This depends on the type of riding, if you're on a motorway then you'll want a jacket in even slightly cooler weather but if you're just riding to the pub or taking it easy on some back roads than you'll remain comfortable in lower temperatures.

While some bikers use hearing protection for their dogs, it may not be universally necessary. Assess your dog’s comfort and needs accordingly. It's not something we've really been overly concerned about since hearing loss is going to be more of a problem for us as our dogs age, it's different to eye protection, as they're not going to be harmed by the lack of it.

As biker dog parents, it’s our responsibility to prioritise our pets' safety and comfort while riding. Remember, public perception matters, and ensuring your dog is well-cared-for reflects positively on all of us. Take the time to prepare your dog for riding and get comfortable in their gear and always prioritise their enjoyment and well-being.

Remember, if your dog enjoy riding, you'll enjoy riding, so take your time and make sure they're afforded every comfort and protection you would expect for yourself.