Why We Bike To The Dog Park

[@michellewest9168]

This is an inspiring story to show we can very easily get off our butts, get out on our bikes to enjoy the city and the car CAN stay at home! Great story and awesome video!

[@sarahpedersen5310]

This is amazing. I just bought a dog trailer and it should be here in two days! Your video makes me excited to take my dog out!

[@SteveCoutts]

That is terrific! I hope it works out for you and your pup. We (Molly too) really enjoy ours.

[@jimgrizzell2944]

Your video helped me make the decision to get the Burley Tail Wagon. I've adopted Oakley, a 60 lb English Bulldog. Trailer arrives at REI for pickup in 3 days. I reviewed about half a dozen and yours was the most useful. Thanks.

[@SteveCoutts]

Thanks Jim! Good luck with your Tail Wagon and congratulations on Oakley! Molly is still going for rides in her Burley and still loves it. Cheers!

[@user-lj7sq7ix1j]

I'm excited, because my dog trailer is coming in 3 days.

[@johndeakin571]

My good gosh...this is Calgary and you’re going off to Sandy Beach Dog Park on the Elbow..🐾🐾. Might see you there one of these days.

[@SteveCoutts]

Haha! Yeah, maybe. 😀👍

[@chewy1203]

Im glad you guys bike 20-30 minutes too I was getting kind off unsure if its ok but now I know. Im so excited to finally go to the woods with my dog we just got the trailer yesterday tho so we still need some training

[@SteveCoutts]

It's definitely been a learning process but we love it and Molly seems to love it too. Good luck with your trailer! Cheers!

[@cwr8618]

Thanks for the video. I'm also a huge proponent of walking / riding and using the car last. Our shepherd is 12 and he's run hard with us for a long time, so that's why we're looking at a trailer now. Trying to preserve his body and give him more comfort in old age. Burley has some nice products but I think this trailer is a touch too small for bigger dogs and about $100 too high, relative to some of the other trailers. Thanks for making this an promoting an active lifestyle!

[@SteveCoutts]

Thanks for watching! Molly, who is a Boxer/Rottweiler, pretty much just fits in the trailer and you're right, it's not really suitable for larger dogs. Burley definitely isn't the cheapest option but I was quite impressed the one time I called for service and our trailer is still going great. Molly is 14 now and still enjoying her rides and we love leaving the car at home. Best of luck finding a suitable trailer. Cheers!

[@cwr8618]

@@SteveCoutts Well, as life would have it, our furry family member passed yesterday evening. Thanks again for the messaging.

[@SteveCoutts]

@@cwr8618 Oh my gosh, I am so sorry to hear that. Take care.

[@MrMarkas3]

Dutch doggyride / design stroller . They are prone to tip over and are unsafe , I bought mine as my dog is getting older now and can’t keep up I decided to go with doggyride as it was a Dutch company and let’s face it there know for being big cycle fans . So with great excitement I ordered there top model at a high price over £390 , first outing was great although I had a lot of weight on the roof rack about 20kg and was happy . Then came the second trip out with no weight on top , and whilst still very cautious we went out , coming round a very shallow bend on a cycle path less than 30 degrees going at a speed of 2.6 mph according to my garmin it tipped over my worst nightmare had happened my pooch was injured and I was beside myself as she is my world ,luckily a car wasn’t coming the other way or she could of been killed . The buggy was a total mess , so I contacted Dutch doggy designs about this and was told that I should of taught my dog to lay still as the buggy’s are prone to tip over with moment ! Well if I was told this before I bought there product I wouldn’t have bothered ! . There offer was to give me 50% of a new cover ! So I bought an unsafe unstable stroller of them and still I have to pay another £60 to fix it , after many emails to there owner the communication went dead very unprofessional. So in summary I would not recommend there products as they by there own admission are unstable, if you care about your beloved dogs please stay clear as you could kill them , and they don’t care as long as they get paid . Sent from my iPad

[@TheCraich]

I ride by that dog park every day on my commute. I was surprised to see it as I didn't know which city this video was shot in.

[@SteveCoutts]

Haha! Awesome. It is a great park for dogs.

[@Gusto0172]

Thanks for the vid. I'm considering transport options for our 38kg labx. Currently he rides in the front of my motor scooter ok here in Bali. Happy riding there.

[@SteveCoutts]

You're welcome! The Burley trailer has worked out very well for us and Molly. 38kg is a little heavy for this one though, maximum weight is 34kg. Burley does make a simple flatbed trailer with a 40kg payload capacity. We did consider that one but because Molly is a bit of a chicken we thought she would feel more safe and secure with closed in sides. Good luck! 😀

[@Gusto0172]

@@SteveCoutts Thanks for the tip & happy trailering!

[@Gusto0172]

Got a trailer, well, done deal & will bring it back to Bali in about a month.

[@SteveCoutts]

Awesome! Good luck with it!

[@nicolenickibarnes9958]

I will love to ride my bike and take My service dog along with me This is a very good idea so we can get all of our butt enjoyed life riding and taking our pets long with us...Thank you for your amazing story👍👍👍💯💯💯💯👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@SteveCoutts]

Thank you! Absolutely. When we first got Molly we found we were biking less because we didn't want to leave her behind. Now, we can take her almost everywhere. She loves being outside, we get exercise and we also tread a little lighter on the planet too. Everyone wins! 😀

[@luky6125]

Thanks for this. I would for sure buy a dog trailer

[@SteveCoutts]

Thanks for watching! We love it and Molly does too!

[@kolloduke3341]

Thankyou for your vid , not only have you both given me food for thought ,and because of your tshirt design. I now have an idea for a tatt ! heehee ! .Cant wait to take my dog out when its snowing ..

[@SteveCoutts]

Haha! Awesome! Have fun!

[@kolloduke3341]

@@SteveCoutts thanks very much ..

[@user-lj7sq7ix1j]

Can't wait to get a dog trailer, also have the Walky dog pole for my husky too, that way all my dogs will get out at the same time.

[@user-lj7sq7ix1j]

Yay my dog trailer arrived early, excited to try it out, my dogs jumped in it straight away.

[@SteveCoutts]

Haha! That's awesome! Happy, safe travels with the puppies in tow.

[@danacampbell2606]

Molly seems to rely a lot on the tailgate to keep her butt in. What are the chances of failure?

[@SteveCoutts]

The Burley trailer is very solidly built. It's really strong nylon material with really good, heavy duty fasteners on the tailgate so I would be very surprised if it ever gave way. She tends to sit really far back and to the one side, even though we try to encourage her to move forward or lay down, she just won't do it.

[@VIrtualRaceways]

@@SteveCoutts does she sit that far back, because of a bar under the pad? might be too hard on the bumps.

[@SteveCoutts]

​@@VIrtualRaceways She always sits way in the back on the right, leaning up against the side. I think part of it is she doesn't like the overhead bar. She was a Mexican rescue, she's 13 years old now and we have only had her for 5 years. She is the most amazing dog but she does have some weird quirks so I really don't know if she sits there because of her bad hip, or she's afraid of the overhead bar (most likely) or something else entirely. All I know is that if she didn't want to do it she wouldn't even get it and we couldn't make her and if she didn't like it, we would never get her in in more than once. She goes in willingly every time we offer it up and she always sits in the same spot. The funny part is I have to swap the wheels to keep them wearing evenly as the right one wears out prematurely and significantly quicker because of her position. Cheers!

[@jamesbarker4752]

We have a Malinois named Molly. She loves her trailer.

[@SteveCoutts]

Awesome! Our Molly is still rolling in her trailer and loving it. Happy, safe travels! Cheers!

[@royce78]

Hi Steve, how heavy is your dog? I want to get one but my dog is a 75-80 pound female Labrador, on the small side but very borderline to fit the 75lbs capacity of the trailer. What do you recommend? Great video! Thanks.

[@SteveCoutts]

She is between 72-75 pounds, which is capacity for that trailer. She should be closer to 65 pounds but it gets harder every year to keep her weight down as she slows with age. Burley sells two other trailers with higher hauling capacity - Nomad and Flatbed. Depending on your dog maybe they will work for you. I have seen a dog being pulled around in a Flatbed trailer. Seems to work for them, I'm just not sure it would work for Molly and us. 😀

[@drivestorage1779]

right there with you !!! We go out more now that we'd chosen to bike commute. In fact, we make excuses to go out now. We are still cycling on the sidewalk but whenever there's a pedestrian, we'd stop to "walk" our bike, so technically, whenever a pedestrian is present, we, too, are pedestrians. I figured they can't really give us a hard time when no one else is using the sidewalk when we are biking right? Unless, of course, every now and then you'd bump into a grumpy troll who must make you know that their life is miserable and they must say something to you about that. We just smile and move on. :)

[@SteveCoutts]

Awesome! It's been one of our favourite things and it makes you appreciate the trip rather than it being just something to get through. Happy cycling!

[@fantonio234]

Hey bud can you make a video on how does the trailer break down for storage?

[@SteveCoutts]

I have thought about doing a follow-up at some point and if I do, I would definitely put a bit in about the storage aspect. During the riding season we kept it in our small condo but fold it down. You fold it down by releasing two red clips near at the top of the frame where our dog's head usually sits. The trailer itself will squish down to about 8" thick and it's quick to do. At the end of the season I just pop off the quick release wheels to save a bit more space. Cheers!

[@KarenChristieArt]

Just got our dog trailer today. Look forward to using them. We live in downtown Calgary too. What is your favorite dog park to ride to?

[@SteveCoutts]

Awesome! River Park is our favourite. We typically go through downtown on the cycle tracks, cut down 5th SW and at 17th Ave jump over to 4th SW and take that down over the Elbow in to Roxborro. Take your right over the Elbow Rvier and you join back up with a bike path that takes you through Stanley Park, then on to Riverdale Dog Park and the Sandy Beach area, which is just below River Park. It's a fun ride to a great dog park. Have fun!

[@michaelbenoit9240]

Protected bike lines, lucky. I'm glad that there are dog trailers out. I knew of cargo and kid trailers, but not dog specifically.

[@SteveCoutts]

We only have protected bike lanes for about 25% of our journey. Still though, I am grateful to have any, especially in a car crazy city like Calgary.

[@dorigirl7122]

Smart move making her walk up the ramp from the garage!

[@guillermoortiz1492]

Did you consider buying the flat bed or normad from Burley before trail wagon? Looking into buying one of the 3 for my pup

[@SteveCoutts]

I did look at them but I was worried should wouldn't ride wide open. She's a bit of a chicken. The Tail Wagon also gives Molly protection from the elements on rainy or cooler days. I do like the higher capacity of the Flatbed and Nomad models but I'm not sure they would have worked for Molly.

[@joachimhadenteufel5014]

Isn‘t your dog wagon not much too small for your dog?

[@SteveCoutts]

It's the largest size we could get in that style and we waned that style to keep her feeling comfortable and secure. She is at the top end for fit for sure though. Molly always positions herself at the back, leaning on the side because of her bad hip. You can't make this dog do anything she doesn't want to do or is afraid to do. We were quite worried she simply wouldn't like it but she took to it right away. We still use the trailer but now pull it with an e-bike because we live in a much hillier area. Molly still gets in all by herself but last year she started getting out all by herself, which is a new thing for her. Cheers!

[@Alyeah_]

Now I know how to take my dog to the dog park on my bike I’ll be looking into getting a doggy trailer

[@SteveCoutts]

Awesome! We love it and so does Molly.

[@lancelovecraft5913]

my bicycle is my only mode of transport. I really want an animal companion. I want a way to transport said animal companion by bicycle

[@robertovelandia1391]

Hi, can you share the brand of the trailer please

[@SteveCoutts]

It's a Burley Tail Wagon. Still have it and still use it. We are on the second set of tires now and it's still in great shape. It wasn't cheap but I would definitely buy their products in the future.

[@cswamp1]

I'm trying to find a trailer strong enough to pull my 200lb English mastiff? anyone have any suggestions?

[@SteveCoutts]

Wow, that's a tall order. Most I've seen in the bike trailer category is about 100lbs. You could look at a "bakfiets" style cargo bike, they can carry some pretty heavy loads. Good luck!

[@coennos7443]

Your good for your dog,like that!

[@Devil-cf6yg]

❤❤❤❤

[@benec5816]

Fantastic

[@derkgold6395]

Are u using ebikes?

[@SteveCoutts]

Not yet. For sure though when I can no longer pull Molly up the hills. 😀

[@okioki1131]

Why don't you secure the back? Can't your dog fall out?

[@SteveCoutts]

There in a 6-8 inch tailgate in the back and it's sufficiently secure to keep her from tumbling out. We would prefer her to ride closer to the front but Molly likes to ride in the back, right corner and rest up against the side. We have taken probably 50-60 trips and never once has she come close to popping out the back. My wife and I always ride together too with the trailer in the front and the other rider in the back to keep an eye on Molly.

[@twtwtravelingwiththewind5030]

Steve Coutts Hi ,how are you. I really need to ask you a favor,could you please tell me how hard is the trailer floor? Ive seen you add something ....i want to get one to travel in Europe with my Jack Russell and some bags....what DO you think .....would it be hard enough? Thanks for your time. Best regards from Spain. Josh

[@SteveCoutts]

Hi! The trailer floor is made of a hard, corrugated plastic - quite firm. It supports up to 75 pounds. We added a piece of yoga mat to give Molly better traction. It would certainly handle a Jack Russell and some baggage. Good luck! 😀

[@twtwtravelingwiththewind5030]

Steve Coutts thankTHANK you very much for your time and Answer.....very,very helpfull.....god bless you 2, x100 times and god bless x150 times Molly

[@hollymcintyre7745]

Steve, did you add the plastic to the floor? Seems the Burley comes with a fabric floor...

[@hermanatorherrman9164]

Bro Molly too big for that trailer. You should’ve got the awesome two in one. For bigger dogs believe me there’s a big difference in pulling when the wagon is made for heavier dogs. My dog is the same size and she can lay down in the back and sleep if she wants.

[@SteveCoutts]

When we bought it we knew she was right at the limit, or maybe a bit over for that particular trailer. We went with the Burley because of the build quality, positive reviews as well as our local bike shop having one we could try. We also had to be mindful Molly's fears. She came from the streets of Mexico to a Canadian family only to be surrendered again because of her "issues". We fostered her, fell in love with her and adopted her. Her "issues" have mostly gone away although she is a bit of a chicken. The tall sides make her feel safe and she leans hard in to the one side of the trailer, away from her bad hip. Honestly, we weren't even 100% confident she would even go in the trailer but I think she walked in half way by herself the second time we tried it and we were so relieved. You're not going to make this dog do anything she doesn't want to do - haha! We still use it but we've upgraded to e-bikes to accommodate the hills where we live now. She actually seems even more comfortable with it lately. I have wondered if it's due to the steadier pull of the e-assist making her feel more secure. And to our surprise she gets ALL the way in by herself now. We don't have to lift her backend. We are pretty sure she will never lie down in a trailer. She barely does it in the car unless we are on long road trips and bring her bed. My only real complaint with this trailer is I wish the top bar was a little higher. But, even if she could move more forward, I'm sure she would still sit, leaning up on the right hand side, keeping her weight off her bad hip. That's just what she does. Cheers!

[@vivianaesperanzaruiz6879]

Excelente buena vida buena salud

[@SteveCoutts]

¡Gracias!

[@mogeking56]

Your dog 🐕 has secretly been texting me telling me that she doesn’t like going to the park when it’s cold 🥶, but her crazy as hell humans insist on going to the park anyway what the hell 🤨

[@SteveCoutts]

Before you formed your opinion did you know that Molly was a dog that no one wanted? Did you know that she was destined to be put down before we fostered her? Did you know that she couldn't be around other dogs or children? Did you know that she had little muscle mass and could barely walk around the block when we first got her? Did you know hiking was her favourite activity? Did you know that she preferred the colder temperatures of winter to the heat of summer? Did you know that she is so stubborn that she could not be made to do something she didn't want to do? Did you know that we spent dozens and dozens of hours on training and rehabilitation so she could go to off leash dog parks and be with her kind again? Did you know that a dog that needed to be "kept away from other dogs" had many (best) friends at the dog park? Did you know that after months of rehab the first time she played with another dog we cried out of pure joy? Did you know that we worked with our neighbour's kids so Molly could trust children again? Did you know that Molly was so smart and knew her hiking trails so well we would give her options as to distance and difficulty so she could pick based on her energy level? Did you know she quickly got bored of the same walks so we had to constantly find new places and routes for her? Did you know that most of the rehab work we did with Molly was while we fostered her to make her more adoptable? Did you know that during our time with Molly we only took trips to places we could go to by car so she could come with us? Did you know that we never left her with anyone else during the entire ten years we had her? No, you didn't know any of those things. But maybe if you did know some of those things you would have formed a different opinion. Perhaps you would have concluded that these are AMAZING dog owners who just got caught in bad weather. Just so you know, we don't intentionally ride in the rain, snow or serious cold because it's no fun for us. Molly didn't really care because she's sheltered in her wagon. On that particular day the forecast was for possible snow later in the day. We got surprised by it early. It mattered more for us because we were exposed to the elements. Molly rode in her wagon with the cover in place so she didn't get exposed to the weather at all. She was nice and toasty. I know this because we had to keep stopping to warm our hands and I would check on her. We had to say goodbye to Molly this past August. She was 15. She left a hole in our hearts that will never be filled. The only comfort comes from knowing, with absolute certainty, that we gave her the best life we could for those ten short years we had her.

[@paulhendo8726]

I got an ebike with an ebay pet trsiler for my pitty

[@SteveCoutts]

Nice! Molly is a month away from 15 now and still enjoys her trailer. Happy trails!

[@skrich7359]

I think it’s too small...