Ideal Bite

Nah, I wouldn't do it to animals (guilty conscience) but I wouldn't mind making a mushline out of a few ex-boyfriends. It would be quite liberating to tie them all to a rope and make them haul my skinny butt around all day long... MUSHHHHHHH, you losers! ;)

Unless someone is severly handicaped it would be better to walk or run along with the dog. We need exercise, too. This is especially true for our kids who mostly seem to be getting overweight these days. George

some big dogs have a tendency to hip dysplasia. make sure that you check your pet's physical health before harnessing it to a wagon. pounding around on concrete can lead to crippling effects.

I echo Nadli's comments on how some dogs are prone to injuries (from hip dysplasia and other conditions), and so making dogs drag the weight of a human without making sure they're examined by a veterinarian is a BAD idea. The Iditarod is a cruel tradition - this urban mushing is a weak attempt at making it cool. Just walk WITH your dog.

Are you all nuts? The Iditarod must be stopped. These dogs are dying under the strain and stress. And you are promoting to do it with dogs that sit around all week and then their weekend warrior people run them to death. Do you know about the knee problems? they can blow out just as a humans. If you can't find an old school vet, the surgery,a TPLO is roughly 3500. and the recovery time is 3-6 MONTHS. Please don't give any ideas to add to the harm our loving dogs have to withstand now. Not all are in loving homes that would not think of doing this to them.

As an owner of an Alaskan Malamute, I'd like to counter the previous comments, though I can wholeheartedly appreciate their sentiments. Walking is not enough for our dog--I can walk her a couple miles a day and she's still ready to run circles around me. Luckily, we have a yard she can run in to get more exercise. I personally would bike myself over using one of the urban scooters, but, in our situation, I think our young, healthy dog would have a ball pulling me around--no racing, no tests of endurance, just a little fun.

To Laura: I had a Malamute, too, but he also had hip dysplasia (we didn't buy him, he was a rescue that came from a bad breeder). Just because a dog is of a certain breed doesn't make it fit enough to do activities typically associated with that breed. To the Editors of Ideal Bite: I see another irresponsible tip about animals I'm unsubscribing (and I used to suggest your site to other people often). I think you should remove this tip from the archives, too.

usually your tips are so great ... this one, however, not so much. please don't advocate animal cruelty!

I'm surprised as to the previous comments. No, this isn't for every dog, but it sounds perfect for my high-energy German Shepherd that just can't seem to get enough exercise. Granted, my dog is a working dog and is very strong, like many, many dogs are. I don't think people give enough credit to dogs. For a strong, healthy dog that loves to have something to do, I hardly see this as abuse. The dogs in the video don't appear to be straining at all. This looks less painful to me than a dog yanking on a leash, which I see quite often. And pulling a scooter on the sidewalk hardly compares to the Iditarod. Thanks for the tip!

I'm guessing none of my 3 chihuahuas would go for this. They are the princesses in this kingdom. I'm not convinced it's the best way to go, anyways.