Ideal Bite

I definitely WILL NOT be doing this! This tip is a recipe for disaster. Luckily everyone who has posted so far sounds like thoughtful and humane pet owners who are considering the consequences of using their dogs as transport, not everyone is like this! A major disclaimer is needed regarding the human to dog weight ratio. It's a good thing only 40% of American dogs are overweight, because the statistics are probably worse for their humans. Ideal Bite--stick to tips that are actually reasonable. I'd rather read a rerun of the CFL topic than one that promotes cruelty to animals just to save 3 miles worth of gas.

Saving the environment by promoting animal cruelty? That seems a little counterintuitive to me. This tip is making me rethink my IdealBite subscription.

A friend of mine walks her doggin on the treadmill to get rid of excess energy (unfortunately, a CO2-producing choice). People use all sorts of strategies to exercise their pets, and I don't think this is an irresponsible suggestion. After all, think of all the Fidos who will suffer due to climate change, with all of their owner driving them back and forth to the dog park. A little urban mushing for the appropriate pooch is innocent on its own, and definitely in comparison.

I love this idea! Most dogs don't get enough of a chance to exercise and do work that makes them feel like happy, purposeful dogs. This is an excellent mutually-beneficial way to bond with your dog. It reminds me of the opener of "The Dog Whisperer" shows, where Cesar's pack is excitedly pulling him down the street on his rollerblades. Thanks for recommending this. If I get a big enough dog one day, I will totally do this!

I happen to live in the same town as the dog powered scooter guy and I can attest to the fact that the dogs (sometimes 1, sometimes it's a double) are not straining and are way into it. He is not commuting across town by way of dog, but rather anytime I see him it is on a pedestrian path through our local park along the river. C'mon folks, it's not like they're pulling sleds here. The set up looks a lot more comfortable for a dog than a collar with a leash on it - especially for dogs that want to go faster then their owners walking pace. No this isn't the solution to our addiction to fossil fuels but it is not animal cruelty.

I too live in the same town as the dog powered scooter guy. I love dogs, and I will say that he has some pretty happy dogs. One of which is usually hanging outside the coffee shop greeting people with a wagging tail. And please don't tell me that the dog tied up in front of the coffee shop is a form of animal cruelty! And, no, he is not on some highway or commuting across town. This guy is usually seen in the park with a happy tail-wagging doggie. How 'bout this, people...there is a doggie obesity epidemic happening...get your dog some exercise!

I totally agree with Katy and would add to it - there IS a pet obesity epidemic happening in the U.S. As the average citizen's weight has gone up, so to has the weight of their pet. I'm not sure where the idea that pets need to be fed whenever they act hungry came from, but 'open' feeding and over-feeding are a serious issue, just ask your local vet. Pets require very little food, even an extremely active 65lb dog should only need 1 cup of food/twice per day. People also seem to have forgotten what many large-breed dogs were originally bred for .... working! Working-class dogs were made to herd livestock, retrieve game, help on hunts, and yes, to even pull things such as people. So if you have a dog who's constantly tugging on the leash and is clear of any health defects, give it a shot. If they 're not into it, they'll let you know.

This is a really bad bad post. First of all, I'm a bit surprised the pro-mushing people aren't saying anything like, "make sure you check with your vets first". Um, usually when you go onto a new exercise regime you might want to check with your physician right? And since dogs cant exactly TELL us how hes feeling, it WOULD make sense to go to the vet beforehand wouldn't it? Yes it would. And yes, certain breeds of dogs were made to work. But notice the word "certain". Not all dogs were bred that way. And what... Urban mushing? I'm sorry but this is just stupid. Unless you live in the suburbs and you wanna go to the local park or you live in the country, this wont work... Just run with the dog and get yourself some exercise.

Despite the negative comments on this tip, please don't stop posting this type of information. I think that the opinions of owners who have a breed of dog that LOVES to run/play/exercise is quite different from owners who don't have a "working dog." I agree that the Iditarod needs to stop, but reading that some see this tip as endorsing animal cruelty is actually laughable to those of us who know about our dog's breed. I live in a large city, and the park is fine, but I don't get to interact with my dogs as much as I would if I had them attached to my bike. Until I received your tip, I had not found a responsible, safe, and effective way to do this. As much as I would like to run with them, keeping up with 2 Siberian Huskies would be quite a task...that would be owner cruelty. Thanks for the information!

Is this a serious tip? It seems like a cruel joke. The more of these I seem to read, the more I think the editor has something wrong with her head. I'm not paying $300 for "organic jeans" and I'm certainly not going to hook my dog to a sled to pull me around. How about walking them? What a crazy idea!! I also may unsubscribe, I rarely find a tip useful from this site.