new to bikejoring

hi all

very keen to get my guys into the sport of bikejoring, mostly for exercise... my work schedule would likely get in the way of being able to compete or attend many events :(

I have 3 mals, but of a sort different to what most of you would know - they are Belgian Malinois, very popular dogs for biting sports, and becoming much more common in law enforcement agencies across the globe...

my guys are all half brothers, same sire different mothers, and are 7, 4, and 3 1/2... they vary a little in build, but overall are pretty similar, usually weighing within a kg of one another...

I can walk them all together, but I have to set them up in sort of a 'fan' configuration, with 3 leashes of equal length, as my elder two don't get along, I need to put the youngest in between them... they will trot along like this for miles without so much as a dirty look at one another, but if I let one dog further out front, we have issues :/ I want to continue this config for bikejoring, each with their own gangline and harness... but should I use necklines between them, both hooked to the middle dog? or will this just cause problems?

I am planning on getting my gear from Windchill, 3x X-back harnesses and 3x 1 dog ganglines... I already have a kickbike I purchased some years ago, I need to dust it off and get new tyres for it... given the way all 3 of them will happily drag me up the road while we are walking, and their general happy-go-lucky, not bothered by much at all attitudes, I have the feeling getting them out in front of the scooter, especially if all 3 are together, will be pretty easy lol...

the main problem I have is that we will probably doing most of our running close to home, on bitumen :(

I live on a 'rural' road (even though I am only 10k's out from the town centre of Ipswich, QLD), which has 100k speed limit, and runs straight for about 15k's... really need advice on booties for the boys, as I definitely don't want hurt feet!

I finish work between 10pm and 2am and get home about 15-20mins after... so all our running would be done in the middle of the night when there is SFA vehicle traffic... we currently walk up and down abovementioned road, it's pretty much dead straight, no footpaths... there is a ditch on each side which is usually full of 3ft high grass, and then a barbed wire fence... they already ignore the one dog who comes out to give us a serve, and while the cattle are a little more of a distraction I think if they were actually moving along at a trot - instead of having to plod along at MY pace - they'd not take more than a cursory glance...

yeah, yeah, I know, I should really go find some trails somewhere... but I'd probably never manage to actually get out there... I just want to come home, let everyone out (they are crated while I am at work because all 3 are little houdinis... ugh), let them have a decent toilet break while I change out of my uniform, get everyone hooked up and go for a blat up the road... come home, go to bed, and then actually be allowed to sleep of a morning, instead of being pestered and trampled on by 3 muttleys who are itching to get outside and exercise lol...

any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated!!

thanks

Jay & 3 crazy malinois

Hi Jay,
Just read your post - obviously.
A fan configuration, usually used by the Inuits when traversing ice, is perhaps the least productive and efficient configuration. Usually in a fan, necklines are not used, but my concern would be that if you have two outriders that don't like each other, having them in a fan - even with necklines - doesn't necessarily mean they couldn't get at each other if they got grumpy.
My suggestion would be an indian file setup, using a three dog line, or even a six dog line where there would be gaps in usual positions. The aggression between the two elders is pack mentaility. The younger (the 4yo) sounds like he wants top position. Are they all entire?
In terms of booties. One of my Mals I used to booty all the time. She had soft feet and would feel harsh surfaces. Once the booties were on - usually only on the rear, she was fine. On a heavy muddy track, she wouldn't usually require the booties.
If you can, stay away from the bitumen. Think of it in terms of how you feel walking or running for several klms on such a surface. Not good for the joints, for the back, for the pads.
Hope some of that helps.
Justin
Snowpaw Alaskan Malamutes

thanks for the advice...

I ended up dragging out a couple of harnesses i have laying around, and doing some experimenting... they are not ideal for long distance pulling but they have been doing the trick for short distances and a bit of mucking around...

I've decided I'm not going to run my eldest boy as part of the team, he loves it but just can't keep up with the younger two... he is more of a short spurt type guy now, the other two are the stayers...

so I've been running the younger two together with a neckline, the middle boy is a little machine, pulls and keeps up the pace the whole time... youngest boy keeps up, keeps the neckline slack, but often has a slack leash... I don't mind as he is still getting good exercise...

we've been going a k or so up the road and then back, did a few little runs over a few weeks, but then the damn maremma up the road got out of his yard, and chased us up the road... we ended up going on a mammoth hike around the block to get home again so we didn't have to go back past him... I took their harnesses off and leashes went back on collars and we walked most of the way...

but yeah havent been out again since then : (

Jay, something I didn't notice in your original post. You are in Ipswich Qld. Maybe get in contact with NEGRC (Northern Exposure Gig Racing Club) which are located in Qld. They have club races around the place, and are run by a good bunch of people. I think the President is Todd Maguire. They have a FB Page so you should be able to get some info as to when they have club races, events etc.

Justin

I asked for group membership of their page but no response :(

I have their website open in a tab, I guess I should start sending some emails...

cheers for the reminder!

if you want quality booties for gravel I recommend dogbooties.com 1000 denier booties ,we used to live at pine mountain and trained in that area some of my girls lived in them on the tracks around that area,there are great tracks at peachey state forest at peachey near toowoomba. Wayne Baker

Hi Jay,

Send me an email at qld@assa.asn.au and I'll give you all the info for the club here in SE Qld. I am near Ipswich also if you want to get in touch. Club has a lot going on and another run at Esk this weekend.

Regards
Rob