The great thing about dogs is they’re wonderful companions. In fact, they’re kinda known for that. So, for recreational enthusiasts who enjoy sports that can be rather solitary in nature, (and sometimes hard to schedule with human companions) having a dog friend is sometimes the best way to go.

“Sports like mountain biking, hiking, cross country skiing, are somewhat solitary activities … they’re sports that people engage in solo, or in small groups. The advantage of having a dog you’ve trained up to be a good trail dog with you on your outings is you don’t feel quite so antisocial,” says Johnny Smoke, mountain biking enthusiast and trail guide, operating Bush Pilot Biking out of the Okanagan in B.C.

“If you like getting outside to enjoy the trails, when you have a dog, you don’t have to do much calling around to find someone to go out with you. Your dog’s schedule is usually pretty open,” says Johnny, smiling. “And, let’s face it, dogs are great icebreakers too. When you meet people on the trail, dogs are friendly, and they create a common ground for connecting.”

Johnny currently shares his trail time with Cooley, (a Chinook word for fast) an 18-month-old purebred border collie, a rescue dog who’d suffered a broken leg when Johnny found her. Two years ago, Johnny’s previous trail dog companion, Harley — another rescue dog, a deaf-from-birth purebred Aussie shepherd — died at the ripe old age of 15 years, after accompanying Johnny through countless mountain biking adventures for 10 years. Harley enjoyed years of renown with appearances in mountain biking culture movies and DVD series including North Shore Extreme, Kranked, New World Disorder, the Pist-n-Broke movies, Ride Guide and Drop In as well as many print publications in Canada, the U.S., the UK, Japan and Germany.

There’s actually an entire movement seeing more and more mountain bikers and their dogs making up huge numbers of trail users across the continent, and the world. “It’s a fairly in-depth culture,” explains Johnny.

“When I was researching stats for another article, looking at size of groups using trails, the largest group was mountain bikers: there are millions of us, really technically minded, spending lots of money on gear. We’re pretty high performance … we’re not talking one or two kilometre strolls.”

Just like their human counterparts, dogs who accompany their companions on trails need to be physically conditioned for the recreation. Mountain biking is an athletic endeavour, and dogs suited to go along for the ride … need to have four strong legs to endure the run.

“If you don’t ease them into this level of activity, they’ll be ruined,” warns Johnny. “You can literally run them to death if you don’t know what you’re doing, if you don’t manage their training with the same kind of care you give yourself to build up your own athleticism. If your dog hasn’t spent a lot of time on trails, their paws will be delicate; you need to toughen them up, over time.”

Aaron Simms, co-owner with Emerson Graff of Trail Crew Design operating out of Calgary, AB, agrees. “Don’t overdo it too young. My dog Simba — a four and a half year old boxer shepherd cross — got really excited really young about joining me on the trails … and people will tend to think that dogs can keep up forever. But you need to realize that they have limited energy and you need to train them like an athlete. Don’t push them too hard; take them up for a couple runs, then let them hang out at the truck, then do a couple more, be reasonable.”

Both Aaron and Johnny speak of investing years with their dogs, working together to build up strength and stamina for longer rides and tougher trails. Dogs are loyal, and want to be with you, and will run themselves beyond their own thresholds for fatigue and pain; it’s up to you to manage their endurance tolerance and activity levels

.
There are practical advantages to sharing your trail time with dogs too. Their senses are keen, and when you’re out on a backcountry trail, they’ll pick up on wildlife in the area long before you will. 

Aaron, who spends a lot of his summer months building and maintaining trails for mountain biking says, “Especially when you’re working … your dogs are kind of hanging around and they’ll start growling or barking and sometimes you’ll look up to see a deer or a bear … or sometimes you won’t. They definitely alert you to be aware of your surroundings, to what may be around you while you have your head down and working.”

Even this advantage comes with responsibility. “You need to have that strong bond with your dog, so they’re in touch with you. If they’re an urban dog, and you’re going to let them off the leash in the backwoods, you have to know that your dog is considered food to a lot of residents there.” 

  
With planning and devotion, training your canine companion to be a healthy, safe, fun partner on the trails can be an adventure worth every minute. “Having a dog really enhanced my desire to go out and explore and adventure,” says Johnny.

For more information about Bush Pilot Biking, or to chat with Johnny about his experience with trail dogs, visit www.bushpilotbiking.com. For more information on Trail Crew Design and to connect with Aaron and his dogs, check out www.trailcrewdesign.com.