Let Me Show You How to Walk a Dog

As I mentioned, I'm getting a new puppy soon, but what I haven't brought up quite as much is that I already have a best good friend in the form of the dog I already have, Guinness.  Some time ago, I stumbled across this video by Rivendell Bike Works:

It's certainly got its charm, but my first thought after viewing it was "I'll show YOU how to walk a dog!" That is to say, I often walk my dog Guinness with my bike, both on and off-road. I had visions of creating a response video, hopefully set to Elvis Presley's "Hound Dog," a montage of videos of Guinness and I running with the bike, through Walnut Creek, my neighborhood, and all the various other places we've been together on a bike. On one occasion several years ago, this included a 12 mile round trip run between three cities in California.

Our running together works extremely well for us, mostly because for Guinness, it lets me keep up with his favorite pace, and for me, it gets my dog a much more energy-draining walk in a shorter amount of time.

One very happy boy

As you're probably noticing from the pictures, I usually run Guinness in-harness, both to keep control of him and to avoid putting pressure on his neck.  Lately, we've been running to a big open field near my house for a rousing round of fetch.  The longer I cycle, the more I feel I integrate it into my everyday, and while for me this is actually a pretty mundane activity, I occasionally realize how unusual this is.  So, Rivendell Bike Works.  This is how you walk a dog.