Pups in the Woods

How to train a trail dog

Picture this: you’re shredding some loamy singletrack on your mountain bike without a care in the world, sunlight streaming through the trees and man’s best friend – your pup – frolicking through the woods on your right-hand side. It doesn’t get much better than that, but it does take a fair bit of work before your trail dog is capable of sprinting along beside you, not bouncing away in the pursuit of yet another squirrel or mischievous chipmunk. Here, three mountain bikers with adorable trail dogs, and one outdoors-loving dog trainer, share their top tips on getting your dog disciplined enough to handle any ride.

Work on recall

“You should have your dog learning a proper recall in a low-distraction atmosphere, and then building up to being around high distractions to make sure your dog can stay focused,” says Jodie Hawker of Happy Paws Canine Solutions. “I start with a long leash on the trail, giving the dog some freedom but still controlling how far he can get. Once he’s 99.9 per cent good at responding to you with that, you can start with off-leash.” Hawker suggests that once you do start doing off-leash training, you’re calling the dog back every few minutes just for a check-in and a tasty reward for a job well done, just to get him used to coming when called.

“It’s super important to always be thrilled when your