How I became a Biker Pig
Everyone asked, if you get another dog or if someday a piglet shows up in your life are you going to "make it ride?" The answer is, "of course not." I should try and put into words what it means to have a biker dog, maybe I'll blog about that some day. I also know it's just what Emma Zen does and therefore we enjoy each and every moment of our time... I know our next pet lead me down a road of their own, in a sidecar or not. This may sound different to those of you who do not ride but it wont' break my heart if I have to sell the sidecar and put all the money into customizing my bike! :-) But the steps below lead to an unexpected biker pet. Looking back some appears I'm pretty smart and "trained" with such thoughtfulness and good intent. With such patience and concern for the pet. I'll let you know it was all an accident! I'm not sure anyone else could say this and mean it, but "Baby Banks accidental became a biker pig!"
13 steps to becoming a Biker Pig!
1. She has been exposed to the noise of bikes since she was 5 weeks old. (Were just noisy people.)
2. At age 2 months we would just let her sit in the sidecar and eat cheerios; she learned it was a happy place. (We actually put her in there just to contain her when she was tiny when I was in the front yard.)
3. Then we started the bike and left it in the driveway and still feed her cheerios to get her accustom to the movement the vibrations make. (At this point I just thought we were being funny.)
4. We purchased a car seat for pets and started using it in the car. Baby Banks travels quite a bit so she had miles on miles and many hours in “her” chair and knew it as security. We accidentally found out later it was the "exact" size that fit in the sidecar. (I was just looking for a place to put the car seat down and when I put it on the sidecar it slid right in!)
5. Baby Banks also LOVES to be held, we hold her all the time. Most pigs don't like to be restrained but the constant hugging and holding got her adapted to it allowed us to harness her which we do all the time. She even learned to step into it herself knowing that was the cue for going for a walk. And out of I'm going to be the boss not you, we use to restrain her by holding her down in her harness. (Never occurred to me that this was teaching her to be tolerable to something like a seat belt.)
6. Whenever we bath her we always blow dry her with cool air. Didn't think my piglet needed to be dried so much as it was just funny. (This inadvertently got her use to wind in her face!)
7. Don't ask why but I started dressing up my pig. This got her use to wearing clothes and other objects without objection. Pigs don't have much hair so they can get cold we sometimes have a jacket on her and she wears what we loving refer to as Piggles! There Doggles we use on her. (Her ability to tolerate this came out of adaption of living with a crazy pet human!)
8. We made sure we had all the necessary paraphernalia it takes to have a biker pet. Please visit the page on Questions and Answers in regards to pet safety. (Remember I teach Pet First Aid & CPR)
9. On her first ride I rode "in" the sidecar and held her. So she was with a familiar person. We only went up and down the street, 2nd ride was around about 8 blocks and the 3rd right was for 22 miles! (Is another biker pet born? I was asking myself by now the answer to this and other questions is on the page of Questions and Answers.)
10. Fourth ride we put her car seat in the sidecar, restrained her , my husband rode and I sat on the bike so I could constantly attended to her if I needed. (I didn't need to) Then I finally rode her by myself. (At this point I just couldn't believe it, I am shaking my head as much as you! We have here folks, another Biker Pet!)
11. I am a Pet First Aid & CPR instructor and an experienced animal handler. If you travel with your pet we encourage you to take Pet First Aid & CPR and to make sure you carry the proper tools with you! (You can only work with what you have. Be that product or knowledge.)
12. Fifth ride still concerned with her comfort level I took her out alone and paid attention to at what speed she laid down. I'd back off the speed and she'd poop back up and I'd give her a cheerio on the road! It is my opinion that it was just the unfamiliarity of it all, pigs unlike dogs don't tend to hang their snouts out the window. On this sidecar their is a windshield, this is her preference you will find in the story of how Emma Zen became a Biker Dog that as to her request their is no windshield. It's about finding what each individual pet needed. So we started at 35 MPH then down to 30, up to 40 then back to 35 with patience and a long open road since we were now on vacation in Sturgis South Dakota for Bike Week. It only took about 45 minutes until she was comfortable at 62 MPH. (No one with a pet
13. Step 13, hand her the certificate, we now have an official biker pig!!!! It’s was that easy!
(Oink Out Loud!)
2. At age 2 months we would just let her sit in the sidecar and eat cheerios; she learned it was a happy place. (We actually put her in there just to contain her when she was tiny when I was in the front yard.)
3. Then we started the bike and left it in the driveway and still feed her cheerios to get her accustom to the movement the vibrations make. (At this point I just thought we were being funny.)
4. We purchased a car seat for pets and started using it in the car. Baby Banks travels quite a bit so she had miles on miles and many hours in “her” chair and knew it as security. We accidentally found out later it was the "exact" size that fit in the sidecar. (I was just looking for a place to put the car seat down and when I put it on the sidecar it slid right in!)
5. Baby Banks also LOVES to be held, we hold her all the time. Most pigs don't like to be restrained but the constant hugging and holding got her adapted to it allowed us to harness her which we do all the time. She even learned to step into it herself knowing that was the cue for going for a walk. And out of I'm going to be the boss not you, we use to restrain her by holding her down in her harness. (Never occurred to me that this was teaching her to be tolerable to something like a seat belt.)
6. Whenever we bath her we always blow dry her with cool air. Didn't think my piglet needed to be dried so much as it was just funny. (This inadvertently got her use to wind in her face!)
7. Don't ask why but I started dressing up my pig. This got her use to wearing clothes and other objects without objection. Pigs don't have much hair so they can get cold we sometimes have a jacket on her and she wears what we loving refer to as Piggles! There Doggles we use on her. (Her ability to tolerate this came out of adaption of living with a crazy pet human!)
8. We made sure we had all the necessary paraphernalia it takes to have a biker pet. Please visit the page on Questions and Answers in regards to pet safety. (Remember I teach Pet First Aid & CPR)
9. On her first ride I rode "in" the sidecar and held her. So she was with a familiar person. We only went up and down the street, 2nd ride was around about 8 blocks and the 3rd right was for 22 miles! (Is another biker pet born? I was asking myself by now the answer to this and other questions is on the page of Questions and Answers.)
10. Fourth ride we put her car seat in the sidecar, restrained her , my husband rode and I sat on the bike so I could constantly attended to her if I needed. (I didn't need to) Then I finally rode her by myself. (At this point I just couldn't believe it, I am shaking my head as much as you! We have here folks, another Biker Pet!)
11. I am a Pet First Aid & CPR instructor and an experienced animal handler. If you travel with your pet we encourage you to take Pet First Aid & CPR and to make sure you carry the proper tools with you! (You can only work with what you have. Be that product or knowledge.)
12. Fifth ride still concerned with her comfort level I took her out alone and paid attention to at what speed she laid down. I'd back off the speed and she'd poop back up and I'd give her a cheerio on the road! It is my opinion that it was just the unfamiliarity of it all, pigs unlike dogs don't tend to hang their snouts out the window. On this sidecar their is a windshield, this is her preference you will find in the story of how Emma Zen became a Biker Dog that as to her request their is no windshield. It's about finding what each individual pet needed. So we started at 35 MPH then down to 30, up to 40 then back to 35 with patience and a long open road since we were now on vacation in Sturgis South Dakota for Bike Week. It only took about 45 minutes until she was comfortable at 62 MPH. (No one with a pet
13. Step 13, hand her the certificate, we now have an official biker pig!!!! It’s was that easy!
(Oink Out Loud!)
We have put in a lot of time, attention, money, effort, patience and for thought to her physical and mental well being. If you have any questions or concerns please use the link below for answers. If you question weather or not she really likes it, well you ought to see her "try" to get in by herself! She hasn't made it yet but her actions speak loudly her words!