I apologize if this has already been discussed. I often try to use the search tool, but I always get an error that it has timed out. .  

I have been considering biking with Stella. Has anyone ever done this? I have heard it can be dangerous. Stella has a great deal of energy (as I am sure everyone's dog does!) and I would like to try and channel it into something better than zoomies and mulch eating! Some reasons I have considered it is I am not a great runner distance runner, fetch is a work in progress and doesn't last long enough to wear her out and letting her off lead is hard right now as her recall isn't consistent with distractions. I have looked at the walkydog And tow tools. These attach to the bike and are supposed to provide more stability and a safer ride. Please let me know your thoughts. I greatly appreciate all the advice!

 This is the link for both of those accessories I mentioned. 

http://www.thedogoutdoors.com/dog-bicycle-accessories.html 

 MOST DEFINITELY!!!   I use the "Walky Dog" for my two.  I will bike with both of them at the same time, and I feel safe.  They are 10 months old, and also full of energy.  I purchased the Walky Dog from The Dogoutdoors.com I think, or outdoor dog! But I will not purchase from anyone else as the experience with this company was FANTASTIC.  THey have video for EVERYTHING and answer ALL your questions super fast.   The walkydog attaches to your seat post, and is super safe because it is spring loaded.  The leash is not too long, so the dog won't run out in front of you.  I purchased an extension though, and harnesses, from the same sight, and have since taught them signals for left and right, so there are no surprises.  They also know whoa, and leave it commands.....although when a bunch of birds fly away from someones front yard, all bets are off!  I have to tell them whoa, and DEMAND they stop by breaking, and jumping down to straddle my bike.  I don't want to take a chance.  THey will leave cats, frogs, rabbits, etc.....but birds, well, not yet!  The walky dog is spring loaded so 90% of the pull is absorbed, but be warned, you will feel and hear a sound when they pull hard in one direction, but they bounce back and you remain in control!  It is still a bit scary for me though.  My biggest concern is with the heat.  We live in Houston, Tx. and they overheat VERY quickly. I bike only at night between 11pm and 1am, and only for 30 minutes at a time.  They are ridiculous sprinters, and after 30 minutes, their tongues are hanging out, they are panting heavily, and won't even drink water.  They take forever to cool off.  I have to put cool wraps on them, and feed them ice  for 5 minutes after we get home.  My ;arge male GSP  panted for 10 minutes tonight, and we only ran for 20 minutes.  It's humid and muggy, and although I don't even break a sweat, they get overheated.  I would take a look at that website, watch all the videos, and read the FAQ's.  Shipping is SUPER fast.  Prior to the Walky Dog, I tried to just tie their leashes to the cross bars at the base of the seat post, but above the tire. That worked well actually, however, there was NO protection from the pull, and the bike would shift over several inches, almost making me lose control.  This only happened a couple of times though.   The Walky Dog is safer, and the comparisons between the springer and the Walky dog appear to favor the Walky Dog......but I'm no expert because I have only tried the one.  Good luck!  Your dog will LOVE it, and so will you.  Whatever you do, don't hold onto the leash or tie it to your handlebars.  THAT IS SUPER DANGEROUS.

 Yes.  6 months is an excellent age to allow your dog to become accustomed to running along side a bike, but start very slow, and make sure she isn't pulling you... She needs to run at a heel position, just like when walking, with no pulling or tension on the walky dog.  The walky dog is perfect for that, but I think the Springer also allows for only side running.  I run my 10 month old GSP's on pavement for 2 miles about 3x/week, and they LOVE it, and seem to be fine. 

 That's great Jena.  I think you and Stella will love it.  My male, Kaido, is also a big chicken!  However, his love for running outweighed his fears of the bike!  Initially changing gears scared him a bit, but only the first couple of rides.  It also helped that his sister was running with him as well.  As for the post, I did send a LONG review, and received a thank you email from Scott, however, when I went to go find my review I am unable to find it.   I believe there is someone else with 2 GSP's as well.  If the post starts out "I'm the proud new owner of 2 10 month old GSP's who by nature MUST RUN" that was mine!  If it is, I would love it if you could post the link  so I can see it!

I must say one thing regarding the Walky Dog...buy a harness, and purchase the flannel safety comfort straps.   I Scott reccommended this to me, and I was afraid to purchase a harness online. I wanted to fit my dogs to an appropriate size harness, so I took them to our local Petsmart.  I purchased 2 of the Kong harnesses, that are similar in design to the Ezydog Harness.......so I thought!  I ran Maybrie for 2 consecutive nights, and the second night she didn't want to run.  In my own stupidity and ignorance, I got a little impatient with her, and thought that if I pedaled faster, she would run faster. I thought she was just being lazy. After All, I have seen her run FULL SPEED to chase birds!  She is FAST, and FAST was not happening this night, not even close.   I pushed her to run, and about 5 minutes later she just collapsed on her side.  I felt HORRIBLE.   I walked her home, and took her harness off.  She had HUGE abrasions under BOTH arms that scabbed, and it was 2, almost 3 weeks before I could run her again.  I went to Scott's website, thedogoutdoors.com, and purchased the EZYdog harness AND the protectors!   Be careful when you first start with Stella....go slow!  I have learned SO much since initially purchasing the Walky Dog.   At first, I just thought I could hook them up and they would run forever.  LOTS of things affect how far and how fast they run.   The biggest culprit now for my two is the heat.  I was running them for 40 minutes initially, but have since slowed to 20-30 minutes because I have read HORRIBLE stories of dogs collapsing with HeatStroke.  They can die up to 2 days later after getting overheated.  So, follow Stella's lead not yours!  Now that the two are completely comfortable with the walky dog, I have started running them separately.  This gives ME a better and longer work out and yet satisfies them as well!   The first 5-10 minutes are FANTASTIC!  Then it slows....unless there are birds to chase!  That's okay.     The one other thing I can say it that sometimes, if they pull strong enough, the bike seat, or the Walky Dog, or both will twist.  You have to tighten the seatpost VERY tight, as well as the Walky Dog clamps.  With repeated runs, you will HAVE to continue to tighten before runs because they will naturally loosen slightly.   It's no big deal and the movment is minimal.   I found that if I turn the Walky Dog facing a bit more toward the rear of the bike, rather than straight out perpendicular to the bike, the twisting is even more minimal to NON-existant.  You will find what works best for you and Stella and where Stella prefers to ride.  Initially my two wanted to almost pull, but now, they hang back a bit so they can pay attention to my cues of left or right.   Kaido is trying to get over a broken toe, so we haven't been running him. Out of desparation last night though, I splinted him well, padded him well, and ran him for 2 miles!  He ate a corner off of our leather couch yesterday THROUGH the wire kennel.  YEP!  Running is the ONLY cure for that!  I posted on "Broken Toe, Help!"  If you want to read about the saga.  He broke his toe getting out of his wire kennel.  He barrelled out, and his right back foot/outer toe got caught.  Poor pup.  I was waiting for their mattresses that fit PERFECTLY in these crates.  Unfortunately, I should have kept them in their plastic kennels until the mattresses arrived.  The plastic crates were far to small though, and I HAD to upgrade.  I wish I had waited...urgggh.   The beds are in their now though, and will keep him from getting hooked up again.