Treadmill?

SaraB

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#1
Does anyone use a treadmill to condition/exercise their dogs? How did you go about training it? How long/often do you run your dog? How long have you been using it?

I just picked on up off of craigslist for pretty cheap with the intentions of using it to keep the dogs conditioned throughout the winter (mostly Zuma this year, Zinga is a baby still) because as much as I don't mind the winter, the shorter days cut into our outdoor time. I need to keep them conditioned though because we will still be doing disc/agility throughout the year and I can't risk them injuring themselves do to being unfit.
 

Airn

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#3
I'm interested in this too. I've tried luring Gwen onto it but she's pretty terrified of it and I don't want to torture her. It would help out a lot, though, since we aren't outdoorsy people. I'll be watching this thread to see what is said. Kelpies and Koolies seem to be pretty similar, so hopefully what works for you will work for us. Maybe. *crosses fingers*
 

AdrianneIsabel

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#4
I both have one and use it for work for over a year at my last job. We had dog specific mills and I've had a human one and now a Dogpacer. I start all dogs by treating for being near, being on, and movement. I start slow and add speed and incline. I like to vary the speed and incline when possible to null as much as possible the concern of repetitive movement being detrimental to the body. Sloan does a premade program which goes up and down with the highest being 6mph & lowest being 3mph. Most dogs at my work did a 3% incline with 2.5-3mph for 30, rest for a while and repeat, they would do this twice a day. Backup does a slow and steady with me present, he's a mill pooper no matter what unless I'm watching, he usually goes about 3-4mph for fastest but goes for longer runs such as 45-60 min. I use mine mostly to take the edge off here and there but it vibrates loud enough that I'm careful of when I use it in the apartment. Before the move they each ran at least once if not twice a day on the mill probably 3-4 days a week and more when they annoyed me.
 

JacksonsMom

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#5
Honestly, Jackson took right to the treadmill at my dads house. I used a treat to lure him onto it, I held on to his harness, and started it at level 1, and he was just immediately knew what to do. It took a bit of practice for him to the total 'hang' of it and all, but yeah he pretty much took right to it! So did my dads JRT mix who really has no experience being trained at all, lol, and she loved it. The only one that completely froze and shut down was my step-moms dog, Buddy, but he's pretty much boring and has zero desire to ever try anything. The longest I did it with Jackson was probably ten minutes. I'd like to get to longer.
 

SaraB

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#6
We did our first session yesterday and I got both girls comfortably walking on it with periodic treats without a problem. Started with it off of course and rewarded for standing in the right position (after Zuma was convinced it wasn't a black hole). Then I slowly added speed to it and rewarded for position again. Zinga can't chew a treat and walk at the same time so that was pretty interesting. I'm planning on slowly increasing the speed tonight and fading out the rewards.

Good idea about varying the speed, I hadn't thought of that!
 

JacksonsMom

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#7
We did our first session yesterday and I got both girls comfortably walking on it with periodic treats without a problem. Started with it off of course and rewarded for standing in the right position (after Zuma was convinced it wasn't a black hole). Then I slowly added speed to it and rewarded for position again. Zinga can't chew a treat and walk at the same time so that was pretty interesting. I'm planning on slowly increasing the speed tonight and fading out the rewards.

Good idea about varying the speed, I hadn't thought of that!
LOL, Jackson did that too at first. After he'd get the treat, his legs would stop moving and he'd slowllyyyy drift back until the treat was swallowed, then resume. lol.
 
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#10
Turn it on while they are near it but not on it and reward them for being near it on, don't introduce the "on" feature while they are on it. Other than that, it's really up to how long you want to spend rewarding them for being on it and those basics, Jinjo went on our just fine until it went into the basement year ago (his ears flair up when he's let into the basement), and Enda runs on it, but requires CONSTANT encouragement or else she lags to the back so far if let to do that too long she slips off. Ours is a large people treadmill, one of the "stupid you'll never use it" purchases...well, at least SOMETHING is using it, right?
 

AdrianneIsabel

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#11
What the heck is a carpet mill?
http://www.grandcarpetmill.com/

It's designed for muscle building over cardio. The dog powers it themselves and its harder to over do it because of this.

They're much cheaper and shipping is much more reasonable now that I kick myself for buying a Dogpacer. I may consider selling the Dogpacer and buying a carpet mill, the only downside is space/storage, my DP can be hidden pretty easily with a few screws taken out.
 

PWCorgi

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#12
http://www.grandcarpetmill.com/

It's designed for muscle building over cardio. The dog powers it themselves and its harder to over do it because of this.

They're much cheaper and shipping is much more reasonable now that I kick myself for buying a Dogpacer. I may consider selling the Dogpacer and buying a carpet mill, the only downside is space/storage, my DP can be hidden pretty easily with a few screws taken out.
I have no need for this. I still want one.
 

SaraB

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#13
Very cool.

So what's the difference between that and a regular manual treadmill with an incline? Other than the obvious side panels?
 

AdrianneIsabel

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#14
The dog powers it themselves and the carpet mills have resistance. The idea is muscle building over cardio without the over doing it potential of a treadmill that "forces" a dog to keep up or fall off. Also, in the same school of thought, the dog cannot set their own pace on a treadmill which is more natural to a dog.

But the downside is noise for sure, they're super loud.
 

stardogs

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#15
So timely - was just looking at treadmills last night on CL and was wondering if I could get by with a manual one!
 

AdrianneIsabel

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#16
Oh and a lot of show people I know say treadmills can ruin gaits but I know Aleron uses one so I would ask her if that's a concern. The clients I had who worried were dobe (refuse any incline and only allowed to go at a certain speed) and GSD (certain speed and specific time).

Erin, slant, carpet, and treadmills are the three options. Check out pit bull forums, it's a great resource, they've been using them forever.
 

SaraB

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#17
So timely - was just looking at treadmills last night on CL and was wondering if I could get by with a manual one!
That's what I was wondering.. the manual ones I've seen have inclines and seem to be the same idea as the carpet ones. Powered by the dog/human.
 

BostonBanker

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#19
I've been thinking about trying to get Gusto using ours. He has been known to jump on it and "slide" off the end when I'm using it, but I haven't actually tried him on it intentionally. Do you have a collar/leash on? Harness? I'm having a hard time picturing just how you get them from standing on it with the treadmill turned off to actually understanding that if they walk along, they won't fall back.
 

AdrianneIsabel

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#20
That's what I was wondering.. the manual ones I've seen have inclines and seem to be the same idea as the carpet ones. Powered by the dog/human.
Oh, I didn't even think that's what you meant by manual, sorry. I was thinking you still meant automatic. I presume it's pretty similar minus the resistance but if you're not looking to build a lot of muscle (which with a speed dog I doubt you are compared to a bully dog for WP) then it's not a big deal.
 

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