# Got a treadmill



## trikerdon (May 14, 2011)

Got a treadmill for Sheba (and me).
Now I have to train her to walk/run on it. I found a couple of web sites that give you instructions on training them. 
I have a bad hip which keeps me from taking her on long walks or playing outside with her. She
needs to get exercise (me too!) so I'm hoping she will like it. And maybe it might help my hip.....


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## xchairity_casex (Oct 8, 2011)

i LOVE LOVE LOVE treadmills for dogs! cesars got his treadmill its a life saver on super cold or rainy days or even on days when ive got tons of stuff to do and dont have enough time to take him for a 2 hour walk.
just rember NEVER rush it it took me workingwith Cesar for about 3 months before i even turned it on i started out walking him on it for about 15 minutes a day for a few weeks then 30 minutes for a few weeks then 35 min then 45 and so on and so forth now hes on it for 2 hours a day and enjoys it. pretty much every dog is nervous the first few times some dogs (like Cesar) are nervous for a few months before they relax but in the begining try to get her on it every single day just the repition will get her to trust being on it quicker once shes completly relaxed then you can skip a few days or week or so if you only want it for occassionally.
NEVER put her on while your angry frustrated or tierd and DONT freak out the first time she goes on she will more then likely freak out thats ok its normal its scary having the floor move just encourag her to walk.

Cesar thrashed around then he wouldnt move jsut let himself fall and drag (seriously) till i had to put my hand on his butt to make him walk then slowly i removed my hands he wouldnt eat while walking for about a month.
it helps if you can put up a barrier n one side to start with to prevent them from flailing around and keep getting off you just always have to rember NEVER EVER allow them to get off on there own!!

like in the begining if after 10 minutes shes really afraid and steps off and wont move DONT turn it off and let her go put her right back on wait for her to take a few steps on the eblt THEN YOU take her off.
if she learns that she can take herself off when seh wants youll always struggle with her taking herself off


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

Yes, I did it all wrong with Rebel. He does not walk on our treadmill, due to me. He won't get up on it voluntarily, and if I put him up there he collapses his legs and falls down. if it's moving, he rolls right off the end. 

i think I just did it too fast with him. Good luck!


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

malia gets on the treadmill willingly. bubba runs away.

i pick bubba up and then he's fine. 

it took weeks to train them to not be afraid of the treadmill..

we started slowly by putting food on the tread.....if they ran away after grabbing the food, that was fine.

did that until they were standing on the treadmill.....unafraid, just wanting food.

then came the leashes that i let hang loose...

once i got them on, i had leashes on the treadmill...i hooked them up and then i got off and sat in front of the treadmill..

started them at the lowest speed....and i kept their focus on me...

that went on for a few weeks, too....

all in all, i think it took me a few months before i could sit at my desk without worrying they would fall off and hang themselves or stop and get dragged.

take your time and it will serve both of you well.....for a long time.


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

I wanted an elliptical but when it came down to it... Well, the dogs just can't use an elliptical. We figured, eh, a treadmill can be used by the WHOLE family! Hahaha

It took 4 days to get Buck to the point where he is comfortable trotting on it at a good clip. We don't do that for very long since he is still growing but I figure it's better than concrete since it gives a little bit. He is comfortable walking on it at a fast, working pace for about 1.5 hours with about 5 minutes of good trotting at the end. The trotting is really only so that I don't have to introduce that level later.

Day one was just getting him on it and MAKING him walk on it. He never would have walked on it if I hadn't gotten up behind him and made him walk forward. I kept it moving at its slowest pace (.5 miles per hour) and as soon as he realized that all he had to do was walk forward a little, he was totally fine. We kept him on it for 15 minutes at .5 mph and were done for the day. 

Day two was 1.5 mph for about 30 minutes

Day three was 2.5 for 1 hour

Day 4 was when he was comfortable enough to go fast enough to trot for about 5 minutes. 

Dude, on the other hand, is still nervous. As long as it doesn't go faster than 2.5 mph he is happy. He watches his front feet the whole time but he isn't terrified. He will just take some more time. It has been around 3-4 weeks since we bought it.

One big key thing for me is to up the speed as slowly as possibly. On mine, pushing the up arrow for speed only increases the speed by .1 mph so I have to push that button a lot but they stay confident when the ground doesn't just suddenly start moving faster. Haha. And the biggest mistake I made (with Dude and I think that's why he is still so nervous) is stopping it too fast at the end. The first time I stopped it, I wasn't thinking about it and just pushed the stop button... He wasn't ready for it. He kept walking quickly and, when the belt stopped, he walked right off the front and nose dived into the carpet. I now reduce the speed the same way I increase it: .1 mph at a time.

The treadmill has been an invaluable tool. It rains here A LOT so the dog parks are sometimes really muddy. The dirt at ours just brushes off once it's dry and it doesn't always rain here to really make a good mud but with weeks like this one (nonstop pouring rain) the dog park would just be one big mud pit. A normal walk just doesn't do it for my guys. We often don't have time for a 2 hour walk and Nick is gone with the car so much that I can't take them to the park when he is gone. So, onto the treadmill they go!


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## 7766 (Sep 20, 2011)

I love my treadmill. It was the best investment I ever made. I moved from a house with a huge yard to a one bedroom apt. I started walking them every day but they were never really leash trained and within a few moths I had back and shoulder problems from the contestant pulling. I would take them to the dog park but I could only go on weekends and we would go around sun up because of Bella's dog aggression so I could have the park as close to myself as possible.

Before I put it together I would walk them on it. It laid in the middle of my living room for about 2 weeks, so they go used to it. Then when it was put together is sat in a corner where two sides were blocked with walls and I used the the box it came in to block the other side and a chair for the back. I held out treats in front of them as they walked. Eventually it got to where I would hook up the emergency stop button and I could cook dinner, get dressed do what I needed and they just stayed on it.

I never could get Stoli to run on in. He never could get the footing right. Now that I am back in a house with an acre it doesn’t get used as much. Bella still goes for about 20 minutes a day because of her hip issues. She really shouldn’t run like she wants too, she always ends up paying for it later.

Everyone thought I was crazy when I told them why I got it, but I wouldn’t take it back for anything


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## lovemydogsalways (Mar 4, 2012)

I didn't realize treadmills were such a popular way of exercising your dogs, but I LOVE it! Just might have to look on CL for one, it would be perfect in winter or rainy days.
You think I could get my cat to walk on one? HAHA He really needs the exercise but won't chase strings for long enough to matter.


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## bridget246 (Oct 26, 2011)

trikerdon said:


> Got a treadmill for Sheba (and me).
> Now I have to train her to walk/run on it. I found a couple of web sites that give you instructions on training them.
> I have a bad hip which keeps me from taking her on long walks or playing outside with her. She
> needs to get exercise (me too!) so I'm hoping she will like it. And maybe it might help my hip.....


You brought a really good one for dogs. I find that treadmill to be pretty easy for dogs to use. It should help your hip but I think a elliptical would do more to strengthen your hip. But then you'd have to buy both if you wanted to exercise the dog so you made a choice.

You guys make me sound mean with the way I trained Bridget. Bridget was pretty aggressive when I first got her. So I spent a lot of time training myself and her in ways of calming her down. For the treadmill, I put her on it. She wanted to run off. Calmed her down a bit so she relaxed(and sat down!). Turned on the machine so she could walk and she really started to freak out. Calmed her down as much as I could while keeping her walking. I found it much easier to increase the speed way beyond the slowest so she could focus on walking at around 3.6 mphs. Took a few minutes but I managed to relax her on the treadmill. After about 10 minutes she was completely relaxed so I draped the leash over the arm holder and let her walk on her own. It gets easier every time.

My GF tried once while I was on a job. I thought she'd be fine on the treadmill. Oh no, she was anything but fine. I told her to just relax, keep her on it for another 2 minutes at a really slow pace with a few rewarding treats so she doesn't get left with a bad memory of the treadmill. I was really happy to see that the bad experience didn't affect my future results with getting Bridget to work on the treadmill.


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

I got one when Mol was a pup, but I wanted it for the hot days of summer, days when you sweat like a billygoat just going out to the letterbox to get the mail. Taught her to walk on it, but we both sort of decided we'd rather walk outside, no matter the temperature.
Although, I bet anything you like that if we lived in the snow, that thing would be worn out by now.
I concur with all the other advice you've been given here. Take it slow, make it fun, treats galore, make the treadmill a happy place. I started by tossing treats on it, then treating once she got on it voluntarily. Then slow, slow walking (with me on it too, her on a leash), treating as we went. Then gradually increasing the speed, me still walking/jogging alongside. Then gradually I got off, then got back on.
She's fine on it now, not that we ever use it.
My other reason for teaching her to use it was if we go back cruising (not likely now), then I'd take a treadmill on the boat so she'd get exercise whilst we were on long passages. Dream world now.


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

Dude and Bucks Mamma said:


> It took 4 days to get Buck to the point where he is comfortable trotting on it at a good clip. We don't do that for very long since he is still growing but I figure it's better than concrete since it gives a little bit. He is comfortable walking on it at a fast, working pace for about 1.5 hours with about 5 minutes of good trotting at the end. The trotting is really only so that I don't have to introduce that level later.


Since we have always owned Chows and Lhasa's, I just can't imagine having a dog that can walk for 1.5 hours (and in one spot!). A walk with Rocky consists of .....walk ten feet.....sniff for 5 minutes at the spot on the ground.....spend 3 minutes scratching all 4 feet furiously until you've destroyed all the grass in the area.....walk another ten feet.... find new spot to sniff.....repeat scratching motion.....etc. If it's 30 degrees or less outside, we can keep this up for almost 30 minutes. If it's any hotter then that, 20 minutes tops. Then we go home and take a nap. 

I've gotta start branching out and get a 'real' dog someday.


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## ciaBrysh (Dec 16, 2011)

I'm really just posting here to tell you how jealous I am that you got a treadmill lol I need one for my dogs so bad


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

chowder...i built them up slowly, but both dogs walk together on the treadmill and they can both go for 1.5 hours....

i just don't make them run. but they start out slowly, then up to a faster clip, then i slow it down.....and it goes like that...sort of HIIT, only with walk slow, walk fast...


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

lovemydogsalways said:


> I didn't realize treadmills were such a popular way of exercising your dogs, but I LOVE it! Just might have to look on CL for one, it would be perfect in winter or rainy days.
> You think I could get my cat to walk on one? HAHA He really needs the exercise but won't chase strings for long enough to matter.


maybe...why not? cats aren't stupid. they're just obstinate 

the treadmill for us is because of the rain....especially in the winter...i can no longer take those two mile walks in the freezing rain. the weather here has really changed....and it's colder and damper than it was when first i moved here.

when it's nice out, even if it's cold, they go for walks on the treadmill for exercise and then i take them for a sniff and pee walk for about a mile.


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## xchairity_casex (Oct 8, 2011)

ciaBrysh said:


> I'm really just posting here to tell you how jealous I am that you got a treadmill lol I need one for my dogs so bad


check out craigslist or second hand shops i got mine for like 20 bucks
just sure its an electric one manual for a dog is useless.

where i live i NEED this thing for the winter we get like 10 below zero temps in the winter and Cesar has such short fur even with a coat its too cold for him


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## trikerdon (May 14, 2011)

Haven't had a problem with her getting on it. Her and the cat play on it (of course it is off) I have put her on it and ran it slow. She seems to know what she is to do but really isn't happy about it. I don't rush her and am taking my time. I have to hold her while she walks. She stops and starts to go to the rear but I get her going again.
Only have her on it for a min. or two for now. Little at a time. Got to figure out a way to put sides on it and something at the back. I would like a cross-over bar so I could put her leash on it....


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## ciaBrysh (Dec 16, 2011)

xchairity_casex said:


> check out craigslist or second hand shops i got mine for like 20 bucks
> just sure its an electric one manual for a dog is useless.
> 
> where i live i NEED this thing for the winter we get like 10 below zero temps in the winter and Cesar has such short fur even with a coat its too cold for him


Do you just leash her on or did you get a special harness?


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## 7766 (Sep 20, 2011)

My Aunt bought one built for dogs. It basically is a treadmill with a fence around it. She paid over $2,000 for it which was way out of my price range. But that is what gave me the idea to barricade the dogs in on it. At one point Stoli would walk so close to the front he kept hitting the engine cover so I took the extension piece from my hand held vacuum and put it across the front so he hit that instead. Eventually he realized he didn't need to be that close and backed up.


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## xchairity_casex (Oct 8, 2011)

trikerdon said:


>


HAHA i love this pic!

for a barrier i used a baby gate and some rope to criss cross in the front i used to baby gate on the one side becuase he would walk close to that side and realize the edges didnt move and would stand there so i put the baby gate up so he would jsut bump into the baby gate.
ill still put it up if i need too somedays he acts like "no thanks i dont feel like it" and im like "i dont care if you dont feel like it"


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## trikerdon (May 14, 2011)

ciaBrysh said:


> Do you just leash her on or did you get a special harness?


I was looking into special harnesses, do you have any places to look at that sells them?


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