Treadmill exercise (for dogs)

[JROD]

Has anyone ever tried exercising their rottie on a treadmill? The weather has been bad lately and we aren't getting our walks in. I wonder if he would go for this... I tend to think that there is probably too much room for injury. Just wondered if anyone has tried this.

[MARYDVM]

My small(60 lbs) American Bulldog likes to run on the treadmill. They make treadmills specifically for dogs, but a small enough dog can run on a human treadmill. My Rottie's stride is too long for my treadmill. If you try this always stand beside the mill and hold the dog on a leash - my girl would get distracted if the other dogs barked, or a cat ran by, and try to stop or turn around. In that situation, if I wasn't holding the leash she would have gotten tossed off the back by the moving belt. Not an ideal way of exercising, but we did it when the temp was 20 below and the young dog really needed some kind of exercise.

[judy v]

My friend has trained her rottie to use a treadmill for humans. All she has to do is tell him to get on, set the timer and start it. He does the rest. She monitors him by listening to the ticking of his nails on the track. One day when she was upstairs she thought the rythum sounded strange. She went to the top of the stairs and looked down. Somewhere along the line, he must have stopped, been thrown backwards, and off. He knew he was supposed to be on it, but he couldn't figure out how. When Kathy saw him, his butt was on the carpet, but his front paws were on the tread and he was, in his mind, jogging. He was probably wondering why he hadn't thought of that sooner.

[sumo]

Hi JRod. I use one for my chow and my golden retriever in poor weather. I intend to use it on Sumo when he reaches about 19 months or so.

I only use it on a slow speed and without an incline. Start really slow for short periods of time and reward sessions with a nice treat!

I have never put my dogs on for more that 15 minutes and always supervise. Also, I do not recommend chaining your dog to the handles of the machine. I've seen people on TV doing this with Pit Bulls. It looks potentially dangerous, should your dog slip.

Good luck. http://www.rottweiler.net/rottie/smile.gif