Treadmills to help exercise dogs

[yoopermom]

You may have already done this, but you also might want to take him to the vet and ask if this is "normal" high energy, or is it something else. Our only non-hound is a Boston Terrier of VERY poor breeding (think puppy mill, we rescued him), and he is completely OCD and has rage issues. After extensive rehab and training, it came down to us either having to put him down or medicate him (and this was after consults with trainers, BT rescue, vets, etc). He's on one pill 2X/day, and all it does is take the "edge" off, really. I would never recommend "drugging" a dog unless it was a case of life or death, but, in his case, it was.

Agility class, flyball, rally, there are lots of things he could probably excel at.

Terri

 

[nancycg56]

Well I'm in NoWhere PA.. no doggy daycares. Plus 60$ a week just isn't going to happen. We have 4 "little" kids & that just is not in the budget. I just need to get thru the winter... I need to get him a treadmill until I can get outside with him more. he doesn't even like to pee yet alone take hour walks. He's a 5 yr old english springer spaniel and is always "on the hunt". He NEEDS more exercise I know this and really this is the only way he's going to get it right now.. *sigh*

I can sympathize ~ we have a Jack Russell who is extremely prey driven and is always on the hunt, too.

Here's our routine: Every single morning, 365 days a year, 7 days a week, we go to the dog park for at least an hour. He gets to run, bark, jump, dig, wrestle, whatever. Comes home and eats. Sleeps. 7 pm ~ he gets an hour walk around the neighborhood. Sleeps the rest of the night.

Now if we can't get out for whatever reason, he goes on the treadmill. I actually don't have to hook him up to it, he jumps on and goes. Sometimes he barks the whole time, LOL! When he's finished, he jumps off. At the beginning, I would put his leash on, start it, and put him on it. Once he got the hang of it, I didn't leash him anymore.

I put him on the tie-out in the backyard sometimes but he digs so much that he would wreck the lawn.

All that usually does the trick. Somedays he's just worse than others and then we make 2 trips to the dog park. I am thankful we don't have little kids because I'd go out of my mind!

Good luck with your pup!

 

[goofy!]

I dont know of a better suitable home.. a marathon runner maybe? do people really have 3-4 hrs a day just to walk their dog?

ETA I wanna add.. my dog has no problems jumping my fence so I can't leave him out there alone for long Thankfully someone is always outside when its nice out so that isn't a problem just in the winter.. I wish I lived someplace that had a doggy play area inside.. sometimes small towns suck..

Couple of suggestions:

Find a fly ball or agility club. These are great pasts time for the energetic hunting and herding dogs. There should be one even out in the Nowhere PA where you are.

Even if you can't do it yourself with your kids, sometimes the clubs know of teens that are looking for more experience in training/working with a dog and would be willing to train and work with your dog at a reduced fee. It gets the dog out of the house, busy doing an activity to keep their mind engaged and doesn't cost an arm and a leg. You can get a whole lot of training in for the cost of a treadmill.

 

[goofy!]

All he likes are balls.. any kind of balls and he's good..

Then Fly Ball is the absolute perfect outlet for him.

Edited: Oops, just noticed somebody already suggested Fly Ball. Sorry about that.

 

[Nicolepa]

What kind of dog is he? I have a Border Collie and no matter how much walking I do it is not enough. I took her on a 3 mile run yesterday and she came home and continued running circles round the family room. Depending on the kind of dog you may need more mental excercises. For example. The ball. Get a chuck it stick and take her outside and throw the ball. Throw it in differen directions so she has to keep focused on you. Throw it different distances etc. I can do this for 15 minutes and she is dead tired. While in the house work with her on training (sit, come, down, rug, shake, stay etc). 20-30 minutes of focused training with her she is tired.

My dog went to a professional trainer for 6 weeks. They said that no amount of walking will ever tire her out. She needs the mental stimulation of playing ball/frisbee or training etc.

 

[HelenePA]

What kind of dog is he? I have a Border Collie and no matter how much walking I do it is not enough. I took her on a 3 mile run yesterday and she came home and continued running circles round the family room. Depending on the kind of dog you may need more mental excercises. For example. The ball. Get a chuck it stick and take her outside and throw the ball. Throw it in differen directions so she has to keep focused on you. Throw it different distances etc. I can do this for 15 minutes and she is dead tired. While in the house work with her on training (sit, come, down, rug, shake, stay etc). 20-30 minutes of focused training with her she is tired.

My dog went to a professional trainer for 6 weeks. They said that no amount of walking will ever tire her out. She needs the mental stimulation of playing ball/frisbee or training etc.

he's an english springer spaniel. He's as cute as can be with his curly mop top We do play ball. all summer we did in the yard but his coat just isn't made for this weather we've been having. With the winds its been about -9 to -12 for the last 3 wks.. Looks like we'll get a break this weekend! Almost 50 on sat! I need something to do with him in the house with this weather.. the treadmill is the only other thing I can come up with.. My house is not long enough for frisbee we do play ball but he gets bored with that quickly inside He isn't smart enough for kong toys At night he's the worst... right now since everyone is up and in the living room with him he's fine.. almost a normal dog but once everyone starts heading to their bedrooms its an all out war with my cats Thankfully my cats have always won.. and he's still too stupid to just leave them alone.

One more thing.. if I want to give him up I have to give him back to his old owner.. I made this deal with her.. I do NOT want him to be in a crate for 18+hrs a day again... I need to try and fix this winter problem!

 

[HelenePA]

Thank You to whom ever suggested the 4-H club! There is one at the local Penn St campus (which is where my dh will be attending this spring!) I will give them a call, I'm not sure they will be there the rest of the week with NYE coming up but I'll try! He really isn't that bad in the summer,fall (remember I've only had him since late june) but now in the winter.. lord help me make it thru! DH is not happy with him at all lately... yikes. Best thing about the 4h is its 8 and up.. my dd is 8 and would probably LOVE it.. not sure about my 10 yr old.. she was in a car accident when she was 1.5 and had some closed head injuries leaving her a little disabled mentally.

 

[Nicolepa]

he's an english springer spaniel. He's as cute as can be with his curly mop top We do play ball. all summer we did in the yard but his coat just isn't made for this weather we've been having. ..... My house is not long enough for frisbee we do play ball but he gets bored with that quickly inside

One more thing.. if I want to give him up I have to give him back to his old owner.. I made this deal with her.. I do NOT want him to be in a crate for 18+hrs a day again... I need to try and fix this winter problem!

I would start working on tricks with him. The mental excercise will really tire him out. Start with Sit, then Shake, maybe other paw. (That is what we use for the non shake hand.) down, roll over etc. Trust me, if he has to use mental energy he will tire out. He still needs the outdoor exercise, but the mental will really help as well.

 

[jen0610]

I dont know of a better suitable home.. a marathon runner maybe? do people really have 3-4 hrs a day just to walk their dog?

ETA I wanna add.. my dog has no problems jumping my fence so I can't leave him out there alone for long Thankfully someone is always outside when its nice out so that isn't a problem just in the winter.. I wish I lived someplace that had a doggy play area inside.. sometimes small towns suck..

During the summer months it was about 2.5 - 3 hours broken up through out the day. But it weren't for kids, he wouldn't get near this amount of walks.

DD and DS would take him out for walks during the day - 9 am, noon, 3 pm for about a 20-30 minute walk, usually closer to 30 minutes. When I would get home, some combo of DH, the kids and I would take him back out, again 20-30 minute walk. Some where between 9-10, he would get his last walk. Depending on how warm it would still be, would determine how long of one we took.

We also have a lead in the back yard for him. He has no problem going out there and romping with our other dog or with a toy. But since it got cold, he doesn't stay out there, goes out does his business and wants back in 2 minutes ago. Also, he is down to 2 walks a day and they are the short 20 minutes or less walks.

But the kids and him play chase thru the house. They have a circuit that they will chase each other around. They run hard enough and long enough to wear him out. When we watch TV, someone is usually throwing either his ball or bone to go fetch. Plus lots of tug a war games with his rope tug toy or his fling 'n floss.

 

[doxdogy]

Send him down to me. My dogs will turn him into a couch potato in a couple of weeks.

If you go the treadmill route, you may have to get on it with him. This should help him gradually get use to it.

 

[DSNY4ever]

Our trainer uses a treadmill at her training center. She pretty much recommends it to all her clients with really active/hyper dogs. We got one and used it for a while, but now we just walk our dog a lot. Make sure that the length of your treadmill is long enough for the dog's stride. I don't see anything wrong with getting a treadmill as long as you supervise 100% of the time while your dog is on it.

But I am going to make an assumption that this is not the only problem you have with your dog, because it sounds like you are giving him lots of exercise, so I would have to think there is another issue here. Are you also giving him structure and discipline so that he can become a calm submissive dog? Does he listen to you? Come when called? Sit and stay on command for long periods of time? Start recording some Dog Whisperer! It is Dog Whisperer week on the National Geographic Channel right now!!! Good luck, I hope the treadmill helps.

ETA- the treadmill should never completely substitute the walks, because they need you to lead them still to show you are the pack leader, but use it for half the time to save yourself a little time.

 

[HelenePA]

Honestly it is going to have to be a substitute for walks in these temps with negative wind chills. He's not made for this weather either am I especially with a two yr old in a stroller that might sound bad but I'm being honest. Some of his bad behavior wasn't like this when we would walk 2-3 miles a day but now that it's so cold his separation anxiety has gotten worse he rips up all garbage he can find, hunts for any food he can find when I'm taking the kids to the bus last night dh left a glass of chocolate milk on the counter I got up and it was spilled splattered all over my kitchen floor and walls that was the last straw and I started this thread I'd love to take him for walks again but I'm not going to risk my baby out there for 2 hrs in this weather sorry

 

[goofy!]

Honestly it is going to have to be a substitute for walks in these temps with negative wind chills. He's not made for this weather either am I especially with a two yr old in a stroller that might sound bad but I'm being honest. Some of his bad behavior wasn't like this when we would walk 2-3 miles a day but now that it's so cold his separation anxiety has gotten worse he rips up all garbage he can find, hunts for any food he can find when I'm taking the kids to the bus last night dh left a glass of chocolate milk on the counter I got up and it was spilled splattered all over my kitchen floor and walls that was the last straw and I started this thread I'd love to take him for walks again but I'm not going to risk my baby out there for 2 hrs in this weather sorry

Do you still crate him occasionally? If you don't, you may want to consider it. Not for the 18 hours a day you say his former owner had him in it, but for times when he can't be supervised.

Part of his anxiety may be stemming from the fact that he no longer has his "den."

A lot of this sounds like training and the fact that the dog does not have the basics down. And that he is bored. As others have said, engaging the mind will give the dog something to do and will curb the bad behavior.

I would start from scratch, like he is a new puppy. This means that if he can't be watched, he is in his crate. Get a leash and literally tie him to you. That way, you can correct behavior immediately. If you can't supervise him 100% of the time, put him in his crate.

Do the 4-h thing and start basic obedience training. A well trained dog is a well behaved dog, no matter the energy level.

 

[walden]

I've been checking in on this thread all day and trying to squeeze in time to respond (busy day at work) -- and was glad to see that all the DIS dog experts were already saying what I wanted to say!

OP, you obviously care very much about the dog that is driving you to your "wits end." Much praise to you for taking in this high energy, anxious, *troublesome* pooch.

I was going to say earlier that there would be absolutely no shame in rehoming him as you obviously have your hands full with the children -- but then read the bit about having to return him to the previous owner. Not good!

My big worry here is that you will invest in a doggy treadmill for major $$$ and the dog will not use it. You did say he was a scared and anxious dog? Do you have the time to invest in training him to use it? You may get stuck with an expensive piece of dog equipment and be back to square 1.

Here are a couple of other ideas:

1. Look into dog walkers. Do you know anyone that walks their dogs and might take your dog along for free? Could a specific breed rescue put you in touch with someone who could help you out? Could your vet recommend someone that would not be too expensive just to get the ants out of your dog's pants?

2. Training is fantastic. I can't recommend it too highly. Could you do obedience training once a week with some of the kids? It is really fun and can lead to fly ball or agility. Involve the kids, learn tricks, get a happy and challenged dog. Practicing at home may help deal with the energy level.

3. Our old amazingly good trainer (and my good friend) moved to PA from MA a while back. I loved her because she trained me to train my dogs for myself! To be clear -- I'm not trying to drum up business for her because I know she is fully booked right now. She also only trains one-on-one these days within a very small radius of her home because she is also caring for her elderly Mom -- but she might be able to recommend a trainer/walker for you. Please PM me if you would like me to ask her on your behalf or put you in touch with her directly.

Good luck!

 

[HelenePA]

I am a firm believer that most of his other problems that are happening now are due the the fact that walks have been just about cut of of his life.. I know he's bored and has so much energy to burn off but no outlet to do it.. I've watched Caesar enough to know this! lol The former owner did do classes with him and he knows to sit, stay, recall to his name, the things they didnt work on was walking or exercise! he was never walked there! He did amazingly well here over the summer, he was a fun happy sometimes crazy dog but not nearly what he is right now! I hope that a treadmill will do some good until it gets nicer out in feb/march. I'll look in the yellow pages to see if there are any dog walkers in my small town. I have no idea how much something like this costs... ?!?! Today was the first day in awhile we had a high in the 30's! its been crazy cold i can not stress this enough he didnt even want to be out there to pee yet alone walk for an hour or two... poor dog is so bored so are my kids right now! they actually want to go back to school..

 

[padams]

Do you have any friends with dogs? Could you trade days of dogsitting with a friend? I think you would feel better/less stressed if you could get a have a dog-free day. I also think your dog would probably enjoy having another dog. If you have a friend with a dog, ask if she/he can take your dog for a day or even half of a day this week. Tell the friend you will dog sit the friend's dog one day when your school age kids are back in school. Yes, the day with 2 dogs will be more work but hopefully, it will warm up in the next week or so and you can get outside. When I was going crazy from the puppy phase, a sweet friend offered to take my dog for a day. It was great to get a break. Also, the other dog will entertain your dog, and going to someone else's house will be mental stimulation for the dog.

When I need a break from our dog, I send him to a groomer for the day. He gets the dog spa experience and I get a dog-free day. I have a groomer who charges $25 for a bath and comb, and takes the dog for the day. My vet has also started providing this dog day out/dog spa experience.

My last idea is to tether the dog to you. I sometimes hook the leash through a belt loop on my jeans and make our dog follow me around the house. It's more exercise than you would think bringing in groceries, gathering laundry, folding and dispersing back to rooms, picking up around the house, playing with the kids, going out to get the mail and newspapers, even cooking. It's work for the dog because he doesn't have a choice. If I'm moving, he's moving.

Hang in there.

 

[Octoberbride03]

Look into into pet-sitters for walking him too. In my area a lot of pet-sitters will also do daily dog walking for dogs who otherwise might not be or need a set schedule.

I know that I love the idea of the doggie treadmill and have gotten catalogs with them available too. But 1 I have no place to put it. And 2 my Onslow prefers to use his walks to conduct his business. The yard will only do if it is really bad weather and he can't stand it anymore. But he usually gets his walks.

I haven't had Onslow nearly as long as everybody else on this thread has had dogs, but I hope you find your solution for him.

 

[HelenePA]

Only one of my friends has a dog.. she actually has 4.. one named the same exact thing as my dog.. lol he is also a handful. She is very pregnant and if anything I should be taking her dogs off her hands! Charlie (the dog in question) does not do his business on the walks. He likes to take his time out in the yard.. I honestly do know what the solution is ... walks. I know this is what he needs.. but how can I walk him in -12*F temps? with my 2yr old too! And no I dont have a babysitter to watch him while I walk the dog.. and I can't go before dh leaves for work at 4:30-5:00 am he doesn't get home most nights til after 10pm. No family around (my parents are dead) my brother works overnight so he sleeps during the day.. so my options are a dog walker, or a treadmill. I guess I'll call any dogwalkers I can find in the phone book and see which is the less expensive way to go.. off to look at doggy treadmills.. lol never thought I'd say that!

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

I have a treadmill question. If I got a human treadmill, could I walk WITH my dog? I can't imagine anything more boring than standing watching my dog not fall off the treadmill for an hour. But if I could walk and get some exercise at the same time, I could see that working. Could we walk side by side with him on a leash -- just like outside only warmer and no stopping to pee on trees?

My dog's pretty small, about 30 lbs, although he's skinny so he's got a longer stride than say a 30lb Boston Terrier.

 

[HelenePA]

I have a treadmill question. If I got a human treadmill, could I walk WITH my dog? I can't imagine anything more boring than standing watching my dog not fall off the treadmill for an hour. But if I could walk and get some exercise at the same time, I could see that working. Could we walk side by side with him on a leash -- just like outside only warmer and no stopping to pee on trees?

My dog's pretty small, about 30 lbs, although he's skinny so he's got a longer stride than say a 30lb Boston Terrier.

I dont know I'm guessing its going to have to be a very wide treadmill... off to google. I plan on watching tv while he walks.. hopefully while the baby sleeps.... how nice would that be? silence watching tv...

http://www.thehistoryof.net/history-of-treadmills.html yes yes they do make them for humans and dogs.. ummmm learn something new on the dis all the time.. off to see how much these suckers are...