My dog is very active and depending on the weather I walk her daily. We just go hit with a pretty bad snow stom and for the past couple weeks it's been extremely cold. I tried to teach her to walk on the tread mill but she just sits on it and is scared of it. Anyone ever train their dog to walk on a treadmill? Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
2007-02-15 10:42:47 · 6 answers · asked by Danielle P 2 in Pets ➔ Dogs
Step One - Introduce your dog to the mill. Let them get used to the mill being there first. Even if you have a very confident dog, take this process slow. Set your mill up and then let your dog notice it. Watch how they react. Don't' make a big deal out of it.
If you dog acts scared or cautious (most sound pit bulls will show some caution to a new object in their surroundings) don't sweat it. Just take them away from the mill without any fan fair. Go play ball or something.
Do this again and again until the mill becomes just another item in their area. Like a chair or a couch or some other piece of furniture.
Step Two - Once they are comfortable with the mill being around. Put them on it. Do not run them or attach them. Simply put them on it and praise them.
Take them off the mill and go do something fun. Like play or do a few obedience sessions. Again, without making a big deal out it.
Do this everyday until they are completely comfortable being on the mill.
Step Three - Put a harness on them and attach them to the mill. Do not expect them to understand what to do yet. So just be patient. Stand in front of them and call them to you. Encourage them to move their feet. If they don't, don't worry.
Stop, praise them, and take them off the mill.
Two things to keep in mind:
Never use a collar to hook them up to the mill.
Try not to bait them. If you need to bait them in order to get them to run, then fine, but its a lot easier for you if they figure it out for themselves and want to run on it.
Repeat this process until they start to walk on it. Notice I said, walk and not run. The idea is to get them completely comfortable with the mill, being on the mill, and once they are used to it, your dog will start to walk on their own.
When they start walking on it, you can encourage them to run by standing in front of them and praising or calling them to you.
Extremely Important Factor: - Not every dog will like using the treadmill. Some will flat out refuse to use it. In fact, many dogs that are introduced to them wrong get frightened of them. So take the process very slow. Your dog liking the mill and wanting to use it is the goal.
Extremely Important Factor #2: - The steps above may take 48 hours or 48 days. How long it takes depends on how confident your dog is.
Hope this helped, Good Luck!
2007-02-15 10:49:18 · answer #1 · answered by xtaintedLOVE 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Unless your treadmill is designed for a dog I wouldn't recommend it. Dogs become bored easily with the lack of view and will get off. The best thing you can do is just play with her. She will get exercise and will have more fun than walking on a treadmill.
2007-02-15 10:49:32 · answer #2 · answered by al l 6 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Just walk on the treadmill with her, soon she'll get used to it. It helped for my dog.
2007-02-15 10:51:27 · answer #3 · answered by Jenny 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Try walking on it with him, with the lease pulled short right next to you.
2016-03-29 08:08:01 · answer #4 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
at first hold the leash in your hand and pretend to walk along side the tredmill. after a while you can put the lead on the hand rail.
keep it slow!!!
2007-02-15 11:03:24 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well we got lots of snow too and my dogs just love it, just let the dog run in the snow.
2007-02-15 11:35:51 · answer #6 · answered by Shepherdgirl § 7 · 2⤊ 2⤋