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Treadmills: A Lifesaver for Busy Dog Owners

Posted Tue, Feb 05, 2008, 5:46 pm PST
The modern world moves pretty quickly. Taking into account unpredictable weather, fast-paced full-time jobs, and close-knit urban living, it's no surprise that one of the complaints I often hear from dog lovers is how difficult it is to find the time, the space, and the right conditions to give their dogs the exercise they need.

There are many solutions to consider if you're having trouble fitting the walk into your daily schedule. You could ask a friend or a neighbor you trust to fill in for you or hire a professional dog walker. You could fit your dog with a backpack to intensify shorter walks and provide better exercise. But for those who live in city apartments where walking a dog is more difficult and backyards are nonexistent, a treadmill can be a very effective tool to get your dog moving!

Those of you who are familiar with the story of Wilshire the Dalmatian know what a handy device a treadmill can be to have around. You can give your dog an hour's worth of hearty exercise without ever leaving your living room. And once your dog is accustomed to it, you can combine it with the backpack for an even more condensed workout.

If you're planning to invest in a treadmill, make sure to do your research; exercise equipment is not cheap, but if your need is dire, it could be well worth it. Once the treadmill is installed and ready to use, safety should be your primary concern. Allow your dog to adjust to having it in the house before you introduce him to it, and when he's ready, introduce him slowly. You may want to hire a professional to coach you on how to do it safely. Once you've begun your walking routine, remember to never leave your dog on the treadmill unsupervised. Used responsibly, the treadmill can be exactly what you need to take care of the "exercise" in "Exercise, Discipline, & Affection!"

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23 Comments

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  • 1. krysantonia - 8:09AM on 02/06/08

    my dog is afraid of everything, i'm not exactly sure why, but i don't ever see him getting 10 feet within the treadmill's area, nevermind on it to walk. :-)

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  • 2. FrontSideFive - 9:56AM on 02/06/08

    same here. my dog is fine with the treadmill i have in my home... as long as it's off. fire it up and shes out the room.

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  • 3. chris_shannon_96 - 10:13AM on 02/06/08

    Cesar, Love your show, and all of the wonderful advice you give to many dog owners around the world. I like your idea of using the treadmill to occasionally exercise our dogs. Can you give us some pointers on how to introduce the treadmill workout to our dogs? Specifically, how to calm our dog's fear of such a device? Thanks, Chris

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  • 4. Barbara Scott - 1:58PM on 02/06/08

    Surely this would be as unfulfilling for a dog as it would be for me. Dogs explore with their noses, eyes and ears as they exercise outdoors. On a treadmill the only things that they could possibly exercise are their limbs. Far better for the owners to take a break from the demands of modern life and go outside with their dogs and explore a world of the senses.

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  • 5. bs012001 - 4:21PM on 02/06/08

    My dog runs soon as I cut on the treadmill. I can't imagine getting her on it.

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  • 6. Allison G - 6:01PM on 02/06/08

    I started my 5 month old puppy on it with a leash for 10 minutes here and there and it does get the job done on rainy days.

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  • 7. wccandles - 10:14PM on 02/06/08

    My daughter's dog is a high energy Aussie/Chow. She walks him each morning for about two miles and a little less in the evening. The treadmill has been a life saver for those rare rainy stormy days that she can't get out. I introduced him to the treadmill and this is a dog that is afraid of many things. I looped a little leash around his neck (one of those you get from the vet to bring your dog home with after surgery, etc) Calmly encouraged him onto the treadmill with it off. Let him stand for a few minutes and then turned on slowly. He did want to bolt but I had a few soft treats and encouraged him to stay on. I had a chair sitting right next to him and and let him lean on me a bit as he acclimated. Within 5 minutes I found the right speed for him and continued to sit next to him and periodically gave him a bit of a treat. We have gone 20 and 25 minutes and I was able to sit beside him and have the leash on. I would occasionally touch his collar area to stabilize him so he would feel a little more secure. Bottom line is this can be done!! We are getting a puppy in two weeks and this will absolutely be introduced at an early age. I can't think of any better addition to an already active dogs life. Thank you, Cesar!

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  • 8. conster - 3:16AM on 02/07/08

    My Brittany is very high energy and last year during the cold winter days I saw a program where Cesar had the dog on the treadmill and thought that was a great idea, so I introduced her to the treadmill. It was working great for several weeks and she seemed to really like it. She was running for 30 minutes in the morning before we went to work. Then, all of a sudden, after a few minutes, she would deficate while running on the treadmill even though she had been outside and eliminated herself before going on the treadmill. It was not very pleasant having to clean that mess every day. I don't know if it was her way of protesting the treadmill or maybe she was going too fast and this just stimulated her bowels, but needless to say, we stopped putting her on the treadmill and just walk her twice a day outside. Have you ever experienced this and do you have any suggestions to why she would do this?

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  • 9. wccandles - 8:48PM on 02/07/08

    Wow Conster, that's an annoying side effect!. While I'm no expert, I would wonder if the speed has something to do with it. With my daughter's dog, faster was not better for him. He seemed much more comfortable at a steady, slower pace. I can only imagine how much fun it was to clean up after a dog deficating on a moving treadmill! I might try again, but on a slow, steady pace. Good luck!

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  • 10. plt65 - 6:42AM on 02/08/08

    I have a dog walking business. It is a wonderful job and there are few things better then being outside with my customers all day! Clearly some breeds could benefit from additional daily exercise on the Mill, but the highlight of a dogs existence is getting outside, walking and socializing with other canines!

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  • 11. CJ Anderson - 9:09AM on 02/08/08

    Hi everyone, right now as we speak, I just got two labs from DogToWn (Best Friends) who came down to Phoenix to bring some of their dogs to Petsmart for adoptathons. It takes me 5 minutes to teach a dog how to treadmill without a leash. (This is my 18th and 19th dog I have workd with using Cesar's way techniques). The most useful tool is to use the harness and to be in front to keep their atten on you. Then next you want to fin their "migration speed" and god bless treadmills for that feature. If you have a lower energy or older dog, then a one speed treadmill is fine. If you have a high energy or young dog, then having a variable speed (you chose programs that go up and down with speeds along with inclines and combine that with a back pack with 10-15% of their weight inside for a good workout. Marley greyound/lab lives to run at 3.5 miles and hour for an hour on th variable speed (is first on - all my dogs are leashless treadmill dogs as you will see at the youtube site! ALL the problem dogs I am asked to work with are under 3 years and most betwen 18 months to two years so this would be a comparison of asking my 54 year old body to keep up with a teenage athlete!!! So for those of you who really would like to work with this. Look at my Flicker page for safety tips when getting started: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cjanderson/ and also www.youtube.com/cjanderson

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  • 12. CJ Anderson - 9:10AM on 02/08/08

    I forgot to add that treadmill is really not designed to REPLACE walking, but when you use the energy to calm down the dog - the walks become easy exercises of the second part of Cesar's three part formula - excercise, disapline and THEN affection. The dog will walk without pulling and distractions are WAAAAY much less of an issue on the walk!

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  • 13. dealeya - 12:20PM on 02/08/08

    I wish I could get my standard schnauzer on my treadmill. For now she just watched me use it...LOL One day I hope to have her doing her thing...it's gonna take time though. She's not having it just yet.

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  • 14. rocky51040 - 4:03PM on 02/08/08

    I have a Chesapeake Bay Retreiver/Lab mix. I have him trained to the treadmill and it is great as we live in a very wet region. I jump on my exercise bike and he gets on the treadmill and off we go for 30-45 minutes. Thanks for the great tip. I saw it in you book first and figured why not give it a try. It works and he loves it!

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  • 15. anthony.forward - 3:23AM on 02/09/08

    My husband and myself watch ceasars programme on tv everyday,we are from the uk. we have a 6 year old english springer spaniel who we love to bits. I have mutiple dissabilities which started a couple of years ago so i am unable to walk very far,and my wife has Agoraphobia.I think the idea of a treadmill is a very helpful idea,as we would not trust our dog to be walked with anyone else.Well done Ceasar, and may your work with dogs continus for many years to come.

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  • 16. marco c - 7:56AM on 02/11/08

    hey, i know this post is from a year ago, but as February is here, it's definitely relevant! I'm a huge dog lover myself and am organizing a Pet Dental Health Month awareness campaign through my local SPCA. I'm very passionate about this - just as the state of a person's teeth can cause many other seemingly unrelated health problems, so can a dog's teeth! My black lab was constantly at the vet's office, and my vet mentioned that it could be her teeth. Besides taking my dog in for routine cleanings, I also found out powder, natural dog supplements may help a dog's teeth. I started giving my dog supplements from www.K9HealthSolutions.com. It's a cool site with a lot of resources, check it out at http://www.k9healthsolutions.com/natural-dog-vitamins.html

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  • 17. krugerpr - 2:37PM on 02/12/08

    I think it is important to note that the treadmill is not a substitute for a walk. The walk is just as much if not more of a psycological exercise than a physical exercise. Our pit bull mix would never get enough exercise from just a walk so the treadmill is a great supliment for that purpose. Our dog was very fearful at first as previous posts mention. Other tips mentioned here were helpful but the biggest help was making sure the treadmill was not facing the wall and he could "walk" to me at the front. Now he is used to it and the treadmill can be facing the wall again. He still gets his walks but now gets an additional hour of exercise on the treadmill. He loves it and has much less pent up energy to burn in mischievious ways.

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  • 18. Bonnie Peter - 8:24AM on 02/13/08

    I Recently got a treadmill and have been exercising my dog on it,but i am not sure how long to let her run and at what pace?

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  • 19. kmacrito - 3:40AM on 02/14/08

    Our family has a 14 month old Rhodesian Ridgeback named Lola. On those very cold winter days I have put Lola on our treadmill for 20-25 minutes walking. She isn't crazy about it but it does require her to focus. She is on a leash and I sit in front of the treadmill holding the leash to keep her near the front end of the machine. Her walking gait uses the whole length of the treadmill pad so a running speed is out of the question because of her size. It isn't so much the time that she is on the machine, but the amount of energy she uses to remain focused while on it. We usually take her outside for a walk everyday, so the treadmill is a supplemental thing used in the mornings when we ourselves have no intention of heading outside until it warms up later on in the day.

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  • 20. joolzzbunny - 5:24AM on 02/23/08

    I introduced my dog to my treadmill by making it into a game. My Boarder Collie called Abbi loves balls and so I made it into a game of two parts. I called the game Bungee Ball, the first part is to attach her favourite ball to string and then throw it and pull it back before she gets it. I let her catch the ball 50% of the time to keep her interested, then I hang the ball over the top of the treadmill and dangle it down infront of her. She jumps on the treadmill and walks away while focusing on the ball the whole time! I started with just a few minute and then stopped the treadmill and continued the game on the floor. Now every time I pick up her Bungee Ball she jumps on the treadmill and has no problems at all and walks for 30 to 40 minutes easily. I also inclined the treadmill 12% because she prefers walking up hill slowly than running on the flat. As I live in Scotland UK the weather is bad and the treadmill is only used when going out would not be enjoyable. I'm also learning how to use my new in-line skates for when the summer comes. I practice in the house at the moment to get Abbi accustomed to the skates before taking her outside.

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  • 21. shipleys16 - 10:23PM on 02/24/08

    shipleys16i have a 6year old Jack Russell Terrier who weighs over 30# and should lose at least 5#. I have tried to teach him to walk on my treadmill without success. We live in the Midwest and the weather does not cooperate for walking outside. I need all the hints/suggestions I can get to get him moving!

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  • 22. shipleys16 - 10:25PM on 02/24/08

    shipleys16i have a 6year old Jack Russell Terrier who weighs over 30# and should lose at least 5#. I have tried to teach him to walk on my treadmill without success. We live in the Midwest and the weather does not cooperate for walking outside. I need all the hints/suggestions I can get to get him moving!

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  • 23. diana - 1:17PM on 02/27/08

    i stepped onto my treadmill with my 4 mo. old pup, on a leash. i had him in front of me . then i toyed with the incline button so he could hear treadmill sounds. he sat here an listened, then i settled on flat and turned on the speed at its lowest. at the very first he was confused. igot off stood beside him and slowly increased the speed. he realized he had to walk. soon he was trotting at 1.9 mph. i cheered him on the whole time. his tail was wagging. i just did this for about 3 minutes. fantastic! it all took about ten minutes from intro to end. i plan to do this every other day same speed for a while just increasing time. later a little more speed less time.

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