Heidii Posted October 9, 2010 Share Posted October 9, 2010 Does anyone here use a treadmill to exercise their dogs?? or know anyone that uses a normal human treadmill? How do they compare with a dog walking machine? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra777 Posted October 10, 2010 Share Posted October 10, 2010 I have owned both, currently own neither. It really depends on the size of the dog you're talking about. With human treadmills you need to make sure the belt is wide enough and/or long enough so if you're wanting one for a Bullmastiff you'd be hard pressed to find one wide enough and for a German Shepherd one long enough. I have had a double width walker purpose built for Greyhounds, geared down for little Stafford legs , single speed and weighed a tonne, but a great machine. Sold that when I moved (didn't have any way of unloading it at the new house so couldn't take it) and much later bought a human treadmill with a 42cm wide belt, variable speed, programmable, also a great machine and cost virtually nothing (second hand). Sold that to move countries and may well be buying another one some time next year. Personally I prefer the look of my dogs when they've been road walked over their look when they've been on a treadmill, but with the heat and with 4 dogs all coming up to a similar age and requiring huge amounts of walking as they mature, a treadmill looks to be on the horizon for every second day or something along those lines. You need to figure out how you will get the dog used to the treadmill - dog ones usually have sides and safety edges on the belt, human ones don't so you need to figure out how you will protect the dog from the side of the belt until it learns how to walk on the treadmill (a puppy pen can be used to make sides, but how to conect it for example) Depends on how much you want to spend, whether you think you might want to use it yourself, the size of the dog, even the amount of space you have to set the machine up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bisart Dobes Posted October 10, 2010 Share Posted October 10, 2010 We have a human one and the dogs use it too. The idea was that I would use it more than I do - oh well. But for the dogs I have it up against a wall in the corner so that i have 2 solid sides - find the dogs feel more secure that way when beginning. I attach the dogs to the hand rail at the front with a short lead and they all love it. Even the babies think its fun to get on while I am on it (slowest speed for them ofcourse) and I have one dog, Darred who will only run on it if I run with him . We have one that has an extra long belt which allows full stride and inclines etc etc - I can even set it up to monitor the dogs heartrate . Babies also go in a crate and watch the older dogs on it - that way when I do want to seriously put them on it they aren't fazed. If you have a dog that balks at it put a cool coat on them and have a fan at the head - coat makes them more secure and the fan makes them forget that they could run into the wall (their persective ). I think the best conditioning you can do is free running but the treadmill has its purpose for specific things and I do use it more in bad weather or extra hot weather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bisart Dobes Posted October 10, 2010 Share Posted October 10, 2010 Oh and for the dog that won't walk centre to start with I stradle them to keep them in position until they learn - doesn't take long. Great for the butt muscles too . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dxenion Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 We use a DogTread treadmill which has the length required for a GSD. It is whisper quiet, has sides that fold down out of the way if you don't need them and a removable guard to stop them running over the front of it. It has a remote from which you can control the speed and you can manually adjust the angle. It's low profile and great looks means that it doesn't look too out of place in the lounge under the aircon. Our youngest will sit on the mat and stare at the remote until I pick it up and start it for him. Here's a link to a short video of him running on it: We use it daily for general fitness as I can't take them for long walks. We looked at a human treadmill but the bulk and lack of length put us off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winpara Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 We use a DogTread treadmill which has the length required for a GSD. It is whisper quiet, has sides that fold down out of the way if you don't need them and a removable guard to stop them running over the front of it. It has a remote from which you can control the speed and you can manually adjust the angle. It's low profile and great looks means that it doesn't look too out of place in the lounge under the aircon. Our youngest will sit on the mat and stare at the remote until I pick it up and start it for him. Here's a link to a short video of him running on it: We use it daily for general fitness as I can't take them for long walks. We looked at a human treadmill but the bulk and lack of length put us off. Can I ask where you got your treadmill from? Googled them but the company is in the USA? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dxenion Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 Can I ask where you got your treadmill from? Googled them but the company is in the USA? We bought the large model (http://www.dogtread.com/dogtread-treadmills/large-treadmill/) through an online company called Price USA (http://www.priceusa.com.au/). They are great to use when you can't find a company who will ship the item to Australia. Their USA based agent will purchase the item on your behalf, get it sent to their USA address and then onforward it to you. We've used them a number of times for when we just can't find anyone who'll ship what we're looking for to Australia. The process is pretty straightforward. The end price (after exchange rates, their commission etc) may be a little more than what you could pay IF you could get it direct from the supplier but when there's no other way, this is a great solution. They also get a 60% discount with Fedex which makes a huge difference to the shipping cost. You also need to factor in the cost of an step down transformer to convert from US power to Australian. After speaking with the people at Tortech in Sydney and providing them with the amperage, they recommended: http://www.tortech.com.au/product/1000-watt-stepdown/ If anyone here does end up getting one, it will arrive with the display set in miles. If you want it changed to kms, I have the info on how to do it. PM me and I'll send it to you as it took a while to get it from PetZen (the main USA supplier). It is easy to clean and because it has wheels at one end, it is also easy to move about. It also has a magnetic shutoff switch like you would find on a human treadmill. Pull the magnetic key off the treadmill and it comes to an instant halt. It has a gentle stop feature as well. I have cued our furkids that when I say 'finish', the treadmill is about to stop and it prepares them for it. Likewise, after pressing start, it has an audible beep before the mat starts moving. I say 'ready' (a cue they already know) when it beeps so they are not startled by the ground suddenly taking off under them. I liked that it didn't suddenly launch into the desired speed but built up to it, giving the dogs a chance to adjust. You can also set the start speed and program the time. We couldn't find anything like it in Australia at the time but I have heard that DogTread may be looking to expand into the Australian market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 There's also the FitFurLife Treadmills in Australia that allow a 12 month payment plan: http://www.fitfurlife-australia.com/categories/PaymentP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KitKat Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 Can I ask where you got your treadmill from? Googled them but the company is in the USA?We bought the large model (http://www.dogtread.com/dogtread-treadmills/large-treadmill/) through an online company called Price USA (http://www.priceusa.com.au/). We couldn't find anything like it in Australia at the time but I have heard that DogTread may be looking to expand into the Australian market. Wow...that looks like a great unit! and not overly expensive considering the ones i've looked at over the years! Don't feel like you have to answer with exact figured...but can you give a ball park figure of the total cost including getting it to Aus, and the transformer pack etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dxenion Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 (edited) Wow...that looks like a great unit! and not overly expensive considering the ones i've looked at over the years! Don't feel like you have to answer with exact figured...but can you give a ball park figure of the total cost including getting it to Aus, and the transformer pack etc? Hi, we paid $2132.95 through Price USA for the treadmill and that includes Price USA fees and freight to Perth. We independently sourced quotes for freight from other companies and found we couldn't get anywhere close to that price (it's a rather big and heavy box to send internationally), that figure was the best by a long shot. I can't remember exactly what the transformer cost but is is currently being advertised for $214.50. That's still alot cheaper than the few comparable products available in Australia and because of it's design, I am happy to have it permanently in the lounge where it gets used daily. Edited to include that the treadmil price was for when we were getting 86 cents in the dollar and now that we are at/ near parity, the price should be lower to reflect this. Edited January 16, 2011 by Dxenion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stitch Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 I bought an electric treadmill from Target for $199 especially for the dogs. It starts off at 0.8kpm which is the same speed as the FitFurLife ones do and has all the electronic readouts. It has a variable angle tread which can fold up. I exercise all my lot on it most days - they get about 15mins each at 5-6kpm and they all enjoy it, even the older dogs. With all the rain (& flooding) we have had recently it has been wonderful and when it wears out, I will throw it out and get a new one - at the price I paid I can buy a lot of treadmills for the price I would have had to pay to buy the special doggy treadmill. I have put a couple of old puppy enclosure/fences around it which gives the impression of sides for the dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozjen Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 I use a human treadmill for my Australian Shepherd, she loves it and will race in and jump on it as soon as I turn it on so I don't get much of a chance on it myself. Sometimes she will go stand on it while its off and give me those puppydog eyes that say "turn it on please mum". Only drawback I find is that the length of the treadmill is a tad short for dogs with a long reach. Don't think it would suit a larger breed, but at $100 second hand I wasn't complaining, it has variable speed, and a slight incline option. She didn't like it to begin with so I would get her on it and turn it off almost straight away before she had a chance to panic, so that she got use to the movement in a non threatening way and within about 3 or 4 goes she had accepted it. I also rewarded her big time to start with, she got an almost constant trickle of small treats to start with which were gradually decreased to the treadmill being the reward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KitKat Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 I bought an electric treadmill from Target for $199 especially for the dogs.It starts off at 0.8kpm which is the same speed as the FitFurLife ones do and has all the electronic readouts. It has a variable angle tread which can fold up. I exercise all my lot on it most days - they get about 15mins each at 5-6kpm and they all enjoy it, even the older dogs. With all the rain (& flooding) we have had recently it has been wonderful and when it wears out, I will throw it out and get a new one - at the price I paid I can buy a lot of treadmills for the price I would have had to pay to buy the special doggy treadmill. I have put a couple of old puppy enclosure/fences around it which gives the impression of sides for the dog. I've never seen them at Target before!! I'll have to keep an eye out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussienot Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 I use an extra length human treadmill for the dogs. Suitable stride room for the biggest dogs. It's been modified with perspex sides and front, and the motor housing is on hinges for easy vacuuming. The company next door to the dog daycare sells and repairs exercise equipment, and he sourced and modified it for me. All up about one third the price of the fit for life ones, which I though were too narrow and premium priced. Been very happy with it. Most dogs love to run on it, and three have mastered the running jump on. Two are absolute maniacs, and will sit on it, looking at the controls, then looking at me, then looking at the controls, . . . . Only my own dog really hates it. Might be worth a call to Jason from J Tech in Penrith NSW. PM me if you want the number, or email. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 (edited) I use an extra length human treadmill for the dogs. Suitable stride room for the biggest dogs. It's been modified with perspex sides and front, and the motor housing is on hinges for easy vacuuming. The company next door to the dog daycare sells and repairs exercise equipment, and he sourced and modified it for me. Nope, not for Danes, we've even been to a treadmill store and tested them, wether they are wide but short in length or the opposite problem. Edited January 18, 2011 by sas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stitch Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 Yep KitKat, in my search for the 'perfect' treadmill I was almost going to buy one of the $$$$ doggy ones. I already have one electric treadmill for us humans but its starting speed was too fast for the dogs to learn on, it scared them cause they had to start off so quickly plus get used to walking on it. I found out the starting speed for the doggy ones was .8kph and when I saw the Target one started off at the same speed I thought for $199 it is worth the risk to see if they will walk on it - and now all my lot (medium sized breed) are experts, even the oldies who took some persuasion initially to get them to walk. This was about 6 months ago - don't know if they still have them - can't see why they wouldn't!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daddy2kids Posted January 13, 2017 Share Posted January 13, 2017 (edited) I saw other dog owners improvise and use their own treadmills for their dogs to exercise. For those who haven't bought one, I'd recommend a dog treadmill. You have to research first to see which ones have good reviews so you will be guided on which one to buy. Edited January 13, 2017 by daddy2kids Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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