How to Train a Dog on a Treadmill

Video Transcript

"If you want to teach your dog to work on a treadmill so they can get some exercise and you have a small area in which to exercise your dog, or unpleasant weather that makes you want to do the exercise inside, first you would want to acclimate your dog to the apparatus. You want your dog to be comfortable with standing on the treadmill and being around the treadmill, maybe hearing the sound of it running, before your dog is actually standing on the treadmill when it starts to move. So you might begin by okay, up, teaching your dog to get up on the treadmill and standing there and then being able to get back off of the treadmill, good girl, before you actually work up to the point where you turn the treadmill on and your dog begins to walk. This is an activity that is potentially fear inducing for your dog, so you want to work slowly and try not to have any accidents where your dog actually is thrown from the treadmill which would make your dog much more wary about putting foot on it again. You want to work very slowly, initially getting them onto the treadmill, then running it very slowly so your dog understands they have to walk, always being extreme cautious to keep all four feet on the treadmill. Now remember that dogs will work typically without quitting when they've gotten too tired, so you want to be very knowledgeable of your dog's health, their heart health and when to stop, how long that they can exercise and that's a really good thing to work with a professional and with your veterinarian."