treadmill This is a discussion on treadmill within the Dog Training forums, part of the Keeping and Caring for Dogs category; so, on sunday, i got a brand new, motorless treadmill from a yard sale for $20, it was still in the box... something like this:
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08-19-2010, 10:24 PM
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#1 | | Dog Forum Team Member
Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: California...in the mountains
Posts: 15,860
| treadmill
so, on sunday, i got a brand new, motorless treadmill from a yard sale for $20, it was still in the box... something like this: 
anyway, i am trying to teach clover to use it, so far we are all the way up on it, now i am having a hard time thinking of how to teach him to walk on the thing to get it going? he happily hops all 4 feet up, but i have to give the belt a little nudge to get it started... and when i do, he takes a step, then leaps off, not freaked out or anything, but i've got several ideas and thought i would bounce them off of you guys... first, to just click for one step for a while, then when he is good at that increase to two and so on...
my other thought to increase the slope (which makes the belt turn more easily) and then start over with clicking him for getting on it, he would have to walk on the belt to do that and it would move more, but i would start over with the training process putting one foot on it, then two etc, there are 3 settings, i figure by the time i work up to the third, i will have an opportunity to click him for actually walking on it...
so anyway, any ideas? | 
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08-19-2010, 10:27 PM
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#2 | | Senior Member
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 9,866
| sorry  I am clueless on this, thats why I am getting a motorized one lol. My trainer said to give them about a week of daily training on the treadmill. Then turn the motor on as low as possible and click/treat when they look at it. Slowly work them on it and turn it on. She said it can take some time, a month normally, but with a non motorized one maybe you just need to keep moving it with your foot until he gets used to it and then help him move it?
I hope that made sense... wine night  | |
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08-19-2010, 10:36 PM
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#3 | | Dog Forum Team Member
Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: California...in the mountains
Posts: 15,860
| lol... yeah... that made sense... i'm tempted to put him in is harness and attach him to it, since it doesn't have a motor, if i can keep him on it and move it, i'm sure he will get the idea... he seemed so on the verge of it just now, BUT i don't want to do anything to make it unpleasant for him... he is so goofy, when i was clicking him for getting on it he kept making up his own behavior chains, really fast, always watching me to see... so he would touch it with his nose, then his foot, then his nose, or his nose, then a dig, then his other foot... sometimes i think he is too creative! | |
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08-19-2010, 10:41 PM
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#4 | | Senior Member
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 9,866
| LOL Chunk reminds me a lot of him, body and size wise. You should take video of that haha | |
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08-19-2010, 10:45 PM
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#5 | | Dog Forum Team Member
Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: California...in the mountains
Posts: 15,860
| lol, i have been taking video of each of our sessions... we only started doing this yesterday! until then we have just been looking at it and targeting it as we walk past, and i have been walking on it, to get him used to the sound (not a motor, but the belt makes a whooshing as it moves) and the fact that there is movement on it... he actually has stepped on it without any prompting or anything from me before i started the clicker training...
anyway, i will post a video whenever we get this down, of the whole process... | |
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08-19-2010, 10:47 PM
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#6 | | Senior Member
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 9,866
| Ah yes the swooshing sound. My parents had a non motorized treadmill, a rowing machine, and a bike (no timers or anything) lol.
I think he will get it. Luckily he is big enough to hopefully create motion. Can you imagine a chi on it? LOL | |
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08-19-2010, 10:58 PM
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#7 | | Dog Forum Team Member
Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: California...in the mountains
Posts: 15,860
| lol...no! he is definitely big enough, i was worried he would be too big, but i think he just fits...
even if he doesn't "get it" i really like this thing, it is small, and it folds up and i can roll it under my bed! plus, i'm not too worried he will hurt himself since there is no motor... lol, even my cats were getting on it! i really should be teaching them to use it tho, they're all fat! | |
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08-19-2010, 11:07 PM
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#8 | | Senior Member
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 9,866
| oh yea I got one heck of a fat cat, I think the photo is on my FB page, too lazy to find it lol. We call him Buddha boy with the way he sits with his gut hanging out | |
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08-19-2010, 11:17 PM
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#9 | | Dog Forum Team Member
Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Central Texas
Posts: 4,273
| I had one like that, but my heaviest dog could barely move it. He was only 45lbs, though.. Clover probably has better luck.. lol.
I just fed him while he was on it and he figured it out pretty quickly that he only got treats while he kept it going. It was just too difficult to keep it moving (even for me!) so I gave up. | |
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08-19-2010, 11:24 PM
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#10 | | Dog Forum Team Member
Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: California...in the mountains
Posts: 15,860
| lol... well, yeah, he can get it going for sure! (he's about 110-115 now)
how did you get him to want to stay on it and move tho? can you break down your process just a wee bit please? | |
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