Hi,

I posted a little while back about treadmill walking.

Just to prove that even a husky can do it with enough perseverance, Kaya is now walking on the treadmill!
I spent 3 weeks desensitizing her to the machine and today she went for a 90 minute lesson with a trainer who has a treadmill on her premises. When I went to pick her up, she was walking like a pro!
Trainer has shown us how to continue at home, but I must say it was amazing to see her walking comfortably on the belt as if she'd been doing it her whole life.

Go Kaya!

Happy Halloween to all.

video to show? im lucky if i can call S&J into the treadmill room with me on it for a pat on the head! great job Kaya!

Great job ......... but yeah I'd love to see a video.

Hi,

I took a short movie of Kaya on the treadmill this morning. She is on the slowest speed.

https://youtu.be/lkJ5r3LfRPM

Nice! its like she keeps looking at the white label on the belt thinking its treats?....

Lol, yes the labels keep catching her eye as they go past, but she is starting to ignore them.

She's now going on 2-3 outside walks a day as well as 2 treadmill sessions of approx 5 minutes each.
When she's on the belt, I put small bits of sausage on the silver panel in front of her to help keep her focussed I started putting them there every few seconds at first, and have now increased the treat time to 30 seconds. Tomorrow I'll treat only every minute or so.

I want her to grow to love to the treadmill, so my aim is to keep the sessions short, slow and sweet for the first couple of weeks, aiming towards 2 x 15 minute daily sessions by month end. I know she's still growing and developing, so I don't want to push her while she's still so young.

My husband is a runner and we're hoping by the next summer when she is a year old, that she'll be able to join him.

Just a reminder. Make sure that she pooped before you put her on treadmill.

Once, I put Coco on treadmill before her morning poo. And she end up passing them on the treadmill!!! Imagine the mess.

Hi Michelle, that must have been terrible!
I hope the treadmill was on wood or tile, not carpet.

But you're right, it's a good point to bear in mind, thanks.

kaya2012 wrote:

Hi Michelle, that must have been terrible!
I hope the treadmill was on wood or tile, not carpet.

But you're right, it's a good point to bear in mind, thanks.

The treadmill is on tile floor. The difficult and messy part was cleaning the treadmill. We had to dissemble the treadmill, in order to clear the mess properly.

How is the belt on the treadmill holding up to your dog's claws over time? When we move I plan to get Kenzi on one but wasn't sure if I needed to invest in a replacement belt before they are obsolete for my treadmill model.

Rig LOVES the treadmill! He will literally get on it himself and then stand there and stare at me.. even bark at me if he has to.. all to get my attention to turn it on. He's such a goofball! Our treadmill belt has been fine and he's been using it for almost two years- but we don't use it everyday either

What type of treadmill do you use? I usually walk Loki for about a hour a day and he plays in the yard with my other dog for an hour. With it being -20+ below outside, I can't take more then 10 minutes or so of walking him and my other dog refuses to play outside with him. Needless to say, he is being a butthead for the past few days. Would like to find a nice treadmill for him for when it is too cold outside and train him to use it. I know he is just bored and unexercised.

How did you start him out? I would love to train my boy so we have an option if the weather gets nasty or I get sick or something.

Very cool! I'm adding treadmill to my wishlist.