Hey guys. A neighbor got a rescue from the SPCA. About 11 months old now, around 10 when he got her. Lab/Bull Terrier cross. I don't know, I don’t see any lab. Sweetest little thing though.

Guy is an older man with hip problems and has difficulty walking but he's got a nice treadmill. Wide, very quiet.

The dog is about medium energy with shorter legs. A real foodie and eager to please.

I spent about half an hour getting her used to it. Walking her on and off and marking the sound when turned on. She has no fear, did great.

When we turned it on, super slow (lowest speed), treat lure at end, she boxed up and slid off the end. Put a little pressure on the leash the next time and she just kind of freezes and rides it out.

Tried a couple more times with a little more leash pressure and a bit of a butt push and she just sat down into it. Had it running and tried to walk her on and she started to balk and hesitate. Turned it off, had her get on and rewarded.

I stopped at this point because we were over an hour but we're going to give it another try tonight.

Any tips to get this little girl walking.

Have you tried getting on with her & walking together on it. Worth a try until she is more comfortable with it.

I maybe would walk the dog around the house on leash (so her mind is in a foreward mindset)& then just over to & up on the treadmill & start it going & keep walking. Maybe the owner can turn it on just as you both get onto it so there isn't really any delay from getting on & going. I would not step onto a moving treadmill though.

I have a jog-a-dog treadmill (not a people one) & just let my dogs check it out & watch it run & then put them up on it treated & then started it up very slowly & let them walk. I wouldn't of had the option to get on if I had needed to. But I can see where with some dogs that might instill a level of conmfort & worth trying.

That's a really good idea Anne. Just walk right on with her and get him to hit the "go" the minute we step on.

And yeah, the treadmill is in kind of a patio/sunroom. I went out and tossed a couple of balls for her (just to break up the focus) and get a little more energy, straight back in and on and again, she just seems to stall the minute it gets moving.

I think your idea of me on there with her might be a good one, definitely worth a try.

Thanks

Just make sure that the dog is right next to you in a heel position & completely on the track before it's started VERY VERY slowly.

Also keep looking ahead & not focusing on the dog when you step on so you don't give any body language cues. It will be up to the owner to be timely with the start of the treadmill. The dog slipping off the back when it starts is counterproductive & can be frightening to a dog not thrilled with the whole idea of walking on it to begin with.

Try to keep her head up when walking so she has a good 'energy' for lack of a better term. Do a few laps around the tm before stepping onto it with her.

As a last resort try feeding the dog on it for a few days so you has a different attitude toward it in general. Then try again.

Good luck. Keep up posted.

Yeah, and that's the thing, she's great around it. After the hesitation at the end, with it already moving, once stopped, she marched right back on.

The noise doesn't bother her at all. It's really quiet to begin with but we did quite a bit of work with that. She was curious at first but before she went on, the minute he turned it on, no reaction, well she looked at me for a treat.

The second it's turned on with her on it, she just stops moving. There was no trauma on the ride off, in fact, almost like she was kind of enjoying that. Would get right back on, no problem.

We just need to get those feet moving once it's turned on.

Great tips with her head and my positioning.

Anne~

What size "Jog a dog" treadmill did you get? Do you like it? I am considering one for later on.

I have the large one. I like it. Dogs do well on it. I would recomend it if you have the space for one. It is pretty quiet even turned way up.

Thanks..I will keep it in mind.

The stars did not align last night. I think change in plans is my middle name these days.

I'm going to try and get over there today sometime and will definitely update after our next go at this.

Okay, we finally connected this morning and that was another hour of some pretty focused training (human and dog). Not sure how much detail you want but knowing me, you're going to get a lot.

So my thought process with any rescue is as light handed as possible and as with any dog, breaking down the steps as understandably as possible.

With the treadmill though, in order to get her to move forward, because she was unwilling, I did apply some minimal neck pressure (flat collar and released when she boxed up) in that initial try, as well as a few other things I mentioned.

So going into it today and not having worked with this girl a lot, I thought some leash pressure work would be fun and would give her a understanding of what I was expecting from her. I can get into more detail on that if anyone wants it.

Then we went into the treadmill room. She couldn’t wait to get in there (explained to owner she doesn't enter room excitely or before me - he's concerned about her knocking him down) so as I suspected, we had taken it super slow and there was no trauma with the previous session.

The groundwork had her really enthusiastic to get back on, which she did immediately.

So with the TM turned off, I had her sit at the end and applied a small amount of leash pressure to have her walk to the front. It’s a pretty big treadmill and she's a small dog (about 30 lbs). This was all good, reward city and we're having a great time.

Had her standing about mid way and asked him to turn it on, my theory applying this new leash pressure that she caught onto quickly. (about half an hour of work). Nope, boxed up again and rode it out.

Okay, Anne flashes out of my toolbox, I'm going to walk on with her. Nope, not good. She got a little squiggly and my body language went to hell, trying to make sure she didn't fall off as I'm walking along.

So I don't know what sparked it but I said start it up and I'm just going to walk on it, let's just let her watch for a sec. (He's never walked on it with her in the room).

She watched with lazer vision, intent. She was totally staring at my feet. Okay, I guess that's what I was looking for but what do I do now, how do I translate this for her?

No way that I could think of other than the exposure she just got. So I jumped off and had her get on again (turned off, which she loves) and we started it up with a bit of butt pressure from both sides (had him helping me this time). Nope.

Then in dawned on me, she's right in the center of it when we turn it on. She really didn't have a long way to walk to get to the treat, just that she needed to actually move to get it when it started up.

So... I put her at the very back, held her back with a bit of leash pressure and my other hand full of treats, which I stretched to very front. Open palm, exposing the jackpot of rewards should she get to it.

Her eyes were like saucers and she started to struggle under the pressure.

Bingo. I had him immediately turn it on. I loosened the leash and she trots forward on the moving belt.

A couple more goes and she was having a great time. We actually had to speed it up because she was travelling so fast, just so she could get a little walking time in.

In any case, the first time she moved, her owner and I were so excited I think we actually distracted her a bit.

Note to self - maintain composure so you don't distract dog when treadmill light bulb finally goes on.

All in all, very rewarding. I left on an extremely high note and we're hoping to get together again very soon (I was going to say tomorrow, which is kind of what we planned but we both know how fate just laughs my plans these days ).