My dog would have to run up and down the stairs 1,000 times to get any benefit out of it (other than the pounding his shoulders/elbows would take.)

We do not have stairs.
It is so cold here in winter that my dog gets cramp in his feet.He needs his excersice,eben when it is very cold and ice everywere.
A treadmill would be nice.p,s i will not ONLY exercise the dog on the mill of course, ; )

I think I may be able to give some info regarding this subject. I competed for 7 years with weight pulling and pit bulls. I have used both types of mills ie. slatmills and the Colby carpet mill extentsivly. A carpet mill has its uses but it has a lot of resistance and no matter what theyu say about it being free spinning, it still has resistance. The heavier the dog, the more resistance. This mill is used mainly for short intense sessions. You will not get a cardio workout from this mill. Typically a dog will work this mill for 5-10 minutes MAX!! Any more than this and you can do major harm to your dog and his organs due to the stress it palces on him, I have known many dogmen that due to lack of knowledge, have hurt their dogs. Over training, blood in urine are just a few of the common effects of over using the carpet mill. If you spek with Mr. Colby he will tell you he has dogs run it for an hour and they are fine, but realize that he is an old timer and he knows next to nothing about training, recuperation, nutrition, etc. He feeds his dogs Old Roy with buttermilk. The slat mill on the other hand is the way to go. Some are better than others, the Chandler mill is ok, much better than the Win Mill. Again, even though the slatmill has less resistance, yopu still need it to turn freely. A good slatmill should make 5-6 revolutions with one good push. The best mill I have used has been the Lemn Mill and Red River Curly mill. Free spinning and built to last. You also have to be sure to never run a dog for more than 30 minutes at one time without taking him off of the mill and let him walk out for 5 minutes to empty out then put him back on. I would typically build my dogs up tp 3 hours on the mill by doing a 30 minute set walkning him out for 10 minutes then back on for another 30 minute set and so on, but of course this is built up gradually. Treat it like you would with yourself running, you would start out with 1/2 mile for few days and byuild up gradually. Be careful not top overtrain the dog which is very easy to do... they will run for hours, not knowing any better, hope this helps

Bill,

So would you say (as I believe was also stated previously) that the Colby Mill is much better at developing lean muscle mass (because of the short duration, high intensity, and resistance) and that the slat mills are better suited for developing cardiovascular fitness? (Anaerobic vs Aerobic)

If so, (and IF you can afford it) might a combination of the two be the best overall (indoor or winter) fitness program for a dog that needs to be big and strong, but run all day long?

(Not saying I can afford both, just curious about IF you could)

Great information. Can you provide some links to the Lemn mill and the Red River Curly mill? I've been all over the net and have never seen or heard of these particular mills. All I know is that slatmills re very expensive. What would someone expect to pay for the two mills you are recommending?

Thanks,

Glenn

Look for "The Millmaker", Robert Lemm.

Those are the best slat mills IMO.

the URL is http://www.themillmaker.com

Be careful with mills...DO NOT leave your dog unsupervised...even for 30 secs. Be aware of recuperation times, nails, tails, stride length, all aspects of nutrition and hydration, and motivation.

Shepherds exercised almost ALL DAY LONG many years ago...walking along the owner, sometimes trotting and galloping...

A mill is about the only thing...that can attain that level of fitness.

Supplement with HARD chewing and tearing, which is also tiring for a dog. The jaw must be very fit too.

Thanks Andres. Your post made me stop and think! I was really considering a carpet mill but now I might reconsider the slatmills.

Glenn

A combination would be best if you could afford both mills, with much more emphasis on the slat mill. I typically only used the carpet mill once a week. Althuogh the slatmill is more aerobic than the carpet, you will be very happy with the results of the slatmill and the lean mass the dog puts on. The Colby goes for about 500-600 nowadays I think and a decent slatmill will cost up to 1500 but is well worth it. I would buy a slatmill first and then maybe add in the Colby down the line. If you only get the Colby because it is cheaper you will no dount overwork the dog and could do serious damage to him. Also, it is much harder to teach a dog to run the carpet than it is the slatmill, most dogs just stand still on the carpet unless they have experience on another mill. So although you only spend 600 on it it will be worthless when the dog won't run it. I personally prefer the Red River Curly over the Lemn Mill, I found it to be more free spinning once it is broken in, but either of these are better than Chandler or TL's mill, I will post the phone for the RRC, these are just good ole boys that don't have a website. The main thing is keep it fun for the dog, don't overwork them, which is very easy to do, and walk them out every 20-30 minutes

here is the link to RRC...1050 is a great price for this <a href="millhttp://home.att.net/~deadgame/wsb/html/view.cgi-photos.html-.html" target="_blank">millhttp://home.att.net/~deadgame/wsb/html/view.cgi-photos.html-.html</a>

Bill your link does not work.

Glenn