Step by Step Treadmill Exercising Guide For Small Dogs

As you read in Part one and two of this treadmill series, you already know the many benefits your dog can gain through the use of it. The next question is how to teach your little poochie to walk on treadmill?

Before your dog begins exercising on the treadmill, follow the few behavioral guidelines below to ensure your dog’s physical and psychological safety.

• Dogs have the reasoning capacity of a toddler and can become apprehensive or afraid if asked to do something he has never done before.
• Never force a dog to do anything he doesn’t want to do. If he feels any fear or hesitation about going on the treadmill alone, then stop. Either try it again later or another day when he is less apprehensive or go back to day 4 and 5.
• Never force a dog to exercise beyond his potential. If your dog is already overweight or obese, don’t make him do the whole nine yard—10 minutes of brisk walk followed by 20 minutes of jogging.

It is without a doubt that many small dogs have a lot more energy packed into their tiny bodies compare to sporting dogs, however breeds like Pekingese, Cardigan Welsh Corgi, or Basset Hound might find an excursion around the house tiring. Other small dogs like Miniature Pinschers, Beagles, Papillons, and Miniature Schnauzers can thrive on long walks. Having said, dogs under 20 pounds are not good candidates for jogging. Due to dog’s willingness to please, they can somehow keep up the pace, but they certainly are not having any fun. Jogging is best left to medium and large sized dogs.

Supervise all training sessions. Do not put too much stress on your dog that his cardiovascular system is overloaded. If your dog is showing these signs…

• Constantly looking at you — usually the first sign of telling you, “My stamina is about to wear off.”
• Lowering his head and tail with tongue hanging out — “I’m gasping.”
• Begin slowing down his pace and lagging behind — “I’m trying but I cannot go on any further.”
• Attempting to put his rear down — “I give up!”

Stop the exercise by picking him up. Gradually put him down so he can regain his regular breathing. Let him have some water to drink before you massage his tiring muscles.

Steps to Introducing Human Treadmill to Small Dogs

Day 1 - 2: Do not put your dog on the treadmill the very day you bought the treadmill. Let it sits around for a couple days. Don’t make a big deal about it, treat it like a new piece of furniture you just bought. If he decided to investigate the treadmill, let him be. Again don’t make a fuss about it. Don’t bother to sweet talk to him about it either. Simply go on with your normal daily lifestyle.

Day 2 – 3: Let your dog sees you exercising on the treadmill. It would help greatly if you are actually enjoying it by starting it slow—brisk walking. While your dog isn’t watching, you may go ahead with your regular workout routine and sweating it out. Reason is simple, when your dog who never exercises in his entire life sees you pounding the mill and gasping for air, sends him an unpleasant and threatening message. Remember we’re dealing with pampered pet dogs.

Day 4 - 5: Carry your dog while you are brisk walking on the treadmill. This is only possible if you have small dogs less than 8 lbs. If you have no problem carrying your 10 to 15 lbs dog and brisk walking for 10 minutes, then go ahead with this method. Do this two to three times a day. (No worries, ladies, you won’t build any arm muscles by carrying your heavy pooch. It takes a whole lot more strength training exercises to build some defined muscles.) The reason for doing this is to get him accustomed to moving motions without diminishing or magnifying the surroundings in any way.

Day 6 – 7: Put your dog on the mill and stay a step behind him while both you and your dog walk on a very slow pace. You might be walking at the very edge of the belt if you have a very small treadmill. Just be careful and bear with it a little for your focus is more on the comfort and safety of your dog. If this is not possible, you might have to spread your legs and put your feet on the sides on the treadmill next to the moving belt.

Day 7 – 8: Put your dog on the mill on a slow pace. Remain close beside him and continue to “walk” (walking on the spot) on ground. Do this for 10 minutes or so. Gradually shorten the time as you back away a little but never out of sight. Again, do this two to three a day.

Once he gets the idea of walking on treadmill, you want to stay close to him until he finishes his 20 minutes walk. Many had asked me if it really takes a week for dogs to get used to treadmill exercising. In most cases, Yes! When I first introduced treadmill exercise to my Golden Retrievers (who are with my MIL), they were very cautious of the machine despite the fact that it was only a couple square feet larger than them. So looking from your little Fido’s viewpoint, wouldn’t it be scary for him to get on a moving object that’s twelve times his size?

The key to succeed in training your dog on the treadmill is to go slow.