"Line Up" Exercise

In preparation for training the treadmill, I first trained Lucky and Maxie a Line-Up exercise.  I've also seen some handlers use the LINE UP at the start line at agility trials.
"Line Up": D goes around behind H then comes forward thru H's straddled legs, sits or remains standing. Treat. Praise. "Go Around". Repeat.

Some D's may not need Line-Up training, but others get spooked if you try to straddle them. I've never trained Line Up's before but it's a cool exercise. Lucky learned to Line Up within a few minutes. It can be practiced any where, any time, while cooking, etc. A neat floor exercise and parlor trick.

"Line Up" for treadmill practice: Straddle the treadmill belt. Ask for a Line UP, treat. "Go Around". Repeat. (Same as above, only on the board.)
After several reps, with Lucky lined up between my legs on the board, I grasped her collar and began the treadmill turning very slowly, barely moving, constantly praising. She was confused for a moment but with encouragement just walked along, focusing on the high value treats in my hand. Lots of praise and treats as she walked along between my legs. I increased the speed one tick at a time until she was walking along at a slow pace, for about 5 minutes. Then I turned it off. We dismounted. Exercise finished.

This could be done several times a day, in a few short minutes. Tomorrow we take it to the next level.

Upwards and onward!

Treadmill Training

Trying to figure out how to exercise Joy's 6 dogs on a regular basis while she is laid up, I finally found my inspiration to learn how to train the treadmill.  Googling "Dog Treadmill Training", I came up with mostly amateurish videos. This is one of the most professional ones:


There are several different ways to train the treadmill. Some handlers train from the side.  Some straddle the belt.  Some use leashes, others not.  Some use treats and/or clickers, some not.  But most had these things in common:

1. Get D used to getting on and off the treadmill.  Reward for each behavior. Break it down as needed (reward for 1 paw touch, 2 paws on, 4 on, whatever it takes). Build value into the treadmill.
2. Get D used to the sound of the treadmill running with them nearby.
3. Have D on the belt before turning the treadmill on.  Start slow and gradually increase speed.
4. Practice daily in short segments 30 seconds to 30 minutes long.

Leashes and Treats: The above video does NOT use treats, however in another video by the same trainer, he does lure D onto the belt with treats.  He uses a leash here, but in other videos he does not.  Guess it depends upon the dog.

I found this text on one treadmill training site:
"turn on the treadmill to its slowest speed while your dog is standing on it. The dog will automatically begin walking". While mine just jump off, here's a video that supports that claim:



Once the dog is fully trained, they can exercise a couple of times a day -- great if you have no yard, it's wet, freezing or too hot outside, or you're unable to walk them.  Be sure you don't ever leave the room, especially if D is tied to the treadmill.  Some treadmills come with a magnet you attach to the control console, and a clip you can attach to the collar.  It acts like a leash but if D jumps off, it pulls the magnet off and stops the machine.

One video showed 2 Welsh Corgis walking side by side.  Another showed a dog and a cat.

So now, looks like I have a diverse bunch of dogs I can practice on, starting with mine tomorrow!  Maybe I'll get out the camera and tripod and post my own amateurish video on YouTube!

Meanwhile, you can access some other treadmill training videos from the thumbnails appearing under each of the videos above after you watch them, provided courtesy of YouTube (I had nothing to do with choosing these).

Upwards and onward!