How fast should my Dog go on her treadmill?

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chickenbarn-gal

chickenbarn-gal

Songster
9 Years
Jun 6, 2010
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Michigan
My Labrador has been using her treadmill for about one month now. Each day, three times daily, I go and give her a small jog. Everyday she did faster and faster, finally now she is doing 4 MPH's. She loves running, and in a couple hours when it's time to do it again she runs downstairs and sits on the treadmill until I turn it on. There is no question if she likes it (because I know she loves it), but I want to know what is best for her. Is 4 MPH too fast? Or what should the typical schedule for a dog using the treadmill be? Thanks,
 
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If she loves it that much I'd just let her run until she gets off herself. A dog can run a lot faster and longer than a human, so I wouldn't worry about it. I might even bump up the speed to see how she likes it. Obviously it will be different for individual dogs, so as long as she is enjoying it, let her go
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Alot of what she does or shouldn't do depends on several things. First, how healthy is she? An obese dog can't run as long or as fast as a dog with a normal weight. So, if this is for weight loss then I wouldn't do more than 5-8 minuntes at a time at a moderat speed. Duration of the jog is more important than speed, so if you are unsure how fast to go and want to accomplish more exercise then just up the amount of time she jogs for. Just as with people conditioning for more vigorous exercise is a must, too much too soon can cause anything from mild soreness to blown ligaments, arthritis, even stress fractures.
 
Is this a regular tread mill? I am interested in getting my moms dog on their tread mill and not sure how to go about it. She is too much dog right now for my mom - was supposed to be my dads dog but he is gravely ill now. I am thinking if I could go over and "wear her out" some it would be a good thing. They live on 25 acres and she is let out to run but only in daylight hours. This is something that could be done once the sun sets.

She is a 1 year old german short hair/lab mix. Beautiful and atheletic. She runs like a race horse - very graceful.
 
I had this same question while riding my bike with my dog, how fast was too fast? The dogs will let you know. My girl kept up a great pace for awhile, faster than I thought with how the wind felt in my hair, but she was still in the Shepherd trotting gait and not an actual run, so it couldn't have been that fast. I slowed it down when she started to look tired, and ending up walking the bike 2 blocks from home. She loved it! We've done it a couple more times since then, and she gets all set and ready next to the bike and tries SO hard to keep a perfect heel until we get our speed set and a good rhythm going.

My boy Shepherd doesn't go as fast, he has a bad hip on the right side and doesn't have the body build to go as fast as she can in that Shepherd gait. So with him I do half the speed and 1/3 the distance I do with her. The puppy isn't far enough into her training to do it yet, so I was thinking about getting a treadmill for myself and the dogs on rainy days. The boy dog has supplements he has to take for his joints, and he needs light exercise on top of it to keep him fit and pain free. Poor guy, he's only 2 years old and we have to treat him like an old man.

But for a young, healthy, fit dog, tire them out so long as it's safe. I'd imagine you want to watch the speed on a treadmill much the same as a human work out... start out slow, increase speed, maintain that speed for a bit, then slow it down for a cool off at a walk. A dog can trot for a good while, out right running in short bursts. I didn't want to tire my dogs out with the bike so we never went faster than that working type trot. But on a treadmill safe at home, I could get them running for a short time.
 
I have shorthairs so somewhat different, and not on a treadmill, but excercising off a four wheeler or next to my truck (do not try this at home), at 11 mph most are still at an extended trot, at 14 all are at a run. For the best work out you want to vary the gait they are at between trot and run. Gradually up the speed until she is at a very fast trot, not sure about the treadmill where she will get uncomfortable. This said mine are working dogs, that most days run up to 4 hours.
 
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Lol, wow... Thats a long time!
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I had this same question while riding my bike with my dog, how fast was too fast? The dogs will let you know. My girl kept up a great pace for awhile, faster than I thought with how the wind felt in my hair, but she was still in the Shepherd trotting gait and not an actual run, so it couldn't have been that fast. I slowed it down when she started to look tired, and ending up walking the bike 2 blocks from home. She loved it! We've done it a couple more times since then, and she gets all set and ready next to the bike and tries SO hard to keep a perfect heel until we get our speed set and a good rhythm going.

My boy Shepherd doesn't go as fast, he has a bad hip on the right side and doesn't have the body build to go as fast as she can in that Shepherd gait. So with him I do half the speed and 1/3 the distance I do with her. The puppy isn't far enough into her training to do it yet, so I was thinking about getting a treadmill for myself and the dogs on rainy days. The boy dog has supplements he has to take for his joints, and he needs light exercise on top of it to keep him fit and pain free. Poor guy, he's only 2 years old and we have to treat him like an old man.

But for a young, healthy, fit dog, tire them out so long as it's safe. I'd imagine you want to watch the speed on a treadmill much the same as a human work out... start out slow, increase speed, maintain that speed for a bit, then slow it down for a cool off at a walk. A dog can trot for a good while, out right running in short bursts. I didn't want to tire my dogs out with the bike so we never went faster than that working type trot. But on a treadmill safe at home, I could get them running for a short time.

I think you're right, as long as the dog enjoys it and it isn't too much work then it's good. Thanks!
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