Dog Treadmill
Choosing Animal Axis for your dog’s treadmill session means choosing a safe and effective way to keep your dog active and healthy in any weather conditions. We will ensure that your dog receives the best care and attention while using our top-of-the-line equipment. Whether your goal is to maintain weight, improve behaviour, or prepare for competitions, the dog treadmill at Animal Axis is the perfect solution.
Why Do Dog Treadmill Sessions?
The benefits of using our treadmill service for your dog are numerous. Not only does it provide exercise for high-energy dogs, but it also helps with behaviour issues such as anxiety. It is a great tool for managing obesity and can aid in the continuation of physiotherapy or post-operative recovery. Dogs recovering from a long illness or fracture repair can benefit from conditioning on the treadmill, as well as working dogs or those that compete in competitions. Dogs with arthritis, geriatric dogs, and those with neurological diseases can also benefit from the low-impact exercise provided by the treadmill.
How We Can Help
We train your dog to use the treadmill, ensuring that they are comfortable and safe throughout the process. Before starting the service, we take a full history of your dog and may contact your vet to ensure there are no underlying medical conditions that may make it unsuitable.
The electric treadmill provides a stable surface and controlled exercise, making it an excellent tool for rehabilitation after injuries or for older dogs. It can also help with anxious dogs, as we can gradually introduce them to the treadmill and use it to redirect their anxiety into the movement of the treadmill.
Advantages of Electric Treadmill
We use a specially designed treadmill for dogs with a long running track (belt) that allows for a correct gait/stride. Unlike human treadmills with short tracks, which force the dog to adjust their gait/stride, our treadmill ensures the dog’s natural movement without risking damage to their joints or adverse effects on the dog.
As canine physical therapists, we utilise an electric treadmill to perfect the dog’s form and movement. The controlled consistency offered by a motorised treadmill helps the dog trot, drive, and move naturally. With the electric treadmill, dogs will trot using a symmetrical movement that requires a great deal of coordination. Motorised treadmills also helps the dog build muscle or increase stamina as it provides a long distance, steady trot that can create the resistance needed. The dog’s own body weight will provide the resistance versus the harness required on a non-motorised treadmill. Pulling on or into a harness can cause or further cause musculoskeletal issues or damage. We do not use harnesses on dogs when using an electric treadmill due to this reason.
We use an electric treadmill due to the following reasons:
- Human controlled speed, making gait adjustment and analysis easier
- Builds endurance and aerobic conditioning
- Best for dogs recovering from injury or surgery.