I take my dogs to a dog gym for hydrotherapy and they have a treadmill there. I havent used it yet but thought it would be good to give my dogs the odd half hour on it here and there instead of hydro. Especially for my lazy dog as he is just a plodder and it would force him to up his pace a little and burn off a few more calories.

I think there are definite uses for them but don't think they are a walk substitute. As others have said, it's not just them physically walking which gives them exercise, it's the stimulation of all the sights, sounds and smells.

Helen

A treadmiill is a great piece of equipment if, like every piece of equipment it is used correctly.

Cross training is very important for some dogs to maintain optimum fitness and thus, like human athletes, deciding what sort of exercise to pursue, for how long depends on your objective and which muscles you are developing.

Fitness is a mixture of stamina, speed and strength and thus using a treadmill as PART of an overall exercise/regime can be very useful as can:

Swimming
Water Treadmill
running on uneven surfaces eg woods
trotting next to a bike
retrieves up hill
tracking
scootering
road walking

Christine Zink said (at her UK seminar) that if you are thinking of using one several factors have to be taken into account

Length of the treadmill, many are too short
Placement, if the dog is staring at a wall it can inhibit movement
speed, it is vital to consider interval training
incline, if the treadmill is level or inclined this affects what muscle groups are exercised

In addition, it may be a useful tool if, for example, your own fitness is impaired or if it is unsafe to exercise your dog during the dark due to the environment in some cases eg danger of broken glass etc.

So treadmills, like many things, have their place (IMHO)

We used to have one and Noobie my Mally girl loved it, in the end we free cycled it because she became obsessed and would want to run on it all the time, waking us up at night to ask to go on it, and wanting to go on it all evening while we wanted to relax.

I sometimes use a treadmill as a top up, it's definitely not a substitute for walks. We also sometimes go out on the bike.

I can see how a treadmill may have its uses, but I don't think it should ever replace good old fashioned walking, off lead running and general outdoor exercise.

My Uncle in USA bought a treadmill which he used for re-hab. My Aunt used it last winter for 3 of her 4 Golden Retrievers when it was impossible to walk them due to very deep snow which was on the ground for weeks and weeks.

They all loved it, she never left them alone while using it and the only trouble she had was the other dogs trying to jump on it while one was having his go. It was only ever used in desperation to try and give the some exercise. She also used it during some of the summer months when the temperatures were in the mid 90's upwards for 7 weeks.

Surely all it does is make the dog fitter. So you simply end up with a dog who demands more exercise?

depends how much they do on it, if you only use it to give as much exersize as they would on a walk then they wouldnt get any fitter,

What's wrong with having a fit dog?
I don't think for a minute that a dog that's used to a certain amount of exercise would get withdrawal symptoms if exercise was curtailed for whatever reason, my lot certainly don't. They take what they get and are happy with it regardless.