Dog Treadmill Great Fun For Pooch

Dog Treadmill Great Fun For Pooch AG WORLD 34-1-21 "Due to leg problems I'm not able to walk my dog, so I made a treadmill that lets him exercise on his own," says Edwin Ruff, Moses Lake, Wash. His 5-ft. long, 2-ft. wide dog treadmill has a frame made from -in. metal conduit. The belt the dog rides on was made by sewing some outdoor carpet together, and then sewing together a boat canvas and glueing it on back of the outdoor carpet for strength. The belt rides on a pair of plastic rollers, and an electric motor is used to belt-drive one of the rollers. Each roller was made by inserting a wooden hub, which serves as an axle, inside a 4-in. dia. plastic pipe. The electric motor has a reduction drive that gears the belt down to a slow walk. The treadmill rides on a pair of metal wheels at one end. Metal stabilizer arms support the other end. Metal guard rails on the sides fold in on the belt for storage. The entire unit can be stood on end for storage. "My Pomeranian dog has a lot of fun walking on it," says Ruff. "And when I stand the treadmill on end it doesn't take up much room. At first I held the dog by the collar, but now the dog is used to it and stays on the belt so I really don't need the guard rails. We mostly use it outdoors. "Recently I made a smaller 32-in. long, 12-in. wide model that's a lot easier to carry around and can be used inside our house. It's driven off a small electric motor with gear reduction to get it to run slow enough. The dog walks on it at a good medium pace." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Edwin W. Ruff, 940 Ironwood Dr., Moses Lake, Wash. 98837 (ph 509 765-6722).

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