Keeping Dogs In Shape?

I raised and conditioned gamedogs for 20 yrs, (years ago, NOT ANYMORE) I can tell you that you DO NOT want a carpet mill of any kind. A carpet mill has way too much resistance. Any knowledgable bulldog man will tell you that a carpet mill is something a rookie would use. A carpet mill is something you see at a pitbull conformation and weightpull show that's for sale, but aint no real dogman gonna buy one. It is similar to the same workout the dog would get by pulling weights, which is also a NO NO if you are trying to build endurance. When you drag weights with a dog, or run him on a carpet mill it causes the dog to become too muscle bound. You want a strike dog out there moving freely, carrying no extra weight, and breathing easy. Also, a carpet mill in the hands of a novice, can burn a dogs kidneys up real quick. A treadmill should be EXTREMELY free spinning, like glass, I mean smooth, smooth, smooth. Also, a super free spinning slatmill (one worth having) can injure a dog pretty quick if the guy using it doesn't know what he's doing. It takes most dogs some getting used to a slatmill, because its off the ground, noisy, unnatural surface. They can get there feet hung up in the slats very easy and then you've got torn pads. The best ones use old tyme roller skate wheels (the cheap ones). Also, a treadmill is way too expensive (unless you can find a used one) to need for a hogdog anyway, and most guys would just ruin the dog on it anyway. A better idea would be to do as mentioned by someone else earlier, just hook a lead rope to them and trot them next to an ATV, MULE, etc around in a pasture. You want to put them into whats called a "coyote trot", which is a smooth steady gait (not running, not walking). Run them around for 30 min a few times per week and they will be in excellent shape for a dog not being used. But in reality, you don't need to do anything, just cut the food back.

The most common mistake is simply overfeeding. If you are not using them, just cut way back on their feed. I used to like my dogs where their ribs were slightly showing and you could barely see their hip bones sticking up. Not starved, just real lean and not carrying any extra garbage around. If you've got good dogs, they should have enough heart to get themselves back in shape in just a couple hunts, even if they've been sitting on the chain for several months. If you keep them LEAN, they will be OK.