Buying A Dog Treadmill Or Slatmill For Your Dog

One of the most common questions we get asked is where we get our slatmills from. For those of you who don’t know, a “slatmill” is a version of a treadmill that has a running surface made up of plastic or wooden slats connected to a belt. These slats form a solid surface when they are horizontal, but have the ability to wrap around a circular wheel at the ends of the mill. This enables the slatmill to have a continuous motion of the belt under the dog’s feet, while also having a solid surface for them to run on. Slatmills are usually un-motorized, and work using the forward motion of the dog running, with a harness keeping them positioned in the middle of the device. The result is the dog running in place as fast or as slow as they want to. While there are slatmills that have motors, it is far more common for “dog treadmills” to be motorized. These use the same concepts as a human treadmill, with a motor pushing a belt under the feet of the user. Being a mobile dog gym that uses slatmills extensively, we find that we are commonly asked the question of where we got the machines. This is because a simple online search for “buy dog treadmills” or “slatmill manufacturer” is going to bring up a few companies located all over the world, but little information on which ones are good. Another issue is that the majority of treadmills that are being used in the United States are being made in garages by shadetree machinists and mechanics, ultimately making the purchase risky. Even if you do find someone who is making treadmills or slatmills, you are probably not dealing with a company that will have good customer service during the purchase, or after if something is not right. After you own it, chances are that if your slatmill breaks you are on your own, so you better be handy and understand how to use tools. You are also going to find it difficult if not impossible to find replacement parts. These parts are going to have to fit perfectly into the specifications that your treadmill was built to, or it will not function properly. Replacing those parts with different ones is going to involve frustration and trial and error, many times costing you money in the process. Make no mistake about it, your slatmill or treadmill will need maintenance and it will break, if it is getting used by a dog that has even a moderate amount of drive. Prepare for those challenges, and make your purchase understanding the future.

Even though there are lots of backyard slatmill makers, we do not suggest using them for the reasons above. Even a cheap slatmill is going to cost more than $1,000 and can run as high as $6,000. If you are buying from some guy building them in his back yard, do you really think you are going to get good customer service when it breaks? We suggest using a known company to buy your slatmill or treadmill, simply because you will probably find that they will be more willing to work with you when things go wrong. There are several manufacturers of treadmills out there, ranging from Dog Pacer to Caesar Milan, and they all do pretty much the same thing. Look into what kinds of features you would want, and make your purchase based on the understanding that it works exactly like a human treadmill. Yes, you can even use a human treadmill if you want, they are basically the same thing. Never let your dog alone on a treadmill as they can hurt themselves quite easily if they fall off the back! Slatmills are a different story, and there is only one manufacturer in the United States that we would consider to be an actual company. Dog Trotter makes several different models of slatmill, ranging from high-end professional electric ones to more affordable units that do not have all the features of the high-end models. Dog Trotters range from about $3,000 to upwards of $6,500 depending on different features that you can choose. They use a bearing-rail system that is relatively quiet (all slatmills are noisy) and has minimal resistance. It generally takes about 2 months for them to build your slatmill, with delivery being another week or so.

From Europe there are several manufacturers, but only one seems to remain in business over time. The others come and go, with stores popping up on Facebook from time to time, or with websites that are in other languages. Firepaw Dog Treadmills is the brand that we use in our business, and although they are in Bulgaria we have found them easy to work with. We have ordered numerous slatmills from them, and always found them to be in good order when they arrive. There have been minor issues that the company quickly corrected when asked. Firepaws are more industrial than their American competitors, built from steel instead of aluminum and having no real weight limit. We have had a 150 pound dog running while a 200 pound man also stood on the mill, and it showed no signs of failing. We chose the more robust slatmills because of the wide variety of dogs that we run every day, and you may not need this level of toughness if you are only running your own dogs. Firepaws have some limitations, being relatively difficult to raise and lower quickly as well as being very noisy, but this is because of the way they are built, and the purpose they are built for. They are designed to be very “freespinning” which means only small amounts of resistance holds the belt back. The more “freespinning” a treadmill is, the noisier it will be. This tradeoff as well as a lower price point makes them the choice for many businesses like ours, as well as users who buy them for their own dogs.

Firepaw is our choice of slatmill, but you should do your research before buying one on your own. Use this link to view Firepaw Dog Treadmills http://firepaw.eu/?ref=281