We all know the basic methods of putting one into top shape, such as the E-Mill,Slatmill,Carpetmill,Jenny,FlirtP,SpringP,road work, ect.......

BUT....what about those of you that come up with your own way of conditioning, surely there must be a handfull of sportsmen who dont have the finances to afford every damn mill out there, especially those that are feeding sevaral hounds that eat up the income.....

so lets hear it folks...........ill share a few first..............

one method of resistance training i would do would be to toss a bumper or frisbee (or tennisball) against the current in our private creek. the water line would reach right to my boys chest creating the perfect ammount or resistance as he would run against the current chasing the bumper.

one method i had for a cardio workout took place in the local ricefields, miles of dirt road surrounded by ricefields......we would walk an approx 3 mile stretch....

during our 3 mile stretch i would use a "chuck it" ball thrower (a potential GREAT tool if applied to conditioning), approx every 100 yards i would turn around and chuck the ball behind me, forcing the dog to SPRINT back to the ball and then again run it back to me....as he would brimg it back id turn around chuck the ball behind me & proceed forward......you can imagine what the 3 mile strike turns into for the hound at the end of the day

every 100 yards i walked, the dog would sprint 200 yards (100 to sprint/chase the ball, 100 to run/trot it back to me.......for 6 miles (to & back)........aside from great cardio, it also gets the dog used to breathing hard with something in its mouth.....

im curious how these methods would serve in a real keep...........if all else fails i can say these are great maintenance excercise routines...lol


so lets hear it fellas, how creative have you gotten while working a dog???