E MILL KEEPS

[EWO]

Me too. Two trains of thought here.

I knew a guy once who used the e-mill as the staple of his keep. He used variable speeds over different lengths of time. He still did some weight pulling (chains) for distance and time as well as a tire for shorter pulls. He used a flirt pole that was like 20ft. long. He could get the dog to burst back and forth going from zero to wide open for 20-30 feet and then reverse. Every day started with the emill and everyday ended with the emill. I seen several of his shows and his dogs were always in great shape. I gave the credit to the flirt pole but he put it on the emill. He 'believed' it was the emill so for him it was the emill.

2nd was the guy that turned me onto the dogs as a kid. He had a mill with an expanded wire cage built around it and a locking back door. No hook ups, no collars and no harness. He would turn it on really slow and it would roll the dog to the back of the cage. Within seconds he figured out he had to walk. He bumped the speed here and there. Within a couple of sessions the dog really had the idea.
After two, possibly three sessions it was the last time the dog ever saw the emill. The next session was on the slat mill and dog hit it running. He said the only thing the emill was good for was to teach a young dog to run on an off the ground surface. I can remember every 8-10 month old dog came off the chain to get his turns on the emill. Some of my best memories were the dogs just zinging the shit out of that slat mill. For that he gave credit to the emill.

EWO

[Nut]

Wild Red Rose's brother Turbo was a thick, slow, ponderous dog ... with a devastating mouth ... and he was like a rock wall.

Other dogs would be all over him, but by about :15 to :20 Turbo would get his mouth on the other dog, and within :05 to :15 more minutes the other dog would be crippled, with arteries gushing blood out of its muzzle, armpits, and legs. It was the same story in every roll and every match ... until he was kept on an emill.

The genius who kept him on an emill did so to "put air" in Turbo, but the idiot failed to realize Turbo had great natural stamina and didn't need any help in getting more air. He fought slowly, ponderously, and economically ... and all the guy did was rail Turbo down (taking away his natural power, mouth, and body strength) and turned Turbo into a useless, weak, wet noodle ... who wobbled when you pet him he was so scrawny ... and (you guessed) Turbo lost that time around and was NOTHING compared to how he looked coming in from a slat mill and weight pulling.

Jack

Wonder how he trained him. I used e mill for a strong hard mouth bitch for up to 100 minutes, after 1,5 hour walk. She didnt lose any of her mouth or strength

[EWO]

On the grand scheme of things all the conditioning tools are inanimate useless objects taking up space. The next part is whether the guy knows how to not only use that particular piece of equipment but also how it is best applied to the individual dog being worked.

Ch. (4XW) Mims/DTA's Charlie just about peaked himself on the chain. He would turn his 12' to 14' chain into a flying jenny. He made lap after lap at a blistering pace. Our job was to sit in the chain spot of the next dog and rub him and in turn Charlie put in the hard laps. We hand walked and pulled chains as well.

After each of the wins, "How did you work him?". "Hand walking is the only thing we took him off the chain for". An accurate statement but one that does not tell the whole truth.

Used correctly and fitted to the dog, all of them work exceptionally well.

EWO

[Frank43]

Ewo

I just read through what you wrote. Especially this.

I knew a guy once who used the e-mill as the staple of his keep. He used variable speeds over different lengths of time. He still did some weight pulling (chains) for distance and time as well as a tire for shorter pulls. He used a flirt pole that was like 20ft. long. He could get the dog to burst back and forth going from zero to wide open for 20-30 feet and then reverse. Every day started with the emill and everyday ended with the emill. I seen several of his shows and his dogs were always in great shape. I gave the credit to the flirt pole but he put it on the emill. He 'believed' it was the emill so for him it was the emill.

2nd was the guy that turned me onto the dogs as a kid. He had a mill with an expanded wire cage built around it and a locking back door. No hook ups, no collars and no harness. He would turn it on really slow and it would roll the dog to the back of the cage. Within seconds he figured out he had to walk. He bumped the speed here and there. Within a couple of sessions the dog really had the idea.
After two, possibly three sessions it was the last time the dog ever saw the emill. The next session was on the slat mill and dog hit it running. He said the only thing the emill was good for was to teach a young dog to run on an off the ground surface. I can remember every 8-10 month old dog came off the chain to get his turns on the emill. Some of my best memories were the dogs just zinging the shit out of that slat mill. For that he gave credit to the emill.

EWO

I have started to work the Emil in to my a program to keep my dogs in shape. I don't think it is a complete tool at all. From what I remember from athletics it can't really train the complete athlete. Handwalking and roadwork is probably always the gold standard. I like walking in the woods with my dogs. Probably the best work. They are walking running jumping following scents. jumping over logs up and down river beds etc. during this time you get a lot of off axis loading. the difference between a weight lifter who bench presses and squats vs. one of the strongmen types that is throwing boulders or some other complex activity.

To me there are a couple of problems with this. There is a lot of wear and tear on the body and joints. I think the e-mill is better for training heart and lungs. None of my dogs have had the problems with pads they had biking or walking on the road. its easier to be consistent. I can give them three miles on there without worrying about getting hit by a car. You an control the rate to get them at a fast pace and then bring them to a slower pace and let them recover moving.

Its probably a form of work that is best for a slow twitch muscle type dog. Someone talked about a dog running hot within twenty minutes. it probably was running hot as much as it was muscular fatigue. Its like taking a marathon runner and putting him in a Mma contest. He's going to get killed. he won't be explosive or Strongs and his muscles aren't used to contracting against weight.

To me the mill is more like the boxer or Mma guy doing roadwork. He's doing Roadwork to build his underlying cardiac capacity. you can't work if you can't breathe and your heart isn't used to pumping at higher rates for prolonged periods of time. Once there is a cardiac reserve its good to think about other athletic requirements for your activity and how and where to get them.

as for your other dogs that ran the chain and put himself into shape all dogs are different. the dogman knows how to get each one what he needs

[Mordy]

The Emill could be a substitute for long hand walks for someone who doesn't have the time go for 2 to 4 hours walks daily. It's going to build an aerobic base same as a hand walk, good for fat loss. It's not going to replace the anaerobic work that a slatmill or jenny provide