Carpet mill??

[Macker]

Perfect example of what your saying EWO, the bitch on the left is running the carpet mill, bitch on the right is on the slat mill. The one on the left puts a hell of a lot more into a workout than the one on the right, therefor the time she's left on the carpet mill should be less than the one on the right give that both bitches are in the same psychical shape obviously.

The bitch behind me was cooking the breakfast and going crazy that I had two dogs running mills in her kitchen on a Sunday morning lol.


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2ixCHEgjlWE

[EWO]

Great example of two dogs on two different mills simultaneously. The dog on the left is working harder than the dog on the right. All things even the dog on the right should spin the mill for a longer period of time. The mill on the right is free-er turning and the dog is doing less work. Granted the dog on the right is taking maybe two or three times the number of strides in the same period of time but each stride is less of a load than the dog on the left.

This same scenario would work with two dogs using the same mill. One may be able to go longer than the other based on its individual condition/conditioning. The safety/health issue would be making the lesser of the two run the same amount of time as the other more prepared hound.

Another difference in the carpet mill in the video is the end roller set ups. Those really free up a carpet mill. Lots of older mills had a stationery piece of PVC/plastic pipe and the carpet just slid around it and every step was driving more than the dogs bodyweight (his weight coupled with the resistance of the carpet/surface/rollers). Lots of carpet mill myths evolved from these mills.

1. Carpet mills damage a dog's kidneys. A dog who was not emptied, not prepared and hung on one of these mills more than likely did do damage to his body. But like most, we can't blame ourselves, it has to be the mill.

2. A dog can't be on a carpet mill more than five minutes. True, if the mill turns extremely hard, and the dog is using maximum effort over long periods of time, then yep, five minutes is an eternity. Put that same dog on a carpet/belt mill like the one in the video and he can be on there for a lot longer than five minutes with no ill effects.

3. Carpet mills are for strength and slat mills are for endurance. Depends on how they are used. Start, sprint and stop. There will be gradual increases in sprint lengths and gradual decreases in recovery times. Again, the anaerobic vs. aerobic argument is dependent upon the free-ness of the mill. Not the name of the mill carpet vs. slat.

Too many variables to place a blanket label on either of the mills.

Nice video. And two dogs running mills in the kitchen at my house would most definitely lead to some one being game checked. I might cur under that 12" cast iron skillet. Great posts. Nice mills. EWO

[Macker]

Some great information there EWO, just the kind of things I was hoping to bring up and get peoples thoughts and theory's on.

I still have the carpet mill in the video and use it regularly conditioning my dogs, the dog trotter I ended up selling, I only kept it for a month and found it to be more of a temperamental pretty looking ornament than the kind of rugged tool you use day in day out working your dogs. I replaced it with a killer spinner which seems to be a bit more durable even if it did take a year to have delivered lol.

[EWO]

We have an older Gambler mill as well, back when it was G-Force, before the DogTrotter. It is a pretty good piece of equipment. I do not use that much but it does serve a purpose. My buddy likes it more than I do. I have not used any of the newer Dog Trotters. I have heard both good and bad. I have only read about the Killer Spinners No real knowledge with those.

I like the carpet mill in your video. It turns really nice. Start/stop sprint work would work beautifully on that piece of equipment. EWO

[Macker]

The carpet mill In the video is from rp mills in the Philippines as well, the killer spinner isn't a bad mill, it seems to be durable which is great for running dogs every day, what I didn't like about the dog trotter was that if the belt wasn't oiled weekly it would constantly run off it's tracks and jamb, the second thing is that once it was spinning it span well but the dog had to dig deep to get it going which I didn't like for a couple of reasons, one being it wasn't ideal for young dogs getting started. We use an old chandler mill for the keep, it's old but the best mill I've seen. you can see from this vid how they have to dig in.

[EWO]

Agreed. I think a lot of mill makers have went over board in regards to having the free-est turning mill. The hand test has always puzzled me as far as value to the dog. I admit it looks cool but I can't equate it to the dog.

I do not see the value in a dog trying to catch the mill. Pretty much like the video above. I like free and smooth as much as the next guy but I want the dog to do the work, not the dog coupled with gravity and momentum. I do not knock on the slat mill as I have seen some fine mills and some beautifully conditioned dogs coming off of them. It may be because I have more carpet mill experience but I find it more difficult to read the dog on a really free turning slat mill. It could be some personal bias as well.

With that said, I prefer a dog giving his all with all four feet on the ground. If I can choose between sprinting on a mill and sprinting on the ground, I choose the ground 100% of the time. I'm a big fan of sprint type work. The ground, the carpet mill and then the slat mill. In that order. EWO

[rodburner]

GREAT THREAD FOLKS! EWO, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG BUT DOES IT SEEM LIKE THE BRAKE IS A BIT TO TITE ON THE TROTTER ? JUST LISTENING TO THE WAY IT STARTED.
I'VE CHANGED THE WAY I DO MY CARPET MILLS ALSO. AND TO BE HONEST I LIKE THEM BETTER THAN MY SLAT MILLS. BUT I STILL USE MY OLD CURLEY MILL! LOVE THAT THING. ACCORDING TO THE NUMBERS THAT I HAVE ON IT IT WAS BUILT IN 78/79. HAVENT BEEN ABLE TO VERIFY THAT JUST GOING OFF WHAT I'VE BEEN TOLD BY SOME THAT KNEW THEM FOLKS. BUT EITHER WAY, IT STILL WORKS GREAT. I'VE TREATED IT WITH A GOOD BIT OF TLC. GET ALOT OF FUNNY LOOKS WHEN FOLKS COME TO PICK ONE UP AND SEE IT SETTING THERE. BUT IT GETS USED ALMOST EACH DAY.
BUT THE CARPET MILL FOR SHORT QUICK SPRINTS YOU CANNOT BEAT.
I REALLY LIKE THE WAY YOU THINK SIR. THESE FREE SPINNING SLATS AINT WHAT THEY CRACKED UP TO BE. ONCE THE DOG GETS IT SCREAMING SEEMS THE DOG IS JUST HOPPING AND SKIPPING ALONG. I PREFER FOR MINE TO GO AT A GOOD STEADY PACE SORTA LIKE THE WAY A BOXER WOULD DO HIS ROAD WORK.
I BET YOU WOULD LOVE THE ZIP LINE I HAVE GOING UP A SMALL HILL . I HANG A HIDE FROM A CABLE AND LET THE DOG GET ON IT FOR A BIT. THEN PULL THE ROPE TAKING THE HIDE UP THE HILL ABOUT 30 YARDS. THEN LET THE DOG GO. UP THE HILL TO THE HIDE THEN PULL THE HIDE AND THE DOG BACK DOWN. REAL GOOD SPRINT WORK! SORRY FOR THE DERAIL FOLKS. REAL GOOD THREAD AND SOME KNOWLEDGE TO BOOT!

[Macker]

The brake on the dog trotter was totally loose, I never really used the brake feature on it, I probably didn't own it long enough to get the hang of it but to be honest it was far too temperaments for me, I need something that I can keep in the man cave and abuse day in day out, that was one of the top of the range models, the deluxe pro I think, just wasn't for me, that's not to say that the next man doesn't cherish it.

[EWO]

I do the zip line as well. My cable is about 85 yards or so. It was a 5/16 300' braided steel cable used to hoist totes to the 4th floor where I work. About 20' in the cable frayed and was replaced. I scooped it out of the dumpster. I use it whenever the weather permits. Nothing like working on the ground. EWO

[ragedog10]

Have a Colby carpet,red river and a killer spinner, they each have there place! For me I like chain pulls /sprints over the carpet,my bike over the killer spinner and hill climbing / sprints over the red river! Don't get me wrong I use all three but if given the chance to get wind in my face and dirt under my feet I'm gone see ya in about two-three hour's! :-) plus I can feel if my buddy is not fully recovered from the workouts from yesterday. Do llike them during clean up place one on each mills and get those three spots fresh and clean while they burn off some steam!