Just want to get peoples thoughts of the use of a carpet mill during a keep? Do many on here use one and in what capacity? What benefits/downfalls do you see in the use of the carpet mill??
I'm interested to see people's thoughts on the subject.
Just want to get peoples thoughts of the use of a carpet mill during a keep? Do many on here use one and in what capacity? What benefits/downfalls do you see in the use of the carpet mill??
I'm interested to see people's thoughts on the subject.
Big fan of the carpet mill. Actually most carpet mills out there today are more of a belt mill than a carpet mill. The older type carpet mills were shag type carpets with a heavy jute backing sliding across a sanded plywood surface. A lot of the end rollers were just PVC pipe for the carpet to slide over not necessarily roll over. Lots of resistance. They served, and can serve there purpose.
The carpet mills of today are using belts or lighter carpets with some sort of polymer/plastic sliding surface with end roller set ups. They provide a good resistance but allow the dog to open up and run top end. The dog can sprint under load. For me, that is a great tool to have in that proverbial 'tool shed'.
Benefits and downfalls are just like any other piece of equipment. Used correctly it is the best thing out there. Used incorrectly and the dog is left stale or even injured. Pretty much like anything else we "teach/allow/encourage" the dogs to do. Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing.
Personally, I prefer sprint work on mine. The sprints can go from 15 to 20 seconds to as much as a minute. I stop him, pause and let him go again. I am using the mill for the explosions that come from start-stop-start training. I use the mill from three to five times per week. EWO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nq7h6nQmKoM
This is a carpet mill I built some years ago. The video looks like my camera guy (12 year old son) was running with her.
She opens up and can go all out, but each step is still driving the mill. I like it a lot.
I just built a slat mill as well. Like you, I think I will make another stab at it in the coming months. I used skate wheels instead of roller wheels and the wider running surface provided more drag than I anticipated. The material I used to bolt the slats to is a bit flimsier than I would have liked, or more flimsy that I expected. It was a neat project. I will try to get a video posted the next day my son and I are off at the same time. EWO
Anaerobic vs aerobic...I love my Colby carpet mill. Good to built muscle, burn fat, and cardio in short intervals. I built my dogs up to run 10 mins everyday just to keep them fit. Colby wrote a 28day keep with just a carpet mill. Pretty interesting. Carpet mills def has it's benefits.
I am looking to add an basic gambler mill (self assembled) just to get the longer aerobic exercise and lung capacity. Both have their benefits and you can supplement exercises if you have one or the other.
Regardless of what you have the dogs love it!!
I also only use the carpet mill in short intervals, I've seen dogs go week on the back end from excessive use of the carpet mill. I definitely think it's a harder tool to master than the slat mill.
EWO I've found with the slat mill the key to a good one is two things, tour choice of corner wheel's and the belt itself, the belt for me was the hardest part to master, getting the length right and trying to get as light a timber as possible while still maintaining strength in the slat is a tough thing to master.
The belt is something I missed on. I went with some tow strap/binder material and it was flimsier than I thought it would be. The mill turns OK, works well just not quite as free as I thought it would turn out. I plan to change the belt material and change the wheels. The main wheels work really well, they are referred to as 100mph kart wheels, really free turning. I like those.
The carpet mill is no different than any other mill or piece of equipment. Used incorrectly, or over used, will lead to problems. I have seen dogs over worked on both. I always thought it was easier to read the dog on the carpet mill than the slat mill. That may be because I started off learning on a carpet mill in the very early 80's. It was a hard turning mill that really worked the dogs. He had a slat mill that he used sparingly so the majority of my first experiences was with the carpet mill. Kinda never got away from it. EWO
EWO whats the longest time a dog can safely run the mill once he/or she as been accustom to carpetmill ?
I never leave one on longer than 3 minutes at a time.
I believe time depends on how free spinning your mill is. Also what shape the dog is in when you get started. As the dog gets in better shape the longer you can keep it on the mill. I try to get from 3-5 min. At a time as max ,also depends on the dog willingness. Each dog is different.
No right or wrong answer. It depends first on the dog. The better conditioned the longer he can stay, regardless of the mill. Secondly, it depends on the mill. The free-er it turns, the smoother it turns the longer a conditioned dog can stay. One is somewhat dependent on the other.
In the video I posted, on a mill that turns like that I get about 10-15 minutes per session, granted my session may last an hour, on and off, on and off. In straight all out runs anywhere from less than a minutes to as much as three to five. Depends on the dog and where we are at in his progress.
With the carpet mill I see more advantages to stopping and starting to an all out sprint, stopping and starting to an all out sprint. I am more concerned with how long it takes him to recover than how long he actually ran the mill. Granted his run times will increase in time but the recovery times speak louder to me. If that makes sense.
Not to be short with an answer, but there is no 'time' a dog can safely do anything without knowing the dog and the equipment being used. My minute may be your ten minutes or vice versa. Not knowing your dogs or your equipment I can't say 'X' amount of minutes is safe and 'XXX' amount is not. EWO
Originally Posted by Bolioman
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