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Unitasker Wednesday: The Jog-a-Dog
All Unitasker Wednesday posts are jokes — we don’t want you to buy these items, we want you to laugh at their ridiculousness. Enjoy!
Are you sick and tired of walking your dog? If you would rather stay inside and plop in front of the television while your dog gets its exercise on a treadmill, then you are in for a treat.
The good folks at Jog-a-Dog (since 1972!) have a product for you. The DC 7 is described as “the most impressive dog treadmill to date.” It weighs in at 261 pounds and costs just south of $3000. That is a bit steep, but think of all the time it will save you now that you no longer have to walk Fido. From their site:
The incredible 84” x 24” running surface will accommodate all breeds while allowing large dogs ample room to reach and extend while exercising. Ridged reinforced steel decking provides a secure foundation for breeds exceeding 300 pounds. The powerful 1 H.P. PWM whisper quiet industrial drive system comes standard! Likewise, the proprietary four roller drive system insures a smooth and consistent tread operation that will not slip at even the slowest of speeds. The side guardrails are formed from ½” round steel and are detachable, allowing for easy transport and storage.
It is all so easy. If you combine the Jog-a-Dog with an automatic feeder and a doggy door for access to your back yard, then you will never have to be responsible for your dog again. Sure, the dog may be happy to see you on your couch from time to time, but a little doggy independence will make it much easier to care for you canine.
(Exception: If someone with a disability and/or mobility restrictions has a dog, we understand that this could be helpful. It would be especially helpful for a service animal. However, for able-bodied pet owners, this is truly, truly ridiculous.)
33 comments posted
Posted by Jacki Hollywood Brown - 03/11/2009
Ohhh I get it. This is so the overweight dog can have a place to pile its junk just like the overweight owner piles his/her junk on his/her respective treadmill!
Posted by josho2001 - 03/11/2009
Additional exception! Living in a small apartment with hefty indoor cats. While Jog-a-Cat does not have quite the same ring to it, I think this would be incredibly useful for my gato who has packed on a few additional pounds. You can only get so much exercise running back and forth inside an apartment. Of course there’s no way I’d drop 3 grand on a mini treadmill.
Posted by TuringTestFail - 03/11/2009
My Border Collie can run 20 miles, I do at most 5. Want to stop by and take him out for a run after I’m done? I’d buy this if I could afford it.
It’s actually aimed at pro trainers and handlers who have many dogs to keep in condition. Cesar Milan uses one…..
Posted by Springpeeper - 03/11/2009
The makers of this thing don’t seem to have addressed the OTHER reason for walking your dog…
Posted by Shalin - 03/11/2009
wow…this is toooo funny!
The disclaimer is well stated, but yeah – funny! 
Posted by Loren - 03/11/2009
I could be wrong I don’t know how much dog walkers make. But wouldn’t it be cheaper to just pay someone else to walk your dog for you?
Posted by Rue - 03/11/2009
Why not just put your dog on your own treadmill? The only difference I can see between a people treadmill and a doggie treadmill is the barricades.
Posted by Ruth Hansell - 03/11/2009
Oh, where to begin? I dont’ believe there is a dog breed that weighs more than 200 lbs, tops. Unless Dr. Evil has a puppy mill . . .
Some dogs do well on a tread mill, with good training. Many dogs don’t, even with training.
I’m a border collie owner as well, and some fellow bc enthusiasts have dogs that like treadmills. The kind for humans, that the owner already has.
Ruth
Posted by Katie Alender - 03/11/2009
Seconding Ruth–there is no such thing as a 300-pound dog! That would be a horse.
Some people who travel frequently to dog shows keep these in their RVs so the dogs can exercise regardless of where they happen to be or what the weather is like.
Posted by susan - 03/11/2009
Oh Matt, you hurt my feelings.
I spent a lot of time researching treadmills this winter for my dogs. But I live in Edmonton where it is -40 for 6 weeks in a row and no one wants to go outside. I have small dogs, one with an arthritic hip that seizes up when he goes out in the cold. I was trying to find a better way to exercise them… finally decided to just throw the ball across the room more often (while I lay on the couch!).
It’s always a little embarrassing to see something I’ve been ogling come up on Unitasker Wednesday posts…
Posted by Karen - 03/11/2009
Love Jacki’s comment!
Actually, not a horrible idea for those with severe winters. Sometimes we’ll get weeks of subzero, frostbite-inducing weather here too; impossible to walk the pooch. Can you put children on it too?
Posted by Sapphire - 03/11/2009
Agreed that it’s a silly idea for the average person (excepting professionals or those with disabilities or other special circumstances), but @Ruth and Katie…Take a look at the dog standing on the treadmill in the picture. That’s an English Mastiff. My half-grown mastiff puppy weighs about 150 lbs. His daddy weighed 240. These are healthy, active (well, active for a mastiff…) dogs. I don’t even want to think about how much an overweight English Mastiff would weigh!
Posted by Sunny Paris - 03/11/2009
For the average pet owner— Why would you get a dog you can’t run? It’s not like it’s a big mystery that say, collies, require a lot of exercise. Do your research first, people.
My pups get 45 minutes a day from me, rain or shine, bitter cold or not, and that’s the commitment I made when I adopted them. And guess what, they were rescues because some jerks went out and bought expensive puppies because they were cute, not thinking that hey, these dogs need attention and training and running. And then the dogs acted up and ended up in a shelter. And I’ve managed to train and love them without the benefit of some $3000 piece of garbage. It’s like people who say they don’t exercise because they can’t afford a gym membership. Have some sense of personal responsibility, people.
I love reading the comments under this column because people will justify buying anything! Ceasar Milan makes his living with dogs, no wonder why he has a tread mill for them– but he doesn’t recommend tread mills for his clients. He tells them, “get up off your butt and walk them once a day, and they’ll behave.”
Posted by TuringTestFail - 03/11/2009
@SunnyParis Actually, don’t think I am the *average* pet owner, and I’m rarely sitting down — too busy training my BC toward a MACH, NATCH, C-ATCH, RAE, and hopefully a UDX. But he always wants more….feel free to stop by and take him out, but you’ll need to spend waaay more than 45 minutes. Just saying. Have a great walk!
Posted by Sunny Paris - 03/11/2009
If you’re spending that much time training your dog, then I’m guessing he’s just fine without the treadmill. That’s my point…
And no, I don’t want to run your dogs for you. I purposely stayed away from breeds that needed more than the walk I was willing to give. That was my other point.
Posted by OogieM - 03/11/2009
Just chiming in that there certainly can be dogs that weight several hundred pounds. Sheep gaurd dogs for example.
Posted by Skeemer - 03/11/2009
My dogs would freak out if I put them on that. Then they’d eventually get tired of it & hang their laundry on it like my brother does his.
Posted by Gretchen - 03/11/2009
Actually, Cesar Milan uses human treadmills for dogs from what I’ve seen. If you have a super-high-energy dog that, like the Border Collie owner described above, has an inordinate amount of energy, a treadmill can be an amazing tool. There’s no reason that you can’t get one that you can use too, though.
Posted by Kellye - 03/11/2009
I used to have a Siberian Husky and if I could afford it, I would definitely have bought this during that time period.
Then again, I wouldn’t ever recommend a Siberian Husky to a “casual” owner…if you have to buy a $3000 treadmill just to keep your dog too tired to destroy your home, you probably picked the wrong breed for your lifestyle (like I did…)
Posted by BarbaraB - 03/11/2009
Dog treadmills are illegal in some jurisdictions in the US because they are used by dog fighters to train fighting dogs.
Posted by Colliegurl! - 03/11/2009
Living in the cold climes of Michigan, we get a lot of snow & bitterly cold temps. My dogs participate in dog-related sports such as agility (obstacle courses for dogs), so they are trained to use my treadmill. Otherwise, they lose their muscle condition over the winter months. I know, seems silly, but one ACL injury to an agility dog can end their career, & they LOVE to do agility. So I can sand the laughter & keep doing it my way.
CollieGurl
Posted by Celeste - 03/11/2009
Isn’t everything you buy for a pet a unitasker?
Posted by Anna - 03/11/2009
If I had $3000 to throw around I’d get myself a treadmill so my running schedule wouldn’t be dependent on weather and light conditions.
Josho2001 – Good luck getting your cat to use a treadmill!
Mine was so terried of the LitterMaid I had to give it away.
Posted by Anna - 03/11/2009
The Littermaid, not the cat!
Posted by John - 03/11/2009
OK, I live in a nice temperate climate so we can always take walks, but you know what? A walk isn’t THAT much exercise. The real value of it for me & my lab/pit mix pup is that it’s time we spend together, that I reinforce his training (playing games with “wait” and “sit” and “leave it”), and just enjoy doing something together.
If I want to get him running I need only throw a frisbee around the yard.
Posted by Karen - 03/11/2009
A must have for all dogs!
And what an economical price!
I feel foolish teaching my high energy dog to use my $400 treadmill, when I could have bought her one for so much more!
Posted by George Jetson - 03/11/2009
Jane! Get me off of this crazy thing!
Posted by Vi | Maximizing Utility - 03/12/2009
As some commenters have already pointed out, Cesar Millan uses treadmills (well, human ones, which can be much cheaper). He preaches (and I agree) that dogs’ number one need is exercise. And you’d be surprised how many dog owners do not give their dogs sufficient exercise. It can be very difficult given all the time constraints the average person has. I think that using a treadmill for your dog is better than no exercise.
Posted by M.R. - 03/12/2009
Please let me know if anyone has luck getting a cat to stay on this. I know a few indoor kitties who could benefit from some activity!
Posted by Isobel Joaquin - 03/12/2009
No thanks, I’d rather walk my dog.
The product is equally ridiculous as it’s price.
Fun read
Thanks!
Posted by catmom - 03/21/2009
All my dog owning friends are lined up for this, NOT!!!
To M.R., all I know is, if I bought this for my cats, they would no more get on it than the man in the moon. They would absolutely freak out! Maybe other cats are different.
Posted by Danielle - 04/06/2009
This is truly ridiculous when you consider how cheaply a used treadmill can be purchased. My Pointer/Weimeraner/Dane mutt would spend hours cruising on my treadmill if I’d let her and has become a fantastic dog because of it. Make no mistake, I would run and walk her twice a day for over an hour and not even touch her energy reserves. The treadmill was a last ditch effort to maintain my sanity (and knees!). I could turn on the treadmill and she’d hop on and totter along for 45 minutes before hopping off for a rest.
One note on Caesar Milan – he totally discredits ‘mental exercise’ which is more tiring and useful than physical. I learned to use games for my dog (meals in sealed water bottles, etc) to give her mental stimulation. The more mental exercise, the less physical she needs by a huge measure (and its a lot easier to move an empty water bottle than a treadmill!).
Posted by Marilyn - 10/13/2009
These things are actually useful for a dog with disabilities and injury rehabilitation.
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