How to exercise dogs during a deluge without getting wet ...

Pardon my language, but it pissed rain on Tuesday and Wednesday -- not a light drizzle, spinkle or shower but a bloody, wind-driven, f**king deluge.  There were wind warnings and rain warnings. Every time I considered taking the dogs for a run up the street, and glanced outside, it would be pouring.

When not adequately exercised, these dogs go mildly bonkers and become barking, silly, running-around-like-lunatics, dogs.

So what is a fuzzy-slippered, unkempt, dog hoarder to do ?

Thanks to the famous (infamous?) "Dog Whisperer", Cesar Milan, I have the solution.

Trey, working out.  Note the flying ear.

Last winter we bought a used treadmill on Kijiji.  Gradually we introduced the dogs to it.  They are not leashed onto it and the handrails are not installed.  The dogs can hop off any time they want.

Buffy has it down to an art.  Her hind feet actually shoot
into the  air off the back of the treadmill as she trots along.

We set the treadmill up with the maximum incline for an added workout benefit.

The dogs incentive is one dog kibble about every minute or so, which they chomp while trotting away.

Trey was on the treadmill last night for about twenty minutes, jogging away at a rapid trot.

The biggest fan of the treadmill is Buffy.  She will actually hop on the treadmill on her own, nudge the mobile that hangs from the front of it and stare at me meaningfully.  "Turn it on.  Turn it on." her eyes say.

And so I do.

They will even stay on the treadmill, jogging away, while I briefly leave the room.

Buffy and Trey like the treadmill so much that they try to push each other off it.  One of them must be made to "GO SIT" while the other has his/her workout.

It's only the three younger dogs (Trey, Buffy and Sooki) that need the rainy-day treadmill workout.  Wendy  will only stay on it when it's going slowly.  Once I speed it up she hops off.  She's older, more sedate and has a sore shoulder so she doesn't bother with it.

That leaves Sooki.  Sadly, Sooki won't go near it.  I think that's our fault, as the day we brought the treadmill home we rushed the dogs onto it too quickly and Sooki became scared of it.   It's going to take a bit of work and much patience to get her over that fear.

In the meantime, she is on working on perfecting her own unique form of rainy-day exercise.