dogPACER MiniPACER Treadmill

This is great - my Italian greyhound LOVES it! Took to it very quickly (treats as incentive helped), now we're just solidifying behavior while on it. Set up is pretty easy. The company was WONDERFUL about a problem with the first one I received - tried to talk me through a fix at home (it was squeaking a bit) but then quickly accepted a return for an exchange (be sure to keep the box!). Second one I received was in perfect condition. I suggest getting a mat for underneath (I used same one I bought for under my stationary bicycle).

This product works as expected... I'm mentally rating it 4 stars based on that, but b/c I can't fault the actual product, I'm rating it 5 stars for the averaage. However, in retrospect... this is kind of a silly purchase for like 99% of buyers, b/c if you're like me, you probably want(ed) to buy this b/c you want to have an option to better tire out your super high-energy dog breed. However, the reality is that you should probably look to not just taking them for walks, but try going to an open dog park area and try playing games of fetch or something so they tire out better. The problem with using walks/jogs to tire out a dog is that they tire out more efficiently when they're sprinting full bore. You can get them to do that in an open park... so just do that. What I learned from this treadmill is that it's VERY HARD to get them to use it effectively to the point where it tires them out and if you're not careful, you'll get what happened to me the last time I used mine... your dog can get so exerted that they literally relieve themselves while on the thing. I tried to push my dog to get to higher speed so that he'd run at a pace that could actually tire him out and he was so uncomfortable with it that he pooped on the treadmill. Needless to say, I haven't used it since. This isn't strictly an issue with the treadmill, however. It's just a point of reflection for me that this product is probably for a very specific type of dog. In reality, your dog is likely NOT that type of dog... you, like me, are probably just being lazy...

bottom line, it's a great product and my dogs like using it. that said, i have some responses to some previous purchased comments and some nitpicks with customer service. the person who reported having to put electrical tape on to protect wiring? not necessary... all of that wiring pushes inside when assembled with no danger of sharp edges coming in contact. also, i hope the person who received a bad tread (and no side panels) called (or was contacted by) customer service... one would have expected a customer response here, but the lack of might be explained by my experience with their 'customer service'. there's a card inside that says 'do not return to amazon! call us first!'. i get it... they probably lose money if/when returns happen. the manual that came with the product says “the upper part (of the upright bar) can come off if your dog is too big”... but the upright bar is one piece. i thought, ok, they've got this nice card so i'll call as requested... but got no call back. i emailed a week later and did get a response the next day... except there was no warmth or 'thanks for buying the product' and the name of the person responding was not offered... and 'they' confirmed that the upright bar on the minipacer is one piece (without explicitly acknowledging or apologizing for an out of date and incorrect manual) and my only option would be to remove if for the larger dog... except then you lose the side panels that help keep dogs on the thing... an integral part of the design. whoever sent the response clearly could have cared less... interesting messaging. at the end of the day, my bigger pup just fits, even if there's only an inch or so of clearance between him and the upright bar when he's walking; can't imagine leaving the upright bar in place with a dog any larger than 45 lbs. so... caveat emptor (buyer beware). the manual shipped with the product (as of jan. '23) is incorrect. the 'call us if you have any issues' card included has the wrong phone number. check their website for the latest manuals (even if there are no dates or version numbers to confirm which version you're looking at), and don't expect to be treated as a particularly valued customer.

** Uploaded a new video - leash free and running at a good pace :) a few months in and still really think its a solid investment! ** We purchased this treadmill for our 7 year old Pomsky who's carrying a bit of extra weight (through no fault of her own :)....). We live in AZ which is insanely hot in the summer which makes it pretty difficult to get good walks in. Set up was easy, the overall weight of the equipment is totally manageable between two people getting it upstairs and switching rooms etc. Functionally, works great so far, super straightforward, does the job. I wouldn't say she loves it, but she doesn't not love it :). She about 35 pounds and I would call her a medium/small dog. We have 3 other Pomsky's, 2 a tad larger that definitely wouldn't fit. So I would say if you're considering this, its definitely for a small to small medium size pup.