treadmill tugging

[rudy]

Should I make an All Lou All the Time thread?

About 2 weeks ago I bought a treadmill for Rudy - my other non-biting cocker. He has ortho issues and is required to do certain exercises. Between running Rudy and training Lou I was averaging about 4 hours a day of physical activity... I finally got a treadmill to help out.

Dogs usually like treadmills. Lou is IN LOVE with it. When I travel I often put both dogs on the hotel treadmills to work out their wiggles, so I knew Lou liked it. But here at home I can't get him off of it! If it's not folded up, he's sitting on it, prancing on it, sleeping on it or begging me to turn it on for him to run. That's what you get w/ a young Cocker...

So, sometimes I indulge the little guy and man does he smile while he's running on it. I honestly think he'd trot all day long if I let him.

He REALLY wants to tug as he runs on it. It started w/ the dangling end of his leash. Then I tried a toy and that was good too. What he REALLY likes is my pant hem or even better my socked foot! I was sitting beside the treadmill and had my legs crossed and he grabbed my foot - not an all worked up type of bite. He was just playing tug w/ my foot - didn't feel great but not too painful so I let him. He held on to my foot and jogged for a few minutes.

In the last month his tug has really gotten good and we can play for a longer time, play rougher and he'll tug even if I have food on me which is new. This is all done outside of course.

Do you think he is just moving energy/in the flow while on the treadmill and thus the tugging? Or is he grounding himself? What's going on?