Customer Reviews

PetZen DogTread Motorized Exercise Treadmill

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I purchased a used PetZen DogTread from a third-party on craigslist about six months ago. It was very easy to train my French Bulldog to use it.

The first week I didn't turn it on at all. After the first week, I started to feed my dog on the platform. When she was used to jumping up on it, I made sure that she was on lead and started it up on the slowest speed. I gave her lots of treats and praises. Each day I increased the speed and time a little and continued with the treats. As I was training her, I played around with various speeds until I found that 2.5 mph was the best speed for her gait. The training took about a month all together.

My dog uses it about four or five days a week and stays on for about 45 minutes to one hour without a lead. I still use a treat to lure her on it, but once she starts, she stays on by herself. I now keep the treadmill in my garage along with a big fan for warmer days. I always warm her down slowly to the slowest speed before she dismounts. This is a truly wonderful device, and it has solved the problem of my inability (bad knee) to walk her.

I HIGHLY recommend the PetZen DogTread, and the small dog size doesn't take up very much space. There is a youtube video of my Coco Chanel the French Bulldog on her PetZen Treadmill:
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I bought this for my Italian (miniature) Greyhound, and after a few days training her on it, she decided she loved it! Now I just ask her if she wants to go for a walk and she runs over and jumps on the treadmill and waits for me to turn it on. Since I swim-laps daily at the gym (and obviously little Bella cannot join me), this has been a great solution for her excessive energy!
A few weeks after I got it, the treadmill started having errors and wouldn't run properly. Since I purchased the treadmill through a third party, I thought the PetZen service department would give me a hard time when it came to repairing the treadmill. BUT I was quite wrong. I sent an email to customer service asking if there was a reset or something that would fix the problem. A service rep was on the phone calling me within 10 minutes and said that the issue was static-electricity in the bone control-console. He said he would put a new one in the mail the next mail delivery free of charge. I had it within 2 days and I haven't had a problem since.
If you can afford the product, I would recommend it to anyone! It is great for me and my energetic dog!

PetZen DogTread Motorized Exercise Treadmill

An absolute must for every dog owner. Excellent documentation and simplicity of assembly. Perfect for inclement weather days. Or for those cold winter days when it's too cold or summer days when it's too hot to exercise your pooch.

I gave this treadmill a five star rating because I'm glad I bought it. I did, however, have some issues:

1. I thought the assembly instructions were awful, but it might have just been me. It took me forever to understand the first step. I ended up putting it together the way I thought it should have been put together, which wasn't exactly according to the directions.

2. I had to go to an external site to find what kind of dogs should use a small treadmill, or what it was rated for. The maximum weight for this unit is 30 pounds, but that's not the only criteria to use. According to the site I found, this unit is rated for Shelties (as well as for smaller breeds), but I think a Sheltie should actually be on the medium unit.

3. The packaging. Lord love a duck. There was a box, then a box within a box, within a box. You know those Russian nesting dolls? I think I ended up with four boxes. I still haven't broken all of them down.

I would recommend that anyone considering buying a treadmill for their dog check out some Youtube videos. The way I got my Sheltie familiar with it was to put food on the belt, encourage him to jump on, and then feed him once he was there. Once he was familiar with the treadmill (one day), I started it slowly. He picked up the walking right away, although I still give him a piece of kibble every minute and constantly encourage him. He's up to 15 minutes, twice a day.

Even with all its annoyances, I'm really glad I got this treadmill. It seems sturdy and powerful enough to last, my dog loves it, and he's walking every day.

UPDATE: My Sheltie is up to 30 minutes a day, twice a day. For once, he's getting the exercise he needs. Can't wait until he gets weighed at the vet.

UPDATE #2 - 8/15/11 I regret to say that my darling dog needed a bigger treadmill. This treadmill is rated for dogs under 30 pounds. I honestly thought Flash was under 30 when I bought it. Oops, he was 38 pounds. I gave this one to the owners of a little terrier, and he's having a wonderful time. My dog has gone on to a human treadmill, and is up to three sessions of 35 minutes each per day. He's lost 5 pounds, too! But I'm so glad we had this one to start with.

We helped our parents choose a rescue young Bijon/terrier mix who we very quickly determined had too much energy for my 80 something parents. They would have been heartbroken to give this dog away. Even though on good days they took her for a walk with their golf cart, too many days the weather wouldn't cooperate. Since I am a big believer in Cesar Millan's methods we decided to try this treadmill. I was able to get her to walk and then run on it the first day. In fact, she was in the "zone" in 5 minutes. My parents invite her on the treadmill 3 times a day for at least 15 minutes at a time (often at top speed) and they have a new and happy dog because of it. They are the hit of their retirement community and their dog is a star! Highly recommended... a real miracle. Amazon service was as always the best.

The product comes in the most difficult packaging ever. The machine is screwed onto a wooden board and the packing materials are way too extensive. They must have the Marquis de Sade as their manufacturing head because putting the thing together was torture! When I finally got it assembled, it didn't work - I got an error message when I tried to use it. I was able to get someone from the company on the phone - they were extremely nice and very patient, but they couldn't tell me what the error message meant. Instead, they sent me some new parts.

When I used the new parts the device starting working. Once you've put it together, it's a good machine. Small, movable and pretty convenient. I don't know much about other machines, so I can't compare this to any others. The assembly still has me shaking my head, but the treadmill now works great and has been a huge help with our dog.

I also purchased this treadmill next day delivery and received it right away, about a week ago. I love Amazon. The comments about the packaging were right on. I have to say it was extremely difficult to get the treadmill out of the packaging but that was nothing compared to trying to set it up. After many attempts to get the bolts fitted into the treadmill, I finally was successful only to turn it on and the treadmill was not working. I had to take the whole thing apart to make sure that the connections were connected properly, which they were. The assembly instructions were awful. I noted there was a problem with the black box right away.I contacted Petzen and told them of the ERR1 coming up on the console screen. They were extremely friendly and responded immediately(and it was the weekend) but did not know what the error meant or problem was (huh?) and asked me to start all over again and check the connections. This time they included additional instructions that were not enclosed with the product. So, after about 3 hours of trying to see what was wrong with it, I wrote them an email telling them (again) that it was the black box and or console and I was done trying to figure it out. They are sending me a replacement, which I should receive tomorrow.
I love the treadmill (well, I think I will when it is working) but I have an issue that they are not checked before being sent out and they are not knowledgeable about troubleshooting their products. Since this is a very heavy purchase and not easily returned (besides being very expensive), I am not looking forward to returning it. I also take issue with the packaging, horrible assembly instructions and not sending me replacement parts right away since I originally purchased it with next day delivery. I will update when I receive the parts but if I have to return it, I can tell you I will not be a happy camper.
*UPDATE - After receiving a new console unit and black box, the treadmill still does not work. I actually took the backing off to see if there were any loose wires but I could not tell. Again, Petzen was extremely responsive and gave me the options of either sending out a service tech or getting a new treadmill. I chose a new treadmill and will most likely receive it in 5-7 days. This is great except that I ordered the treadmill 2 weeks ago. And now I have to assemble another treadmill (which should be pretty easy after already doing it once) and repack the old one....I feel like they should be paying me for my time. :) What a giant pain this has been. They promised they would check this one to make sure it works before sending it out.
*UPDATE AGAIN - February 20, 2012 - Received the new treadmill yesterday and put it together. Yes, it works and I thank Petzen for sending out a new one. They are having UPS pick up the other one tomorrow (all at no additional charge to me). Would I order this again had I known? Absolutely not. This was such a hassle, time wasted and bad experience that I wish I had spent the extra money and gone with the PAWWWS treadmill. That one looks awesome and the assembly does not require a college education (however, in all fairness, if they had included the needed directions and knew their product better, I would not be writing this review). The treadmill itself is okay, nothing great.

When I finally got this product assembled, it was and is great.

I had to give it four stars because the 4 side bar screws were too big for the holes and it took me an hour to make the holes larger with a jewelry file so I could assemble it. I didn't have a drill bit that fit, and I was afraid I would drill them too large and then the screws would still not fit. This is a problem for such a well designed product.

My cocker had cruciate ligament surgery and I have had to walk her three times a day in 100 degree weather-so that meant early morning, evening and night walks. I had issues with stray dogs, no sidewalks and traffic. Neither one of us wanted to walk under these conditions, so I bought the treadmill and I have to say once I got her trained on it (follow the video and instructions exactly and you will have no problems), we are both happy.

I can control the pace exactly, it is cool, and I velcroed a piece of fabric across the back to help her not go over the edge. Her lower legs hit the fabric and she moves forward.

Great product!

At the beginning I wasn't sure my dog was going to like it because she had been walking using the regular treadmill but she loved it. It is so quiet and small. I did not even had to put a leach on my dog for her to walk, she learned to walk right away. I did not want to buy it because it was expensive but this is what I spend on jewelry all the time and this is a better piece and more glamorous. If you are undecided to buy it don't hesitate it works excellent and your dog will love it. Just make sure the front faces you so the dog can be looking at you all the time.

Works well and easy to use. Follow directions on training dog to use it and dogs adapt quite well. Great product.