Introducing a dog to a slatmill
Most problems with mills come from going too fast in the first week. The machine is unfamiliar, it moves under the dog, and it makes noise.
Before the dog gets on
Put the mill where the dog already relaxes and leave it there for a few days so it stops being a new object. Let the dog sniff it and be rewarded near it while it is stationary.
First sessions
Keep the first sessions to a minute or two. The dog should be able to step off at any point — the aim is that the mill becomes somewhere good things happen, not somewhere the dog is placed.
Building up
Add time gradually across weeks, not days, and watch gait rather than the clock. A dog that changes its stride, drops its head or starts looking away has had enough for that session.
Things not to do
Do not tether or crossline a dog to a mill. Do not leave a dog on one unattended. Do not use food or another animal as a lure to drive speed, and do not use a mill to exhaust a dog as a substitute for training.