The Dog Lead
for You and Your Dog
With a dog lead that’s how it’s meant to be! But how often do you see it the other way round - with the dog taking the owner for a walk? The leash is not just for hanging onto your dog with - your wishes can go down the dog lead as clearly as if you said them out loud. You can learn good lead handling and use this to your advantage.
I think you can’t beat a top quality leather dog lead – bridle leather or buffalo are my favourites. About 48” in length is sufficient, and it’s useful if it has a ring in the loop, so you can clip the lead round you bandolero-style when you’re wearing it instead of the dog.
Whatever you do, don’t have any chain on the lead. It will tear your hands, and gives you no control. The weight of the trigger clip mustn’t be too heavy, or else it’ll drag on the collar, and even clout the poor dog on the chin as he moves. This and chain leads conspire to make the dog lead-shy. Wouldn’t you be, if you had heavy chain and lumps of metal swinging around near your face?
You’ll find some
good quality dog leads here.
You Lead and I'll Follow ...
You, the lead, and the dog, should all become one. Your wishes travel down the dog lead. So does your anxiety, which goes a long way to explain why some dogs go aggressive when another dog comes near – they sense the owner’s fear and go into defence mode.
Your dog must learn to respect the lead, then he won’t be always fighting it, and you. The best way to achieve this is to start young and make all lead contacts a pleasant experience.
Handling a dog lead well is a little like handling the reins on a horse well. If you watch experienced or professional dog handlers, you’ll notice that they generally have the lead slack, in a relaxed hand. Then when they have something to communicate to the dog, he is receptive. If you’re continually pulling and yanking at the lead he’ll get a hard neck and ignore you entirely.
Pulling on the Lead
If you already have a built-in hauling-you-along-on-the-lead problem, then you will need corrective measures. You can go and Meet a Trainer and get professional guidance, or you can try a number of different methods.
For totally entrenched pulling on the dog lead which seems resistant to all attempts to change the behavior, you will enjoy
this training book
which is brimful of tried and tested (by me, for one!) tips on training a more obliging behavior.
By the way, you’ll be surprised how your relationship with your dog will improve all round when you and he learn some
dog tricks
together.
Now you can check on
choosing a collar for your dog,
or go
Back to Home
Dog Collars
Dog Training
Puppy Training
Dog Tricks
Site Map
|
