Retractable dog lead - the bushcraft version

[Harvestman]

Our newish dog has proved a bit of a handful, not being lead trained and not entirely socialised either. We bought a self-retracting lead, and although not everyone likes them it certainly helped with him, allowing us to give him some rein but also control him, and gradually shortening the lead has brought him under far better control. All good.

Then the other night he managed to surprise me and yank it out of my hand. The mechanism hit the ground with a crack, and stopped working. Naturally it was on maximum extension at the time.

So today I cut of the nylon tape that acts as the lead, and fished out a nice thick bit of plum branch from my shed, perhaps 7 inches long and 2 inches thick. I whittled it slightly, removing the bark, and increasing the natural taper a little. Then I tied the lead to the stick about two thirds of the way along, at the thicker end. If the dog pulls on this, it is pulling up against the taper, and just becomes more firmly attached. The rest of the lead winds around the stick, and by turning it in my hand I can pay out or wind in lead as I choose. Not as fast as the self-retracting mechanism, but more solid, and the thick bit of wood gives me a better grip and leverage when he pulls against me. Worked a treat tonight. Best of all, if he yanks this out of my hand it will just bounce when it hits the floor.

The wife thinks I'm mad and has announced she will be buying another self-retracting lead anyway, but I like my bushcraft version, though I don't imagine for a moment that it is a new idea. It is nice to improvise sometimes.

 

[RonW]

Sounds good..... and all to familiar dogwise.
However we learned fast to "read" our dog and thus anticipate if or when he wants to dash off. So we did not drop our selfretracting lead yet, but it sure has gotten its regular "yank at max." Holds up great so far, even with husky strength applied to it!

What works best for me is a long woven lead (8mtrs), attached to a waistbelt, loops in one hand, lead in the other for control. I often end up collecting and looping the lead, but there are also long stretches where the dog just roams "free".

 

[petrochemicals]

Would not a lead that is gradually increasing in resistance be considered more humaine and stop it being ripped from ones graspers?

 

[MT606]

I use to have a retractable lead for our saluki but she yanked the thing out of my hands a few times....So I changed to a hands free kit......a double clipped bungee cord (helped with taking out the jerk on her neck if she spied a rabbit etc when there was no more lead to let out, although we just changed it to a chest harness for same reason) through the handle and put over my head n under one arm, jobs a good un, the f.i.l's copied it aswell as he walks his ALOT all over the place, handy for reading maps, snackin on the go, phone calls etc...

 

[mousey]

Would not a lead that is gradually increasing in resistance be considered more humaine and stop it being ripped from ones graspers?

I would imagine the mechanism for something like that being a bit bulky / complicated to incorporate into a reliable, cheap ish, lead.

I use a fixed length short lead for my dogs. I use a "halti stop pull nose harness" for my large Alsatian/ malamute, as the pulling point is on the nose it's harder for them to "get behind it" and pull you along. Although the Alsatian/Collie worked out that if she held a ball/stick in her mouth it let her get a better pull with the halti harness on then she just developed stronger neck muscles...

 

[John Fenna]

Shadwell's uncle and the dog trainer on The Simpsons have the right ideas.... or do they?

 

[Bluebs4]

I can see a whole new range of dog stick/leads ,maybe a ballistic nylon cold steel version that you could throw once at the fields and use to fend of muggers or vicious dogs

 

[Riven]

Would that be a 'training stick' said in a Welsh accent, that Shadwells uncle used John. God he was funny.

 

[ol smokey]

If you have the patience to do it. A far better way to go , is to train your dog not to pull in the first place, this is not hard, and takes time even if your dog has already learnt to pull.
take your dog out when he is due to be fed and is hungry, each time he gets ahead
STOP, pull him back to heel position and make him SIT, once he has sat for a few seconds, praise him or her, and give him
a small tasty bite, dog biscuit or similar. IMPORTANT When you are leaving the house, make sure that you go out of the door first, or he will think that HE IS THE HEAD OF THE PACK. You must be seen in his eyes as the Pack Leader.
each time he gets ahead of you on a walk, bring him back behind you, and do not move off again till he has relaxed and
excepted that he is not going anywhere if he is in front of you. Each member of the family must do this each and every time they have him out on a walk. This may take ages, but is worth it in the end, you have a comfortable walk, and so has he, There is no use shouting at him or getting annoyed. He does not understand what you are annoyed about.
All of this can be done calmly, with no aggression, or anger, but you must be consistent in what you do.
If you miss to do this once ,he has won, and will chance his Arm again and again.
He thinks like a wild dog or wolf. The Alpha Male, goes out of the den first (to see that the coast is clear, no Danger about) then let's the lesser members of the Pack follow if things are O.K. If your dog is allowed to go first, either out of the
house, He takes on the role of the Alpha Male, and the rest of the family are his minions,
The whole family have to understand this procedure or you give the dog mixed messages, one time he is put in check
and the next , he gets off with things. I was a Police dog Handler, and learned this over a period of time.
I however have always had dogs of my own and they have been a credit to me in how they behaved. There is a good
book on dog training which your library or bookshop could get for you . (Called The modern Gentle method of dog training)
I would thoroughly recommend this to you. It is such a pleasure to take your dog out walking at your side, without a
lead. This makes all the hard work worth the bother. Do talk to your dog all the time, praising him when he is doing well
and he will be a much better companion, and respond to your wishes, even thinking ahead of you at times.
Hope that this helps. cheers Stuart.