The Long leash is usually made of rope, fabric or, recently, Biothame. Ropes are light but can cause severe burns if tangled in your hand while the dog is running. Therefore, some care must be taken when handling them.
A long leash can be an excellent tool for dogs and their owners. As mentioned, it is simply a long leash, usually 5, 10 or 15 metres, but recently, they have reached sizes of 20 or 30 metres. It is attached to the dog’s harness or collar.
Long leads can be used in contexts where you want to give your dog more freedom of movement than a standard lead. This ensures the dog’s safety and, at the same time, peace of mind for the owner, who will be in the proper condition to work on training goals.
Possible uses of the long leash
1. Decompression walks
The term ‘decompression walk‘ was coined by educator Sarah Streaming in her podcast Cog-Dog Radio. Although a simple concept, this daily walk can change a dog’s life, especially if he is anxious or frightened.
A decompression walk is simply a walk, usually in a quiet area with little traffic (ideally a green space such as a park or a footpath) where the dog can go where he wants, do what he wants and sniff to his heart’s content, without pressure or expectations from the owner.
It sounds simple, but the dogs that live next door to us in our busy lives have very few opportunities ‘to be’ dogs and explore the world through their senses and at their own pace.
And this is where the long leash comes in handy. One can hold this type of leash coiled between the hands and, depending on the dog’s movements, let it run, giving the animal more rope (thus loosening the tension in the long leash) or leave the entire length on the ground available.
The long leash here becomes a safety backup, especially if you have dogs that do not respond to recall or have some deficit, such as blindness or deafness.
2. Hiking without a leash
If you are going to hike with your dog and not put him on a leash, reliable recall is essential, and the long leash is an incredible tool to work on this technique.
Suppose the dog’s recall is not 100 per cent reliable, or you are in an environment with potential safety problems, and you want to be able to retrieve the dog quickly. During the hike, the dog can drag the long leash (preferably attached to a harness with a back clip).
The long leash is also helpful if you meet other people or dogs; it is a way of controlling your dog at a discreet distance if it is too exuberant or intrusive towards others.
3. Education and training with the long leash
Long leashes can be helpful when working on various training and socialisation goals.
Besides recall training, long leads can help train for the command “Stay put in a certain position!“. By taking advantage of the length of the rope, we can safely move away from the dog without fear of him running away while performing the exercise.
In addition, you can walk on a loose leash and work with reactive or fearful dogs, to name but a few examples. Long leashes are also used in dog sports such as mantrailing, sniffing or search work. They are also an excellent tool for working with puppies on appropriate games and social skills.
During puppy play sessions in the garden or park, a long leash can help interrupt or redirect play if necessary, reinforce recall and check-ins and teach the puppy to take frequent breaks.
Pros and cons of the long leash
The long leash has a significant advantage and is excellent to use in a large open field or at the beach. In contrast, it can be impractical and dangerous in a hectic urban environment. On this subject, we wrote an article about why you should never use a retractable leash.
Pulling back several dogs wearing a long leash at the same time can become very complicated. However, they can be more practical in these cases than regular leashes.
Although wider leashes and Biothane lines are less prone to creating minor burns or scalds, there is always a danger of injuring your hands in sudden runs. For example, if a dog runs away and the long lead is on the ground, it is always a good idea not to catch it with your hands but to try to block it (if you want to stop the dog) by putting your foot on it.
Sometimes, the long leash can become cumbersome if the dog zigzags around people and thus causes them to jump to avoid knotting the rope.
Long leads can also become entangled or tangled with another dog during play if mishandled. This can cause serious injuries when, for example, animals start to run: a leg or an animal’s belly could be caught by the leashes and suffer serious injuries.
It is, therefore, essential to learn how to handle them, keeping them high if two dogs are sniffing each other or getting acquainted or if people nearby might get tangled up in the rope unintentionally.
Like all tools, long leashes should be used precisely with common sense and common sense to maximise the advantages gained from their use and minimise the disadvantages (including the possibility of entanglement).
The long leash is best attached to the harness.
Another factor to consider is that attaching the long leash to a harness rather than a collar is preferable to avoid sudden and dangerous jerks in the neck. For example, the rope could get caught in some shrubs during a walk.
In conclusion, if well managed, the pros of the long leash outweigh the cons. However, a certain amount of skill and cunning are necessary to handle it. Anyone interested should ask a professional for help managing the long rope. They will demonstrate how to handle it safely and help you choose the most suitable one for the dog/owner pair.
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