Hi, I'm looking to buy a long training lead (possible 10m) to practice recall with a young puppy in more excitable situations such as around livestock and running water. Most of the ones online seem to be cheap and have weak looking clasps. Does anyone have experience of having purchased a strong/ hard wearing training lead? I'd be worried one of these cheap ones would break if the puppy suddenly bolted towards sheep etc. Also any tips for training around livestock would be helpful. My friend has a gorgeous lab that couldn't care less about sheep/ cows/ chickens and just plods on next to them. We'd love our pup to grow up like that. Thanks
Hello and welcome to the forum. I have a Heim biothane long line which I like because it doesn't get tangled, wet, and doesn't pick up bits of twig etc like fabric ones do. The thing is, if you're worried about this, it sounds like you're not going to be using it properly. If the lead is going to jerk so much it breaks the clasp, you shouldn't be using it to stop your puppy. It is very dangerous for your pup to be jolted to a stop like that, could easily flip him onto his back and, if the lead is between his legs, which it often is when trailing, could break a leg. No, you don't use it to stop a dog that's already moving - you're too late by then. I'm sure you already know this, but a long line should only ever be used attached to a back-fastening harness, too, and absolutely never to a collar. Some dogs don't care. My two older ones (3 years) don't care about sheep at all, but are scared of cows and give them a wide berth, which is just fine by me, as cows can be very dangerous to dogs - and humans with dogs. I would look up the "Look At That" technique for training calmness around livestock if he is interested. Also, focus games where you click and treat him for turning towards you, then throw a treat away from you so he has to reorient to you to get his next C&T. You can do this on the long line at first, giving him enough slack as he needs. If he's more interested in the sheep, though, you're too close and need to move farther away until he can play the game. You only gradually move closer over many sessions. I would use the long line only for these training sessions, and, once you're done, pop him back onto his regular lead to get him away from the area, so you're not in a situation where he's on the line but not being actively engaged. Some dogs do have very strong prey drives and can never be entirely trusted. To be honest, even though my older two dogs aren't bothered by livestock, I still put them on lead when we come across some, for absolute security and out of respect for the farmer.
I bought a biothane long training lead as recommended on The Labrador site but I have never used it - it's very heavy. I needed something light so I could put it in my backpack for our beach holiday we have just had. I bought an inexpensive Clix one - it is 10m long for my now 8 month old puppy. I used it successfully on several beaches last week because unfortunately my puppy chose not to come when she was called a couple of times when we let her off lead. I don't think I would like to use it in the fields and definitely not in a wood. You have to be so careful not to get their legs caught in it and in my case our other dog and my DH!!! I developed a neat way of looping it in without any jolting to my puppy (which I most definitely didn't want to do) and it certainly gave her some freedom. I used the ring on the back of her harness to attach it to. It got very wet and sandy but quickly dried off so I would recommend it for those circumstances.
I was bought on of these: http://www.biltema.fi/fi/Vapaa-aika/Kotielaintarvikkeet/Koira/Jaljestyshihna-10-m-2000037624/ It's ok (hasn't broken and is easy to clean), but I would look for a different model, if buying one. This one has a tendency to get tangled.
Hi snowbunny Thanks so much for the welcome and your advice. It's really helpful! I had read up about training with a long line/harness and was certainly not intending to use it until we had established a reasonable basic recall is distraction free environments. The only reason why is ask about jerking is because I suppose you never know how a puppy may react in a new environment and I would hate to purchase a flimsy piece if kit. Somebody warned me about long line clips breaking so thought I'd see if anyone knew of any good brands. I'm certainly not intending to buy a long line with the intention is using it as a restraint, just a recall tool once we have the basics under control as I've heard they can be useful. I almost hope it will have little strain on it, it just want to be prepared in case there is ever a jerk. Thanks for the specific training tips they are really handy, really appreciate your time
I had to improvise a long lead for our last dog. I used the clasp from an old lead and some 6mm rock climbing cord. Climbing cord is very strong and designed to be about 10% elastic so it absorbs a bit of shock if the lead snags on anything.
