Versatility Lead

I have had the opportunity to have a lead made to my spec and I  am very happy with result.

The idea is to have control with kindness.  It has a figure of 8 head harness to it, with a “grab” handle built into the lower end of the lead which gives balance to the handler if the dog is excitable.  The lead can be adapted to three different lengths.  the lead could be clipped on to the dogs usual collar instead of using a safety link clip.  However… you may prefer to use a safety link in addition so as to keep the flexibility in all the options of the lead.  (this is so the lead will remain clipped to the dogs collar, creating an extra piece of mind in safety!).

To use correctly, hold the length of the lead in your right hand, with the figure of eight harness in your left.  Your left hand holding the bigger (top) loop.  This goes over the neck, with small loop hanging underneath the chin of the dog. The small loop can now be extended in size to fit over the nose.  It should end up fitting snugly but comfortably, as demonstrated in the photo below.  This harness will adjust to most medium and large breed dogs.

The above photo demonstrates where the grab handle is and the length of lead on a shorter setting.

The above photo demonstrates you can have the lead wrapped around your waist should you feel you need your hands free (to hold on to a pram for example!).

This lead gives gentle control and is padded so will not cause discomfort to you or the dog.  When a dog pulls, the drive behind the dog pulling is from the nose!  Which is why a body harness is ineffective, as it is purely concentrating all of the weight of the dog in to the heaviest area of the dog, therefore making it harder for the handler.  For a training aid to be effective it needs to work in the key area – ie for the dog that is pulling, a training aid needs to start at the nose!  This lead works by gently steering the dogs nose.  It is important to have your dog on your left hand side.  Do not allow your dog to walk ahead of you as even a pace in front of you is regarded as pulling.  This lead is an AID to walking without pulling.  It does not teach your dog to stop pulling.   The handler needs to teach the dog to walk correctly.  To train a dog to walk to heel effectively, It is better to do it at the end of a walk, as the dog will be less worked up and some of its energy will have been expelled.  A dog is less likely to pull to go home therefore making it the most productive time for you to train your dog to walk to heel.

The ideal part of this lead is that you can control your dog KNOWING with upmost confidence it isn’t going to hurt your dog because it is made from soft (but strong) padded webbing, (quilted to make it feel softer) it is very comfortable for you to grip knowing if your dog did lunge at another dog unexpectedly it will not hurt you at all.  You also have the extra grab handle – to steady yourself if your dog was to suddenly start whirling around at a dog.  This creates balance for you as it helps centre you.

This lead will give you the confidence you need in knowing you are doing the right thing by your dog.  The control lead is not to take place of basic training.  But it certainly does help you get to a better stage of confidence with your dog.

The lead “could” be used as a slip lead IF required, though it hasn’t been designed to be a true slip lead, it is an option you could try PROVIDING you use it correctly.

In the photo below you can see, that with the dog on your left hand side, the ring must be able to drop down to release its grip (ie not become tighter, creating a noose). You must keep your dog on your left if you are using any slip lead – having checked that the slip lead can “slip” down rather than create the noose.

The photo below demonstrates how the lead will look IF it is used as a slip lead – using the very top photo the bottom part of the figure of eight IS NOT used and becomes a very small loop.  The top part of the figure of eight is what could be used as a slip lead. 

You can handle two dogs with this lead!  So if you have two dogs you don’t need two leads!  OR if you only have one dog, you always have a means of helping a stray dog should you come across one!

The lead is called a Versatility lead.  If you are interested in purchasing this lead, please get in touch with Tillymints Dog Designs