Long lead - How do you use yours?

I bought Lou a 25 foot long lead, and ive used it a couple of times, but found it really annoying having to rein in it all the time, good exerice for my arms though.
Anyway, last week we went to our first training class and the trainer there said i need to let go of it, and when she is getting too far, and beofre th lead is out of my reach, to just stand on it, then call her back nearer to me.

Is this how you use yours?

Thanks x

I have now moved from the long training lead to a flexi lead. Much more firendly on my hands as they were getting in a bit of a state after using the long line, the flexi is easier for me to use.

Hubby still uses the other line though when he is out with Rocky and just keeps hold of it while there are other dogs around, Rocky can be easily distracted by others. When the coast is clear he does let go of it and just lets it trail behind then picks it up when need be.

I use a flexi lead on all walks, but i would like her to have more exercise, and run around a bit. i can let her off lead sometimes when the coast is clear, but im very nervous every time i do this.

It definitely is a bit nerve racking letting them off lead, you never know what comes out of the blue. I too have a long training lead, if there are distractions about I do keep a hold of the lead just in case, but if not I do let go of but within good reach. I know it is a hassle reigning it in all the time.

Let go of the long line!

Just make sure that the end is always within reach of your foot so that you can stop her if necessary. If you start trying to reel it in & out she'll know she's on the lead anyway, so it wohn't help with her recall.

I'm afraid we can't just let Chance's go unless at the beach.

My OH holds it and he reels it in, but after 2 years he's well practiced at it

I let go of mine and keep the end close so I can act if needs be

I use a flex lead and a long line depending where we are, what were doing, I let the long line trail the floor when I use it.

I have both a 50ft and 100ft long line. I don't use either much for general walking, although they are good at the beach (providing nobody else is around to get wrapped up in it!) I do use them to play frisbee/ball in the park or on the common a lot though ... as it's the law to have your dog on lead in public areas here this works well for us

I think how you use them depends on the space/area you have to use them in

I'd be stuffed without long leads - use them for recall training with all my fosters, and also use them for the first few walkies in the public park with fosters of not quite proven temperament.

I tend to hook up 20 to 30 metres, get them engaged with chasing a stick or ball - encourage retrieval/recall, and go from there.

If I go into the woods with a foster, I'll use 30 metres plus a retractable on the end. I bring a penknife in case they get snagged - hasn't happened yet but you never know.

Oh and I bring a spare plastic bag in case the long lead gets dragged through big poo.

I use a flexi-lead with Kuchar. If he sets off after a pigeon, squirrel, cat etc he nearly pulls me off my feet but I generally cope. I'd love to use a long line to give him more freedom cos he's no danger to anyone, but if I had to stand on it to try to stop his chasing of wildlife or saying an exuberant hello to a dog I'd be flat on my back (or front)!

I use a 30ft training lead with Densil, but never let go of it. I use a normal lead to walk him to a park area, then change over to the training lead so he has a bit more freedom to wander and sniff. I never let go of it, after all it is the law that dogs are kept on a lead in public places, and also if another dog turns up, or he sees a cat, I can reel the line in as short as I need it.

I use a 50ft training line with Biscuit as she's not allowed to be off lead in public. I let go of it if we're in an empty field so that she can run around like a lunatic, or the woods because otherwise we just spend our whole time untangling ourselves it's always in stepping on/grabbing distance though. Not always fun when we're walking through a cow field and it's covered in sh*t  It goes through the wash fairly often! 

But yes, as Carol said, reeling her in without a command beforehand isn't going to teach her anything. Biscuit knows stay, wait, leave it and come and is pretty spot on with them all now, but occasionally she'll have a deaf moment and ignore me entirely, at which point after I've already asked her to come once and had no respsonse I will give a little tug to get her attention, at which point she will usually bomb it at me full pelt being all whizzy and silly because she knows shes been naughty.

However, if we're in a situation that could be dangerous and she isn't muzzled I will reel her in.. but this is only in exceptional circumstances where she panics and freezes and I have to be her brain for her!

P.S I've only started to let go of it in the last 6 months however, as in Bristol it was way to busy (and a little nervewracking) and we were still getting to know eachother. Here, we hardly see anybody and I train her commands everyday to keep them reliable.

Hi we used the long line with our dog des when we first got him for 3 months, he still knew he was on a lead even when we let go and it was trailing on the floor. However it worked really well and we sometimes use it in the woods (deer). He now stayed that distance away mostly when off the lead. We also use a retractable lead and a short lead for road walks. Our next stage is to walk him with just lead and collar- we are doing the kc training course and after completing the bronze we are working towards silver award. This means walking properly on a lead without pulling, he's certainly improving though if thier are distractions involved we use a non pull harness (busy town centre).

Thinking of getting a long lead for Alfie, what length do you recommend? Want enough so he can have a bit of a run around (if he can relax enough outside to do that ), but not be miles long that I cant reel him in for half an hour!

I have a 20f foot for walks and a 50f for playing fetch on the field   

Thanks Saz. What do you think of this one? 30ft but can be made to 15 ft. Is one inch wide enough?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/30-FT-LONG-DOG-TRAINING-LEADS-LARGE-IN-VARIOUS-COLOURS-/140739199595?pt=UK_Home_Garden_Kitchen_Steamers_Cookers_PP&var=&hash=item20c4b5c26b

Yeah fine, looks he same as mine   

Great thanks very much Sazzle   

We only use ours in wide open spaces and then most often we just let it on the ground and grab it back if Suki is going too far.

Thanks Jstaff, will have to hold Alfie's if I let go he will be gone and has no recall. Hoping he will be able to have a bit of a run around on it, however, I strongly suspect he will end up just pulling ahead but a bit further away! He loves his catch it balls so planning on taking them, if he can relax enough to play

I think we got Bane a 50ft one...bright yellow so we could see it if it got dirty (in this weather I am washing it nearly every day!)
If there are a lot of dogs around at the park I will keep it on my wrist, if there are dogs I know or is empty I let go and he has a run around...he gets a bit tangled though with the other dogs Likes to run circles around them and tie them up!

We did wonder the other day though, why after about 10 minutes of chasing and playing with one of his doggy friends he was so tired and panting so much...when we went to leave and collected up his long lead it had soaked up so much water from the ground it was like he was carrying an extra 5kgs around with him

We never see anyone else with long leads or doing recall training so I'm sure everyone thinks we look a bit silly at times Everyone must know us by the people with a giant yellow lead!

Bane wrote:I think we got Bane a 50ft one...bright yellow so we could see it if it got dirty (in this weather I am washing it nearly every day!)
If there are a lot of dogs around at the park I will keep it on my wrist, if there are dogs I know or is empty I let go and he has a run around...he gets a bit tangled though with the other dogs :PLikes to run circles around them and tie them up!

We did wonder the other day though, why after about 10 minutes of chasing and playing with one of his doggy friends he was so tired and panting so much...when we went to leave and collected up his long lead it had soaked up so much water from the ground it was like he was carrying an extra 5kgs around with him

We never see anyone else with long leads or doing recall training so I'm sure everyone thinks we look a bit silly at times :PEveryone must know us by the people with a giant yellow lead!

Sorry but that did make me laugh! Here come the giant yellow lead people! Funnily enough when I was looking at them I thought the yellow wont stay that colour for long so opted for black!    Do you bung it in machine or sink to wash yours? Bless you don't think about the weight of it when it gets wet do you, love him.

Hahaha I certainly didn't think it would ever get as heavy as it was that time! Poor little fella! Good to know for when he gets older incase we need to knacker him out though
I tried washing it in the sink first but unless I was doing it wrong, it was still brown So now we put a flannel over the metal clip with an elastic band holding it in place and put it in the washing machine...comes out just as yellow as the day we bought it

I wash ours in the sink and it comes out OK, although they are black anyway!!   We always get comments like, oooo thats a long lead!   

Chance's lead is bright yellow too, i just shove it in the washer and it comes up great, but i have the indi dog one

Great tips thanks guys!

Sazzle wrote:I wash ours in the sink and it comes out OK, although they are black anyway!!   We always get comments like, oooo thats a long lead!   

  As if you hadn't noticed your normal lead had stretched so much!!   

I bought Lula a 15ft one and if there is no one around and my son or daughter is with me i let it trail on the ground. We throw sticks or balls and keep her focus on the game so far it has worked well. I`m thinking of getting her the 50ft one

I've got a 50f and a 30f one, they are fab   

They're a god send. I have a bright red 30 ft one which I also let go of in the park. The pleasure of not having to worry all the time about what's round the next corner or that he might run off after a dog is immense and well worth the odd funny look or comment. I just laugh and comment back to them - usually they say oo I could do with one of those too. I've not had an accident yet with abandoned dog poo but no doubt that day will come yuk. I've ordered a black one so my hubby won't feel so embarrassed when walking him on his own lol

I got the black one and it's a much lighter, narrower one so not so heavy when it gets wet. We use it all the time

My long lead is lying in a chewed heap underneath a sleeping dog as I type. Oh well.