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Hi there,
I am in the process of teaching loose leash walking with my mongrel girl (possibly german sheppard/collie cross or lurcher cross). She's doing really well but as she's not trained off the lead yet I would like to get an extension lead for her so she can run around a bit more when we're in a grassy area. However I'm worried I might confuse her as the rest of the time I will expect her to walk nicely next to me. Any thoughts? Thank you
Extension leads can be a menace, and you certainly wouldn't want to attach one to the collar - if the dog suddenly takes off, it could damage her neck when she hist the end of the lead at high speed.
The ideal solution is to use a harness with long line attached for when you want her to have more freedom. She then won't have the sensation of pulling on the collar so you can differentiate between 'learning to walk nicely' and letting her wander and sniff and even pull a bit.
Hope that helps - if you want more advice on harnesses do ask. I don't know much about them myself but know a member who does
Thank you, that's really helpful, I have been using a harness and improvising with 2 leads attached together to give her more freedom, I was just wondering if that's enough, hence my wondering about using an extension lead. She seems happy enough and I can always get one of those really long training leads?
MissisJo wrote:I can always get one of those really long training leads?
Yes, of course There is a knack to using them, which I never mastered (though I only tried a couple of times) - hopefully someone else will be able to give you some hints. I think tying knots along its length can help with control and to avoid friction burns if your dog takes off suddenly.
When my dog was a pup I used collar and lead when I wanted him to walk nicely and a harness with a longer lead when I wanted him to do his own thing, and it worked well.