My Dog Pulls!

This article is about the leash that attaches to the head collar, harness, or training collar, and how you can choose the best lead for your German Shepherd Dog.

There are many different lengths and types of leads. Some are for training and others are for exercise.

My favorite training lead is a 6 foot leather leash. I use a 10 foot nylon leash to walk Bentley, now that he is well trained.

I have 30 foot, 40 foot and 50 foot, nylon long lines that I use for distance training.

Another popular lead is a retractable lead. These retractable leads are 12-25 feet long and retract into a bulky handle. People refer to all retractable leads as flexis although Flexi is really a brand of retractable leads.

The retractable lead makes it possible for the dog to walk anywhere within the maximum length of the line. The dog is rarely beside her or her people. Retractable leads are most often used by people who want to allow their dogs the freedom to walk on a loose lead. Loose lead walking is when the dog is not tugging but not necessarily walking next to the person. When the dog is on a retractable leash, 15 feet away, the owner is out of sight out of mind. That’s why I believe that loose lead walking is much more difficult to teach than heel.

Heel is when the dog walks at the owner’s side, the dog’s shoulder is adjacent to the person’s leg. When a dog is in heel position, you can turn left or right and the dog will see you turning and turn with you. The dog is visually connected to the owner when heeling.

German Shepherd Dogs are herding dogs. They understand how to guide livestock by using their bodies. They turn the livestock by occupying the space around the livestock. German Shepherds understand the connection that is created when walking next to another animal. They quickly learn to yield when you turn towards them. They understand how to follow you when you turn away from them.

My Dog Pulls – Tip of the week – use a 4 or 6 foot lead when teaching German Shepherd Dogs or any other herding breeds to walk nicely on lead! It wouldn’t hurt to teach all breeds of dogs to heel before you venture into loose lead walking.

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