Many pet owners enjoy a stroll through the neighbourhood with their pooch and as most municipalities require your pooch to be on a leash it is one of the first purchases to make when you get a dog. Your breeder or Veterinarian may have talked to you about a training lead for your dog; your friends and family may have mentioned a leather leash or nylon leash. With so many choices, it can be confusing on which type of dog leash you should have.

The standard leash

It comes in leather or nylon. These leashes are the most common and therefore can offer a lot to style and decoration from diamond studded to Coach® leather. Nylon leashes can have a reflective strip for safety when walking at night or early morning. These dog leashes come in a six-foot length, which is what most municipalities require. The standard leash is the dog lead of choice when it comes to dog leash training.

Standard leashes offer diversity in not only textures, colors, but also come in single or double leash style. When you begin dog leash training for the first time with your four-legged family member it is best to start with only one dog. Leash training requires both hands on the leash; one through the looped end and the other about half way down the lead. This helps you keep the right placement of the dog-training collar on your dog’s neck, which should be just below the ears and not half way down your dog’s neck. Incorrect collar placement can cause serious damage to your pooch, especially during the first stages of dog leash training.

A bicycle dog leash

It is a specialty lead designed for those owners who enjoy taking their pooch along for a daily ride. The leash is an aluminum tube with a plastic coated cable running down through the tube, which extends out of the tube end a couple of feet to allow for ease of movement for your dog. One end connects to the bike while the other to your dog’s collar keeping them safely away the bike.
Retractable dog leashes

This type of dog leash have become quite popular over the last few years. From a training standpoint, these leashes offer no help and are not a good choice during dog leash training lessons. They are however; wonderful for those dogs that are already leash trained and have successfully learned the “come” and “heel” commands. When you are in an open area your dog can have the freedom to explore while still safely attached to a leash should anything unexpected happen.

Martingale leash

Sometimes this leash is referred to as a “show-leash” as it is the dog leash of choice by show dog handlers while in the ring. They are an all-in-one collar and leash, offering the benefit of a choke collar without the possibility of choking and a leash for walking or jogging. The collar portion of the lead rides high on your dog’s neck, just behind the ears connected with a small chain that pulls tight when you pull on the leash but stops short of actually choking. A great choice for the jogger in the family who likes the security of having the dog along in the run.

As you can see from the choices and their functions, dog leashes play an important role in your dog’s life. Your collection should at least include two; one for walking and leash training and the other for teaching basic obedience dog training. Having multiple dog leashes to fit your individual life style is up each pet owner and no matter what your plans are from training to jogging there is a dog leash to accomplish the task.