LEADS
Go into any pet store these days
and a smorgasbord of leads can be found. The majority of leads are either nylon
or leather but cotton and chain leads can still be found. Leads can be
extremely thin, fat, short, or long. There are simple leads, retractable leads,
gimmicky leads… As with choosing collars, the handler should consider the lead’s
uses.
Basic lead
This, simply put, is a piece of
material with a snap on one end and a loop at the other. The snap should be of
good quality as the lead is next to useless if the snap breaks. Nylon used for
leads varies in size and quality. Higher quality nylon does not fray easily and
is soft to handle. This softness prevents friction burns for the handler’s
hands. Quality leather leads are supple yet strong. To keep the leather lead in
top condition, the handler must be prepared to regularly clean and oil the
leather. All stitching on both nylon and leather leads should be strong and
well-stitched. Width of lead is generally a personal preference. The lead for
conformation work should be narrow so it doesn’t detract from the dog’s
appearance. I personally find a 3/4” width gives both the strength I need for
general usage and is easy to work with. Length of leads also vary. If a person
only had one leash, the best choice is a 6’ length as it is the most versatile.
I find a 4’ length excellent and very handy for tethering young pups before
their house manners are solidly learned. A 15’, 20’, or 30’ length are useful
for pleasure walks, tracking, supervised tie-outs (e.g. while travelling) or as an “emergency
brake” from lead dog to musher. Uses:
multi-uses. All dogs should be leash trained!
Martingale
This is a hybrid collar/leash
combination that is seen in the show ring. There is a solid piece of material
(usually nylon) between two rings that goes under the dog’s throat. Through
these two rings, a large loop is threaded through which merges into a solid
lead. The action is similar to the slip collar but with the difference of the
lead coming directly upwards from the back of the dog’s neck. Uses: conformation showing.
Kennel lead
This lead is identical to the 6’
obedience leash but has a ring at the end instead of a snap. Essentially, it is
a slip collar/leash combination. I find this lead extremely useful for
immediate leash control — particularly for my non-collared dogs. The loop can
be made quite large so a dog can almost be “lassoed”. The dog should never be tied with a kennel lead. Uses: immediate leash control.
“Hands-free” leads
Essentially this is a short
leash combined with a belt for the handler. As the handler has no direct
control unless the lead is grabbed, it is advisable that this be used only with
a well trained/heeling dog. Uses:
jogging, pushing baby strollers etc.
“Gimmick” leads
There are always “gimmick leads”
available such as the elastic/bungie effect lead. Overall, these leads offer
lazy dog owners a way to deal with (but not teach) their poorly behaved dog.
Flexi Leads
The Flexi leash is a popular
retractable nylon string or tape lead. While it can offer a dog “freedom” to
run on a pleasure walk, the Malamute will often just go to the end of the lead
and continue to pull. They can also be useful at the dog’s elimination time.
But the negative aspects must be strongly considered. This lead is no substitute for a simple 6’ lead. If the
dog spooks, the lead can easily be pulled out of the handler’s hands thus
increasing the dog’s terror factor. If not used carefully, handler’s hands can
be burned from the cord or knuckles skinned from the casing. In my opinion,
they should never be used in the city
and only in areas that if the dog should get loose, would not be in danger. If
the cord does get wet, the entire lead must be left out to dry to minimize the
chance of rotting. When the same freedom of movement that is offered by a flexi
can be obtained with a 30’ lead, the advantages of the “retractable leash” are
quickly outweighed by its disadvantages. To emphasize, the disadvantages are
increased danger to the dog if the flexi should be pulled from the handler’s
hand, leg injuries from being tangled in the cord, and injuries to the handler.
HARNESSES
Most Malamutes love to pull.
They all are genetically programmed to lean into weight or a restriction they
feel around their neck or center of their chest. This trait helps to make the
breed challenging to teach “heeling” yet is a blessing when the dogs are
hitched.
As with selecting the
appropriate collar, ha1ter, and lead, the foreknowledge of what the harness is
to be used for is important. The various styles of harnesses, of which I’ll
cover the most common generic versions, are specifically designed for different
uses. For example, asking a dog to weight pull wearing a racing harness puts
the dog at a disadvantage in a competition and could possibly lead to injury
due to how the energy of the pull moves through and off the dog’s body.
Cart Harness
This is the most common harness seen as it is readily available in
pet stores. Many little dogs wear a variation of this harness, particularly if
their owners get tired of hearing the dogs cough while pulling against a collar
and lead. The cart harness was designed for draft dogs who are positioned
between cart shafts to pull light to moderate rolling weight. Rolling weight is
considerably easier for a dog to pull thus the chest strap, while impeding
shoulder action, would create less damage to the dog overall than pulling a
heavy non-rolling weight. Quality cart harnesses have good padding as well as
solid hardware for attaching the cart’s traces to the harness. Uses: carting
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Racing Harness
This harness is the most
commonly seen sledding harness. It is a nonrestrictive harness which means the
shoulders have full range of motion. The harness is constructed so the
direction/momentum of the dog’s energy/pull goes from the center of the dog’s
chest through the traces to the ring/line attachment at the base of the dog’s
tail. As the name implies, this harness is used on competitive/sprint racing
dogs. The team sizes in unlimited classes are in the double digits. Simple math
skills can deduce that one dog in a team of ten, for example, pulls
considerably less weight than one dog pulling the same sled and driver. Thus
the direction of the pull from each dog to ultimately the sled is not as
critical as in a team that is pulling a heavily loaded excursion sled. For
those brave souls who skijor, the racing harness is the ideal choice as the
skier is higher (usually!) than a sled thus keeping the direction of the energy
from the dog’s chest to the skier’s belt a relatively straight line. Uses: racing, ski joring.
Freight/Siwash Harness
This harness is similar in
construction to the racing harness except that the main lines from the center
of the dog’s chest are attached to a spacer bar (e.g. piece of wood) that is suspended closely
behind the dog’s rear above its hocks Thus the direction of the pull is from
the center of the chest straight or downwards as opposed to upwards with the
racing harness. This harness is meant for the dog to pull a heavy and/or low to
the ground load. Uses: toboggan,
recreational sledding, excursions, freighting, weight pull.
Non-restrictive/Tracking
Harnesses
This harness is commonly made
from heavy nylon and features adjustments on both sides of the neck and chest
for a good fit and to allow full range of movement for the shoulders. The fit
is snug around the dog’s girth as it should not be pulled from side to side
when the dog is working. As with the sledding harnesses, the tracking harness
is designed for the dog to pull from the center of the dog’s chest. The lead is
attached to a ring on the top of the harness along the dog’s spine close to the
dog’s shoulder blades. Uses:
tracking, springer bicycle attachments, attaching to a tether as a “seat-belt”
harness.
“No-Pull” Style of harness
This type of harness, in my
view, is a gimmick for lazy dog owners. The harness probably hits acupressure points on the dog which gives
immediate negative reinforcement. The general dog owner/handler would be
farther ahead spending money on classes and taking time to properly train his
dog rather than a “quick-fix” gimmick. However, in a skilled trainer’s hands,
this harness could be useful in rehabilitation obedience work in conjunction
with a positively orientated operant conditioning program.
Every piece of equipment that we choose to use with our dogs has
both positive and negative aspects. It is up to us to understand all the pros
and cons associated with the equipment and choose the most appropriate pieces
to use with our Happy Dogs.
Copyright © 2003 Ruth Kellogg. All rights
reserved. |