Do people judge owners with their dogs on a long line?

[Blubell281]

Our dog is 19 months old, despite our best efforts his recall isn't as good as it should be. He has a very high prey drive. I can recall him from people and other dogs but when he gets a scent he's so focused and he sometimes bolts. I don't think he'll ever be off his long line as we live in a very rural area with sheep everywhere and he can squeeze himself under stock fencing.

I have literally never once seen anyone with a dog on a long line, not even a puppy. All I see is dogs off lead trotting alongside their owners. I feel like such a failure, I feel like people must see me and think I dont know what I'm doing, that I haven't put any effort into training. I'm just embarrassed using it. I'm sure I wouldn't be if they were a tool that lots of people used but as I said, I've never even seen 1 person with one, in 18 months!

My spaniel is just about getting the hang of recall at 4. His previous owners found him too boisterous. Try as we might his prey drive was very strong and doing the exact same training as with our collie didn’t work.

He’s calmed down a lot now he’s been neutered. Do you have dog parks locally? We have one at the local country park and one you can rent. They have been great to practice his training in. He can burn off lots of energy to start with then we practice recall once’s he has had a good run.

AledsiPad so for me, I only let the lead trail when he's chasing stones into river, I stand on the end of it so that I'm hands free and then there's a quiet forest that we walk through, he likes to sniff off the track and if I can see that he's stopped listening to me, I can stand on the end until I've got his attention again. I never use it in busy areas like a park, he's on a medium long line for that and I hold the end.

springdale1 we hired a secure field for him, the little bugger spend the first half an hour ignoring me and trying to find a weak spot in the boundary that he could escape through, luckily there wasn't one! We've not been able to use it again since due to lockdown.

when they are used whilst walking along a road, yes. Not necessary and dangerous for dog, pedestrians and motorises. Countryside - if your dog does not recall well they are a good idea. Would combat sheep worrying.

OP we use a long line on our puppy. She's 19 weeks old. She will be on it as long is necessary when practicing recall. It's being responsible.

We also take her to enclosed doggy play area near us to let her off lead to play.

@AledsiPad

Ok, so forbid me for being a naive new dog owner, but how on earth is 'stamping' on a trailing lead of a loose dog safer and more responsible than having a good quality retractable lead? My puppy doesn't just run off for other people to 'grab' or stamp on her lead, because I have control of her, on her lead. I'd judge the 'responsible' long line user far more in that circumstance than somebody who was actually safely holding a retractable lead with a puppy attached to the end.

because it's a TRAINING aid - you are giving the dog the freedom to move around but are able to restrain if you need to. A puppy on a retractable lead is not able to learn how to come back when called.

If I see someone with a dog on a longline, I assume a responsible and engaged owner. Unfortunately IME dogs on retractable are often not well trained.

I use a longline when my bitch is in season: in open country, where I can see a few 100 yards in every direction, I can drop the line and give her a bit of freedom.

And yes, I do stamp on the end if I need to - her recall is usually great, and I keep her close when she's in heat, but if I see a dog approaching, being able to step on the line gives me an extra level of certainty that I can get her back. I have knots tied in the line for this very purpose.

I also use it for teaching steadiness around rabbits: I let the dog move away from me slowly while I hold the line, and then blow a very quiet stop whistle. Then I let the dog move on again. It gives me two means of control with the dog 10 yards away - whistle and line.

IMHO retractable leads just teach dogs to pull, and they are often poorly designed (the narrow string ones are lethal - I've had a friction burn on my leg from one of those) but I can see that they have their uses with dogs with sight or hearing issues, or which are on limited exercise and you don't want to risk a longline tangling round an already damaged leg.

I will judge you but who cares what random strangers in the park think?

I would definitely judge positively and think aww look at that dog with a responsible, sensible owner! Do what's right for you and your dog

Long line has been a saviour for us. Highly excitable lab with a strong prey drive. Means he gets a bit of freedom while I continue to train him

www.politepawsdogtraining.co.uk/2018/08/21/dangers-retractable-leads/

ArabellaScott.

Ok all puppies are energetic, daft and nervous of new situations. No puppy is reactive to other dogs at 10 weeks old. Their mum and siblings is all they know at that age.

It is impossible to tell you how to train your dog recall via text. The idea is that you make yourself exciting enough that your puppy wants to interact only with you. Every time you say pups name you treat and make a fuss for gaining his attention. This starts immediately after he has settled in your home so within a day or two of bringing him home. Once pup has had his innoculations and is ready to go out he will be responsive to his name - and the treat he knows he is going to get whenever you call his name and he responds. Take his favourite tight toy and interact with him. Puppy of this age WILL follow.

To start with always go somewhere where there are no distractions, including people and other dogs. Once puppy has the idea introduce distractions one a a time. If pup becomes interested in something else - like sniffing the ground - it’s pointless trying to call him away. However, once the training is well underway and your dog responds every time, you will be able to recall him from anything - including chasing a squirrel.

The idea is the same for an older dog except an older dog who has not been given the basics, and has no idea of his name, is likely to wander. This is where the training lead comes in. Start off with the lead very short. Get your dog interested in you. Call his name - dog should have been taught his name at home and be responsive to it before you go out. Each time you call his name and he responds give him a fuss and treat. Let the line out a little so he has a little more scope. Repeat this process until the lead is fully extended and the dog returns to you every time you call him. Spend about 20 mins a day, incorporated into his walk with him on a line and practising recall. There is no easy fix once the dog has gotten into bad habits. The idea of using a long line for owners who are nervous that their dog will not recall - because it’s never been taught recall - is to train recall whilst using the lead to encourage him back to you, if needed.

I am in work at moment but have looked at YouTube for a visual video for you to look at. Here’s the first one I found. There should be plenty of “training your dog recall” videos on YouTube.

For the people who think attaching a long lead on your dog for the sole purpose of standing in the lead to “catch him” instead of using it to train your dog.... Dogs who are out of its owners control and free to run and make a nuisance of itself are a pain in the arse to everyone (including the owner) whether it is offlead or has a long line trailing behind it.

Arabella I am unable to attach the YouTube link for some reason. I’ll try again later. In the meantime look at you tube and put “tracing your dog recall” into the search bar. There are probably loads of vids on YouTube. Some useless and some great. Find one that suits you. Good Luck 🍀

Ah there you go

I don't expect a dog to have much of a mind. If the owner has it on a lead, even a long one, and is paying attention and doing active control, that's fine.

I do judge any owner who doesn't have their dog under total control. That means on a lead on any road, however quiet, close at the owner's side when other people and other dogs are around and never anywhere near livestock, cyclists or walkers.

remember that a person only has to feel threatened to be able to have your dog classed as 'dangerously out of control'. In practice you get four strikes unless it kills (injury, even knocking down a cyclist, doesn't count) although don't rely on all police forces being that lenient.

Thanks, Marley, that's kind of you. We have practised her recall from the beginning.

She is not too bad in the house/garden. But very sensitive when out. I wouldn't trust her to not take off - and the trainers at puppy training specifically told everyone not to take pups off lead until their recall was reliable. I think that's sensible. I don't want her jumping on other people or dogs, or running off.

Perhaps reactive is a more specific term - I would also say she is highly strung. Because of her size, this has more impact than a little small dog - she could easily knock someone over enthusiastically greeting them. But at 10 weeks she was so nervous at puppy class she had to be taken out, she was barking and shaking. I have no idea why, either, it completely surprised me. Perhaps it's the collie in her, she is very highly tuned to distraction, intelligent, and stubborn!

I take in Foster dogs and I'm not allowed to walk them off lead, all mine have loved their long line runs. Only muppets judge stuff like this.

Mine are always on a longline I've never had an issue towards me. I've only had issues with people who let their dogs off with poor recall. I live rural I'm probably one of the only dog owners that get on with the farmers as my dogs are always on leash. My longline are custom made and are around 30ft long. This year we've had lots of livestock attacked through off leash dogs. Your dogs is under control on a long line. Mine have a prey drive hence the longline.

It doesn’t replace training. It actually facilitates training.

Just because my dog is on a long line, doesn’t mean he’s not trained. He just has a very strong prey drive. I can be more interesting than lots of things but not a squirrel or a pheasant!

If I’m in a field with good vision in all directions and I have a couple of balls with me then I allow him off. He recalls against most things just not small animals he can chase.

The long line gives him enough freedom on a walk to have a sniff but I have him under control.

We use them fairly regularly (husband more than me). I don’t judge anyone with them as long as they click them short when passing other dogs. There’s a lady with a six month old puppy on one that I meet regularly and it tangles itself around my two in seconds. Yet she never thinks to click it locked before she gets to us!

Yes Sit down, and it's coming up for lambing season again. Even if my dog had excellent recall I'd keep her on lead if we were anywhere near sheep.

@Honeyroar

We use them fairly regularly (husband more than me). I don’t judge anyone with them as long as they click them short when passing other dogs. There’s a lady with a six month old puppy on one that I meet regularly and it tangles itself around my two in seconds. Yet she never thinks to click it locked before she gets to us!

That's a retractable lead @Honeyroar - not a long line. The OP is talking about a training aid called a long line.

I've very rarely seen long lines in use but I have thought they look easy to tangle - I certainly wouldn't think anything judgmental though. I have never heard of retractables being dangerous either! It seems to me that the type of lead is not a problem as long as it's used appropriately. My 6kg dog is fine with a retractable and it's just a bit more comfortable to hold for me personally as well as giving freedom in places where it's quiet but a bit too near a road to be completely off lead. Her recall is great as she likes to be my shadow and is also very good with people and other dogs (as long as the dogs are good with her).

Fabric long lines tangle. I’ve got one made of bioprane (or something). Doesn’t tangle, doesn’t get muddy.

I read a lot about how dangerous the retractable leads were. But I see loads still use them so maybe dangers are not well known.
Maybe they’re ok for small dogs? I have a massive lab!

I thought retractable leads were fine for me and my boy until he got attacked by an off-leash dog.

Instinctively I tried to grab the line to lift it out from between the two of them (trying to minimise the chance of tangling) and as the leash shot back into the handle, across my finger, it burned several millimetres through the inside of my finger. Was going to attach a photo but it's a bit gross, and wouldn't want to freak someone out who wasn't expecting it.

Luckily DDog was fine, but I ended up with stitches.

Now I have a shock absorbing stretchy waffle-weave leash that goes around my body and has a quick-release mechanism thingy in case I need to let him escape from something. I feel about 100 times more comfortable.