Monday, September 23, 2013

SociaBulls: On 4-Foot Leashes

  We're always looking at our SociaBulls group as a work-in-progress and a few weeks ago we decided to update some of our procedures to create a better experience.
While we wrote about this upgrade last week, we have also decided to have all pups begin walking on a 4-foot leash.
 
I had always just thought that 6-foot leashes were standard and for the most part, I had never even thought about leash-length. Though as we've been using the 4-foot leash, it has been giving me a greater awareness of where Miss M is walking and a good overall reminder to make her stay close to my side.
We've also started using the 4-foot leash for some of our daily walks where we know we may be in more crowded places and it's important for her to stick close by.
Just curious, are most people using 6-foot or 4-foot leashes?

Join our Chicago SociaBulls  Facebook page for more photos and information about group walks. And check out the Hikabulls page where we first learned about the benefits of group walking.

Also:
 On our no greeting rule.
Safety!
And our new bandanas!

13 comments:

Hannah@Eriesistibull said...

We LOVE our 4-foot leash! We started using these about a year ago. I find it so hard to walk the pooches on anything else now! We got ours from Petco and they come with a traffic handle built in, which is so convenient when you need just a little extra control.

Debra@Peaceabull said...

Ray's Freedom harness has a leash that I can use with both buckles or make it longer by only hooking it to one or the other fastener, but my favorite is still my 6' leather leash. I have three strategic knots tied in the length to use like handles and it's just the most comfortable for me to use.

Unknown said...

I use a 4' leash with an easy walk harness. It's totally changed the way we walk. She's a lot more aware of where I am now, and I feel a lot more comfortable walking her because she's leash reactive, but she's always close by so I can react to a situation very quickly.

Unknown said...

LOVE, love a 4-foot leash. We used to have a custom leather 3-footer which I loved even more, but someone decided it would make a tasty snack.

Unknown said...

LOVE, love a 4-foot leash. We used to have a custom leather 3-footer which I loved even more, but someone decided it would make a tasty snack.

Rebelwerewolf said...

We prefer the 4-foot length, but we are currently using 6-foot Ruffwear leashes with the claw-type hook because we had a few incidents with the standard clasp releasing, resulting in a loose dog. The good thing about the leash we're using is that it can convert to a waist attachment, which effectively shortens it to about 4 feet while making me look like a total dork. Oh, and our leash also has a traffic handle, though Mushroom is so short that we can't really use it with her.

Rachel said...

A 4 foot leash would be so awesome but our one pup is definitely still too crazy on leash to use that. This is definitely something we need to work with him on for sure but I feel like a 4 foot leash would make me crazy - or maybe it would propel us to actually get him to walk nice... Thanks for the idea - sounds awesome to have them so close to you and it seems like it really would make my pups and me more aware on our walks!

Anonymous said...

I use a 6 foot if I know we will be alone on our walk, early morning or path walking. Most walks we use a 4 foot for better control. PS, love that first pic!!!

Saltylibrarian said...

I always used a 4 ft leash until we got our newer pup. He was a stray and has some insane needs to smell everything. The six foot gives him the ability without pulling me along with him. Also..I just wrap it up when I need him very close. He doesn't like to be far away from us, so the 6 ft works, for now.

Maggie said...

I use a 6 ft leash wrapped in my hand so it ends up being about 3-4 ft. I pretty much follow my pooch wherever she needs to go - on the parkway, next to her when she potties, up to trees, whatever. We loose-leash walk, so there's no stress, no pulling. I also use a harness to avoid neck issues.

There are many in my neighborhood who use those Flexis - sometimes up to 12 feet. One guy told me he didn't want to step in the grass! Step in the grass, for gosh-sakes, you have a dog!!!

Anonymous said...

I'm in the market for new leashes for Boomer and Dottie and want to have more control so I'm thinking I might switch to a 4 ft. leash.

Two French Bulldogs said...

A 4 leash makes a lot of sense since 4 means 6 and 6 means 10
Benny & Lily

Elizabeth said...

I use an 8 foot leash folded in half and tied in the middle so i have two loops to hold and knot for extra grip.

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