You may have seen people using a long lead for training when you’re about and about in the park. Long leads act a bit like bike stabilisers and provide safety and control when you’re not sure if your dog’s recall is up to scratch.
There are plenty of uses for a long lead for training for your puppy, such as:
- Loose lead walking
- Maintaining any dogs on lead requirements
- Boundary training
- Distance control around people and animals
- Socialisation
- Communication
In this guide to using a long lead for puppy training, we’ll help you get started with the basics. We’ll teach you how to use a long lead when training your pup, and our top tips for long lead training. Long lead training. It can be a bit of a mouthful, right?
Download the Zigzag app today, and you’ll get started on many of the uses for a long lead. Not sure which lead to buy? Check out our article on long leads and recall lines.
Getting started with long lead training
To get started with using a long lead for training your puppy, let’s cover some basics so that you’ll know what to do:
How long should a long lead be for recall training?
We recommend a 10-metre length to begin recall training with a long lead. This length gives you enough space to train your dog for recall, but not long so that it gets tangled up and messy.
What’s the best age to start long lead training?
Once your pup has had all of their vaccinations, you can start training them outside with a long lead. If you have a garden, you can use the long lead there too! It makes it even better, to be honest – you can already begin training with some small distractions all around you
What treats should I use for long lead training?
Use high value treats that your dog likes! It’ll make life easier for everyone. We go over treats more in our app, as well as in our article on rewards and treats. Basically, it all boils down to you becoming the most valuable thing in your dog’s life – treats will help you get there.
Learn more in our guide to rewards and treats
What else do I need for long lead training?
Always use a harness for long lead training! It’s pretty dangerous to train with it just on a collar, as your puppy can run to the end and get quite a jolt, so let’s stay safe.
At the start, we advise you to wear gloves so that the lead can’t burn your hands in case it runs through. It’s a pretty bad burn you don’t want to have…especially with long lead training when you definitely need your hands. You may also find tying knots in the lead helpful; if you tread on the lead it will stop, without it burning your hands.
Struggling to decide on the right harness for your pup? Check out our guide to puppy harnesses.
How to use long lead training
Long lead training can be used for puppies. It’s also great for teenage dogs, adult dogs, and also new rescue pups or dogs who might be a ‘flight risk’.
Here’s our tops ways of using a long lead for training:
Recall training
Teaching your puppy to come when called is important for safety, imagine all of those enjoyable walks you’ll be taking, where you want them off the lead, Recall training with long leads make this easy-peasy. Long leads provide a great level of security at the beginning of training, but still give that feeling of freedom to your puppy when adding some distance for them to run back to you.
Ask your puppy to ‘come’ and then when they run back, reward them with a super delicious treat. Yay! You’ve started your recall training!
Loose lead walking
Training leads are great for training your puppy loose lead walking. But using a lead that’s longer than normal means you aren’t tempted to do any “lead popping” or use any pressure on the lead to move your puppy around. Here’s how you do it: walk through the park with your puppy on a long lead. It will drag along the floor, which is a good thing. When they are close to you, mark with ‘good’ and reward them. By doing this, we’re creating a reward zone, where your puppy is learning to associate that walking next to you gives them treats.
Boundary Training
You can teach your dog to keep inside certain boundaries by limiting them with a long lead. Useful if you go camping or hiking with your dog to keep them close to you.
Distance Control
Using a long lead when you’re around livestock is the safest way to keep your puppy safe, as well as the other animals. You don’t want the chaos that comes with (literally)) running into a herd of cows.
Socialisation
Puppy socialisation is very important. By using a long lead, you can give your puppy freedom to explore and investigate their surroundings while keeping them under control AND staying nice and relaxed yourself.
Dogs on lead notices
Local laws about dogs on leads are there to keep your dog safe, and for them not bother anyone, typically on beaches where dogs have to be on lead, or in private gardens and parks. They’re not actually intended to ruin the fun. Some places have rules for what the right length of lead should be, and some don’t – it really depends on where you are, so keep your eye out for that.
The Zigzag app has specialised lessons on how to teach your puppy to walk on a loose lead, and much more advice you didn’t ever know you needed. Download today, and be pleasantly surprised!
Zigzag’s top tips for mastering long lead training
If you’re thinking of using a long lead to train your pup, here’s our tips to help things go smoothly:
- Don’t rush the process…trust it. Training recall, loose lead walking, or other long lead training exercises takes time and patience!
- Keep the long lead short until you’re ready to give your dog more freedom. It will come with time!
- Wear gloves – no-one wants rope burns. You can thank us later!
- Consider a biothane long lead for ease of cleaning – read more in our article; we go all out on long leads and training lines.
- Don’t forget to reward – try not to use the lead to control your dog. Instead, make yourself the most exciting thing for them to be around using praise, treats and toys. It’s not bribing – we promise.
For a full training programme = download Zigzag. It includes everything from teaching recall (teaching your puppy to come back when called), loose lead walking, socialisation and a lot of important life skills like sleeping through the night and being on their own. Basic for your own mental sanity too…trust us. We also have a team of professional dog trainers waiting to speak to you about your puppy anytime you need…24/7. We’re not kidding.
