All About Leashes.

You're walking through the park with your little dog on a leash. Suddenly, you see a large aggressive dog, not on a leash, no owner in sight. Before you can pick your little dog up into your arms, the large dog attacks and, with jaws wide open, appears to be coming in for the kill. WHAT do you do? What DO you do?

If you reach down to pick your dog up he may bite you. In his panic he may be almost impossible to grasp. The big dog may bite you.

If you're strong enough, pick him up just by pulling on the leash. Don't do this unless you have good reason, but it may save his life. Even with a choke chain or "noose" type of leash, you will not do any significant damage to his throat or neck muscles, and he will not choke to death in the time it takes to get him safely into your arms.

If your dog is dealing with a chronic respiratory disease, like a collapsing trachea, or is a dachshund and has spinal disease in his neck, this would be more risky but probably still safer than to have him get bitten by a large dog. One bite can be fatal. The best thing for such a dog would be to use a harness, rather than a collar.

A long retractable leash will give your dog more freedom to explore things on your walks, but if you use one, be more alert and cautious for possible trouble and start "reeling him in" early.

With an ordinary buckle type collar and clip on lease, your dog may slip out of the collar. With many dogs, you can't safely adjust the collar tight enough to keep this from happening and it can also happen in a situation where you are trying to pull your dog somewhere he'd really rather not go. Like into a veterinary clinic. A dog that slips out of his collar to avoid a vet visit may run away, into the street, and into traffic.

My dog always wears a collar, but when I need a leash on her, I always use a simple nylon leash with a noose at one end that just slips over her head. I want to know that I have the best possible control over her.

Many people in leading their dog into the clinic or from the waiting room to the exam room are unnecessarily cautious about pulling on the leash. Unless pulling on your dog's leash causes coughing or retching spells, you can pull as hard as you need to take him where you need to, though it's nicer for the dog if you can pick him up and carry him.

I don't recommend tying a dog outside on a long leash unless someone is watching him closely. A dog can chew through most leashes, except those made of chain or cable, in an amazingly short time. A dog that is tied outside for long periods of time may take up a hobby, like excessive barking or digging holes in the lawn. He is at the mercy of aggressive marauding stray dogs. Dogs can find all sorts of ways to get tangled up in a leash and get the leash tangled in other things, and get into trouble. And if you have two dogs tied near each other on long leashes, and they get tangled with each other, even best buddies might wind up in a serious dogfight with each other.

A good leash is cheap and important. Never leave home without it.