Long Lines: The Problem Solvers
Long lines are my absolute favorite! I use them for nearly every situation, including walking reactive dogs.
We take so much control away from our dogs. They have very little say in what happens to them and around them. We tell them where, when and how to go to the bathroom, where, when and what to eat, where when and how to walk, who they'll be interacting with, and we often take away their ability to say no to things
Long lines give dogs the freedom to be dogs, with a heck of a lot more safety than letting them run off-leash. Enrichment, less pressure on the human's arms, and increasing the freedom a dog has to stop to toilet are my main reasons for using longer leashes.
When dogs have more room to make their own decisions, we often see a reduction of those behaviors that we tend not to like. Dogs can feel more secure when they have more autonomy. It makes sense! When you have more time and room to make decisions for yourself and your safety, you feel more safe.
Let's consider an analogy.
Say I'm trapped in a tiny room with a rattlesnake. I can only move a few feet in any direction, and I can't get my body far enough away from the snake to feel safe. I do not feel comfortable. Depending on my genetic background and life experiences, I may have a range of reactions to this situation. I may shut down, become quiet and still, make myself small, or try to pretend that this isn't happening. I may yell and scream and beg for help. I may make threatening moves toward the snake, and I may even attempt to or successfully damage that snake, in an effort to keep myself safe.
Now let's say I am locked in a room with a rattlesnake, but it's a large, open ballroom. I can keep myself much farther away from the snake. I may still feel uncomfortable; I may still prefer not to be in the same room as a venomous snake, but I likely feel much safer in the ballroom than I did in the tiny room.
We can think of a "regular" 6-foot leash as that small room, and a longer leash as the large ballroom. When dogs have more room to make decisions, they often feel safer. They may choose to move away instead of more aggressive behavior. Sometimes we need to teach them that they can move away, but at least we have that option.
This is another reason I love using longer leashes to walk dogs, including reactive dogs. When they're on a longer line, they often walk out in front of the handler. And that gives me the ability to simply watch my dog's head and notice what they notice. If I see their head orient to something, I know that they're interested in something. That gives me the opportunity to practice a recall away from something that is either exciting or triggering, before my dog starts pulling or having a meltdown or lunging or… you get the idea. Walking with your dog out in front of you allows you to stop scanning the environment for triggers, and just watch your dog to see when they notice something.
Back to safety - I actually think long lines, in the hands of a responsible handler, are SAFER than a six foot leash. My favorite safety hack with the long line is having the ability to just step on it. because the leash is often dragging on the ground, I can just stomp on the leash when I need to stop my dog's movement. It is also a preventative measure. One of the hardest parts of any dog handler's walk is when they need to stop and pick up poop. When you're bent over cleaning up, you're not able to watch your dog or the environment (at least not as well as when you're upright). Poop pickup is when many people "lose" their dog because their grip on the leash isn't at its strongest, and they're not paying attention to be prepared, the dog lunges at something and the leash falls out of their hand. Dog is gone. With a reactive/aggressive dog, this is BAD NEWS. Again, these dogs should probably be wearing a muzzle anyway, but they're often not. With the long line, you can step on the line while you are cleaning up.
I also use this step-on-the-leash hack when I notice something coming; a potential trigger like a car or something I know my dog will want to chase or lunge at. I will preemptively "pull off" to the side, step on the leash and start playing Up Downs or Ping Pong or Look at That! while the stimuli passes. It's a nice extra safety measure to help me keep the dog under physical control in case my training fails.
When we are holding onto a leash, even with a good grip, when a dog suddenly putt a lot of pressure on the leash, it can whip out of our hands, or our arm can get pulled and we may even be swept off our feet! Most human adults weigh more than 100 pounds. That body weight plus the friction between our shoes and the ground is usually more than enough to stop a dog from taking off, and can even stop a dog mid-take-off.
Of course there are always outliers. I found this hack as a large person who walks mostly average to large dogs. My body weight plus the friction between my shoes and the ground has always been more than enough to anchor a dog. There are of course, exceptionally small people walking exceptionally large dogs, and maybe this wouldn't be the genius hack that it is for more average pairs, but it works beautifully in many situations.
Stepping on the leash is my favorite safety measure. It is even more secure than a six foot leash being held by an average-strength or weaker human.
It is also easier to tie your dog up to something when needed when using a long line. There are often limited options for poles and trees to tie your dog to. A long line gives you more options, like using a larger tree.
Dogs have similar brains when compared humans. A notable difference is the olfactory bulb (used to process information about smells), which, depending on breed and individual variation, is 40 to 80 times larger than a human's. That tells us that using their nose is really important to dogs. In fact, sniffing is a biological need, the same way that talking is a human need. If we go too long without speaking, we get weird, right? Sniffing is the same way for dogs. One of goals in our Joyful Training Walks is to help the dog learn how to engage in their biologically necessary, species-appropriate behaviors in a safe way, that is also acceptable to their handler.
So do we allow dogs to run off leash, run up to other people and other dogs, get into garbage cans on the curb, because it is a biological need? No ma'am. No. Positive doesn't mean permissive. What we do is let them sniff the grass, trees and other things in the environment. We assess the safety:
* Is it safe to let my dog run up to a child in a stroller? No, so we're not going to do that. We'll use some pattern games to move past that stimulus without directly engaging.
* Is it safe to let my dog sniff the trail of a squirrel and stand up, front paws on the tree, in search to that squirrel? Yes, most of the time, so let's do that when the dog wants to do that.
* Is it safe to let my dog run up to other dogs? No, so let's use our pattern games to move past that stimulus without directly engaging.
* Is it safe to allow my dog to investigate roadkill? That probably depends on the dog, so use your best judgement.
We're looking for places that we can say yes, and always on the hunt for things we can say yes to, instead of worrying about all the things we have to say no to.
Another reason I love long lines is that they allow dogs to choose where their paw pads land. In the summer, the sidewalks get hot. In the winter, the sidewalks are often salty, which can give chemical burns to a dog's feet. A longer leash allows your dog to easily walk on the grass or snow bank if the sidewalk is not the best choice for their comfort and safety.
Long lines are great for dog owners living with chronic pain. I fall into that category. Long lines changed the way I felt about walking dogs. Walking dogs used be something that I'd have to psych myself up for. I'd have to plan my day around when I'd be walking dogs. I'd have to take a long rest after we got back from our walk every little pull on my body would be SO Painful. My back was sore after just a few blocks, my hands would be fatigued. When I switched to the long line, so much pressure got taken off my body. That alone was amazing. When I was using a short leash, and walking a reactive dog, there were times with the short leash where I was worried I'd drop the leash because of the pain, and that is NOT safe. But with the long line because there is so much slack in the line, and I usually just let it drag, it is very easy to simply step on the excess line that is dragging. And then you've got your body weight to help you manage that dog. OR, if you just need a break from the dog some dogs need more work than others and will still pull when using the long line. When I was feeling too much pain, I could just step on the leash and just take a break. As a person with chronic pain, learning that I could step on the line to stop the pulling was a game-changer. Stepping on the leash is so convenient too. Any time I need to tie shoes or pick up poop, I step on the line so I have my hands free to do those things.
And finally, when using a long line, you'll get to witness more joyful behavior. If your dog is capable bounding, frolicking, rolling, or carrying safe items, using a long line gives them the ability to display those joyful behaviors.
Long lines might just strike the perfect balance between a flexi lead and a traditional 6 foot leash. We get the benefit of the freedom of movement, with the safety of a solid line that we can reel in quickly and easily.