From the brush to the leash
Yesterday I told about the dog brush. But another object that I have in my hands at least six times a day is the leash with which the dogs are walked.
Yes it is related to the dogs again. LOL. Logical when you consider that three dogs consume a large part of your time. And that's not because they are so annoying, but simply because I can't even imagine my life without dogs.
I keep the dogs in mind in everything I do, and there are very few moments in my life where the dogs are not part of that moment. So back to the dog leashes that I hold in my hands at least six times a day.
What can I tell about that?
The first thing that I made these dog leashes myself. They are knotted from paracord. With a knot that makes them even stronger than they usually would be. And not without reason. I'm not walking around with a little lap dog on the end of that leash. No, I have sheepdogs hanging on it.
And while my dogs are generally very friendly, there may be times when they aren't so sweet. They are and remain watchdogs, and if they feel that something is not right, they will not hesitate to take action. I can 'read' my dogs very well and see what they think they are going to do by the position of the ears. But I do need a strong dog leash to help me restrain the dog too in case it is needed.
Prevent accidents
Skipper and Lana are both not fond of other dogs, and I can't prevent us from meeting another dog. But I can prevent accidents from happening! I take my responsibility as a dog owner very seriously, I train with my dogs, but I don't train their own character. Every dog has its own character, and that's the beauty. The owner's task is to get to know the dog so well that you know what the dog will do in certain situations and to act accordingly. That action, that requires that dog leash again. A strong dog leash that I can rely on!
No, of course the dog leash is not the most important thing. The most important thing is that you train with your dog, that you build a bond and that your dog learns to listen and respond to you. But in some situations where the dog is high in his temper, that strong dog leash is still very important to fall back on. So you have the confidence that it won't snap and accidents would happen. Because no matter how well a dog is trained, there are always situations where they can have unexpected actions.
Dogs can panic too!
Take the fireworks as an example. Every year it happens that dogs run away from fireworks. And whether it is because they are not walked on a leash those days, or because they escape from their collar. Escape from a garden? I seriously don't know... But I find the posts horrible to read. Fireworks are a drama for many animals, every year. And yes, my shepherds are also afraid of those loud bangs. And I'm pretty sure if I didn't have a good strong dog leash to take them out on they would run away too. Probably with the idea that they would like to go home, but a panicked dog does not always know the way home. They run away from the sound they fear, only unfortunately there are fireworks everywhere in the last month of the year. So they keep running until they don't know where they are anymore.
A simple solution to this is to use a good strong dog leash when you are going to walk your dogs. Then the dog can still panic, but at least you have a good grip on it. A dog that weighs more than 100 pounds is not a little one if it is going to bounce. So that's why I chose to tie my dog leashes from paracord myself.
Paracords
The dog leash you see here in the picture consists of two paracords. Each cord has a breaking force of 249 kilos. Which means that the dog leash should not break as long as there is less than about 500 kilos of force on it. That should be enough for a big dog, right?
I would also like to have explained the knotting technique I used for this dog leash. But sorry folks... it's been so many years since I've been tying these leashes that I seriously don't remember what this knot is called. All I know is that the dog leash has lost none of its strength after all these years. That I can still trust that as long as I have this leash on one side, and the dog on the other side of the leash, that we will always come home together. And that is the most important function of a dog leash for me.
I can relax knowing that we always come home together
When the opportunity is there, I will click the dog leash off the dog myself so that they can stretch their legs. But if the possibility is not there for whatever reason, then at least I can be confident that we will always come home together without accidents. Even if the dog in question actually has other plans in mind.
So yes, another object that will not be present in every household. But something that cannot be ignored from my life for the foreseeable future.
