My Dog Chloe & Me: The 30-foot Training Lead

The 30-foot Training Lead

11.13.2015

Chloe poses with her 30-foot orange training lead.

Although my recent blog postings have focused on finding the perfect walking leash, I wanted to write about another type of leash that is designed for purposes other than dog walking, and that is the extra long lead that is used in obedience recall training of your dog.

In recall training, the objective is to teach Chloe obedience in returning to my side when she hears the verbal command of “Chloe come”. This requires allowing her to be positioned a distance away from me so that when she hears my voice, the training leash safely keeps her under my control at all times. The last I thing I need is to have Chloe chase off after a dog or rabbit, but I also wanted to perform this training in public because of those available distractions. The length of the training lead typically measures between 20 to 50 feet, depending upon the size of the dog and the available area in which to practice.

For our training we’re using a 30-foot length that provides a nice distance of separation, and its bright orange color allows for visual safety in spotting the leash instantly on the ground. I recently started Chloe on recall training, which is a lot of fun I might add, especially since we have such a large open area in the city park, and it’s also interestingly to see her movements from a far.

The training steps are simple in that after I’ve walked 30 feet away from her, I give her the command “Chloe come” and when she heeds my words, I give her a small Charlee Bear treat as a reward. Our training results to date have been pretty good even when I factor in her occasional inattentiveness, …yes Cocker Spaniels even at 4 years old can still have a short attention span! Of course, obedience training isn’t accomplished overnight and with our new bright orange leash, I see many days ahead of great fun in training Chloe at the park.