Hello, I have not written recently because I was preparing for vacation & I am still actually on vacation visiting a friend out of state with my dogs Hunter & Echo. When I travel I bring along several different lengths of leashes for different places. I have a regular 6 foot leash (short as I like to go), a 15 foot long lead & a 30 foot long lead. Echo is my reactive dog & I have learned that it is fear based most of the time. He had a rough start in life & maybe wasn’t exposed to things like he should have been. I recently wrote a post about the importance of introducing your puppy to things before they are 20 weeks old. Check it out if you have a puppy or ever plan to.
Some dogs are reactive when they are scared, it can be manifested by shying away, barking, &/or lunging at dogs,people or things. This is not a fun thing to have happen whether you are the dog handler or the person the behavior is focused on. I found that if Echo can approach a person on his own or avoid them completely he is better. He scares people when he is over threshold & barks & lunges, & I am very embarrassed. I have learned that he is less reactive if he can get farther away from the source of his fear. I use a 15 foot long line when we are out on trails or on walks, but I don’t walk him using this length leash in busy places or crowded areas. I actually haven’t even taken him to those types of places yet. We are working on his reactivity with desensitization & counter counter conditioning. I have seen a big difference in him not pulling as much on walks when he has more room to move about. Hunter my other dog is a dog who pretty much walks at a heel or at least without tension on the leash 90% of the time.
While on vacations I use the 30 foot lines for going out to go potty where they have room to move around. My friend’s place is on like 5 acres so they have room to sniff & do their business. I have 30 foot lines that are made from PVC & one is made of nylon so easy to clean & hung to dry as it drags on the ground & yes it gets peed on from time to time or dragged through dirt. If your dog is not good at untangling themselves you have to keep an eye that it doesn’t get wrapped around their legs. My dogs like the long lines because it allows them to roam around & smell more. I also try & give them extra time to sniff about. At home our yard is fenced, but most vacation places do not offer a fenced yard, so this gives them some freedom they may not otherwise have. Our rental for 2026 is on 80 acres so they will have lots of room to explore.
When I walk Echo on walks around my city or on trails I use a coupler & attach the leash to two things such as his front lead no pull harness, his Gentle Leader, or Martingale collar. Echo being a reactive dog I don’t want to risk anything breaking or coming detached & not have a backup. I had a fearful foster dog that he wiggled, jerked & rolled out of fear & his leash broke where it clips & he ran. He luckily ran to my home & I got him back safely. I am more concerned with Echo & dogs than humans, I can ask a human to give him space. Echo has never had a bad interaction with a dog since I have had him, & plan to keep it that way. I want to use positive desensitizing to get him to be more secure around other dogs, A friend is going to help me with his dog friendly dog .
I appreciate you visiting & reading, I hope you found this helpful. If you are enjoying my blog please consider subscribing, sharing it on your social media sites, likes & comments are always appreciated, all these things help my blog to be seen by more people. I am hoping as my blog grows I will be able to become an Amazon affiliate again & gives you links once more to products I recommend. If you have a question about anything I mention or recommend please feel free to send me an email or write a comment & I’ll do my best to help. My email is echoinggreatpetcare@gmail.com Thanks, Debbie
Echoing Great Pet Care 