Adjustable Dog leash

[firebight]

Hi, I made a 2 meter long, 7mm kernmantle dog leash for my new puppy, well had him 3 weeks now. Anyways, while walking my new 4 legged friend I often find that 6 feet is too long and I end up coiling the rope around my hand to shorten the leash. What I was looking for was a easy adjustable length leash. I played with a sheepshank which shortens but comes apart to easy, I was thinking something like a purcell prusik might be good. Any ideas?

Thanks

[SS369]

Hello firebight,

The Purcell is a step in the right direction, but I would personally choose a Prohaska/Blake’s hitch.
It works very well for an end of line friction hitch (meaning you can tie the rope to itself with it) and not difficult to tie.
Then there are other slide and grip hitches to investigate (Tarbuck, adjustable grip hitch, Midshipman’s, Tautline, etc.). You may find one that is more aesthetically appealing.

They all will make the hand loop area larger as the length of leash is reduced, but maybe that is not a concern to you.

SS

[Pat_Ducey]

I have used reflective paracord for a leash, it works very well at night. Maybe you need to be styling with several leashes of different lengths, and different materials. Then you select a leash depending on the conditions for the walk.

Good luck with your new puppy.

Pat

[firebight]

Well here is my first version of the leash. The Purcell Prusik Puppy Leash I get about a foot and 1/2 of adjustment. I will work on improvements later.

[firebight]

@SS369 post:2

Hello firebight,

The Purcell is a step in the right direction, but I would personally choose a Prohaska/Blake’s hitch.
It works very well for an end of line friction hitch (meaning you can tie the rope to itself with it) and not difficult to tie.
Then there are other slide and grip hitches to investigate (Tarbuck, adjustable grip hitch, Midshipman’s, Tautline, etc.). You may find one that is more aesthetically appealing.

They all will make the hand loop area larger as the length of leash is reduced, but maybe that is not a concern to you.

SS

I gave your Blake hitch idea a try and it works quite well, really good length of adjust ability. Only cons I had were that I like the beefy feel of the Purcell, and the way the tail exits the Blake. When I am more awake I might try to figure out how to double up the rope using the Blake.

Thanks

[SS369]

Well, if the newest criteria is a larger handle knot loop then I could suggest a hangman’s loop. The number of wraps is up to you and you could always double wrap them (on the outside).

I’d like to read about how your doubled Blake works out.

SS

[Dan_Lehman]

@firebight post:1

Hi, I made a 2 meter long, 7mm kernmantle dog leash for my new puppy, well had him 3 weeks now. Anyways, while walking my new 4 legged friend I often find that 6 feet is too long and I end up coiling the rope around my hand to shorten the leash. What I was looking for was a easy adjustable length leash.

Egadz, 7mm seems rather beefy for a puppy,
if it’s nylon/polyester. But, personally, I wouldn’t
think of trying out some structure here, over simply
holding the surplus (sometimes) leash in hand.
It’s been a while since I walked a friend’s bull terrior,
but I did so w/maybe 20’ of rope, and payed it out
or not depending; I can’t imagine finagling some sort
of too-clever-by-half adjustable solution!
(The weight of what isn’t in you hand is more on it.)

[Luca]

Hi firebight,

One or two methods to shorten the leash as desired might be these:

URL: http://daveroot.co.cc/Knots/Knots_Decorative.htm#Braid

URL: http://daveroot.co.cc/Knots/Knots_Decorative.htm#ChainStitch

I leave to you how to act, in the case, if you want to get a good esthetic effect(if you’re interested in this!);I think that this would allow you to get the length you want using a fixed handle(Yosemite Bowline?Maybe the tail does not teaze you).
I do not mean of materials about the ropes (I do not know kemmantle),but (it is just my opinion) I personally would use some natural fiber rope(is less durable) that is possibly soft, good for hand comfort.

                                                                                               Bye!

[firebight]

@Dan_Lehman post:7

@firebight post:1

Hi, I made a 2 meter long, 7mm kernmantle dog leash for my new puppy, well had him 3 weeks now. Anyways, while walking my new 4 legged friend I often find that 6 feet is too long and I end up coiling the rope around my hand to shorten the leash. What I was looking for was a easy adjustable length leash.

Egadz, 7mm seems rather beefy for a puppy,
if it’s nylon/polyester. But, personally, I wouldn’t
think of trying out some structure here, over simply
holding the surplus (sometimes) leash in hand.
It’s been a while since I walked a friend’s bull terrior,
but I did so w/maybe 20’ of rope, and payed it out
or not depending; I can’t imagine finagling some sort
of too-clever-by-half adjustable solution!
(The weight of what isn’t in you hand is more on it.)

The 7mm kernmantle might be overkill, but I had a 170 feet of the stuff, so what the heck. The leash is designed for leash training the dog. While walking we are able to keep control of the leash. My wife really likes the feel of the leash. She holds the leash at the junction of the yellow and blue rope while holding the remaining portion in her other hand. When she gets to a spot where she wants to give him some room to explore she fully extends the leash. With one swipe of the hand she is able to shorten the leash and begin training again. Might be hard to picture what I mean. Anyways, the leash is only temporary, as the dog gains experience of how we want him to behave while on the leash, we can switch to a more conventional leash.
Besides the leash looks cool with neon colors and knots

[SS369]

@firebight post:9

@Dan_Lehman post:7

@firebight post:1

Hi, I made a 2 meter long, 7mm kernmantle dog leash for my new puppy, well had him 3 weeks now. Anyways, while walking my new 4 legged friend I often find that 6 feet is too long and I end up coiling the rope around my hand to shorten the leash. What I was looking for was a easy adjustable length leash.

Egadz, 7mm seems rather beefy for a puppy,
if it’s nylon/polyester. But, personally, I wouldn’t
think of trying out some structure here, over simply
holding the surplus (sometimes) leash in hand.
It’s been a while since I walked a friend’s bull terrior,
but I did so w/maybe 20’ of rope, and payed it out
or not depending; I can’t imagine finagling some sort
of too-clever-by-half adjustable solution!
(The weight of what isn’t in you hand is more on it.)

The 7mm kernmantle might be overkill, but I had a 170 feet of the stuff, so what the heck. The leash is designed for leash training the dog. While walking we are able to keep control of the leash. My wife really likes the feel of the leash. She holds the leash at the junction of the yellow and blue rope while holding the remaining portion in her other hand. When she gets to a spot where she wants to give him some room to explore she fully extends the leash. With one swipe of the hand she is able to shorten the leash and begin training again. Might be hard to picture what I mean. Anyways, the leash is only temporary, as the dog gains experience of how we want him to behave while on the leash, we can switch to a more conventional leash.
Besides the leash looks cool with neon colors and knots

Apparently 7mm is not quite overkill as there is a local rope manufacturer that is recycling some of its test rope, 10mm, and making some very nice leashes. Not factory adjustable though.

It has been whispered that to train a dog well the leash should very short anyway.

SS

[firebight]

The rope diameter just makes for better grip, or heck paracord would work…