How you hold your leash might seem like
a small thing but it can have a big
impact on the way we work with our dogs.
In today's Power Tip we'll show you a
couple of really efficient ways to grip
your leash to keep your practice fresh
and productive. Hey everyone
Ian here with Simpawtico Dog Training and
before we get into this power tip on
leashes, please make sure you're
subscribed so you never miss a single
one of our videos. Also make sure to
follow us on all the major social
networks, and don't forget to check that
YouTube description for notes, links, and
resources about the stuff we talked
about. Now this video is not going to be
a "how to walk politely on leash" video
because to do that right it would need
to be, like, a couple hours long. We gave a
really superficial overview of the
walking progression in our Progressions
video, but suffice it to say we're only
going to focus on holding the leash
whatever your current level of walking
or heeling is. Also these principles are
universal no matter what kind of
hardware you're using on your dog. Okay,
so first: don't wrap! this is fraught with
problems. Mainly there's a tendency to
crush your hand. It also kills any kind
of sensitivity or dexterity. A leash
should be treated like a sensitive
communication tool and you can't do that
with it wrapped like spaghetti around a
fork. Likewise if you need to unwrap that
hand to answer your phone, or open a door
or a gate, it's a pain in the neck. So
trash this idea; we have way better ways
to do it. My preferred method is the
Fingerlock. We loop it around the index
finger and then make a fist around the
whole thing. This is super strong without
crushing burning or otherwise being
prone to failure. This is also an
effective way to control range; you can
control the length of the leash
dynamically and lock it up anywhere you
want. If you have a short leash you can
put the end loop around your finger and
lock it that way.
The Thumblock is an alternate method
for people that might not like the
Fingerlock. It works essentially the
same except the loop goes around the
thumb. We drape it across the palm like
before but we lock the thumb across the
top of the fist so it makes a t-bar. Make
sure the whole thing is in the fist, not
just one leg of it. I personally prefer
the fingerlock but I've had some
students that like the thumblock better
and I have used leashes where the thumb
lock actually worked better for me too
so it's a matter of personal preference
plus the equipment that you're using.
It's also very important that the distal
end of the leash, that is to say the end
that goes to the dog, always exits the
palm on the pinky side. Lots of people do
this weird kind of underhand grip and
that is problematic. Your wrists and arms
aren't designed to work that way. You
lock up your joints and you lose
dexterity and strength. Like I tell my
students in class: "Pinky side! Pinky side!"
Okay now what do we do with this new
information? Well, you're either going to
use a far anchor or a closing anchor. In the
beginning stages—at least in the way
that I teach loose leash walking—you're
going to use the far anchor first. This
is in the hand farthest from your dog so
if your dog is on the left you'll use
your right hand for the far anchor. You
take the proximal end of the leash and
do the old fingerlock or thumblock and
put that in at about your bellybutton.
Your other hand will be your sensitive
control hand and has that overhand grip
on the leash. Pinky side! Pinky side! Don't
do that silly underhand stuff. This way
you'll have the leash across your body
and your body will do more work than
your arms. You can also use your anchor
hand to manage range more effectively
than with your control hand. The control
hand should be for fine, sensitive
control. Large gross movements should be
done with the anchor hand. In the
advanced stages once your dog has a good
grasp of loose leash walking you can
switch to a closing anchor, which means you combine
your anchor and control hand. This is in
the hand closest to your dog so again if
your dog is on the left that will be
your left hand. At this point in your
practice you shouldn't need more than
small movements from your wrists to
communicate with your dog anyways. Like I
said, this is usually a more advanced
stage so most of you are going to be
using the far anchor for now. All right
everyone, I hope this video has helped
reconfigure how you hold your leash for
more strength, dexterity, and better
communication. Let us know how it works
for you in the comments
below. Don't forget to thumbs up this
video if you found it useful and as
always keep learning, keep practicing and
we'll see you again soon. Thanks for
watching!