Leash Lessons: Dog Leash Handling Techniques for Enhanced Safety

The Importance of Proper Leash Handling

Regardless of how you hold your leash, I think that we can all agree that we use a leash to keep our dogs and those around us safe. Even if your dog has 100% perfect recall and stays by your side despite distractions off-leash, there are times and places where a leash is required. Surprisingly, leash handling skills are generally not taught; your training starts and ends when you are handed the leash of your newly adopted four-legged family member to bring home for the first time, often without the benefit of education or practice beforehand.

One of my jobs at my previous shelter was to teach new volunteers how to hold the leash. I got a lot of resistance from new volunteers who walked their own dogs with the leash looped around their wrists and then again around their hands; they felt more secure and worried less about their dog pulling out of their grasp. 

The Hidden Dangers of Traditional Leash Techniques

Wrapping the leash around your hand and wrist may make you feel secure, but at what cost? If your dog pulls suddenly, gets startled, bolts or lunges and you lose your footing, you could be dragged behind your dog without any way to disengage, and possibly break a finger, wrist, or worse in the process. And once you go down, you are in no shape to get up and remove your dog from the potential conflict. You will be no good to your dog as you lay on the ground, bruised and bleeding because your hand was tangled in the leash.

Emergency Situations: The Need for Quick Release

In a true emergency, if another dog approaches and a fight ensues, it’s also safer (as crazy as it sounds) to have the option to quickly drop your leash if the need arises, so your dog can defend herself. You can distract the other dog by throwing treats to buy time before a fight breaks out, banging objects loudly to startle the dogs, or trying to separate them by using a barrier made out of a trash can lid, baby gate, jacket or pop up umbrella, by spraying a jet of water from a hose in the mouth and nose of the aggressor or by employing a deterrent spray (while avoiding your dog, of course). You won’t have the mobility to do any of that if you are tied to your dog and dragged into the fight. Being physically attached to your dog can impede her ability to defend herself, and make you a close target for a redirected bite.

Even if you simply trip and fall, some dogs can react quite strongly to the sight of you in an unfamiliar position, in an unfamiliar place. If their reaction is negative, it’s always better to have the ability to easily drop the leash or shift it to the other hand so you are free to defend your head and neck, push to a standing position, get some distance, and keep yourself safe.

Step-by-Step Guide to the Improved Leash Handling Technique

The following is my preferred method of holding the leash. I was originally taught this way almost fifteen years ago when I began walking shelter dogs. The technique was further refined when I attended Michael Shikashio and Trish McMillan’s defensive handling workshop, and again as part of a shelter behavior course given by Shelter Playgroup Alliance. It creates a nearly unbreakable grip at the leash handle that is supported by the second hand on the leash itself:

1. Slip your thumb through the loop of the leash.
2. Close your fist around both legs of the loop to lock the leash in place.
3. Put your other hand about 18” down, palm down, on the remaining leash (or whatever is appropriate and comfortable for you). 
4. Keep both arms close to your body, and one leg slightly in front of the other so you can use your weight as an anchor if need be.
5. Work to keep the leash loose; you do not need tension on the leash to be safe.
6. Always walk with one eye on your dog (to monitor how she feels about the environment) and one eye on the surroundings to see what’s coming from a distance. 
7. Keep calm, and ask your dog to move away from potential triggers well before she feels the need to defend herself.

This method of looping the thumb through the leash and keeping a second hand lower on the leash also gives a “softer touch”, and allows more subtle communication between you and your dog.

It also doesn’t matter which hand you use to hold the leash loop. Although I am left-hand dominant, I am most comfortable holding the loop in my right hand.  I position my closed fist around the loop near the bottom center of my rib cage as an anchor. I keep my left hand closed loosely further down on the leash. My dogs generally choose to walk on my left, but if they move to the right, I can easily switch the leash loop to my left hand, and slide my right hand down the leash.

True Confession: Learning from Experience

As embarrassing as it is to admit, I have been pulled off my feet several times over the years. The good news is that I was using the over-the-thumb grip with my other hand on the leash, and never once dropped the leash. Although my pants were ripped and my pride and posterior bruised, the leash was not pulled out of my hand. I didn’t lose my dogs in the wilderness (which is my primary concern), and the leash grip let me quickly transfer the leash to the other hand while I dusted myself off and reconnected with my dog. 

Taking the First Steps: Implementing the New Method

Is this a new technique for you? Give it a try, first in the safety of your backyard, then in low-stress areas, and let me know what you think.