Big girl equipment - stronger lead and collars

[StephyMei1112]

Well Katalin is entering her pre-teens now and is certainly substantial in size. She's outgrown 3 collars already and I'm now going about setting her up with studier/durable walking and training accoutrements. Her flat collars with plastic buckles have popped open more than once so I'm looking into a leather collar/Leerburg fursaver for her now.

So I plan to get (as budget allows) -

Leerburg Fursaver collar
Leerburg Leather agitation harness
Leerburg Herm Sprenger prong
Non slip rubberized lead
Leather lead
Leather buckle collar

I've heard really good things about Ella's Lead but need advice about what lead/collar to order from them for her. She's around 80 pounds or so now and will finish up at about 115 so it'll need to be a heavy duty, leather lead with a strong grip - I've seen a "police lead" on their website - is that something along the lines of what I describe I need?

Sorry will need some guidance here - haven't ordered from them before and will need help with what to get!

[ihartgonzo]

Is there any reason that she needs a prong collar? They are not a necessity for powerful breeds, and basic leash training with positive methods should be exhausted before introducing correction collars for training.

Ella's Lead collars are really beautiful and made to be strong. Paco collars are great too!

[StephyMei1112]

We've exhausted the positive training - that's why the prong LOL

She's not problematic at all - but the prong serves as abit of a reminder and helps for impulse control (which we REALLY need to work on) and just knowing what the rules are. I'm not trigger happy about it at all and it really helps communication to and with her become much much clearer. She's on a plastic one now and is doing fine on it - we don't even need it as much except if we're walking in crowded areas or during training class.

I'll look up the Paco collars too - thanks!

[Emily]

Originally Posted by StephyMei1112

We've exhausted the positive training - that's why the prong LOL

She's not problematic at all - but the prong serves as abit of a reminder and helps for impulse control (which we REALLY need to work on) and just knowing what the rules are. I'm not trigger happy about it at all and it really helps communication to and with her become much much clearer. She's on a plastic one now and is doing fine on it - we don't even need it as much except if we're walking in crowded areas or during training class.

I'll look up the Paco collars too - thanks!

Yeah, don't let anybody make you feel bad about the prong collar. As long as you're also pairing training with it, you're not doing her any harm.

A "police lead" is usually the same a Eurolead, meaning it has o ring and snaps all over so you use it a variety of ways. But it really has nothing to do with sturdiness, and it's not something you need unless you want one. I happen to love them.

[AdrianneIsabel]

I agree with Emily, used properly there is nothing wrong with prong.

My dogs wear HS fursavers all the time. Be sure to not buy a cheap imitation.

As for leashes I buy from leerburg a lot and have been happy with their products. I prefer Paco for my leather when I can afford it and Denis prefers biothane for his gear.

We used to buy from a pit bull specialty company and I'd love to support and recommend them but their business practices have been shameful for a while so I'll have to ask around for alternatives.

[Romy]

I have no recommendations for super strong leather leads. However, if you do need a super strong all-around lead, I started using a horse lead rope for Strider's leash after he snapped a couple of normal webbing leashes in half. Well, one time ripped out the stitching on one leash and the other he broke the clasp in half while lunging at a coyote. Four years with the same rope and we've never had an issue.

ETA: I have a mendota leather leash and really like it a lot. It's never been tested on Strider's power lunges though, but it's done really awesome with Kaia. It might be as strong as you're looking for.

[Emily]

Ooohh yeah, horse lead ropes makes awesome heavy duty leashes for big dogs, especially if you want extra length, as they're more like 8'-10' usually.

ETA: also, my friend Kay makes some hardcore leather products, and tests them on her crazy gamebred APBTs. She's super serious about testing things and will repair stuff if it breaks on you. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Whipl...01646123209620

[Fran101]

I really like the tufflex leads/collars from gundogsupply. They are really inexpensive and the collars come with free tags. They are biothane so water proof, odor proof etc... but feel pretty nice.

I like the IDEA of leather but find myself hesitant due to how it is around water/smells/germs lol

[Barb04]

Check out www.blockydogs.com for collars. I have them for each of my dogs from 62 lbs. all the way up to 140 lbs. They are strong and last.

[houlahoops]

I use horse leads for Mammoth (95 lbs) and even for the curs (including Bailey) who are smaller (50-80 lbs) but strong. Collar-wise, we've always gone with a standard rolled-leather collar for Mammoth and a nylon+"choke" for the curs (just as backup in case they bust the clasp or back out).