Leather obedience leads have a reason for being light. They are supposed to communicate with a dog, not restrain it. Yet leather, while time honored, is still heavy, bulky, stretches and is subject to the elements. Spectra® Nylon is the best alternative to either leather or ordinary nylon web. We first discovered it being used in expedition mountain climbing. This is not ordinary nylon webbing, but the strongest and lightest man made fiber, even surpassing Kevlar. While only 9/16ths wide, it is twice as strong as tempered steel, but so light and supple a 4 foot lead will fit in a pocket. Impervious to water (it actually floats), it cleans up with a simple light scrubbing. Most importantly, it has no give. A correction or guidance is directly communicated to the training collar with only a minimal movement of the hand. It will last for years under demanding use.

Our 4 foot lead is the perfect tool for general agility, obedience work and competition. Fitted with a study brass snap bolt at one end and a brass ring at the other, for wearing over the shoulder. Made of Spectra® Nylon and secured with rivets, it is light enough to fold into one hand, but powerful enough to give proper corrections with only a small movement of the wrist and hand. Every person we have asked to test this lead, gave up on any other kind. The one comment we always get back is that it gives the most direct corrections and guidance of any lead they ever used. How can anything so light (3 ounces with sturdy catch!) be so good?

THE BALL & CHAIN! The best lead for making a transition from on-lead to off-lead heeling is the “tab”. The idea is that the trainer works off lead, but always has a handy short lead attached to the training collar to correct the dog when things go wrong. It must be light, but strong enough to give a proper correction. Simple nylon works okay, but try to grab it quickly for a correction. Leather is better, but still heavy and hard to use properly. The Ball & Chain is designed with Spectra® Nylon to give the lead direct power to the training collar, but so light the dog won't notice it is on. The real innovation is a 1 inch diameter ball at the open end. This serves as a stop for the hand so a proper correction can be given without the hand slipping. The effect is like giving a correction with a longer lead. It is 13 inches long with a brass snap bolt with a total weight of 2 ounces.