What is the Fenrir Slip Leash?
It’s the tool that we’re most well known for!
It’s been featured in many of our YouTube videos. Whether it’s helping to correct leash reactivity or pulling on the lead, it’s the tool everyone is excited about.
This course will walk you through a more indepth look at our most popular training tool.
We’ll discuss the why of the design, the functionality, and give you a better understanding of what it takes to use this style of lead effectively. If you’ve come across this course, you’ve already started your journey!
So, let’s take a more in depth look at the slip leash.
Why is the Slip Leash Designed the Way it is?
The top priorities in designing this lead are security and strength. It’s important to be able to quickly secure a dog and then to also be confident in the fact that the training tool will not fail.
It’s difficult to focus on training if you’re constantly worried about a flimsy lead. The high quality material ensures a secure hold while you and your canine companion are out and about.
Another key component to this slip leash is the stopper. It may be a small part of the design, but it’s very important. A good stopper helps to keep everything in its proper place.
Fenrir’s unique hammer head stopper is designed with a spring loaded clamp! Not only does it look good, it’s functional as well. There’s no hand tightening of the stopper so there’s no need for extra fuss. Just let it go and it holds right where you want it.
Over time and use, a slip lead will naturally loosen and fall lower on the dog’s neck, but a good stopper slows the rate at which this happens and gives you time to fix the position.
Ideally, the loop around your dog’s neck will sit up high and just under the ears.
A slip lead isn’t meant to harm. It’s made to communicate and simple is better. A nice thick rope and a good stopper are all that is needed to make an amazing training tool.
When Should You Use a Slip Leash?
Normally, in training, there’s the right tool at the right time to get the job done. Most tools are very specific in function, but this item is the one exception.
This training tool is well rounded and can accomplish a wide variety of different tasks.
Of course, there might be a better tool for the job, but if you don’t have a lot of room to carry things or money is tight: a slip lead can get the job done too.
Perhaps your dog is already a pro at walking on a lead and can walk to heel. At this point a harness and normal lead would be just fine, but you could still use a slip leash.
They’re easy to take on and off, and they don’t take up a lot of space. This is why some canine leaders choose to use them even once out of the training phase. They’re convenient and easy to handle.
Now when it comes to modifying behaviours such as pulling or teaching a dog to communicate through a lead, the slip leash is the best tool for the job.
Most dogs respond very well to just a slip lead! So, if you’re nervous about trying something a little more extreme like a prong collar, don’t worry. You most likely won’t ever need one.
Communication is key!
If your dog knows to look to you for guidance, they’ll be much more relaxed and less reactive. They’ll know they need to not pull you and walk with you instead.
So whether you’re just starting out with training or you’ve got the perfect canine companion: a slip lead can be the right tool for you.
Communicating with the Slip Leash
What is it and what does it mean? And why is it so important to training?
A lead is much more than a tether to keep your dog close by. It’s a connection between the two of you.
How you feel and how you act gets translated down the lead and into your dog. If you’re feeling anxious, your dog will feel anxious. But, this also works in reverse.
If you’re calm and collected, your dog will be calm, collected, and know to look to you for guidance.
So, how exactly do you communicate with your dog?
Tension.
Whether you put tension on or loosen the leash, your dog will know you’re trying to tell them something.
For example: if you’ve got a dog pulling on the lead, it becomes tight and it stays tight. You have no way to communicate anymore. There’s a constant pressure.
Not only that, but we often become frustrated and nervous in these situations. In doing so, you might try and reel your lead in shorter and more tight.
Well, all of that anxiety and tense emotion gets fed down the lead to your dog. Then they also become anxious. They may become reactive even.
So, it’s important to keep calm and relaxed, or you and your dog will feed all of that energy into one big mess.
Reactivity is perhaps the most common bad behaviour, but we can do something about it!
If you can keep a loose lead with no tension, your dog will also relax. They’ll look to you to guide them along. Then with nothing more than a small flick of the wrist, you can communicate with them.
You and your dog can be completely in tune with one another.
If you move one way, the lead will naturally put gentle pressure on your dog and they’ll know to follow along.
If you see a dog and remain relaxed, they’ll also remain relaxed.
You may not mean it and you may never have realised it, but when you see a dog coming from another direction and pull on the lead, you change your dog’s posture.
They rely much more on body language for communication than we do. When you pull on the lead, you pull back their shoulders and lift their head. This can look aggressive to another dog and is part of what creates reactive moments.
If you stay relaxed, you can stop an aggressive moment before it happens.
It’s so important to keep a loose lead whenever you can. It’s not easy at first, but you have to practise. Lead communication is so important to having a perfect canine companion.
Success isn’t impossible!
Conclusion
The slip leash may be simple, but it’s mighty. Whether you’re looking to teach your dog to heel walk, curb leash reactivity, or want something quick and easy: the slip lead has you covered.
You can even pair it with some of our other items for a truly extraordinary training session or just for day to day use.
Don’t forget to share your stories with us on social media either! We’d love to hear all about your experiences!