Gundog Training - Taking a Lead

The day they first put a lead around their dog’s neck is something many owners believe is a landmark in the relationship they have with their new gundog. To some it signifies the start of the real “partnership” between owner and gundog, to others it’s seen as the first step in establishing a degree of dominance.

In both cases the reasoning is flawed and in most cases it’s something that happens far too early in the dog’s life. Very often the type of lead, and the way it’s used, do little to help the situation.

The coming months will see a feverish enthusiasm, particularly at gundog training clubs, to get young dogs walking to heel. Coloured cones will be laid out in rows, handlers will be asked to weave between them – and in between rows of fellow classmates – as they tug and jerk and pull dogs into position to achieve controlled heelwork.

In this article I want to focus more on the “tools of the trade” when it comes to heelwork rather than the actual gundog training techniques and mistakes. And it’s what’s used and when it’s used that I believe play a very important role in this part of a gundog’s training.

When to use a dog lead?

I am never in a rush to put something around a young dog’s neck and it can be at least five months or even six months before I even bother to try it.

Having produced a youngster that is receptive and responsive to me by that stage, slipping a lead on and walking to heel is never a problem. The youngster is mentally “fixed” on me anyway by that stage and has a brain that is far more accepting of me and my actions than it would be if I were to do it at three or even four months – something that would produce the usual resistance and reluctance to co-operate so often encountered.

I appreciate that many owners’ circumstances do require them to have control of a youngster at an early age but the type of lead used is very important. Errors made in the early stages of lead training are often the reason why many adult dogs are not good either on or off the lead.

What dog lead options are available?

So what “lead” options are available? Slip-leads have been widely used on adult gundogs for as long as most can remember. They are quickly put on or taken off and do, by their design, effect a degree of control by the tightening action should a dog start to pull, and so, in theory, afford more control to the handler.

Clearly the slip lead per-se isn’t ideal to use as the first lead that’s put around the neck of a young dog. Undertaken too soon and most will dart away in a demonstration of resistance causing the loop to tighten and so creating severe discomfort to the dog. This is precisely NOT how to start lead training and yet so many people apply this method based on the misguided assumption that the distressed dog will learn, through the discomfort it is suffering, to stop pulling and begin to co-operate.

Having said that I do actually use a slip-lead as the first lead but I always use a leather slip-lead. It’s not difficult to create a loop with the leather at the end of the lead so that it’s big enough to go over the youngster’s neck but arranged in such a way that it prevents the “slip” action when the dog pulls away.

When the young dog does pull, as it may do, there is no constriction or discomfort caused.

Leather slip leads aren’t cheap but they have long been my preferred choice for training at all levels. The leather slides easily through the fingers during heelwork training and enables the handler to achieve closer control of the dog’s actions with greater sensitivity.

It’s a subtle and very valuable training aid that I wouldn’t be without.

For decades the familiar rope-style lead has been very popular with gundog owners but even within that type of lead there are variations in thickness and in length.

Things to consider when purchasing a dog lead

I am always amused to see some dogs turn up on shoot days with something around their neck that looks as though it was used to bring the pony up from the paddock earlier that morning. Thick and cumbersome and resembling horse lead ropes, it might be assumed they give greater control over a badly behaved heavyweight Labrador on a shoot day but in reality they should be avoided.

Their thickness and lack of flexibility destroys all the “connection” between dog and handler when a correct lead is used. They do nothing to improve a dog’s behaviour.

There is a huge variety of rope leads on the market these days but instead of buying simply on price it’s wise not only to consider the thickness of the lead and the quality of the “stops” fitted to it but also - and probably most importantly -  the length.

I do use rope leads in addition to leather slips and always buy good quality. For me it’s hard to beat an 8mm de-luxe style lead with rubber fittings – and I go for the 2m length as opposed to the 1.5m.

This is just a personal choice but I like to have plenty of lead length. I feel I can always give a dog more length if I need to or I can shorten the length. With a shorter lead (1.5m) I don’t have so much flexibility.

What I can never understand is why some people use a really short lead on the basis that it keeps the dog closer to them. In my experience it’s like having the dog on a rigid link with no flexibility. The dog often feels “trapped” and is more inclined to pull away instead of staying close.

Yes, I want a dog to heel well and to stay by my side but I don’t want to feel that we are “glued” to each other with a short, taut lead dictating every movement both of us make.

This article would not be complete without reference to the emergence of choke chains that are now increasingly to be seen used on field trial dogs.

While the legendary dog trainer Barbara Woodhouse used fine choke chains on the smallest of dogs, I was brought up to expect to see choke chains used primarily on breeds like Boxers and German Shepherd Dogs. Breeds like Labradors were never thought to need such a heavyweight piece of kit to achieve the desired control.

To see Labradors wearing choke chains is totally alien to me but there will be many ordinary gundog owners who perceive their use by well-known field trialling folk to be tantamount to endorsing their value as a training aid.

I would never use a choke chain to train a Labrador and would think I had failed in my efforts if I had to resort to one. So for those about to embark upon training their new youngster this year I would recommend the correct use of a leather or rope slip lead. A choke chain wrongly used by a novice on a breed like the Labrador could have dire long-term consequences.

Find further gundog training articles and tips here. 

Jeremy Hunt - Fenway Labradors

Jeremy is the owner of Fenway Labradors has been breeding Labradors for over 25 years and is based in Lancashire, England.

Jeremy runs gundog training days offering individual or small group training sessions, by the hour, half or full day.