The Leash

These days, whenever you watch TV, you see something about a pet nearly every other commercial break. Whether you own an adorable puppy brand new from the breeder or an elder cat who's always complaining, there are a variety of pet gadgets that you can buy at nearly any store that will improve your pet's life-style by hundreds.

The Leash

The common household leash is far more useful then you could expect. Something you may not know is that leashes can be used in the early training of puppies. No one wants their little golden retriever (being lovable intelligent dogs but managing to be complete idiots at the same time), to run out into the street and get hurt by the local skateboarder they ran in front of or run away. From personal experience, this usually happens when you're trying to bring in groceries. Let's just say that we've learned to let the dogs outside before even attempting to bring in a single bag.

When I was training my first puppy, Belle, she was one of those dogs who had separation anxiety so whenever you came home, she'd be right up in your face looking for a hug and a big warm greeting to let her know you were still there and in one piece. My old house, before we moved, had a weak screen door that if she pawed at, she discovered she could open it. So when my mom and I would be bringing in any sort of object and she could not wait in any way, shape, or form to greet us, she would plow through the screen door. I personally found it amusing and adorable as she was only about six months old, my mom however, not so much.

We took Belle on walks and such like any dog needs exercise. She still never seemed to come out of her permanently hyper mode like the Energizer Rabbit. My mom came up with the bright idea of leaving the leash clipped onto Belle who would then always assume it meant a walk. Belle was the best dog to walk when she was little, not too big to walk you but small enough you could keep up. Like any golden retriever, she had a signature strut and she would waltz around our house. This helped a lot when we brought groceries home as we didn't always want her outside when it was raining and we were running around. If she tried to get out the door, we could step on the end and stop her instead of having a neighborhood goose chase.

Belle eventually learned that she shouldn't barge through doors unless we're on fire, which has yet to happen, and now she even stays just inside the doorway when we bring in large amounts of groceries. She's taught the newest member of our family, Bentley, a great deal about not lunging for the door but they still need a little work.

Although as you can see, the common household leash is so much more then just a walking tool. It can be used to train your dog to not escape from the house (unless you leave the gate door open; another personal experience) and calm down when you come home instead of attacking you for some big hug and a treat to warm their bellies.