Is there such a thing as a safety lead?

[arealhuman]

Short story - went out for walk with the dog this morning, ran past cat, dog turned in front of me to chase cat, tripped me up and during my fall I lost my grip on the lead.  Dog runs up road chasing cat, going in garden's running after it.  I eventually capture him and complete the walk.  Lots of bloody cuts and bruises for me -  I had to wear a t-shirt under my shirt at work to stop the blood coming through!    Anyway, does anyone know if there's some sort of lead that has a safety feature whereby if you lose your grip the dog still stays connected to you?  I did buy a wrist band thingy from the US ages ago, which allows you to clip a lead through that but it doesn't get used as the lead has to go up your wrist more than it normally would, and I swap sides a lot when out walking and it's not practical to swap this strap to alternate wrists all the time (or even once).

Suggestions welcomed!

 

[JoanneF]

A lot of people use belts. I was thinking about one myself as I want to attend a horse trials event and heard of someone whose dog got loose at a similar thing and caused chaos. This one might be for running but it gives you the idea.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01M7QG1OD

 

[leashedForLife]

the "trekking" belts made by Kathy Pickett of Nooksack Racing Equip are great -
http://nooksackracing.com/skijoring.html

well-made, sturdy, well-designed - they last forever, so long as a dog [or bunny...] isn't allowed to gnaw on it.  
- terry
 

 

[leashedForLife]

BTW, an inexpensive & simple way to hang onto a dog [or be hung on a dog, more accurately] is to slip the wrist-loop over a wide belt, at least 2-inches wide preferred, slide the belt to the preferred side, run the rest of the belt thru the loops, & buckle it.
Now U handle the dog via the leash, but if U drop it or the leash is jerked from Ur hand, it's still on the belt. // NOT advisable for such things as bicycling, hiking cliffs or dunes where U could fall from a height, etc.  Only for walking or jogging, & on paths a minimum of 3 to 6-ft wide - not narrow ridges!

Safely biking with a dog for exercise is easily done by installing a made-to-purpose connector for the leash, under the rider's seat - so that it's under her or his center of gravity, & the dog cannot pull U [and the bike!] over, if they lunge to the side.  The K9 SPRINGER is a great piece of gear, works with all sizes of dogs; i prefer to use it with either a front-clipped Y harness, or a head-halter.

- terry

 

[arealhuman]

Thank you both for the suggestions, I will look into this further today as I can;t afford another incident as I described at the top of this thread.  Our dog was lucky as there was no traffic about, me not so much, I have lots of deep cuts, bruises and grazes on my knees, elbows  and shoulders.  Woe is me!  :lol:

 

[leashedForLife]

Ouch.   Falls are no fun whatever - & depending on what part of U hits the ground & onto what sort of surface, recovery can take months.

I took a wicked fall over a CUT-OFF 4x4 buried in the grass adjacent to a shopping plaza - there were 4 virtually-invisible posts, cut off about 2 to 3 inches above ground.  They once supported the corners of a canopy covering a parking area for 2 cars.  When they built the shopping plaza, they leveled the houses that once stood there, left the concrete parking area, & CUT OFF the 4 posts, rather than spend $$ & time to remove the buried parts.
I fell the week B4 Christmas, in 2009; i 1st walked without a cane just before Valentine's Day, on February 11th.  It was April B4 i could kneel on a padded surface without excruciating pain.    To this day,  i can't lift my left foot high-enuf to put on a pair of pants while standing; i must sit down, as otherwise i can't get that foot into the waistband.

It's been 7-years; i don't think i'll ever recover the range of motion i once had in my left hip, all due to the 2 or 3 seconds it took to fall face-forward onto concrete, & land on my knees & the palms of both hands. // Thank GOD, i didn't hit with face & jaw! - i was sure as the ground rushed up, that i was going to smash my face & my jaw would be shards.
As it was, i hobbled home bleeding & shocked.  Falls happen so fast, & they can cause all sorts of problems.

@arealhuman - I hope U heal quickly, with nothing but a few fading scars.  
- terry
 

 

[arealhuman]

@leashedForLife - all healing well now, thank you  

I actually bought the lead @JoanneF linked to earlier, after comparing several different ones.  It seems to be well made, however it is longer than our walking lead (to be expected, given its intended use) so make walking with his usual lead and this new one a bit awkward.  I'm going to investigate ways of resolving this which will likely involve looping it around something (belt, waist, wrist etc.).

 

[Sigun]

Looping around the waist/belt would probably better than going for the wrist for balancing issues.