Why Figure 8?
There are so many different tools on the market for dogs - harnesses, flat collars, check collars and head halters - but of all of the options available, the lead we choose to use is a figure 8 - a simple design that has been around for hundreds of years. We believe a figure 8 is the best way to walk your dog - our Founder James works with dogs that have behavioural issues every day, and its the lead he recommends the most. So what makes this style so special?
The Truth about Pulling on a Lead.
Move Up, not Down.
The overwhelming majority of people who own dogs first understand leads through films and cartoons. We all know the children classics with the Spaniels and the Dalmatians and their painted on collars, with the leads which clip on to match. And so it should be no surprise that most people start off with a flat collar, until they discover just how much their dogs pull - and how much pressure it puts on their dogs neck.
The modern day trend is that most owners switch to a harness, a tool which moves the point of control further down the body. At first it makes sense - the lead isn’t on the neck anymore. But contrary to what many marketing companies would have you believe - a harness actually enables pulling rather than discouraging it.
This is why we put a harness on a sled dog or traditionally on mastiff’s which pulled carts - to distribute pressure across the strongest part of the body and enable them to use their most powerful muscles. It’s why tracking dogs use harnesses, to encourage active, nose down behaviour. Harnesses are used in Mountain rescue to help dogs carry weight and pull people out of the snow. They’re even used in protection and police work as agitation devices to encourage more reactive behaviour. A harness has many uses - but having a calm, safe and stress free walk isn’t one of them.
The solution is to move the lead up the neck, not down. This is the exact same reason why horses wear a bridle, and why we lead them from the very front of the mouth - because it enables us negate much of the strength of an animal far larger than us, and because it allows us to guide them and provide direction from the saddle. The same is true with our dogs - the higher up the lead is on the head, the less strength our dog has and the less we need to use too - all with the added benefit of helping to keep our dogs calm and safe beside us rather than rather than weaving about in front and pulling us over.