There is a bit of a rise in use of slip leads as a training tool, due to trends that are being set by social media trainers. I am seeing them more and more. Slip leads are generally advised against as a training tool, by trainers and behaviourists who are appropriately qualified and up to date in dog behaviour. Some claim that they mimic corrections that a mother dog would apply to puppies, but this is simply untrue. You are also not a dog, you are a human.
People are sometimes surprised that slip leads are classed as an ‘aversive’ training tool, in the same way that we may consider a prong collar aversive, an e-collar aversive, or a citronella collar aversive. This might be because the idea of a prong collar is a lot more offensive to us as humans, than a slip lead, because they look more barbaric.
The real issue with slip leads are when they are:
1. Put on dogs that pull on a lead (risk of physical damage including a collapsed trachea, damage to the thyroid, optical nerve, spinal column…the list goes on!)
2. Used as a training tool to deliver ‘corrections’. This risk is also present when lead corrections are delivered using a flat collar and lead.
Some balanced trainers recommend using a slip lead (or flat collar and lead) to correct behaviour from the dog. This usually involves a sharp jerk to the lead to apply pressure to the neck. Due to the discomfort that this causes, the learning theory behind this is that the dog learns when I do this behaviour, this thing I don’t like happens to me. If I don’t do it, the thing I don’t like won’t happen. Aversive, by its very nature, means to cause a dislike or disinclination (to do something). Here are potential issues:
1. Physical damage to structures in the neck (as mentioned above) which can lead to both short and long term health impacts.
2. Behavioural suppression – the cause for the behaviour is still there, going untreated, which presents a welfare issue. Let’s say we have a dog that is reactive to other dogs. By delivering corrections when they react, they actually learn that being in the presence of dogs may bring them further stress. They may stop reacting to avoid that new stressor of lead corrections, but the cause for the reactivity (which sometimes includes pain, as well as things like fear, anxiety, and frustration) are still very much present. Can you imagine being in pain and scared, and then yanked around the neck whenever you communicate that you’re worried by the thing in front of you? It is worth noting that behavioural suppression can lead to both acute (short term) and chronic (long term) stress, is sometimes temporary (one day your quick fix won’t work anymore), and when the lid comes off the pressure cooker, things are usually worse than they were before OR we have new complex behaviours to deal with too.
3. Distrust of humans around them or person walking them, who are no longer acting as their advocates and instead delivering regular punishments. It takes far longer to rebuild trust than it does to destroy it.
4. Dislike of walking equipment/going for walks. This doesn’t always happen, sometimes a dog can look excited at the sight of a lead, this doesn’t mean they like the lead and just means they want to go out and that is the only way they will end up doing it.
5. Associations you don’t expect your dog to make. If you are delivering punishments in the form of lead corrections, and your timing is even a fraction of a second out, it’s possible your dog is making associations with other things in their environment instead. That car going past when you think they might react to a dog? Yep, they could associate the correction with traffic. The child laughing nearby when they start pulling to get to a smell? They could well associate the correction with the child. This can quickly result in declining behaviour and further problems.
6. Worsening associations with the stimulus, e.g. a dog that reacts to other dogs may get worse over time (even if the corrections seem to work temporarily).
7. Redirected aggression, this can include on to the person holding the lead.
But my dog pulls on their lead…what should I do instead?
If your dog pulls on the lead, the best thing you can put them in for walks is an appropriately fitted harness. This will prevent them damaging the sensitive structures in their neck. There is a bit of a myth that harnesses cause pulling, but they don’t. There are lots of reasons behind pulling, a harness isn’t one of them. Using a two-point harness than is appropriately balancing for the dog can help if your dog pulls in a harness, but if your dog pulls on a lead then it is important you determine why they’re doing this (there are lots of reasons!) and put together an appropriate training plan which may also involve emotional coaching or even vet treatment, depending on the reasons for the pulling.
It’s worth noting that a dog will need desensitising to a harness if they have never worn one before.
But my dog is reactive…
If your dog is reactive, the best way you can help them is by getting to the bottom of why this is, and put together a suitable lifestyle & coaching plan with the help of a behaviourist who has appropriate experience with reactivity and aggression. You don’t need to use harsh methods. I specialise in reactivity and have worked with dogs from 4kg to 70kg. Management strategies will of course be incredibly strict for a 70kg dog, but we haven’t had to revert to harsh methods to help them. Instead, we get to the bottom of the behaviour, help them with their internal ‘equilibrium’, and then start coaching in the situations where they need help, keeping them under threshold (that means feeling safe and not reacting).
It is worth noting that I’m not damning the use of slip leads in all situations. As a general rule, I don’t use them, and don’t advocate for their use. I ask my clients not to use them. But, if I needed to get a dog out of a building in an emergency evacuation, this might be an appropriate time to use one quickly.
If you have a dog that absolutely never pulls on a lead, they don’t pose the physical or emotional harm risk that they would if they did pull. It is very hard to guarantee a dog will never do this, though, or that you won’t accidentally put tension on their lead.
In short, putting slip leads on dogs as a training tool is unwise and you mind find in the long run, you have to work hard to unpick new issues you may not have had originally.
Sally Lewis 2023
Know Your Dog 