Quick Hand Loop for Dog Lead

I got a great deal on a new horse lead at a garage sale, but I don't have horses. I have dogs. And horse leads don't have a loop in the end to hold on to. I'm sure there's good reason for that, horses being approximately 10x the body mass of dogs. In any case, dog leads should have hand loops, and I set about to make one. It took little time and no expense, as I had all the tools and materials at hand. I should mention that this method is intended only for rope leads, not on the common, flat, nylon webbing leads.

Tools

Needlenose pliers

Heat gun (or hair drier)

Materials

Rope lead

Copper wire

Shrink tubing

I put the shrink tubing on the lead first. I used about 1-inch diameter tubing because this is a rather large rope lead. The tubing should be sized appropriately to the rope. I bent the end of the lead into a loop of about 6 inches in length. I used a 8-inch length of copper wire salvaged from some household wire. First, I put a bend in the wire about an inch long to run parallel to the rope, then began wrapping the wire around the two widths of rope using the needlenose pliers. I pulled hard on the wire so that it would tightly crimp the rope. I got about three full turns, which seemed to be adequate. I turned a tiny loop in the end of the copper wire and squeezed that down into the rope. No sharp ends here! If your skills include sewing, you could easily sew the ropes together with heavy thread rather than bind them with copper wire.

I slid the shrink tubing onto the loop so that it was about half on the loop and half off. I fired up my heat gun, but on the low setting. The high setting might melt the nylon rope. I directed the air flow up and down the shrink tubing and rotated the rope around so that the tubing shrank uniformly. More time was spent on the single rope end, as more shrinkage was required. The shrink tubing provides a smooth surface, a more aesthetic fit and finish, and helps prevent the copper wire from unwinding.

The ideal model for this lead is my biggest dog, Ch Fanta C's Gunsmoke's Leading Lady, AKA Miss Kitty. I think it looks great on her.