The Affordable Training Leash for Dogs

What are we making?

This is a leash that is made to substitute many of the leashes on the market today. These leashes range from chokers that tighten when pulled on, and the other kind that have metals spikes on the inside that dig into the skin when pulled on. This leash avoids that problem, and helps you train your dog/puppy how to behave out in public. This leash offers things such an elastic to lighten up on the tension developed from the dog pulling, an extra handle at the end of the leash to keep a close hold on your dog, and an extra leash part that allows you to put a toy on to keep your dog/puppy close to you without having to worry about them pulling you along with them.

Before you get started you are going to need a few things, and those things are:

Materials

• 2 key chain clips or two clip buttons
• 3 new/old dog leashes
• A sheet of wool fabric
• A new/old dog toy
• 3ft of elastic tubing or elastic strips (elastic strips are more durable, but are harder to sew onto the leash)\
• A needle and yarn

Tools

• Lighter (stops fraying of the leash when you cut it)
• Sewing machine *optional
• Scissors
• Pins

Now that you have all of the materials/tools you need, time to get started with the attachable toy part of the leash. Get your desired dog toy out, and choose one of the leashes that you are going to use for parts. With that leash you are going to cut off the clip, but make sure it is still attached leash in the end, so aim about an inch below the stitch that is keeping it connected. Then after you cut it off, take the lighter and burn the cut end. This to make sure the piece you cut wont fray up and fall apart on you in the future. Now take the toy, and find the center of it on the top of the toy then make a little incision there. Make sure it is wide enough to slip the leash part of the your clip in. Now that your toy and clip are together, if you can fit it into the sewing machine sew the toy and your clip together, and if not begin hand sewing the two together.

To get started on the actual leash, and get a feel for stitch you are to use I recommend working on the handle that goes at the end of the leash, which allows you to have a close hold on your dog. Look at the other two leashes, and decide which one will be the main body. Then take the leash you cut the hook off of for the toy, and try and measure out a good handle size for you. make sure you know that the stitch you will use take about an inch off of how much your hand will actually fit. I cut mine at about 6 inches. Then like with the hook for the toy burn the two ends of the piece you just cut to avoid fraying in the future. Now, line it up with the end of the leash and pin the end of it. If it feels comfortable when you slip your hand in, you are ready to sew. The stitch you will be using on this is a simple box with an X in the middle. I uploaded a picture of what it should look like in the end. You will be using this stitch for everything else except if you decided to for with the elastic tubing.

For the elastic in the middle you had the option of going with either elastic tubing or an elastic strip. The steps are very similar, but the only thing that changes will be how you stitch them to the leash. The materials you will be needing are:

• The elastic tubing or strip
• The sheet of cloth
• The leash you are using for parts

Once you gathered all of that you can begin by finding the middle of your main leash and cut it then burn the ends with the lighter. Then take the elastic tube/strip and measure out how much you believe you will need, it shouldn't be to much as to make the leash sag, and do remember this part will stretch. My dog is a Golden-Doodle, so I cut a piece 14 inches long. If you used the tube cut out two parts the same length. I then lined it up with main leash and pined them in place. Like the handle at the front I gave it about an inch of clearance to have room for the stitches. The stitches that you'll use for the tube will be two lines across tubes it should look like and equals sign when you're done. As for the elastic strip you will be making the box with an X on the inside. Give it a few tugs and see if it stays, if it doesn't you may need to go back and give it another stitch over. As for the fabric you are going to lay the leash on top of it, and fold the fabric over. You are going to make a sock for this part of the leash, so measure out how much you need, cut, then sew it together. You will then fold it inside out to make the sock look like a clean fit. Next you will slide it up the leash, over the elastic and sew it on. The final part of this step is to make the "safety" for the elastic for if it breaks. This part should be as long as the elastic stretched out with an inch or two of clearance for the stitches. If you are out of material from the leash you should move onto the third leash for the needed length, but if you do make sure you cut about 16 or 15 inches from the clip back. The reason for this is that you are going to use that part of the leash for the part used to hold the dog toy. Once you cut that part you are going to sew it from where the elastic start to where it ends. You can see how it should look like in one of the pictures.

You are just two more steps away now. Here you are going to connect the toy to the leash. In the previous step I told you that if you had to use the third leash before this step to cut about 16 or 15 inches from the clip back. If you didn't have to do that measure a length that look comfortable for your dog because while it is connected to the leash the toy will be in its mouth. When you cut that part again don't forget to burn the cut end to avoid fraying. You will be sewing it in some place in between the elastic and the handle, usually at the end of the front handle. Once that is complete you will only have one more step to go.

The final step you have to do is make the clip that holds the part of the leash for when you do not have the dog toy connected. This is where you will need one of the key chain clips. If you are using the key chain clips you will need to cut a piece off of the "parts" leash it should be about 2 inches long. You will then be putting that piece in the loop and sewing it. If you can fit the stitch we have been using, go ahead. If not you can make a single line, but double up on that stitch. Once that is complete attach it to the hook of the part used to hold the toy. Then stretch the leash out and see where it goes on the leash part that goes over the elastic, mark it because that is where you are going to sew the clip you just made. The stitch that you should use will be the box with an X in it. Once you finish that the leash should look like the the one in the picture or along that line.