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Comment by Rachel on June 4, 2008 at 8:27pm

Kate - thank you! I'm going to check them out.

Comment by Kate on June 4, 2008 at 8:23pm

A company called Lupine Pets (I think it's Pets... it's Lupine something) has a quality guarantee. They will replace any product even if your pet is the cause of the destruction! They are a little more pricey but well worth it if you have a chewer! My pup grew out of the chewing stage but it was nice to have that guarantee in the mean time!

Comment by Cindi on June 4, 2008 at 4:22pm

When Tank was little he was a leash chewer. I joke in class that my 30' training leads are nothing more than Tank's old leashes sewn together. It gets a laugh every time. We did the 4' chain. We only needed the very lightest gauge. And when I wanted more length, I went to the local hardware store and bought 6' of lightweight chain and a clip for one end. The other end? I bought a 1' lead (sounds silly). Basically, it's a handle on a clip. That gave me my handle. Worked like a charm and eventually Tank quit eating them. (For the most part. Every now and again I see him chewing, especially on leather. Little snot!)

:-)

Comment by Charlie on June 4, 2008 at 2:12pm

For the most part Charlie outgrew chewing on his leash. On occassion I stop to talk to a neighbor and of he gets bored (not being the center of attention for the universe) he'll chew a bit on his leash .

I'm not sure how much luck you'll have finding a 6 ft chain leash. You could get creative and extend your leash with a couple feet of chain from the hardware store and a couple of clips, or buy a 2 foot traffic lead to clip on and extend to your 4ft lead. Even a 24" choke chain collar could be clipped/fitted into a leash as an extension.

Even a 10 foot tie-out cable could be improvised with adding a handle to one end. They are usually heavy-duty cable coated in plastic...relatively chew-proof.

I expect with a little more time, George will outgrow the leash-chewing though, so you may only need patience until then. Good luck! : - )

Comment by Rachel on June 4, 2008 at 1:53pm

These are all fantastic ideas - thank you! I think we'll try the bitter apple trick first (it's usually when he's on the lead and I stop to talk to someone that he lapses into the chewing...almost like he's a little kid who knows "mom's distracted, I'll be bad now!".

Kitty's - good idea on making our own as well - thank you!

Comment by Kitty's Corner on June 4, 2008 at 1:47pm

Hi- if I wanted a longer chain link leash,I would go to a hardware store for the chain and also look for some nylon rope and the snap on attachments and make my own. This is what I did when I wanted a 50ft. nylon leash-and it works great!

Comment by Parker on June 4, 2008 at 1:05pm

You could also try spraying the leash with Stop Chew or Bitter Apple or whatever to discourage the chewing. Usually when I spray something with that stuff, it only takes Grover getting the taste once and he'll never chew that object again. Could work?

Comment by NoClaws4Alarm on June 4, 2008 at 12:41pm

Can't say I've ever seen a chain lead any longer than 4ft myself. Most people that need that kind of strength in a leash, usually have bigger (and taller) dogs and the idea is to reign them in tight. Sorry...

Question: Is he chewing them while ON lead?? Rolo used to try to, but I distract him with treats and sights and sounds, and eventually he ignored the leash.

I also make sure I remember to put leashes up out of harm's way when we return from our walks so he isn't tempted to chew on them after I remove it, too.

We've been doing gentle leader training and he's taken to that really well, but before I got that, we had one of the retractable leads. It was good for taking runs because it was free moving and would extend or retract slack as needed. Was just thinking because they don't bunch, it won't be distracting and make him want to chew on it?

Comment by Rachel on June 4, 2008 at 12:18pm

...and ps, if you know of other leashes that might be good for our little chewer, I'm open to other ideas. Thanks much!