How to use a long line to improve your dog’s recall training

One of the scariest parts of training recall is being brave enough to actually let your dog off-lead. You’ve practised calling your dog in your home, garden, on-lead in the park and maybe you’ve even hired a secure field. Your dog really needs more freedom to be able to explore and burn off their energy. But going from having your dog on a normal lead to letting them run free completely feels like a massive step you’re not sure either of you are ready for.

That’s where a long line comes in. It’s basically just a longer lead, your dog gets more freedom to run around and you can feel safe knowing you’ve still got hold of them and they can’t disappear. Putting your dog on a long line is a great way to give them more space to run in places you can’t let them off-lead (like by busy roads and where you might come across livestock). But they’re also an amazing tool for training recall, allowing you to practise over longer distances without fully letting your dog off-lead.

Why long lines improve recall training

Teaching your dog to come back every time is hard because the world is full of exciting distractions. There are so many dogs to play with, squirrels to chase and picnics to steal and your dog needs to choose you over all of them. And that’s pretty easy when you’re right next to them and those temptations are far away. But once your dog’s further away from you, listening and coming back becomes much harder. Which is why if your dog just jumps from a short lead to full freedom they’ll struggle to come back when they’re distracted. They’ve not learnt how to listen to you when they’re closer to all the temptations that they are to you.

Long lines give you the reassurance your dog can’t run off and get lost or cause trouble

Luckily a long line can help. They allow you and your dog to practise recall over longer distances without your dog being able to ignore you and run off. And that’s not just important to keep your dog, other dogs, people and animals safe, it’s essential for effective recall training. If you call your dog and they don’t come back they’re learning that ignoring you is fun. If that happens once or twice it’s not a big deal. But if that happens most times you call them, their recall is just getting worse and worse.

Practising recall on a long line

Training recall on a long line is basically the same as training it on a short lead or off-lead. You play the same recall games and reward your dog for coming back in the exact same way. If your dog doesn’t listen when you call them (which is going to happen, that’s why you’re training recall) you need to get their attention. Walk towards your dog, reeling the long line in as you walk. You don’t want it to be tight but you need to reduce the length as you walk so your dog can’t run away from you. Once you get to them, try calling them again. If they still don’t listen, you can get their attention by putting a treat on their nose or giving them a tickle on their bum or behind their ear. Still reward your dog when they finally do look at you. Even though you needed to help them, you want them to learn that paying attention to you means good stuff happens.

If you think your dog is ready to be let off-lead, you can drop the long line and leave it trailing instead of completely unclipping their lead. This gives you an extra layer of security if your dog doesn’t come back when you call them. It’s pretty hard to catch a dog who is desperately trying to avoid being caught. But if they’ve got a long line trailing, then it’s much easier to step on the long line, pick in up and then walk towards them. Of course, you still have to be able to reach the long line. So you have to be pretty sure your dog will stay close and come back before you drop the long line. Trailing long lines also easily get caught on trees, benches and around dogs and people so make sure you’re close enough to untangle it.

Choosing a long line

Long lines come in a range of different lengths, starting from 5m but you can find them up to 25-30m. Longer long lines give dogs more freedom but are much more fiddly to use. If you’ve never used a long line before it’s best to start with a 5m one. Then you can get used to using it without worrying too much about you and your dog getting all tangled up. Once you feel confident, 10 or 15m is a good length to increase to. That’ll give your dog plenty of space to run around freely and for you to practise your recall.

Long lines are available in different materials. I prefer a waterproof or biothane long line. I’ve used soft padded long lines and they’re comfortable to use if the ground’s dry. But as soon as it rains or even when the grass is dewy, they get very wet, heavy and unpleasant to hold. Waterproof long lines are heavier so you need to choose the right thickness for your dog. Thin ones won’t be strong enough for larger dogs. But a thick long line will be too heavy for small dogs. The final choice is whether you want a handle on the end of your long line. Holding onto a handle can provide some security, especially when you’re getting used to using one. But if you’re going to let the long line trail, the handle is an extra way for it to get caught on something.

Using a long line safely

Long lines are incredibly useful, but if you don’t use them safely you can risk injuring yourself and your dog. Because long lines are so much longer than a standard lead, your dog can build up a lot more speed when they’re running. If they then hit the end and get suddenly jerked back, they can seriously hurt themselves and potentially break their neck. So it’s essential that any time your dog is walked on a long line, it’s clipped to the back of a well-fitting harness. Then if your dog does hit the end at speed that pressure is spread out around their chest and back, not their neck. But even a jerk at full speed on a harness is going to be uncomfortable for you and your dog. So you want to avoid letting the whole length of the long line trail on the floor between you and your dog. Instead you’ll need to let the long line out and reel it in as your dog moves, giving them just enough that they don’t feel any pressure on their harness.

It’s tempting when you reel your long line in to wrap it tightly around your fingers. This feels more secure but it’s actually really dangerous. If your dog runs at speed and the long line tightens around your hand you can break your fingers. Instead you can either hold it in big loops (about 30cm wide is good) or just hold the bit you need and leave the rest to trail behind you. When you need to pick up the long line (whether you’ve dropped it intentionally or by accident), step on it before you pick it up. If you lean down to pick it up when your dog is running you can get nasty rope burns on your hands and you might trip and injure yourself. And you’ll probably be able to stand on the lead quicker than if you bend down to grab it.

Need more support with your dog’s recall?

You can get personalised support to teach your dog to come back when you call them with the Your Enthusiastic Explorer 1-2-1 recall training programme.

Written by Juniper Indigo, dog trainer in Tiverton and Exeter