Limited slip lead/martingale collar

[BarkyKelpie]

Hi everyone!

This is my first project - lots of learning happened here! Plenty of things to tweak for next time. 

Sally competes in a bunch of dog sports, so I wanted something that's quick and easy to get on and off but is going to be comfortable for an excited dog to wait her turn in. This is roughly patterened off a coursing lead, photos attached of how it works. 

I'll add some chicago screws next to the dee rings when they arrive next week, and I'll swap the blue rope out for a colour that suits it a bit better once I get a splicing fid - the shopping list just keeps getting longer...

I'm also going to add a removable martingale loop, so she can wear it as a collar for walks in town - just a pain to get a martingale collar over those ears so the slip lead is better for competition.  

[Rohn]

The collar looks nice.  Interesting how it works too.

Edited June 1, 2019 by Rohn

[Rbarleatherworks]

Love it ... and it looks comfortable too

[Rockoboy]

Good job. I like the concept. A nice leather lead with bleed knots might be a good way to proceed.

[kgg]

Nice Kelpie looks energetic, evenly marked giving a very pleasing expression. I like the collar, nice and wide around the throat area it will help protect the throat from a pulling / lunging injury. The nylon lead wouldn't be my choice. A leather lead made from good horse harness weight leather will be stiff for a while but will last for years. I have some good leather leads that are at least 20 yrs old. The nylon kennel lead style leads last about 3 years. If you do decide to go leather for the lead part make sure it fits comfortably in your hand, to small will feel like it is cutting into your hand and to large feels like you can't close your hand. I like 3/4" width and the wife likes 3/8" on the same dog. If you feel comfortable the dog will sense this down the lead, if you are fiddling around with the lead the dog will be unsettled.

kgg

[kiwican]

Very nice!

[BarkyKelpie]

Thanks everyone

I want to keep it interchangeable between a slip lead and a martingale collar, so blood knots are out. I want her to be able to tug on the lead on the way in and out of the ring - so most of the slip lead will be braided polar fleece for a tug toy, so the perk of using rope is I can just unhitch it and throw it in the washing machine when it gets drooly, and there's no hardware her teeth could catch. 

Just trying to decide how to make the martingale loop while still having it strong and removable, and I will go for harness leather and chicago screws there I think - unless anyone has another idea?  Then of course I will need a nice leather lead to go with that! 

She is absolutely energetic! She's my pride and joy. 

[BarkyKelpie]

Another one! First go at tooling, lots of mistakes in it and I smudged the dye, but Kip doesn't mind. 

The scrollwork is a piece of a Don Gonzales pattern: https://dgsaddlery.com/product/feather-three-belt-pack/

[Rohn]

Very nice. Beautifully done. I'll have try something like that for my German Shepherds. 

[BarkyKelpie]

1 hour ago, Rohn said:

Very nice. Beautifully done. I'll have try something like that for my German Shepherds. 

It would look gorgeous on a shepherd!

[BarkyKelpie]

I sorted out the removable martingale loop for Sally's collar, too. Just waiting on a smaller brass dee to arrive. I think I will get away with just the one Chicago screw for her, she's only ~15kg and fairly well behaved. We'll see how it holds up.

I have one more dog to go, haven't decided what to do for him yet.

[Chief Filipino]

Nice work, beautiful dogs! 

[Rockoboy]

On ‎6‎/‎2‎/‎2019 at 8:30 AM, BarkyKelpie said:

so blood knots are out

The leads I have seen made with bleed knots, use the bleed knots to form a loop for the hand and also to attach the lobster clip/dog clip or whatever you like to call the hardware. I do like the idea of having no/less hardware at the business end of the lead.

[BarkyKelpie]

19 hours ago, Rockoboy said:

The leads I have seen made with bleed knots, use the bleed knots to form a loop for the hand and also to attach the lobster clip/dog clip or whatever you like to call the hardware. I do like the idea of having no/less hardware at the business end of the lead.

Yeah, that's the same as I've seen. Nice for a very strong lead, just not for what I'm after. Most of the time it's attached to her, it's gonna look like this photo - I don't really intend to use it for everyday wear, just to get to and from the training/competition ring. Bit of a speciality item I guess, you'll see what I was going for if you look up agility slip leads, or lure coursing leads.

Edited June 8, 2019 by BarkyKelpie

[Rbarleatherworks]

I am curious ... What do you compete in with your Kelpie's?

[Rockoboy]

3 hours ago, Rbarleatherworks said:

What do you compete in with your Kelpie's?

I am not sure what @BarkyKelpie competes in, but my Grandfather used to breed Border Collie's and he competed in sheepdog trials with his dogs.

[BarkyKelpie]

17 hours ago, Rbarleatherworks said:

I am curious ... What do you compete in with your Kelpie's?

Agility and Canine Disc mainly, although we've at least dabbled in a lot more. Versatile dogs, for sure.

There's no herding classes near where I live, can't run wool sheep here either so it's hard to get it started. Planning a road trip later this year, so hopefully we'll stop on the way for a class or two and have a go then, I'd like to see what instinct they've got. 

Edited June 12, 2019 by BarkyKelpie

[Rbarleatherworks]

awwww ... that is one happy dappy dog

[Rbarleatherworks]

I have been looking for another best little friend, i had to say good-bye to mine in January .

Can you tell me what Kelpie's are like?  I see some mixes with Kelpie in them but don't know the breed at all.

[BarkyKelpie]

They vary a lot by lines, it makes it hard to give a generic idea. Your best bet would be to talk to breeders and meet their dogs. Not sure how many Kelpies there actually are up your way - always a bit wary of what rescue groups have called a dog's breed, because it's usually just someone's best guess off appearance.

There are show and working type Kelpies in Australia, can be quite different. My guys are in the middle somewhere, show papered but go back to working sheep dogs.

In general, more independent than a border collie, softer than a cattle dog (not always by much, though). Not very tolerant of repetition - you can't drill them like you might a border collie or a shepherd, doesn't matter how good your reward is, if what you're asking is boring they'll lose interest. But if it's interesting and engaging and varied, they'll go hard all day. 

My friend who bred my Kelpies used to breed Arabians, likes them for similar reasons.

I love my guys to pieces but I don't think I would have them as pets, they are intelligent dogs and need opportunities to use that to have a good quality of life (and be pleasant to live with). Walks on leash in town aren't going to cut it. But for sure, there are some very lazy Kelpies out there too, and most show Kelpies make good pets. Just be sure on what you're getting.

[Rbarleatherworks]

Thank you very much for your reply.  That really helps. I have had two border collie crosses and they fit my life perfectly, they could turn it on when needed and shut it down when asked.  I don't think I would ever have a purebred, they seem to intense for me.

My last girl was crossed with a Retriever and she was just the best.  I saw a batch of pups for sale that were Border Collie x Kelpie but wasn't sure of their temperament.  I horseback ride and hike some and think about trying agility. But mostly they would be my best bud

[kgg]

  With breeds that can still have a job working you will fine variances but still within the standard for the breed. In my breed you can get everything from the couch potatoes or the hunters. Almost all will do their job but the hunters are hard too live with, they want to hunt 24/7. The higher the prey drive the more they will scream which sounds like if you tried to neutered a boy without the benefit of anesthetic. Since every bred has it faults the benefit of purchasing a purebred is they are easier to contend with and a reputable breeder will bred around them to minimize future problems. Whereas mixed breeds may windup doubling up on the faults of multiple breeds and which can result in devastating health problems.

kgg

[BarkyKelpie]

May as well be talking about two different breeds between the show and working Kelpies, there's no overlap in breeding - the show stud book has been closed for a fair while, and they have different standards. This link gets into it:  http://www.wkc.org.au/About-Kelpies/Charateristics-and-Confirmation.php

Lot of people breeding working Kelpies are breeding for what suits them and their situation. Australia's a big country, what suits someone in Far North Queensland working cattle that only see white man once a year probably isn't going to suit someone doing yard work with sheep in Tassie that get weighed every week. Some people don't want a dog with bite, some people need it. Some people hate a dog who barks, others find it useful. Not a one size fits all circumstance, so not just one uniform type of dog.

I'll not get started on the show/sport divide beyond saying I doubt many judges would put my dogs up in the conformation ring but they do plenty well for what I do with them. 

[kgg]

I feel your pain. It all comes down to the judge and their expedience / knowledge.

Where I come from we don't know the Lab as a Lab it was always called the St. John's dog and they were a very much different dog then what you typically see today. It would be quite a struggle to get most of todays Labs from the water and over the side into your boat. Now they are more commonly referred to as Pig-a-Dors. A close friend of mine, who has done very well with a couple of her yellow females, I tell her to never bring them to me as I would put them to the back of the line.

I could go on with breeds that have become a poor representation of what they once were but really it is safe to say I do feel your pain and frustration.

kgg