What Other Factors To Look For?
While we have covered a lot of the crucial factors above, there are other things too that you would want to consider. After all, being heavy duty is not everything, and a leash still needs to do its job as a leash.
Size & Length Of Leash
And that means it needs to be the right size (which depends on your dog’s size) and be long or short enough depending on your use. To elaborate a bit, you would want to choose a shorter leash if you tend to walk your dog during busy hours or if there’s a lot of traffic and you walk your dog through a busy street.
It would help keep your dog closer to you and avoid any safety issues.
On the other hand, some dog owners don’t have this problem and often walk their dogs through a park. This demands more freedom for the dog as there isn’t much to worry about around, and the dog would like to explore the park better.
In that case, a longer leash would turn out to be a better option.
This is also true for other canine accessories such as a small dog harness or a dog raincoat.
Leash Handle
What if you tend to take your dog to different places for a walk, which includes both a busy street and a park? Well, in that case, the obvious option might sound like having two different dog leashes to serve different purposes, but there’s a better alternative in the form of “two-handle” dog leashes.
We have reviewed a couple of them above, and they are great exactly for this purpose.
Finally, the comfort of the handle is not something to ignore as well. During long walks, your hands can pain or get hurt if you hold a leash with a rough handle for too long.
This makes a comfortable handle an important factor to look for too.
Do You Need A Heavy Duty Dog Leash?
Many dog owners feel that they only need a heavy-duty dog leash if they have a strong German Shepherd that’s also an aggressive puller. However, even small dogs and puppies can need a strong leash, especially if they are strong enough to break the leash with their pulling, or if you struggle to keep up with their pulling.
Therefore, if your dog is a heavy puller, a strong leash may help.
The same goes for dogs that tend to get aggressive or too excited when they see something interesting (interesting to them, that is) and run in their direction with all their might. Of course, unless you like being dragged around, a strong leash would be a no-brainer for you.
Things would be a little different for dogs that are fond of chewing but only to the extent that they would need a slightly different heavy-duty leash.
Instead of being just tough and durable, the leash would also need to be chew-proof or a chain. We have also reviewed some strong chew-proof dog leashes above, and they would certainly fit the bill for aggressive chewers. A dog head halter could be an excellent viable alternative too.
Finally, you (as a big dog owner) probably can’t go wrong with a heavy-duty leash for strong large dogs either, even if they don’t pull as hard (yet).