Gifts For Dog Owners Who Climb (Start With The Lead)

If the person you are buying for climbs and has a dog, you can stop reading after this paragraph. Get them a rope lead. It is the one present where they go oh, of course, and mean it.

But here is why it works, because the reason is better than the gimmick.

Why climbing rope makes a good lead

A climbing rope is built to do one job: take the energy out of a falling climber. It does that by stretching. Not a lot, but enough that the force arrives as a push instead of a slam.

Now think about a spaniel spotting a squirrel. Same event, smaller scale. A flat webbing lead passes all of that straight into your shoulder and into the dog's neck. A rope lead takes the edge off it.

The second thing is your hands. Thin cord bites when a dog pulls. A full diameter climbing rope is thick enough to grip properly and the woven sheath is smooth, so you can hold it hard without it cutting in.

And the third is that it simply does not wear out. This is rope that spent years being dragged over rock and through karabiners before it ever reached me.

What it costs, and the rest of the list

Climbing rope dog lead, £30. Spliced and finished by hand, with a proper clip. Colours depend entirely on which rope came in that month, so no two are the same. Climbing rope dog leads.

Rope belt, £28 or £33. Matching the lead to the belt is a bit much, and people do it anyway. Made to exact waist, 22 to 50 inches. Rope belts.

Carabiner keychain, £15. Clips to the lead, holds the poo bags. Unglamorous and genuinely useful.

Rope coasters, £4. For the muddy mug after the muddy walk. Have a look.

Keychains, £3 to £4. Car keys, house keys, the spare set at the neighbours. Keychains here.

One honest caveat

A rope lead is a lead, not a restraint system for a dog that genuinely cannot be held. If their dog is a serious puller, they will already have a harness setup they trust and this goes alongside it, not instead of it.

I would rather say that than sell you something on a promise it cannot keep.

Got their old rope in your shed? Send it to me and I will make the lead out of the rope they actually climbed on. That one is hard to beat.

Stay classy and remember,
Make Waste Useful.

George