Dog Leash Without Handle?

 I have cut handles off leashes, for this purpose, AND for beginning off lead trianing. It can't catch a foot, catch a tree, catch a chair, etc, if there is no loop on the end. I don't really use the loop, anyways....

I use ASAT and cut the handles off or get a long line and cut it into pieces.  I also have an 8" leather lead, meant to be a show lead for the German ring, but I use it for obedience and sometimes tracking and it doesn't have a handle.  In Schutzhund, handles (or wrapping the lead around your wrist, eek!) can be dangerous.  There's a way you can hold a lead where your hand is sort of like a closed ratchet, this is how I hold leads in protection and when showing a dog (and also how I hold the string when tugging with the dog).  It looks like your finger would break but it doesn't.

For tracking, a handle is not only worthless, it would be a pain, since you usually hold your line at the halfway point.  For protection, we need lines that don't catch when dogs are running blinds.

 ETA:  Also, when I'm training my dog for dock diving, he dives with a long, thin ASAT line attached.  There can be NO handle, nothing that could catch on the dock or anything in the water.  He wears the line because he can be dog aggressive and we've had a lot of loose dogs running around on our beach and around the cottage.  The thin width of the line and no handle lets it slide between dock boards and never get caught.

 When I train dogs to come, I like to be able to step on the lead if I need to, to stop the dog if he blows me off and is headed for real danger.  This drag line is nice because there is a shock absorber, plus the end will not just slip through your foot or your hand.

http://www.petexpertise.com/dog-leashes-lines-and-couplers/outdoor-drag-line-med-large.html?sef_rewrite=1

Of course, in a pinch, it's just as easy to use a 30' cotton training lead with a few knots in it.  I tend to do my recall training on the beach until dogs get a bit more reliable, so there's less to snag the dog anyway.

Liesje

I use ASAT and cut the handles off or get a long line and cut it into pieces. 

Thanks for the input jennie, Liesje, and spirit. However, I'm greatly confused now. You all mentioned why you'd want a leash without a handle for different reasons than loose leash walking training. Why would someone want a handless leash to train a dog to walk on a leash politely? When in loose leash training do you lie the leash down on the ground?

I'm certainly no expert, but I think the point is that you can leave these "drag lines" on them for an extended period without worry of it getting caught in something. 

When Heidi was young, I took an old leash and cut the handle off for that reason.  Later, I cut it down to about 8 inches or so, and kept it on her, so that I would have an easy way to get a hold of her if she was doing something she wasn't supposed to.  Much easier to grab that short lead that to try to grab the collar.

ShelterDogs

Liesje

I use ASAT and cut the handles off or get a long line and cut it into pieces. 

Thanks for the input jennie, Liesje, and spirit. However, I'm greatly confused now. You all mentioned why you'd want a leash without a handle for different reasons than loose leash walking training. Why would someone want a handless leash to train a dog to walk on a leash politely? When in loose leash training do you lie the leash down on the ground?

Honestly, I don't really use a leash in training other than tracking and protection unless it's required to be on the dog or as a precaution.  In obedience if we are outdoors unfenced or more than one dog is working in closer quarters, yes I might have a leash dragging just in case, have never really needed it but you never know.  I don't walk my dogs very often.  For most of our training, the leash just gets in the way.  If I were to training the dog loose leash walking and hold a handle I'd need a 2-3' leash or shorter otherwise it would just be a bother.  When I did the CGC class with Nikon I use my 8' leather lead (no handle) just to fit in but usually let it drag or hold it like I do for show, tracking, and protection (special way of holding it, has nothing to do with a handle).

 I like handles for walking dogs that are not mine - I don't necessarily engage the handle, but I loop it over my finger so that I have an anchor point in case of a lunge or similar.  A handle-less leash would scare me with an unknown dog, but with my own it doesn't matter because they are predictable and don't randomly lunge.

 I do let the leash drag during "loose leash" (heel) training. The leash is only there as a precaution, I never use it to steer or yank the dogs, and dropping it helps to prevent that.