An owner buys a lead because it is comfortable, or it matches the collar. You are buying for a different job.
Your criterion is failure. What happens when a dog you have not met before sees a cat, panics at a truck, or decides at the kerb that today it is going home. Everything below is judged on that.
The slip lead is not a training tool here, it is a parachute
Carry one on every walk regardless of what the dog wears.
A collar can come over a head. A harness that was fitted to a puppy can be backed out of by the adult. When either happens, a slip lead goes over the head in one movement and you have the dog.
Rope with a stopper, not a thin cord. The stopper is what prevents it tightening beyond a set point, and it is the difference between a safety tool and something unpleasant.
Fit is where escapes actually come from
Almost every escape happens in the first minute, at the property, before anyone has settled.
So check the fit every time, even on a regular. Two fingers under a collar. On a harness, check the girth strap and the neck opening, and pull backwards to see whether the dog could reverse out of it. Owners loosen straps and forget.
A martingale collar is the honest answer for a dog with a narrow head. It tightens to a limited point and no further, so it cannot come over the ears and cannot choke. Greyhounds, whippets and a lot of nervous dogs need one and it is worth carrying a spare.
Harnesses, front and back
Back clip is comfortable and gives you no steering. Fine for a dog that walks well.
Front clip turns the dog toward you when it pulls, which takes the power out of it without any correction. This is the honest answer for most pullers and it is why professional walkers carry one.
Dual clip does both and is what we would buy if buying one.
Black Dog Wear is Australian and makes a well-regarded balance harness and head halter range. EzyDog is also Australian. Rogz is widely stocked here. All three are easy to replace locally, which matters when a client's harness breaks on a Tuesday.
The double-ended lead
The single most useful item for a puller. One end to the front clip, one to the back, and you have two points of contact and real steering.
It also converts to a shoulder lead, a tether, and a double-dog setup. If you carry one lead, carry this one.
Long lines
For recall work and for giving a dog freedom in a space that is not enclosed. Biothane rather than webbing, because webbing soaks up mud and water and becomes a filthy rope, and biothane wipes clean.
Fifteen metres of anything tangles. Learn to gather it properly or you will spend your walk unwinding.
Wear gloves with a long line. A dog hitting the end of fifteen metres will take skin off your hand.
Pack walks
Every extra dog multiplies rather than adds. Know your limit and know your council's, because some local laws cap how many dogs one person may walk at once, and it varies.
A coupler that joins two dogs to one lead is convenient and it removes your ability to separate them, which is exactly what you need when something starts. Most experienced walkers carry individual leads and a waist belt instead.
A waist belt frees both hands and it also means a dog that bolts is attached to your centre of gravity rather than your arm. That is better for your shoulder and worse if you are on a slope, so decide deliberately.
What we would not use
Retractable leads. Professional walkers are close to unanimous. No control at distance, a thin cord that cuts, a locking mechanism that fails at the wrong moment, and it teaches a dog that pulling produces more lead.
Choke chains and prong collars on a client's dog. Whatever your view of them as training tools, using an aversive on someone else's animal without explicit instruction is not a position you want to defend.
Anything with plastic hardware on a large dog. The buckle is the failure point and plastic is the cheap one.
Check the hardware
Trigger clips wear. Stitching frays where it enters a metal ring. Both fail without warning and both are visible if you look.
Once a month, run everything through your hands. Replace anything you are unsure about. The whole kit costs less than one incident.
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