Responsible tethering?

There is a push to ban tethering in a lot of places. It usually starts at the county level so the answer to 'responsible tethering' may be dependent upon where you live.

With that said I can only offer up an opinion. If you do the math and put a dog in a standard 10X10 pen which complies with most ordinances, and them do the math for a 10' chain's living space. The chain will more than double the living space for the dog compared to the same 10X10. I prefer the 10' chain but I do have a couple of shorter ones because I fenced by dogs in on top of their chains to keep other animals out. The ones on the back row are in the 9' range to keep them out of the fence. So 1st should be length.

2nd should be available shade. My dogs are amongst trees and shade is abundant. So the dogs are never tied out in the beat down sun during the brutal days of summer.

3rd would be chain size/weight. The load rating/grade of the chain is key. A cheaper grade/lesser rated 3/8" chain is heavier but not as strong as a higher grade/higher rated 5/16" chain. There is a term that the animal rights folks use for over loading the dog with the chain and I forget it right now.

Either chain will hold the dog. It is not like a dog will take off running and snap either (good chain/no defects). With a really active dog the three or four feet just off the axle will wear out due to friction/dragging on the ground. So even going to the heavier weighted (pound per foot weight) of the 3/8" chain of a lesser grade it may not last as long as the higher grade 5/16" chain.

As far as conditioning or working a dog there is some gain from hauling a load every minute of being tied. I am not sure how that would be measured. Most movement on the chain is casual. Most of the weight of the chain is being supported by the ground. There is some weight on the neck and shoulders and there has to be some benefit but I doubt it can be measured or compared.

It would be one of those weird type of muscle memory/worker type strength. I had an uncle who was small in stature. He got on the weight bench with us once and struggled with 135lbs. We laughed at him because as 10th graders we were in the 250lb range. He could then crawl under a car, maneuver a TH350 transmission on his chest, press it onto the cross member, move it onto the dial pins with his hands and knees, and then start the bell housing bolts. No jack needed but could not press 135lbs on a bench.

That would be the unexplainable benefit of being on a chain.

S

 

I have the sandy/rock filled spots. The part of the chain that drags the ground, some 3-4-5 feet always wears out faster. I have a couple where I worked down to the good part of the chain and then just replaced the bad with a close shut link.

I have never used marine chain. I will have to look into that if it will last longer.

S