Reddit reviews Mighty Paw Hands Free Dog Leash, Premium Running Dog Leash, Lightweight Reflective Bungee Dog Leash (Grey/Lime - 36 inch Bungee)

I have this waist leash and love it: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014T2UED2/

It's got a bungee cord like leash so if your pup likes to suddenly dart off, you'll have some warning before you get dragged away. It also has handles so if you feel the need to hold onto the leash, you can.

We primarily use it for hiking so have the shorter one to keep Pup on the trail, but for walks, maybe the longer one would work better?

Ohhhh boy! You asked about my dog. You don't even know the excited response you're about to get! Hahaha. I love talking dog stuff.

Yes, he is a Border Collie (100%, ABCA registered, the whole deal.) His name is Murphy and he's about 96% insanity at all times of my life, but in a great way (for me and my lifestyle.) I've had him since he was a wee little hellion, and we've worked really hard together to get to where he is today. Even with all that, there's still a lot of room for improvement for both of us, though.

I love my dog and I think that Border Collies are a fantastically rewarding breed, even for people who don't need a working dog, so I'm always happy to share my experiences! But just know that I'm not a professional dog trainer, so if you think I'm wrong or stupid, you just might be right!

And yes, it sounds like you're dealing with a common problem that BC owners deal with. The working dog brain + unending energy combo is a huge handful, and can really be too much for a lot of people's lifestyles. I live in an apartment, so I obviously don't have any sheep or goats for him to be out in a field with all day, but I'm very active with him. And by "very active" I don't mean he get's long walks or runs every day. I mean he gets time dedicated to tiring him out and enriching his dog life as often as I can give it. This basically translates to at least an hour or so each day of "play" time with him. (Seriously, every day. If he misses out on a day, he starts acting like a brat and throws fits in the cereal aisle.) If you try to cool your dog's crazy with physical activity alone, you're just going to become a really great athlete and have a dog that's still ready to run 10 more miles every single time. BC's (and really lots of other high energy dogs) need brain games in combination with physical activity. I've posted in other threads before about some of the games we do; the one I recommend most is our version of Hide & Seek. This is great to work on getting the dog to trust you and listen to you, and it's another way to keep her busy when you wouldn't normally think you have time to play with her.

• Start by sending your dog to a designated and consistent spot. I use his kennel because he knows it by name really well and he enjoys waiting there. Plus I can hear from another room if he's in it or leaves it, which is handy when you want to be lazy and not get up.
  
• Have the dog wait at the designated spot while you hide a toy (or a treat if your dog is more food motivated. Mine doesn't give half a sh!t about food, so toys and sticks get hidden at our house.)
  
• You go back to your designated spot (mine is my desk because I spend a lot of time working at a computer when I'm home.) From your spot, give your <calm dog who's waiting for direction> the "Go find it!" command.
  
• Encourage her to keep looking if she acts like she's given up. Now that we've been doing this for a while, Murphy will look on his own for about 20 minutes before coming back to make sure there's really something to find. He has no idea how his nose works though, so your dog might be quicker.
  
• Once she's found it, decide what you want her to do and teach her. I like for Murphy to sneak into my room, and drop slobbery sticks and tennis balls into my lap while I'm at my computer. Then he's supposed to sit there and look all proud and expectant while I try to think of a new place to hide this crap.
  
• Repeat as many times as you want, or as many times as your dog can handle without getting frustrated/obsessed.
  
• Give them an "all done" gesture so they know play time is officially over and they can whine about it.
  
  Another thing I would recommend is working consistently with leash obedience. This is something you really have to be consistent with. I slacked off when school was taking up more time than I would have liked, and I saw a definite backslide in his behavior in public and around other dogs/people in general.
  
  I'm not sure how large your dog is (since she's a mix and BCs size vary anyway) but Murphy weighs about 45-50 lbs depending on how windy it is. He can really pull and that pisses me off when I'm trying to hold a leash. The best leash decision I ever made was to switch over to using a harness and a leash similar to this one. We walk a lot in areas that have serious car traffic as well as quiet streets and even quieter trails. This thing gives me the option of not holding the leash at all when I feel comfortable with what's around, or I can keep it short and close to me if I'm worrying about what he could get into. It also serves as extra support and keeps me from losing the leash if he decides to take a sudden lunge after something. And so far ::knock on wood:: he's never pulled me down anything or drug me across a field or any of the other horrific visions I had when I looked at the leash on the Target clearance rack. I just feel a lot more secure with it and when he hip-hops into the car, I can keep the belt on and just clip/unclip when he gets in and out. It's handy.
  
  I've had to work a lot with him over the last year or so on jumping up on people walking by. He's still far from perfect, but it was bearable and by the end of our trip, he was noticeably more calm and obedient when strangers passed us on the trails. The issue we're still really having trouble with is other dogs. He wants to be everyone's bestie and if there's a dog within eyesight (even if it's across a lake) he will pull and whine and do everything he can to get closer to that dog. He also has this intense focus, so even if the dog goes away (up over a hill, or around the corner, or leaves the park across the lake) he still has a determination to get to the last place he saw the other dog, which can be really obnoxious.
  
  Someone gave me the advice of trying to be more exciting to your dog than whatever thing is causing their bad behavior. So with Murphy I carry a stick and when he starts acting like a little sh!t because he can see another dog, I say "Hey Murphy look, you want it? You want it? Ok, sit down." and that will sometimes bring his attention back to me. It's been a great way to tear his concentration away from things I don't want him focusing on.
  
  TLDR: Consistency, limited exposure, and keeping your dog engaged are your best friends. You really do have to work on things a little at a time for a long time and you'll start to see glorious and dramatic behavior changes. Slacking off with training will bring backslides and not bothering to train at all will create bad habits that you'll have to work on training out. Border Collies also seem to be motivated by weird stuff (aka not food) and are often very sensitive to negative feedback, so try focusing on what your dog does right and avoid the urges to slap noses/butts or scream "NO" when she see's the full moon and morphs into an evil creature of speed and intelligence.

I've been thinking about buying this one. The reviews are almost too good to believe really. A common theme seems to be that people like the "bungee" feature because they don't feel the full impact of a sudden pull. Maybe worth looking at.