Young puppy, dog in training or do you just live in a busy area? These natural hemp traffic leads are a game changer when it comes to bringing your dog to heel quickly and safely. Keeping your dog safe and under control is required by UK law, but it's always at the forefront of any dog owners mind when out on walks, so having the added safety feature of a short handle is great reassurance that you can bring your pup in close any time that it might become necessary! No rope burns, or getting tangled.

Dogs are the most popular pet in the UK at the moment, and with the rise in dog ownership has come a rise in the understanding of dog behaviour and a push towards improvements in dog safety too. Movements such as the yellow dog project, and the dog travel safety movement are really pushing the importance of keeping your dog under control, whether that be so you can focus, to keep other people and dogs safe, or just to help others manage their own dogs behaviour by keeping your pup out of the way and close to you. The short safety handle on this traffic lead is just perfect for dogs in training, or more reactive, nervous pups that might need the reassurance of being brought in close.

What features does this natural traffic lead have?

This lead is a little cleverer than your bog-standard simple flat line leash. It comes with a useful grab handle, close to the lead clasp, as well as a standard sturdy handle at the end of the lead. Grab handles, also known as traffic leads or traffic handles, are an excellent tool when it comes to keeping your dog safe and controlled.

Not only are these traffic leads a great safety back-up they're stylish too. Made of natural undyed hemp they're adorned with a high quality metal clasp, each lead has been individually hand-crafted by artisans in Europe, so you know that these leads will be of an exceptional quality.  They're plastic free, free from glues, artificial dyes and other solvents. So, they're perfectly pet safe, eco-conscious and have a low carbon footprint too! Each lead measures 165cm and has a short traffic handle attached by the clasp.

Being made totally from plant fibres and natural cotton (as well as a metal clasp of course) this product is vegan friendly! It contains no dyes, glues or solvents. This means that if your puppy decides to have a quick chew of their lead you don't have to worry about them ingesting any sort of microplastic.

Finally there is a heavyweight, durable, weatherproof metal clasp finishing this beautiful dog lead off. This clasp is easy to use, secure and very simple. It's high quality and standard in design meaning every dog owner should be able to use it from the offset. It will clip onto any harness, collar or halti hook meaning you're able to secure your pup quickly and easily.

Is owning a dog bad for the environment?

Dogs are amazing! They're not the UK's favourite pet for no reason after all. Not only are they furry, cute and full of fun, they bring the most wonderful companionship to people and families all across the world. Dogs are incredibly important for people's mental health, they help cure loneliness and really encourage people to keep going through tough times.

Over the years, here at Chimney Sheep, we've been lucky enough to hear all about our customers wonderful pets, usually because they're pinching some of the garden felt their owners have purchased, but sometimes just because they're brightening up our customers lives - and they just love talking about them. This encouraged us to introduce a range of natural pet products to offer an alternative to some of the less environmentally friendly pet products that are currently widely available on the market. Our range is aiming to help you reduce your pets carbon paw print, because although owning a dog is wonderful it does significantly increase your carbon footprint.

An average 15kg medium sized dog releases approximately 770kg of carbon per year - equivalent to a small to medium sized petrol car. This figure is difficult to believe, considering the size of our furry friends, however this number does take into account a dogs average diet, the gasses they product, pet supplies, apparel as well as some travel to their daily walks. Unfortunately this carbon is directly contributing to the greenhouse effect and global warming - so it's definitely something pet owners should be thinking about!

You can reduce this figure though, by making environmentally friendly choices that help shrink their paw print on the earth. It's up to you as dog owners to think about the things that might have a lasting effect on their environment - perhaps look into a more sustainable food source, local suppliers of eco-friendly pet apparel, collars, leads, or even just making a simple switch to natural toys. Making tiny changes in your purchasing habits really stack up when it comes to reducing your effect on the world - after all your dog can't make these choices for you.