Our beagle is an escape artist and when on a leash and bored . . . she chews them up. Not only her leash, she then chews up the leash on our chihuahua. One day when I got up to leave the office, I found both dogs had only the clip and the remains of the leash on each. So I though to make a kevlar leash. My thinking was the strongest cloth might not be chewed through by the beagle: This is why we test! I've ordered some 'flexible' epoxy and another approach is to make a kevlar-epoxy 'chain'. By putting the kevlar in an epoxy matrix, the dog's teeth may be blocked enough to last longer. There are a wide range of epoxies available and some alternate leash configurations so the game is not yet over. Bob Wilson
We used to use kevlar/epoxy in hydrophone/thermistor arrays back when I used to get to play for a living. Be careful with the epoxy, because I'm not sure what the LD-50 dose is for a 30-pound beagle....if there are any toxicity issues. I'm currently battling a %$%#@! tomcat who likes to help out with the gardening and vehicle cleaning. Since I live in the city now, I can't just pop-rivet him onto the front lawn with the .22, and he's already escaped from the live trap that I set out once. I'm considering other elimination methods (archery/pellet gun/frozen paint-balls, etc....), but would much prefer to just reach an accord with him about his toiletry and territory. One thing that seems to be working with limited success with him is cayenne pepper, and so I'm thinking that you may try that approach. If you find that the epoxy is beagle-safe, try mixing some cayenne (or habanero) pepper into the now 3-part epoxy. You may also want to rub some hahanero juice on the leash---but be careful! Good Luck!
The two components, the plastic and hardener, are toxic and have to be handled and mixed correctly. But once cured, fairly benign. But I do read the MDS. <grins> I like some of the other suggestions but there are side effects. I want the dog to like the leash, not fear or chew it. Bob Wilson
Are these leashes for tie outs? If so, why not the low effort solution of a coated steel cable? It won't suffer UV degradation like Kelvar. If the goal is to tinker, there are teflon coated carbon fiber cables to experiment with also.
Not tie-outs, just ordinary control in urban areas. The problem is the beagle can get upper and lower teeth engaged to scissor the lease. So I am thinking a series of double cone shapes with a hole apex-to-apex so they keep the teeth from closing to a scissors grip on the twine threading the standoffs. Bob Wilson
Seems like the battlefield in on the wrong front. I would thing there is some completely safe scent that would make the leash not so tasty. The dog expert (not me) in this household recommends "Bitter Apple" from your local pet store.
