Paw Prints the Magazine

Gandhi – For The Very Civilly Disobedient

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By Dale E. Smith

On our never ending quest to seek out products from around the world to make a pet owners life easier we travel to New Zealand and check out the D-fa Gandhi lead. Now I know many of you will say a leash is a leash is a leash, but this one stood out from the pack for us. By now most of you know that we believe dogs should not be in purses or wear costumes and D-fa believes the same. What made this leash stand out to us was the way D-fa explained it: “Gandhi – For The Very Civilly Disobedient.” As much as we hate to admit it, we happen have dogs that are civilly disobedient while walking on a leash, so we were excited to try it.

Here is what D-fa says about the Gandhi –

Our most highly evolved dog lead is Gandhi. This incorporates all of the features we think should be in a great leader. It’s the one that allows the greatest freedom and promotes peaceful walking and the most civil act of d-fa-disobedience.

The stuff D-fa says “You’ll dig”:

• 155cm (5½ ft) length shortens to 60cm (2ft) length
  

  D-fa's Gandhi leash

• Padded handle for your comfort
• Swiveling and locking carabiner to accommodate excited circling on walkies
• Constructed of strong, soft-touch and non-slip honeycomb webbing
• Inner construction gives extra strength
• Short shock cord section to allow you to peacefully express yourself without causing a fuss
• On-board stuff sack to contain poop bags and other important stuff (like treats to avoid hunger strikes)
• Shortening clip (strength 130lb) converts the long lead to a shorter traffic lead
• Quick hitching feature so you can tether your dog without tying complex knots or taking them off lead*
• Attaches easily to Mandela Pack Extenders

Here is what we found:

Our pooches, when walked as a pack, tend to get very excited and pull quite a bit. We thought we would put the Gandhi to the test and hook it up to our largest and most disobedient mutt, Clyde. Clyde is a 120 lb St. Bernard mix that has never met a stranger. First, we went through our usual hysteria while getting leashes on our three dogs. They get very excited when they see a leash appear from the garage. We leashed Seamus and Keegan and then we grabbed the Gandhi for Clyde.

Swivel carabiner

The very first thing I noticed and loved was the Gandhi has a “real” swivel carabiner that attached to Clyde’s collar. I like the fact that the carabiner is not some cheap imitation, this one actually will withstand some weight and tension plus it just plain looks cool. If for no other reason I would buy this leash because of that feature. I am a simple man.

Out the door we went and we were off. Every time we head out for our walk

Dale, Clyde and the Gandhi Leash

Clyde has to charge forward to inspect every smell there is and we automatically noticed that even with a 120 lb dog pulling and trying to move on, the padded handle was really working, my hand was not in excruciating pain. If one is worried about the strength of this leash, it held up fine, if Clyde wanted to he could pull most people down the street whether you wanted to go with him or not.

As our journey through the neighborhood continued we came upon our mailman. We thought to ourselves, “This should be interesting.” Our dogs go crazy when they see him coming. Barking and running, working themselves into a frenzy until he deposits our mail and moves on out of our yard to the neighbor’s. As we walked closer it only took a slight tug on The Gandhi; the shock cord section took effect and there was no tussle with Clyde to keep him from running to our postman to say hello. We calmly turned the corner and kept walking with no incident.

Although we didn’t have to use it, the on board stuff sack is a nice option. It would be a great place to put pet waste baggies or even your house keys. We also didn’t use the shortening clip but I can see where that feature could come in handy. Seeing the mailman might have been the perfect time to shorten the leash, but we didn’t think of it in time (it was brand new after all and that is a feature we had never experienced).

All in all the Gandhi is very nice leash with some very convenient features. I love the carabiner and the shock cord section actually reduced some arm strain for us. So if you are looking for a nice leash or even if you have a dog that is presently wearing costumes and you are trying to make that transition into being cool, check out the D-fa Gandhi. We give it four paws up!

To see more products from D-fa, Gear For Dogs visit their website, www.d-fa.com

Tags: D-fa, dog, lead, leash, pet