Looking for a proper leather dog lead?
Then look no more!
Made by hand in Great Britain in a variety of traditional leather colours; Australian Nut, Dark Havana, Black, Oak, Newmarket, and London tan. My genuine English bridle leather dog leads are made from a single piece of Oak Bark tanned Bridle leather that is very strong and supple. Handmade in a variety of widths from 1/2inch (12mm) to 1inch (25mm) and with standard length of 2, 3, and 4feet long.
Stitching is carried out by hand using a h...
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What is the purpose of an additional loop?
The additional leather loop on one of my handmade leather dog collars serves to hold the point of the dog collar tightly against the collar. The extra loop is the one on the right of the picture, after the dee ring. It is stitched in place and blocked square. It make the collar look nicer by not leaving the point flapping around. It can also help if you have more than one dog that like to chew one another's collars.
Australian nut bridle leather and so...
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This lead is a favourite of some of the UK Police Forces Dog Handlers. Two handles allow better control over their public order dogs. By holding the long handle in one hand and the short handle in the other hand allows your dog to be quickly released forward whilst keeping them controlled with the other hand.
Made from a single piece of Bridle Back leather from J&FJ Bakers the long lead is 60 inches from end-to-end. The short handle is stitched in separately. Stitching on this lead is Police S...
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How about treating your dog to a handmade plaited leather dog collar from Oakside Saddlery. It's not even too late for Christmas to place your order for a bespoke leather dog collar.
My plaited leather dog collars are made from a single piece of Oak Bark Tanned Bridle Leather. This one is full grain London Tan colour from J&FJ Bakers in Colyton. I use a mystery braid to make these leather dog collars. A mystery braid has no cuts across the leather nor any joins to weaken the collar. Have a loo...
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So you need a collar that is wider than 1 inch but you don't like having the big buckle that goes with it. You need one of my Extra-Wide Dog collars.
These handmade leather dog collars are wider than 1 inch, this one is an inch and a quarter. But it still uses a 1 inch buckle and dee ring.
The buckle is attached using a 'reverse turn' on the bridle leather. This turns the leather at the buckle return to the outside of the collar. A reverse turn has a number of advantages; It keeps the inside of...
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An option on my handmade leather Sighthound Collars is to have the inside lined and padded. This padding can help to protect a sighthound's long neck when they are on the lead.
I use a soft leather to line the inside of the leather dog collar. This is stitched by hand to the collar. In this collars case the dog collar has also been lined with a thick layer of neoprene between the two pieces of leather. This further reduces pressure on your dog's neck.
Handmade from Black Oak bark tanned Bridle ...
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This is one of my Multi-Length Leather Dog Leads with the addition of a free running solid brass ring.
But what is it?
A running ring is placed between the trigger hook and the handle. It is free to move around along the length of the lead, but it will not slide off as it is smaller than the trigger hook and handle.
What can it do?
If you attach your trigger hook to the ring you have a nice slip collar. Great for when your dog returns and you find that they have lost their collar! (I make these ...
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It's not just big dogs that need their own handmade leather collar. Small dogs need them to.
Made by hand using the finest English bride leather my small dog leather collars can be as narrow as 1/2 inch wide. Perfect for the smaller breeds of dog.
Solid brass roller buckle and dee ring provide long-lasting and fantastic good looks. Handmade to your measurements for a perfect fit. Stitched by hand using waxed linen thread and made entirely in Great Britain.
This collar is a traditional leather do...
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A slip lead is great for dogs that either like to pull their head out of their collar or for when they don't need to wear a collar such as working and hunting dogs. My dog slip leads have a handle at one end and a slipped loop at the other end. This makes my slip leads great for dog walkers with a variety of dog breeds and for kennel and veterinary assistants that need to move and walk many different dogs.
This lead is handmade from full grain English Bridle leather in London Tan. This makes f...
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If you have been looking for a real leather dog lead then look no more!
My standard leather dog leash is made from the finest Oak Bark Tanned English bridle leather from J&FJ Bakers. Bridle butt is the best and strongest cut of the hide, perfect for a dog leash.

Stainless steel trigger hooks will not rust and provide a lifetimes worth of use. The trigger hook is stitched by hand to the leather dog lead using 4 cord, heavy, linen thread. Hand stitching is a traditional skill where each stitch pa...
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Multi-Length Dog Lead

Why carry 2 leads for different scenarios when you can carry just the one!
My multi-Length leather dog lead can quickly change from short, to medium, to long with just a simple change of a trigger hook.
Short for heel work, Medium when you need that control but your dog has a bit of free range, and long for allowing your dog their maximum movement. A favourite lead for Police dogs and search dogs.
Full grain London Tan bridle leather, yellow stitching, and solid brass fittin...
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Whether it is walking, training, or working, sometimes your dogs lead needs to be short, at other times it needs to be long. At Oakside I make a selection of leather dog leads that can quickly and easily change their length to suit all of your requirements.

Multi-Length Leather Dog Lead

I developed this lead from my time as a Dog Handler. It is one lead that can be used in 8 different ways. With a trigger hook at each end and two dee rings it is simply a matter of clipping the lead where ...

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Any dog, Any size!


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Fed up with a long, flappy, end on your lovely handmade leather dog collar?
Then simply opt for the additional loop option and I will hand stitch an extra leather loop after the dee ring. This loop keeps the point tightly against the collar and prevents it from spoiling your pets perfect pose for that excellent photograph.
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So I have made a new deign of plaited leather dog collar. This collar merges the working dog collar style with a plaited collar. Because, lets face it some working dogs deserve a bit of style!

The first thing that you notice is the solid brass West End buckle providing years of rust free use. The dee ring is at the very end and two fixed loops keep the pint well and truly under control. The leather is a reverse turn here, meaning that the inside of the collar, against your dogs neck, is as smo...
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I make many different leather dog leads. The reason being is that we all have different sizes and breeds of dogs, we are all different heights and builds, and we all want our dogs to different things. Some people like to have a well trained dog that walks to heel, others just need the dog to stay safe whilst on a road. A tracking dog needs to be worked at a distance, and a showing dog needs to be worked close. So what lead should you chose?

Standard Dog Lead
My standard lead comes in three diff...
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How do you measure your Dog’s existing collar to get the right sized Handmade Collar from Oakside Saddlery?

First take your a look at your current collar on your dog. Does it fit OK? If not now is the time to make so changes. Make a note of which hole the collar is buckled to and then remove the collar from the dog.

Lay the collar out flat and measure from the inside edge of the buckle to the hole that it was buckled to.

You can see the mark on the collar where it was buckled to on this pictur...

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I have a few ideas in my head for some new styles of handmade leather dog collars. I thought I might put these ideas to paper - so to speak.

Patent Stripe
This would be a leather dog collar based on my patent stripe browbands and nosebands. A standard traditional leather dog collar with an inserted piece of patent leather. I can't make a collar entirely from patent leather as it is too thin in substance. Therefore the strength will need to be in the normal bridle butt leather that I make all of...
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Personalisation of any item is a good thing! And how better to express this than by ordering handmade.

Colour

The three leather dog collars above are; from left, Dark Havana, Black, and Australian Nut.Dark Havana is a dark brown coloured leather, Australian Nut has a reddish hint to it, and black is, well, black! 

Stitching is carried out by hand and can either blend in or contrast. So above we have brown stitching on a dark Havana collar, Yellow stitching on an Australian Nut collar, and on the...

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One advantage of ordering your leather dog lead from a UK based Cordwainer is that you can ask for that special one-of-a-kind design. That is the case for this heavy-duty, multi-length Slip lead.

At 1 1/2 inches wide the lead is design to fit a giant Boerboel dog.

The rings stitched along the length of the lead allow for adjustments in much the same way as my standard multi-length leads. They are stitched in to place by hand using three lines of hand-stitching at 8 stitches to the inch.

The slip...

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The point when making leather is the part of a belt or strap that passes through the buckle. There are a variety of designs and styles that a Cordwainer can use, and sometimes traditional methods dictate what style of point a strap should have. Nowadays, on leather belts and the like, this is just a case of personal preference.

There are two styles of point that I use and both are traditional designs.

Cathedral Point

The cathedral point, or harness point, is probably the most common point end in...

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Measuring your dog for a slip collar

The measurement that I require to make your leather handmade slip collar is not the same as a traditional collar. This is due to the way that a leather slip collar fits on your dog. As a slip collar does not open it needs to be able to pass completely over your dog's head without pinching or rubbing.

To measure you will need;

• A fabric tape measure,

• and your dog of course!

Simply take your tape and measure around the largest part of your dog's head....

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Measuring your dog for a Handmade Leather Dog Collar from Oakside Saddlery couldn't be easier!

Method 2

Using your dogs existing collar to measure for your new handmade Leather Dog Collar. You will need the following items;

• Your dog's collar.

• A fabric tape measure or other ruler.

How To

Before removing your dog's collar check the fit and note which hole that the collar is buckled to.

• Remove the collar and lay it flat.

• Lay your measure alongside the collar.

• Take the measurement from the inside of the o...

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To measure your dog for your new Handmade Leather Dog Collar from Oakside is quite simple really.

Method 1

You will need the following items;

• A fabric tape measure (this can be in inches or centimetres)

• Two fingers

• And your dog

Hopefully you have all three of these otherwise you may have to improvise!

Place the fabric tape around your dogs neck where the collar will go. The tape needs to have enough slack to easily slide two fingers underneath it. This is the size of the collar that you should order...

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The Sighthound Collar

A sighthound is a type of hound that catches its prey by using shear speed and agility. It uses, as the name would suggest, its keen vision to keep this prey in sight at all times. Sighthounds have a long, lean, and flexible body; long legs and neck, and a deep chest. This all comes together to create the perfect, high-speed, hunter.

Breeds of dog associated with being a Sighthound include;

• Greyhound

• Whippet,

• Lurcher

• Afghan Hound

• Borzoi

• Wolfhound

• Saluki

To name but a few.

Sighthoun...

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My standard dog lead is a traditional leather lead made with practicality in mind.

A simple but useful leather dog lead that does exactly what it is meant to do!

Leather

The leather is my standard bridle leather, very strong and durable, perfect for my leather dog leads. Why have a nice collar and then scrimp on the lead? There are a variety of lengths;

• Short 24 inches (60 cm)

• Medium 36 inches (91 cm)

• Long 48 inches (121 cm)

• Extra Long (152 cm) (I'll cover this one in a later post)

And a variety of w...

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Plaited collar

My plaited dog collars are made from English Bridle leather, the pre-eminent leather available. It is hard wearing, long-lasting and has an excellent finish. My plaited leather collars are available in either Black, Dark Havana, or Australian Nut Bridle leather with the entire collar made from a single piece of leather, with no joins in the plait.

Buckle

The buckles that I use are either; solid brass roller buckles or stainless steel West End Buckles. I use stainless steel West En...

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So you have an idea for the perfect collar for your dog. And no matter how much you have scoured the web you just can’t find exactly what you are looking for! This is when a Bespoke Cordwainer comes in handy. Give me your ideas and I will see what I can do.

Some of the specific requirements I have been requested to make are listed below

• ·         Extra wide to protect an old injury.
• ·         Brass instead of leather loops.
• ·         Wide boar hound style collar.
• ·         Double pronged buc...

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Dogs have been used in war for many years. Britons, Greeks, Egyptians, and Romans all used large breeds of dog for scouts, tracking, and battle. Attila the Hun used giant Molossian dogs during his campaigns. Roman armies used entire companies of large Molossian dogs to devastate enemy warriors. These dogs would have spiked collars and mail armour, fitted to them to cause utter mayhem! 

WW1

It was in WW1 that the Red Cross wanted to use Ambulance dogs to locate injured soldiers. Dogs were used a...

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1. It has good looks and characteristics.

2. It can put up with bad weather.

3. It can put up with a lot of abuse.

4. It is smooth and comfortable when in use.

5. If looked after it can last a lifetime.

6. It is strong and can be stitched well.

Si

www.oaksidesaddlery.co.uk
www.oaksidebelts.co.uk
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As a working dog handler you have realised that you have a peculiar set of needs for your dog's leads. A long lead for searching vehicles, a short lead for passing through busy traffic, and a medium length lead for searching people! So what do you do? Having lots of different leads for each purpose? Not so easy when you have travelled far from your dog van. What you need is a Multi-length lead from Oakside Saddlery.

My Multi-length leather dog lead can be adjusted from short, medium, and long...

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Dog Collars have been in use by mankind for thousands of years. Images can be found in Ancient Egyptian paintings dating back to 3500BC. These collars were made from leather and had the dogs name on them. The Ancient Greeks used dogs to protect their livestock and used large spiked collars. The Ancient Romans were devoted to their dogs, and collars have been found with with messages in them showing appreciation to their dogs.

Dogs have been used, and sadly abused, by humans for many years; hu...

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You have been looking for a proper leather dog collar, just like you remember having years ago! But no matter how much you look you just can't seem to find one. Well look no more!

My handmade Traditional Leather Collar is made the old Fashioned way using English Bridle Leather which is very strong and long-lasting, solid brass or Stainless steel fittings ensure that there is no rust, and hand stitched with linen thread.

I hand stitch the fittings using an old traditional method which passes two...
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Hi all,

My name is Simon, I am the Cordwainer at Oakside. My two websites are www.oaksidesaddlery.co.uk and www.oaksidebelts.co.uk. I specialise in hand stitching heavy English Bridle leather and making bespoke leather dog collars and leads, horse bridles and hand made leather Belts.

I hope to be able to use this blog to inform you about some of the products that I make, give you an insight into leather and the skills that I use, and to also provide some advice to help you make an informed deci...
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