RIGGING - DOG 'N TAILS HITCH

Rigging Home >> Knots, Bends, and Hitches >> Dog 'n Tails Hitch

The dog 'n tails hitch, like the prusik hitch, is used to grab a rope. Unlike the prusik hitch however, it can be released while under tension by untying the square knot at the end and slowly releasing the wraps. When done carefully, the tender can then control the speed at which the rope slips through the hitch.

The dog 'n tails is tied by crossing the two lines first under and then over the rope repeatedly and then tying them off with a square knot. Ideally, alternate ends of the line lie against the rope with every cross. This is easy to do if you form each cross by putting the line in your right hand against the rope first, and then crossing it with the line in your left hand.

CMRU has sized the our dog 'n tails to allow for 7 crosses on each side of the rope (as pictured.) We tie our dog 'n tails with 8mm kernmantel rope.