I want to make a leash in blender, How?

I am in the process of designing an animation series to promote a gaming channel, and one of my characters brandishes a service dog. I need to be able to animate a leash that attaches to the dog’s harness, and the characters hand. However, I dont know how to do this correctly. Would I be able to parent one end of the leash to a bone, and add a cloth modifier? Or would I have to do some other crazy thing I have yet to learn?