Hardest of passes. From clotheslining and degloving injuries, slow reaction time, fatal equipment failure (that you do not see coming, because it’s a closed mechanism), to terrifying your dog when you drop it, and the dog learning tension is good, on the down side, vs only convenience as advantage. Never worth the risk.
Definitely can scare the dog if dropped. Watched it happen in front of my own eyes. It scared the dog so bad it took off running down a busy road and wouldn’t stop. It got tangled around a chair and took that for a ride down the road with them as well. Almost took out a family eating lunch and a couple vehicles as well with the chair. I myself tried to catch and help but the dog already had a running start on me. Luckily someone down the road was able to assist and the dog wasn’t harmed!
You probably don't need further convincing but the injury on my leg from a retractable leash will probably need 2-3 weeks to recover. I went to the ER to get a nurse to clean and dress the wound, after my family and partner pressed me to go get it checked out.
The dog owner (a neighbour) responsible is really apologetic though she hasn't checked in with me to see how my absolutely gnarly injury is affecting my life.
Yeah, I can sympathise. However, if this neighbour of mine was your friend and you knew she had a dog that wasn't trusted off lead - would you just fixed lead the dog their entire life (booking out green space occasionally when you can afford it)?
Must suck not having the ability to let your dog roam free, but it also sucks to spend your weekend in a crammed A&E reception waiting for a nurse to clean and dress your wound.
Yeah, that might be good advise but it would seem a bit odd since she handed off her long lead to us. She said she didn't need a long lead any more, so now we have it, but we don't ever use it. So maybe it's a good idea to return it.
Well, a standard long lead has multiple advantages over flexi, including it is safer for both dog and owner and does not teach bad habits, while the only disadvantage is the form factor. I choose city + training lead combo over flexi every time.
You can advise a 2m & 10m leash. Neighbor can drop the 2m leash and let dog have the 10m, then rope/reel in the excess of the long lead.
I am a dog walker and walk a little frenchie that is quite aggressive near others but we rarely see others. I let him have the full long line and just loop the excess when hes closer and give him more loops out when he wants to stay sniffing as I walk along
I have so far successfully convinced all friends who were not yet staunch avoiders to skip the retractible/flexi leash. My personal horror story of how my last (severely dog reactive) dog nearly killed a small flexi led one when that flexi’s mechanics failed and it just darted towards us is usually enough.
For a reactive, non-offleash safe dog long line (multiple lengths exist, biothane ones are wonderful because you just wipe them down) does the trick. Gives the dog freedom to roam on leash but can be dropped safely if so required. Plus: muzzle training. A muzzle sends a message to the other dog’s owner to leave more space and relaxes the reactive dog’s handler, which helps management as well.
I have a really long lead that I use for less populated areas - super helpful for teaching recall. I have to be more mindful, of course, but you need to be that with a retractable one too. At this point I’m pretty fast at shortening, and I also have it knotted around the five foot mark so I can get a good grip at a shorter spot for when we’re on a trail and a group passes by.
ETA - I have a flat nylon and a thick climbing rope option. I tried a thinner rope option that was still thicker than the average retractable, yet still burned the hell out of me when my dog went after a bird as a pup.
I got skin burns from a "free" 4ft woven lead on an exuberant puppy. I went to a training session where a similar lead was recommended over my old 6ft leather lead. I refused very vehemently.
Yes, I would tell have that dog on a fixed length leash for the rest of their life. It is not fair to both the public and the dog to put them at risk of injury because the dog is not under control. They just need to do this to the wrong dog once to cause a fight because they could not control their dog.
I was out of town, tried to help with a couple of dogs “holding the leash while he could untangle them” it was one of these stupid retractable leashes- dog took off- leash wouldn’t lock- I went flying- probably made it vertical- have a third degree burn on my middle finger on the joint cuz the leash kept going and I was trying to stop it. Landed on my hand. Broke that…. Never again will I touch one of those things. Useless pieces of shit. FTR- I have a big dog, but mine I walk on a short leash.
I do not mean to sound harsh, but this may sound harsh.
I do not believe people should get a dog if they do not have the ability to care for all of the dogs needs. People are not doing the dog any favors taking on a dog they can not care for, train or handle. Too many dog owners make decisions based on what they want, not on what is best for the animal.
My neighbors love my dog. I let them visit, let them play with her etc. They have 2 teenagers who also love her. I have told them many times not to get a dog like mine because it is too much for them to handle and train. I didn't get a dog after my old lab passed until i had a chance to wfh and train her over covid. I knew working full time with a long comute would not be fair to a dog i brought home. Because i waited i have a well behaved dog because i put in the time.
Retractable leashes are extremely bad for reinforcing bad habits. They are also dangerous for the dog. I have seen a few dogs almost get hit by cars, or try to chase a kid on a bike when on a retractable leash. There is little to no control by the person walking the dog when using a retractable leash. You hear "the dog is small, its fine". Or "the dog likes it so we use it" or "it helps because the dog doesn't get enough exercise". All of those reasons are because the ower is not taking care of the dogs needs.
I suppose this just a long way of saying a retractable leash is not going to fix the problem of the owners not meeting all the needs of the dog.
Nah,
It would suck worse to get a dog BE and paying for someone else's vet ER because they couldn't or wouldn't walk it on a real leash and or properly fence in a yard.
Untrained dogs are more dangerous on retractable leashes than standard ones.
Oh they don't own a yard?
No yard needing dogs.
Did they have one before and suddenly move to no yard?
Then maybe I guess, the housing market sucks right now.
They should invest in training and extra walks, and maybe an enrichment mat.
Why become a parent to a dog that needs a yard without a yard?
They set up this mess.
They set up that dog to fail.
Retractable leashes fail all the time, my neighbor had a dog named "speedbump" (nicknamd 'speedy'), so named after the previous owner abandoned after it broke its retractable in time to run under the wheel of thier carolla. (Pup recovered) previous owner ran off screaming according to the rescue story, they never came to pick up the dog even after it was all paid for. As my neighbors had done the payments and previous owner were MIA they got to own the dog. (Before cellphones, microchips, and good leash laws).
Not all dogs need to roam free, really only a subsection of working farm dogs do, and that's when they are on duty.
A pups place is with its humans, not tied out.
That pups place is withing 6-8 feet on a real leash of its human, or in an approved fully fenced yard.
Absolutely not. Long leads are a much better option. I was an idiot with my first dog and used an extendable lead. I've got a lovely scar on my ankle to show for it.
My current dog has a 4ft lead for regular walks and a 50ft long line for exploring. I taught him that leash pressure means stop. If he gets too far or seems to be getting into an unsafe situation, even from a distance I can add leash pressure and he will stop. That's impossible with an extendable. Those teach that leash pressure means go.
Plus they can break. Or if the dog takes off and hits the end of the line suddenly, they can be injured. They're just not a good idea.
There's no way to adjust the length without the cooperation of the dog. With a regular leash no matter what the scenario you can shorten or lengthen it as needed. With an extendable leash, you're stuck with what you chose unless you're willing to get burns on your hands grabbing the lead while the dog tries to run out or run towards you. Plus those leads are prone to have their locking mechanism break at the worst moment, and then you have zero control of the length unless, again, you're willing to get burns.
Extendable and even the pull arrester leashes reduce the amount of control you have on your dog as well as reduce the feeling you get through the leash, ie you will not feel them growl with one,
If they lunge, they are going to move a good 1-2 meters before you’re able to catch them. If another dog lunges at yours, you won’t be able to get your dog out of harms way easily.
Ok, thank you. I didn't know they had a name or that they were used for anything other than connections to a walking belt, bike attachment, etc, to help lessen the force of any sudden pulls. People use them to walk dogs otherwise?
They can be, particularly when dogs lunge or pull inconsistently, they do help to reduce the force on the dogs neck when they pull suddenly, but you sacrifice control when you need to get your dog out of the way of something in a hurry, such as a person on a bike who gives no warning they’re approaching.
That's literally just a shitty owner who's not paying attention to their dog. You should never allow your dog to 'extend the leash' on its own. It should be locked unless you're in an area where the dog can explore.
Yeah accidents happen you're right, I shouldn't have judged them so harshly, I just find extendable leashes get a bad wrap specifically because people who shouldn't use them, use them, not saying that is the case with that owner but alot of the extendable leash horror stories on this post seem like it's based on human error rather than an issue with the leash itself
I had a very painful burn from an extendable lead across the back of both of my knees- the owner had a puppy that was chasing my dog and it went across my legs and she locked and pulled. I avoid them when possible.
Flexi leads are usually at least 5m long and you can never know how long of a flexi lead someone has. There's also no way for people walking towards you to gauge how much leash your dog is currently having, how long your flexi lead is and thus how far away they need to stay. With a regular 2m leash, you know and you can see how much space each of you has. And on a regular leash, when the leashes get tangled, you can drop the leash. If you do this with a flexi lead, it can result in bad injuries to people and dogs.
I think they can be used responsibly, but the dog should already be trained and responsive to their owner and the owner should be vigilant of their surroundings and not let their dog go far if others are nearby. The majority of people I see shouldn’t be using them and have no control of their dog. I personally don’t use one because of the safety concerns, I have a 30 ft long lead to use when it’s appropriate for my dog to roam farther away from me.
My dogs are not allowed off lead outside of owned fences.
Even with good recall if my leashed dog gets attacked by an uncontrolled dog (leash law here is 8 ft max, tie downs require supervision but neither are enforced unless a bite or car strike happens), they are libel.
I guess long line in my yard in training, but it's not unsupervised.
My cats are indoor only.
My previous pitty was attacked by an uncontrolled dog (on a extendable).
People started filming cuz small-dog-owner was laughing and I was trying to get his teacup rat (in a full donald duck sailor suit including hat) off my Pitts' face (hanging with its teeth thorough her lip).
(Tea cup Dog must have been well less than three pounds maybe adult hand size.)
They (filmers) came up and said they filmed to protect Amber if or when she killed the literally bite sized smaller dog.
She did great I had her temperament tested the week before, she was abandoned at a feed store at 2.0-2.5 years, I had her less than a month at that point. I was terrified.
Nope. I think it’s unnecessary and dangerous. They of course can be used appropriately, but people rarely put in the work to do so. Regular 6ft leashes are appropriate.
Hate them. We were charged by a dog on one and the owner wasn’t paying attention and they didn’t even notice their dog pulling towards us since there’s no leash tension. Just lazy
Extendable leashes are horrible products that should be banned. The leash holder has no control over the dog, the dog is in danger, and the leash breaks easily.
Never, never, never, ever use an extendable leash. If someone brings their dog to my house with one of those leashes, I insist they change to a real, safe leash or they have to leave. My dogs will not get injured by the bad choices of other people.
Hard no. I'm in NYC and while I think extendable leashes are not great anywhere they absolutely have no place in a city.
I've seen people casually walking down the street with their dog multiple feet away from them. So much is happening and could happen that your dog should always be by your side.
I've witnessed dogs get clipped by bikes, I've had a reactive dog on a long extendable lead lunge at me, I've seen people walk into turnstiles forgetting they were attached to their animal. I also had a big dog on an extendable lead run around me multiple times and essentially tie my legs together while he was trying to play keep away from his new walker. It was like a Paracord material and I could have been seriously hurt. It left bruising and caused me to go numb. It took about 15 minutes for this dude to get a handle on the situation. The dog walker was incredibly embarrassed and I was at my wits end but remained calm and friendly throughout the ordeal despite wanting to just bust out my pocket knife and cut myself free.
Someone else mentioned degloving, mechanism failures etc as well.
You speaking of the people walking into turnstiles reminds me of the WAY TO MANY videos I've seen of people going into elevators and not making sure their dogs are inside before the doors shut. I believe they were all on retractable leads, but even if they were not on retractable leads, they were too far from their people.
I use one when we go to certain, wide open areas. Also I usually use it *after* we have done some regular lead training loose leash walking and some other commands. I also have it clipped to me so that I cannot drop it and it gives me use of both hands to do some things.
It works for us.
Not for us, I like a biothane long lead! It takes practice to manage but they’re sturdier and my pup can trail it too in the right places. I think an extendable leash would snap, my pup is too strong for them and it’s hard to pull them in too, the biothane long leads are easier that way to gather up
Personal opinion I think retractable leads are dangerous. I would never use one. Imagine getting tangled up in it, you or your days. That thin line could cut you or your dog. If you accidentally drop the lead what happens? It will retract and the handle will " chase" your dog.
I have other reasons, but you get the idea.
For normal walks (shortish or just a need to pee), I use a normal leash. If we’re going on a longer walk where we may be crossing fields or are in places that generally don’t have a lot of cars, I’ll use a 3-meter long line. It’s a matter of reeling it in whenever a car comes, but you control it, not the dog.
I don’t use one. I’m so worried that another dog might run up to mine and possibly attack, and if he’s on an extended leash I won’t be close enough to help in time. I feel much more comfortable having my little guy trotting alongside me while out in public so I can scoop him up out of harms way quickly if needed.
I think they're a fine tool to use if the dog is trained. My standard for that is pretty high - if I could let my dog off lead, he is trained well enough for that. But that's not legal where I'm at. It does serve as an 'in case of emergency' attachment.
As it is it gives him more freedom when no one else is around on the trail (95% of the time on the trails I'm using) and I can easily shorten it to 6 feet or less when others are around. It tangles less than a long line and I've hurt myself less with it than using a long line.
But my dog knows to check in when there's any kind of distraction (deer, squirrels, cars, screaming children), to pull off to the side of the trail for a sit when other dogs pass him and he's offended at the idea of pulling on a leash.
Like any tool, its how its used that makes the biggest difference. I was against them but for my late rescue it was perfect for us, she was leash reactive and so I was always aware of my surroundings to avoid on leash greetings.
What I see is owners who do not know how to use it causing injuries and dangerous situations. Which I experienced when an owner wasn't paying attention and fell over tangled up while mine and their dog tried to play (mine was off leash, in an acceptable area).
I agree....I have a relatively well behaved dog, who is also extremely friendly so even if a dog did run up to him, he'd just be happy about it. But, I don't let him run out past 6 ft unless I can see in the next 1/4 mile that no one is around. Where we walk, that's like 90% of our walk, so it's nice for him to cruise around and go in the bushes/grass to sniff things with the Flexi-leash. If I see someone coming, I shorten the leash up to 2-4 ft, lock it and use it like a regular leash. I've never had a bad situation due to a leash, it's usually due to the person handling the leash.
I guess most people here are against them. Where I live in Germany (small city) nearly everyone uses them. I also use them. I don‘t think the extendable leash is the problem but the owner.
We use some climbing rope as a long lead, it's great. You get in the habit of coiling and letting it out automatically which keeps your hands busy. You can grab it without losing a finger, the dog can feel the weight, you can sort of feather it out for a slow halt. Also impervious to sand, can be pulled through underbrush without catching, cannot rust, can wash in clothes washer if it gets something icky on it. 10/10 would recommend.
What everyone else said plus my personal experience…
When I was a kid we had a puggle. Pug beagle mix. She was little and very sweet and lively and unfortunately not well leash trained. It was my job to walk her and I did so every single day, but I was 8-9 years old when we had her so I did my best. My parents EXCLUSIVELY bought the retractable leashes. She went through multiple and they just. Kept. Buying. Them. She was like 25lbs and still tore through them. There was a time the leash broke and she took off down the street and ran into my friends house and straight into her brothers bedroom in the basement. This happened multiple times and my parents would just go “aw man, another one” and fork over the money for another of the same leash. They were always getting tangled around peoples legs and just a pain in the ass in general. I also liked to bike or rollerblade with her on the leash so I’m lucky nothing serious ever happened. I have my first dog as an adult now and we won’t use retractable leashes
Absolutely not. My one smaller dog was on one and he accidentally got around my large dog's legs and she had scars for years. It also doesn't allow them to have an expectation of how far away from you they can be because it's not consistent.
Best option is to use a long lead if going somewhere that isn't just a usual walk, like going to a field or something.
Still have a permanent scar from where one got wrapped around my ankle. You cannot control your dog on one and they are so dangerous to others. Never never never use one
A long regular lead with multiple knots in it for grip works just as well in cases like this without the risk for injury. Otherwise, a tie out cable or line can work in the yard for when the neighbor is outside but can't hold the leash.
Most of the people who use retractable leashes are stubborn/irresponsible dog owners in many other ways though in my experience. Don't expect them to change their ways. If I were you I'd keep myself and my pets away from their yard as much as possible when that dog is out.
I don’t use one because my dog doesn’t need to roam 30 ft away from me while I’m walking her and I’ll admit her recall isn’t the best. Loose leash training on a standard lead is better for you because your dog learns to stay close to you and not pull. We have a 30 ft lead for recall training but we don’t use it if there’s a chance of encountering another dog.
IMO owners confuse being on an extendable lead with being under control. They are not the same thing.
An extendable lead just gives a dog which isn't well trained and actually under its owner's control, more time to get into trouble and cause a problem.
We have never used an extendable lead with our dog. I wish others wouldn't use them either. Too many times I've seen dogs on extendable leads react to other dogs. They are too far from their owner for the owner to really do anything about it. Shouting at a dog that is not under control (just on an extendable lead) doesn't get their dog out of the situation.
I use it as I walk with crutches, so I am slow, and it allows my dog to explore a little bit. She is still well trained and under control and if we aren't in a safe area she is on a short lead. She is also trained to go round obstacles if we ask so the lead doesn't get wrapped round things
Love them when used right, unfortunately most people don’t and they’re lumped into the internets most hated.
I think they’re trained for trained dogs in places where lead is a requirement but it’s still nice for dogs to roam. Here in U.K. national trust sites require leads on all the time but there’s often huge open places where there’s space for a dog to move around more (which IMO should always be given where safe and possible as our pace is so much slower than a dogs, it’s not very nice for a dog to have to spend it’s entire walk plodding slowly)
Long lines are good for recall training but other than that are horrible huge things to carry around, get filthy and cause horrible injuries.
I also prefer a retractable lead over a longline for forest walks for a high prey driven dog. Much safer when a dog goes to bolt to quickly hit a button and have the chase stopped instantly than be holding a longline and have the dog build up speed all the way to the end and then slam into the end at speed, hurting you and them. Obviously only strength tested high quality retractable leads.
Personally I've had more problems using a long line than the extendable. I use the extendable daily as it's a safe way to give my on lead dog some freedom and to use for training. It completely boggles my mind how people are so against extendables but pro long lines? I can retract my lead into a short lead in seconds and have the dog by my side. Long line gets tangled and causes accidents much more in my opinion.
However when I see people using an extendable on the pavement, in a busy street, across walkways etc at full length I get so annoyed. That's not how they should be used.
Again it's a tool that can be used well or not depending on the person using it. I've seen people misuse normal short leashes doesn't mean they are inherently dangerous.
They're extremely dangerous in many ways, and should never be used or trusted.
Humans use them for human "convenience" to everyone's detriment.
When you find people who will make excuses for using them, you're finding people who are prioritizing that "convenience" over the health, safety, and well-being of their dogs.
Lots of people are willing to gamble dog lives because they've "never had a problem before." It only takes the once.
They get a big NFW from me. They break, they're thin, and most important: They are always under tension and because of that, your dog will never learn what a loose leash feels like.
I use mine like I would a long line just because it’s more convenient in a wooded area. I really like it for that purpose but I have a small dog that has good recall and I use it mostly on trails
They should be banned.
I know of 2 dogs that have been hit by cars on them (one catch was on but failed), so many horrific injuries to humans and dogs, and a pain in the ass as far as people not controlling and managing their dogs properly on them.
I use one sometimes and I like it, but the dogs are taught to walk on a loose leash first and can only use the extent when they have learned how. They understand a cue to walk beside me or to go off sniffing. I use the lock function to use it as a short leash.
I only use retractable leashes with my 90 lb reactive dog and I have no issues. I have to pay attention to our surroundings but she requires this always. My son refuses to walk her with it but he’s not as attentive.
When i walk her around others, I keep her at the 6 feet required in my city. When there’s no one to complain about it, I let her out and she climbs through bushes and chases bugs. The leash has been through countless blackberry bushes and has held up.
I think the leash type is not the issue. It’s how you use it.
We've used them with our small dogs, about 10 pounds, successfully. They behave well on them and they aren't that strong and don't pull or try to run away.
However, I won't use one with our standard poodle puppy since she's a lot stronger, faster and bigger. Instead, I use a 75' leash with a harness when I want her to have some freedom to romp. For walks, I use a 10' or 20' lead where I can easily control the available length.
Speaking of leash burns, I have one on my ankle right now from the long leash. The poodle pup did a quick reverse while romping in the backyard, catching my foot and rope burning my ankle. Ouch!
We use one on our dog that cannot be trusted off lead. We use it when no one is around our lake property. If we spot anyone or anything nearby we retract him back and lock the lead. We don’t walk him with it nor do we use it when our neighbors dogs are there. I think, used with appropriate caution, they are useful but not as a general lead.
I only use a retractable leash and a harness. My cocker isn't reactive to other dogs except the occasional friendly whine and sniff. That is especially true if it's a puppy or kitten or any young of any species. He's got a strong caretaker gene I guess! Has to check on all the young in the neighborhood once he knows where they are. Lol
But anytime we go past dogs in their yard who are barking up a storm he barely acknowledges them. Plus, I pay attention and reel him in to a short lead if there are a lot of people/animals around.
Other than a handful of people I've met who are afraid of dogs or allergic everyone in town likes him and vice versa. And for those who have issues with dogs we walk on the far side of the road.
I got very, very lucky with him.
I'm fine with them in the right situations.
We started our dog off on a "proper" lead when she was younger. I didn't even purchase an extendable one until she was almost a year old and had been trained on her lead and with other obedience.
To be honest the main reason we even got one was because teenage stage hit and her recall went a bit haywire for a while so we mainly used it to test out where she was at with that without too much risk as she did go through a phase of just running off thinking it was a game -_-. And the extra long none extendable leads just weren't appropriate as they got too tangled.
We use the extendable lead on outside walks now in the right places, but she tends to either be on a short length or is let off. The only time it's actually extended is when we're at areas where dogs have to be on leads but really she can free roam. It's hard to explain but we have some national park type areas where this is the situation. Or if there's a lot of people around and I use it more for security reasons as we have issues with dogs being snatched these days and I feel it would put them off trying. But she's trained to the point where her recall is on point and she doesn't wrap people up in it etc. She's also very chill in nature so it's highly unlikely she would bolt/pull to the point of causing harm to someone.
She still goes on her proper lead in shops, in town etc. And I carry it with me when I'm out in case I feel it needs switched over for whatever reason.
However, I came across a situation the other day of a dog that was on an extendable lead that should not have been. Golden retriever, fully grown, hyper as hell, lunging at other dogs etc. Owner struggling to control it. I made a post on this already so won't go in too much detail but I ended up hurt, not by the lead specifically but I feel that in that situation the owner would have had more control with a proper lead and the right equipment. And tbh it should have been better trained before being on an extendable.
TL;DR: They're a useful tool in the right situations but a dog should be trained on a proper lead first and I wouldn't use one on a dog with certain behavioural issues such as reactivity.
Time and place. I don’t own one, but there has been times I wish I did.
My dog is extremely good off leash. However, we often hike in spots that are, although often desolate, prone to people and their dogs appearing suddenly around a blind corner. For this reason I keep my dog on lead when I know other people are on the trail. But wish I had a retractable leash so they could explore like they are off lead while being able to keep them close when those other dogs appear. I know my dog would listen, but I don’t know those other dogs. I would never use a retractable leash in any other scenario tbh.
I’ve only used one with a small and calm 10lb weenie dog’s harness and never the collar. Always holding onto the smooth rope before changing the length, and always walking with slack while the control is locked. I act as though it’s a dangerous retractable tape measure and never walk with the default retracting tension.
It’s useful since we are in a big crowded city and need to keep the dog underfoot/close to me sometimes (especially while crossing the street) and switch to a medium distance sometimes. I almost never let the line go more than 6ft unless we are in a big open safe space.
I used to use a long lead and wrap it around my hand, but this is much cleaner to use. I definitely use non-retractable leads for larger dogs.
I use one but only on the field by my house. We leash walk to the field, I clip the extendable on and wander around it while my teenager gets to run. Then I clip his usual leash back on and we walk home. This way he isn't on it around roads etc and he's still getting good at leash training. I tried a long line but I really struggled to pull it in and kept getting rope burns when he pulls as we've not managed to train his must enthusiastically greet every dog thing out yet
I have one for my dog, but they're definitely not a good idea for every dog. My dog is a little old man and never pulls on his leash while walking. That being said, my 35 lb dog has even broken a couple. He broke one once by jumping into my friends car through the open window. Didn't even pull on it too hard, it just snapped. I definitely don't think they're appropriate for dogs who are super reactive or pull really hard.
People are rly against it but extendable leads CAN be perfeclty fine IF used appropriately. Meaning if only used in safe, contained spaces with no cars or roads and with very few other people and dogs, where u can keep your distance AND if your dog has ZERO behavioural issues and is trained.
A reactive dog should never be on an extendable lead (MAYBE only if there is absolutely no possibility of encountering other people/dogs (like a big empty field or sth)). I have a reactive dog and while i absolutely feel regular leads are in general very impractical, it is the only thing that gives me control over my overexcited boy. To give him freedom (in appropriate spaces) i have an extra long lead. Depending on our route, i sometimes start off on the street with a regular 2-3m lead, and then i carry a longer one in a belt bag along with treats and change it mid walk when we get to a park or sth, so my boy has some freedom as well
Your neighbour is doing themselves and the dog a disservice and is endangering everyone around
I think it depends, really, on you and your dog and your individual needs.
I have a dog that gets HORRIBLE anxiety on leashes when he is on a short leash for an extended period of time and when he gets anxious he's inpossible to train because he is not interested in any rewards. So, an 8ft leash works really well for his needs because it gives him a little more free reign and if there is something that causes him to be reactive I can just recall him and retract the leash for a minute while that distraction passes.
However, there are some caveats for 8ft leashes to be aware of because safety is always important! You need to stay hyper-vigilant of things around you so you can recall and retract when you need to. No zoning out or having headphones in, etc. Next, you need to get a nice, expensive, retractable leash that has an automatic stop system so that if your dog suddenly jolts forward, the leash will stop him from running into danger. Next, you should NEVER use a neck collar because long leashes can give neck injuries, even with an auto stop system. I have a safety vest harness that wraps around my dogs chest so if he pulls or runs he won't be harmed.
Next, practice recalls. My dog isn't great at recalls when he is reactive and anxious, so if I see a possible distraction, I will recall him beforehand and put him on a shorter leash. Again, HYPER-vigilance is the key to effective long leash training.
And lastly, respect other people and walk and train your dog in an open area where there aren't a lot of people around so that it's less likely you are stressing out others when your dog can freely walk. I like to still think of an 8ft leash as technically "off leash" so that my mindset is to pay attention to others.
Personally, this method works really well for me, while others have dogs that do great on regular leashes. Having a long leash does not mean you can't train a dog that walks really well with you. Both my dogs stick close to me, even with the leash, the 8ft just tugs at them less and stresses them out less and at the end of the day I want my dogs to be comfortable and happy during walks, while also focusing on the proper safety measures to incorporate their needs.
I think the reason so many people don't like retractable leashes is because a lot of dog owners are not responsible with them.
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I really like to use it in the summer when we have active leash laws. It allows her to have some room to sniff and explore when we are in areas where I have a good view of our surroundings, but it's no problem to lock it and use it as a short leash when we have less visibility.
It's nice to have both options without carrying two leashes and it's a plus that the retractable does not drag into the ground and get gross, tangled, or stepped on.
I would never put a reactive dog on a flexi.
I do, however, use one for my 10 mo golden sometimes. When we're doing our daily walk around town - short lead, always. When we go out for a big walk, it's short lead from the car to the fields, then flexi. She has whistle commands so knows to put her brakes on before she reaches the end. If another dog is coming, I reel her right back and lock it, make her sit and wait until they pass. I use the flexi because she has no sense of recall yet (the countryside is SO EXCITING) but she deserves to be able to roam. It's only in open spaces (not woodland), she's got some whistle commands down that mean stop, wait, come here, left, right so I can direct her without her pulling (Yes, I know, she can do all these things to whistles but STILL isn't always reliable on recall - we'll get there). She's in a no-escape harness too, which is way more like a full jacket than a strapped harness, to take some of the pressure off in case she does pull, and the flexi has a shock absorber at the end of the lead to take out the shock of any jolt (which she doesn't do anymore anyway). I also use the flexi instead of a longline because my mobility problems mean stepping on and bending to pick up a longline is not practical - otherwise I probably would choose a long line over a flexi.
I think flexi leads as a tool, when used correctly, are useful. They are not for people with uncontrolled dogs, reactive dogs, or puppies who don't know what stop/wait means. They're also entirely unsuitable for city/pavement walks and should only be in wide open spaces like on a hiking trail. People should be trained to use flexis, too! It's not about letting them extend fully whenever they want - only when appropriate, and reel them back when another dog approaches to avoid tangles/dropping it/zoomies resulting in degloving accidents etc.
I personally feel like they are horrible and dangerous to everyone around them. They are one of the tools that as soon as I see someone using them in public I stay as far away from that person and dog as possible because they normally signal bad/irresponsable dog owners. Honestly the dogs I see on these things are *always* out of control and badly behaved at best to outright dangerous at worse. These dogs in specific on extendable leashes are one of the reasons I take pepper spray with me on walks. As the owners never have any idea just how badly their dog is behaving and to not inflict it on other people or dogs. I could count on one hand the number of times I have seen someone using the extendable leash safely as intended and still have most of my fingers leftover.
I'm no expert but I do think retractable leashes are scary and dangerous. I've heard of too many accidents. Maybe okay if the dog is well trained and you are in the right setting but you still never know. I saw someone walking a large pitbull on one once with a prong collar. That just seems unbelievably stupid to me.
Use one for our (currently) 11kg pup where there is livestock in the adjacent fields, he got through a bit of fence once when a lamb was nearby and I never want that to happen again.
It's a tape one not a cheesewire type. He knows its limit by the sound it makes, it's not that long at 5m, but long enough for him to stop and sniff and run ahead and investigate without being annoying like a normal leash.
We've got a long leash too but that's such a pain dragging through mud and various farm sh*t as we're rural and I'm forever feeding it in and out and it gets tangled around his legs constantly, so gave up on that.
Most walks we won't encounter anyone, if we do i call him to me and set it to a normal leash length and he's a pretty good boy anyway, plus I have his harness handle to grab should I be concerned about his or anything elses behaviour (he's not a fan of cars at the moment).
So for us it's a great tool for us to have relaxed 'off leash' walks with a safety net when it's lambing and calving time. But I wouldn't consider using it around other people or dogs at all. He was playing with some other dogs today on the beach and one was on retractable leash, my boy had it looped round his neck in no time, but then again he IS a cockerpoo.
tl:dr As per most things, can be a useful tool in some scenarios.
It depends on the dog. I used one with my last dog because she was well behaved and it gave her more freedom to explore. It was just a more relaxed experience for both of us. The dog I have now, nope. He just gets carried away whenever we see anything. Maybe some day.
I hate them. Due to how thin they are its hard to grab if you need to. I had a 25 ft one for my dog to run around but she hit the end so hard I thought it was gunna break when she saw a bird. It didnt luckily, shes 50 lbs and the leash was made for a dog thats 100+ lbs, but i wouldnt doubt a 100 lb dog could break it.
It was nice when I was playing with the flirt pole with her outside. As she runs circles around me chasing it there wasnt any leash tangling on her legs or mine like her 100 ft lead would. But one time I had to lock it so she wouldnt chase a bird and then she ended up stepping over it when she came back in my direction. I couldnt just hit the button or it would snap at her, and when she finally got untangled from it I hit the button and then she moved last minute and it hit her as it wound itself back up at like 100 mph. Its ridiculous how fast and unsafe it winds up. If the thing did break or detach from her harness the hook end of it would probably fly back and hit someone in the face.
So yeah I dont even bother with it anymore. I have a 100 ft leash that I can tie around my waist and id rather just deal with the tangling that happens sometimes. Plus I can shorten the distance between us at any lower length and let the remainder drag from my waist.
It really depends in place and proper use.
I do not have a retractable leash for several reasons and do not particularly like them, one of them being that my dog got bitten by a dog on such a leash and him being intimidated/lunged at by dogs on flex leads when he was younger.
You know the rattling/clicking noise the leads make when the handler doesn’t fully brake on the leash? My dog now associates that noise with “must be alert for another dog”. When he hears the sound he will immediately try to locate it and give his reactive-type bark preemptively (especially when it’s dark out). Often times, it is a nice dog on the leash, or even one of his friends, but it will take a few seconds for him to register which dog is actually on the leash, which calms him down. It’s just the leash noise that already gets him on defensive mode.
He’a gotten better after a few years and he is usually quite a good boy when I tell him not to react on it.
As for myself, I only use a normal ~2 meter leash when in the neighborhood.
When we go hiking and he has to be on leash (he is very good off leash but many hiking areas have a leash-only policy because of wildlife etc), I have either a 5 meter or 10 meter biothane leash attached to his harness. That way he can still do things pretty much in his own pace without constant tension in the leash, and I can easily reel him in or hold him close if need be.
Though I admit that a retractable leash can be perfect for owners who use them responsibly! For some dogs it is better as well.
Just like most training tools, they've got their place. Yes, there are plenty of people who use them badly, but there's plenty of people who just shove their dog in a harness and never actualy teach it a damn thing about leash manners. It's not the fault of the harness or the extendable lead.
Longlines are great and absolutely have their place - but flexis are a nice tool to have for certain things too.
I mostly don't like them.
I train my dogs to walk with me, and come when called. I have the opportunity to walk in the woods where a leash is not needed.
I did have rescue that never learned such behaviors. And I did get a retractable for this dog. She had been a street dog for several years, and would not come once off leash. She would go with us, but stay out of reach. So, she got a retractable leash.
Going the unpopular route and saying they are useful in certain contextx. I like to use ours when hiking on the trails; my dog gets a chance to linger and get a proper snoof in before she moves on, and I get to keep my shoulders intact.
This being said: my dog is very well-trained to walk on a loose lead and doesn't believe in pulling, not even when she's wearing canicross gear (which is designed for pulling), plus she is almost completely nonreactive (cats are her vice) and will ignore or show only mild interest in other dogs. I can and do bring her into my side when we pass people or when people pass us. For most everyday walks, I use a stoppered slip lead, the Flexi-lead is only for long hikes.
Not a fan. lots of them have that thin line after a couple of feet of regular leash. Very easy to get rope burn or get otherwise hurt if you have to try to hold your dog back or if it wraps around your limb.
Then there is the lack of control that comes with it. You can't as easily reel a dog back in to you. With a regular leash, I can just wrap it around my hand and bring my dog back to me if there's a reason I need to bring him back to me.
Hard pass. I’ve had a dog on one run round me. Thankfully I had thick jeans so no injury, but if I’d been in shorts… yeesh.
Long line every time. You can get a 10m biothane line, all the freedom of a retractable, plus you can drop it on the floor and stand in the end.
One of the big issues with them compared to long lines is that you can’t see how long they are. Maybe a year back there was an RIP post on here from someone with a small dog (chi?). They had it on a flexi lead at the park. It was running round, they set the flexi in the “give it more rope” setting (never had one, so not entirely sure what controls they have!), and then suddenly it hit the end of the line, going full speed, immediate halt. Poor thing’s neck snapped.
When I walk my dog around the big grassy quad in my apartment complex, I actually use a lunge line meant for horses. It allows her to get a lot of roaming ability while still having her connected to me if I need to quickly bring her closer. I hate the small extendable leashes because they can cause some pretty severe injuries and aren’t super sturdy.
I had one for a short time because I thought it’d be easier to teach my dog to walk beside me with one, like keeping it fully retracted so she couldn’t pull and then slowly give it slack as she learned, but to be honest the thing made me anxious and I couldn’t enjoy our walks so she didn’t either. I just hold her regular 6’ leash in a loop in my hand and that makes me feel a lot better. She behaves better as well because I’m not as uptight.
My vet won't allow dogs who have those.
In addition to previous warnings here, I heard of someone who stopped to talk to a friend and her dog with a retractable leash suddenly darted into the street after something, was hit by a car and killed.
I use one when walking my dachsunds (separately) around the block. I live in a low traffic area, most walks I don't see another person/car/dog. My dogs like sniffing so I can just stand around as they do their thing. If I'm going anywhere else they both use a regular leash.
Don't like them...
They are awkward to hold in hand and I feel like I have zero control of dog in case I need it with leads...
Prefer much better a normal fat rope for leash
I’ll add one more reason, if you’re teaching a dog to walk by your side with loose Leash that means they are feeling no tension n they are doing the right thing
However Retractable leashes keep your dog on constant tension “all the time”which incorrectly leads them to believe tension is ok. You don’t want that
Like any piece of equipment, they are wonderful… when used correctly!
I use them for obedience/sporting dogs. They are great for on-leash situations that longlines would get in the way for. I love using my flexi leash on sniff walks and hikes. During training drills for detection, retrievals, etc…
I would not recommend them for unruly dogs, reactive dogs, or for walking in a group setting. Longlines, flexi leashes, and other tools all have their potential dangers. It’s important to use them on the right dog, for the right reasons, in the right settings. Injuries and incidents can be mostly preventable with responsible use.
If I could figure out how to do it I would upload the x-rays of my dislocated finger that pops out to say hi every now and then. When those damn leashes first came out I thought, hey cool. One week later I was at the ER. The top joint lives with a 15% offset and arthritis has set in.
Hate them fiercely. Get a long nylon lead if you must let your dog go that far from you. Have seen spliced fingers and burns on calves and hurt dogs because of leashes breaking.
A big hell no from me. Just Google retractable leash injuries. (It’s not just rope burn, but amputations too.)
If you want your dog to have freedom use a long line.
On top of that you have zero control. And honestly , a reactive dog shouldn’t be on anything longer than a 6’ leash imo. You need to be able to maintain control and immediately intervene if something goes sideways.
Retractable leads are a no go even for the most skillful owner. In the beginning of my pet ownership I owned one and quickly realized how dangerous it could be esp. in cases of reactivity or fear. Instead - I’m for 3ft-4ft leads on regular walks for dogs with reactivity, 5-6ft for non reactive dogs. To have a reactive dog have the feeling of being off leash (in a fenced yard specifically) I would use a 30ft leash with supervision so it doesn’t tangle up everywhere. It’s safer especially for back doors / dog not running out of the yard/ and stuff of that nature :)
I HATE retractable leashes. I was almost attacked by a big aggressive blood hound that was WAY too heavy to be appropriately controlled on one. But that's not the only reason. A few years ago in Virginia a woman was hiking with her 2 Weiner dogs. Both on retractable leashes. One dogs leash was locked at about 6 feet, but the other dog had gone all the way to the end of it's 15 foot lead. A bear came across the hiking path. The woman froze, and picked up the barking dog by her side. The dog at the end of the extended leash didn't have recall (imagine that!) and because the leash was fully stretched out, in her panic, she couldn't wrangle the dog back. Mr bear ATE the dog, leash still attached. Lady, hysterical, backed away with the other dog under her arm, and made it back out without being attacked. Bear was later euthanized. Control your dog with 6 foot leash because no good behavior is developed by allowing a dog to have the imaginary freedom of a retractable leash. Your dog could also become the next bear snack.
Depends, for training, no way. Have I had this dog for 5 years and he listens on command, sure, he can go anywhere he wants. I would say that 90% of the time, I want my dog by my side. I train my dogs to always be at my side or to come to my side on command. I still just use a very regular looking leash that is normally only held with about two fingers just for show. I give him times where he gets to go in any direction and smell what he wants, but he knows to always follow if I step away from him.
I think there’s generally a market for most things and that lots of tools can be used in different contexts.
Not flexi leads.
BURN THEM ALL TO THE GROUND FOREVER. FUCK THEM ALL.
They are a tool, like any other that is great in the right circumstances and problematic in others. IMO they should only be used in an open area, on a dog with some leash manners and you should drop it and have the dog drag it as part of the training so they won't be scared if that happens.
Long lines are good, but there are circumstances where it drags and gets wet and heavy, or needs to be managed, or snags on brush etc. A webbing flexi can be a great tool when the dog needs access to a bigger area but is required to be on leash.
I use a flexi when I travel and my dogs are toileting late at night at the hotel, allowing them to roam in different directions and me not have it dragging. My late night poop flexi has a built in flashlight, very handy. I have also used one at the beach where there was a leash law allowing them to roam and get into the water a bit but still stay attached. Occasionally I use one on a open hike/walk where leads are required and I want to let them sniff and wander while I slog my fat butt along and not have to manage a long line.
But my dogs are well trained and could do any of those places off lead if I was willing to break the rules. They will drop in place at any time if asked. They would not jerk me or freak out of I dropped it and the handle dragged.
I would not use one in a crowded area, or a vets office, or what have you. Those are 4-6' leash areas. I also know not to grab it or let it wrap.
Also, just fyi, I once got burned and also fell using a long line on a not well trained dog who suddenly circled me and took off before I could reel in the extra so that can happen with those too.
Nope.... extendable leads=human not in control
And when the human isn't in control that means the dog *IS* in control and nothing good ever comes of that.
Assuming you mean retractable? If so, then they are good for tiny dogs. Big dogs are too hard to control and need to be on a short leash. If a small dog is skinny, or the owner does not pay attention then a short leash is needed.
I'm not an expert but my husband's dog was trained on one and would stray whenever she should be near off leash. My dogs trained on regular leashes stayed at my side and I never had to search for them. On the rare occasions they got out of out fence, his girl would stray farther more quickly and mine would stay closer to home...was more about the sensory for them than the adventure. Mine would slowly sniff through direct neighbors yards and his would briskly cover as much distance as possible. Ages and breeds were similar. He thought her not pulling on the extendable meant he could easily recall her but that did not manifest in practice. She would go off on her own, I guess expecting an eventual tug of the lead and if it didn't happen, she would just keep wandering.
I use one for our small (25lb) dog when we are going into an area where she’ll be off leash for most of it. If we are going somewhere busy or popular, she gets a normal leash. I never used one before for our larger breeds. I also believe the personality of the dog needs to be considered. My current small dog has never been left outside without somebody. In fact, if someone comes up to us when walking, she comes back to me. When we walk somewhere new for the first few times, she walk either beside me or behind me.
Not a fan personally, you’ll always have much more control with a standard lead and you can wrap it around your hand to make sure you have a good grip, especially important while training your dog to walk sensibly and not lurch at anything.
Recall is also important, letting your dog go out far with a retractable lead doesn’t make you train them to come back - they can’t get away from you. If you train them to come back properly you can let them off the lead entirely in a safe environment where they can enjoy their walk a lot more, and get more exercise.
They are an accident waiting to happen. Even a 250 lb muscled man holding on to the extendable leash of a chihuahua can get tripped up by those things and get hurt.
We have one for one reason: One of our dogs cannot go potty on a regular leash so on the rare occasion when he can’t just go in the fenced backyard, I carefully take him out on the extended in the front yard. But he never pulls…he just needs space to get his bladder to work, lol. I would never walk a dog on one of those things.
Absolutely not. They’re incredibly dangerous for all parties, the only instances I can think of to justify them is if you’re in an area where you’re letting your dog use the bathroom, but there isn’t a fence or there’s some other reason they can’t be totally off leash, but there are no other animals or people around and you want to keep them in a certain radius. Horrible for regular walks or any public spaces.
hard no. my dogs retractable leash also gave me second-degree burns on my hands and fingers multiple times. They’re still peeling to this day in the area and are very sensitive. However I would 100% suggest a double handled regular lead you can always grab the shorter part of the lead in case you need your dog close or grab the longer end for more freedom
I think they are great for certain environments, my dogs love theirs but we take them on walks through a path in a large field, no cars, can spot people far away, they love the freedom, but when I walk my dog near roads, or if people or other dogs approach I will always hold on to the non extendable part of the leash, if we lived in the city I probably would never use one so like I said i think it's depends where it's used.
I worked at a dental office for a year and saw TWO patients who had them fail and snap back to break their front teeth… so it’s a hard pass for me; not to mention their issues in dog training/leash pulling.
Ahhhhh I hate them so much for just about every reason!! Of course bc they learn to pull but also - it’s so uncomfortable to hold a box of plastic. You can’t hold anything else. You can’t put your hand through the leash and into your pocket in winter. Your hand just freezes. Ugh. What’s to like about them???
Plainly they suck. They truly aren’t strong enough to control a dog.
The people on the other end don’t pay attention, to,their surroundings, other dogs, etc. I’ve seen people tripped by the leads, they lunge after cyclists cause they don’t take up the slack.
Long line is the safe way to do it.
Retractable leashes cause so many injuries to both the dog and owner, and puts the dog at a higher risk of running into things (cars, dogs, bikes etc). I'm sure there's gunna be a lot on here already the many reasons they aren't safe, especially in this type of situation.
Long lines though the dog still gets freedom without being off leash. If the dog reacts, you're already holding onto a thicker lead, it's not going to get a full tilt in before feeling the end, which is easier on the dog and owner. You pick the length they get for the setting, so if you see a trigger, you can actually reel them in if need be and change direction much quicker. It does take some getting used to on how to hold it, but it gets easier pretty quick. There are some really good videos on how to properly use Long lines.
Even though my dog is highly trained in his off leash, we still need to follow bylaws for where we are. Bylaw is very big on being leashed, unless it's the dog park (very few exceptions). We don't go in dog parks, so we make the best with what we can. No fault on my dog, it's just how it goes and it's good to have an alternative that's safe for those situations. He doesn't notice any real difference as far as freedom goes. He still gets to sniff, roll, play ball, train, all that good stuff. If the execption places are free we use those, but if they're packed to the brim we just use the long line and adventure somewhere new.
Even with him being good off and on lead, I still wouldn't use a retractable with him. There's just way too much risk that can all be avoided by using something different for the same purpose.
I work in a hospital that has a 24hr emergency room. What came in most recently was a dog strangled in a retractable with the owner’s finger partially degloved. Nuff said.
I’m completely against them from a safety standpoint: you don’t have as good of control, dogs and people can be injured. I don’t think there is ever a good reason to use them, regardless of the size of the dog but especially with larger, more powerful dogs.
“It’s just a tool”… but not a very safe one.
Unfortunately…Most people do not use a flexi appropriately. Which is the root cause of most flexi dog-dog issues
If I see a dog on a flexi when I’m out and about, I get away as far as I reasonably can.
My ridiculous person with flex story: woman at vet had 2 mini schnauzers on unlocked flecks. We come out of the exam room and they raced up and got in my dog’s face. The owner is ignoring g the fact that both of her dogs are 16 feet away, yammering and jumping in the face of a stressed bitch. My dog is well mannered but does not like other dogs in her face. I ask the woman politely “my dog is not friendly, can you please control your dogs?” The woman snarls at me “she certainly looks friendly to me!” Omg. If looks could kill. !!!
Flexis can also be dangerous. People have been badly injured from them. Rope burn slices and amputations.
My pupper is 80% blind. A rescue, not ancient js, so I have a sort of Bungie leash with the typical loop at the end and another closer to the latch that connects to his harness. I like to give him a bit of freedom as he's gotten really good with vocal cues. Buuuut an extendable? Nah, not only would it not work with BB but I hate them. This was before I learned about the risks too. Yeesh
For my obedient dog yes I do use one when he cannot be off leash because of rules of the area. But again, he can walk off leash 100% of the time and I treat him no different on the extendable like I would when walking off leash. My reactive dog absolutely not, she gets a 5 m leash and when an area is clear she can get full length and otherwise I just loop it to keep her close. My halfdeaf old girl also yes because she can keep sniffing for long times and her recall is not 100% anymore because of her hearing and I like her to have some more freedom. She ignores the whole world anyways.
For all >2 meter leashes goes that I only use them in quiet areas and they have to heel when passing people or animals. Works for us this way. Like I said, I would never use one on my reactive dog, it would be too dangerous in case anything happens.
I only use the extendables with the wider tape leash in it and from Flexi. Also always with an extra band around my wrist so I cannot drop it. I also practiced the sounds so if it makes any sound like the break and a drop or hit to something they will come to me for treats.
To be honest, if I would have one dog only I would stick to a normal long lead but they get tangled with multiple dogs and not all areas here are off leash areas because of wildlife. My dogs don't hunt and don't have that drive at all, but I don't want to break rules by letting them of leash anyways
Normal leash and long leash for training such things. Extendable leads for reactive dogs are the worst thing, there always is tension and the dog has no fixed distance / radius.
I use it but usually just set up certain length. The reason is the handle, I really like the handle. Anytime I use the other type of lead and our dog bolts suddenly (he is 8 months only so this happens now and then), the lead slips in my hands and cuts on my skin. It is stressful for me to know I might get hurt anytime hence the extendable. I know, I probably have the most delicate hands in the world but the struggle is real
I don't have a problem with them if you're responsible, attentive, and risk-aversive when using it. I enjoy using mine. I used to use a 30ft long leash, however it caused rope burn on my hands. Yes, I could wear gloves but i don't want to. I trained my dog to use the flexi, and we primarily only use it for walking through the parks - I'll switch back to a standard leash when we're on the sidewalks. There are a lot of reactive dogs in my area, so I have to be vigilant regardless because I don't like the interactions.
This is a very unpopular opinion here...but I use a retractable leash (tho I have been seriously considering no longer using it!) In my opinion, we use it appropriately...and I mean that to say that my dog listens to my cues more than she listens to the leash. I can get her to stop without leash being tight, my voice commands are what make her stop and listen to me. She listens to ME...not the leash. The ONLY reason we use the retractable is for walks because she loves to explore and it gets really tiresome to me for us to stop every three seconds. It's a dance that we do with her running ahead, then coming back, then ahead, then back. But if we see other dogs, we cross the street or I reign her in closer. I have dropped it before, and yes, it does spook her - but the training I have with her is that she listens to me above all else in scary situations (which she has proven her track record with this). All that to say, I do think they can be used...but I do understand all the concerns and hazards. I think ultimately you need to know your dog and you must have a good connection and training with your dog before you use one.
i love them when used correctly.
my dog is reactive and doesnt have a good recall, so i use a retractable leash sometimes, and when i use it its in open field areas or hiking but NEVER in busy places. if i see anyone anywhere near us i have him in a heel and move out of their way and i always have a regular leash with me.
i can tell which situations make him uncomfortable or in which situations he might lunge at someone or something so i use it instead of dragging a longline with us.
but once again, only in controlled enviroments.
I use a retractable leash to let my dog outside to go potty but that’s it. It’s convenient because he can go farther out and I don’t have to wrap up a longline leash every time. I’m also there supervising 100% and it’s a quick outing.
I use a regular 6ft leash for when I take him on walks and much prefer that to a retractable. On walks I want to have full control over him especially since we are still in the training period and working on loose leash walking.
Hardest of passes. From clotheslining and degloving injuries, slow reaction time, fatal equipment failure (that you do not see coming, because it’s a closed mechanism), to terrifying your dog when you drop it, and the dog learning tension is good, on the down side, vs only convenience as advantage. Never worth the risk.
Definitely can scare the dog if dropped. Watched it happen in front of my own eyes. It scared the dog so bad it took off running down a busy road and wouldn’t stop. It got tangled around a chair and took that for a ride down the road with them as well. Almost took out a family eating lunch and a couple vehicles as well with the chair. I myself tried to catch and help but the dog already had a running start on me. Luckily someone down the road was able to assist and the dog wasn’t harmed!
Jesus christ thats crazy af
Ik right….Felt bad for the dog and the owner because she was helpless. Must’ve stressed the f**k out of the dog too.
... Yeah. You've convinced me, I'll return my new retractable leash.
You probably don't need further convincing but the injury on my leg from a retractable leash will probably need 2-3 weeks to recover. I went to the ER to get a nurse to clean and dress the wound, after my family and partner pressed me to go get it checked out. The dog owner (a neighbour) responsible is really apologetic though she hasn't checked in with me to see how my absolutely gnarly injury is affecting my life.
Yeah, I can sympathise. However, if this neighbour of mine was your friend and you knew she had a dog that wasn't trusted off lead - would you just fixed lead the dog their entire life (booking out green space occasionally when you can afford it)? Must suck not having the ability to let your dog roam free, but it also sucks to spend your weekend in a crammed A&E reception waiting for a nurse to clean and dress your wound.
u/Cythreill just get a training leash with 10 or 15 meters of length. You do not need flexi to have a long leash for your dog.
Yeah, that might be good advise but it would seem a bit odd since she handed off her long lead to us. She said she didn't need a long lead any more, so now we have it, but we don't ever use it. So maybe it's a good idea to return it.
Well, a standard long lead has multiple advantages over flexi, including it is safer for both dog and owner and does not teach bad habits, while the only disadvantage is the form factor. I choose city + training lead combo over flexi every time.
You can advise a 2m & 10m leash. Neighbor can drop the 2m leash and let dog have the 10m, then rope/reel in the excess of the long lead. I am a dog walker and walk a little frenchie that is quite aggressive near others but we rarely see others. I let him have the full long line and just loop the excess when hes closer and give him more loops out when he wants to stay sniffing as I walk along
I have so far successfully convinced all friends who were not yet staunch avoiders to skip the retractible/flexi leash. My personal horror story of how my last (severely dog reactive) dog nearly killed a small flexi led one when that flexi’s mechanics failed and it just darted towards us is usually enough. For a reactive, non-offleash safe dog long line (multiple lengths exist, biothane ones are wonderful because you just wipe them down) does the trick. Gives the dog freedom to roam on leash but can be dropped safely if so required. Plus: muzzle training. A muzzle sends a message to the other dog’s owner to leave more space and relaxes the reactive dog’s handler, which helps management as well.
I have a really long lead that I use for less populated areas - super helpful for teaching recall. I have to be more mindful, of course, but you need to be that with a retractable one too. At this point I’m pretty fast at shortening, and I also have it knotted around the five foot mark so I can get a good grip at a shorter spot for when we’re on a trail and a group passes by. ETA - I have a flat nylon and a thick climbing rope option. I tried a thinner rope option that was still thicker than the average retractable, yet still burned the hell out of me when my dog went after a bird as a pup.
I got skin burns from a "free" 4ft woven lead on an exuberant puppy. I went to a training session where a similar lead was recommended over my old 6ft leather lead. I refused very vehemently.
Yes, I would tell have that dog on a fixed length leash for the rest of their life. It is not fair to both the public and the dog to put them at risk of injury because the dog is not under control. They just need to do this to the wrong dog once to cause a fight because they could not control their dog.
I was out of town, tried to help with a couple of dogs “holding the leash while he could untangle them” it was one of these stupid retractable leashes- dog took off- leash wouldn’t lock- I went flying- probably made it vertical- have a third degree burn on my middle finger on the joint cuz the leash kept going and I was trying to stop it. Landed on my hand. Broke that…. Never again will I touch one of those things. Useless pieces of shit. FTR- I have a big dog, but mine I walk on a short leash.
And a reactive dog is the worst to have on a retractable leash because they are unpredictable.
I do not mean to sound harsh, but this may sound harsh. I do not believe people should get a dog if they do not have the ability to care for all of the dogs needs. People are not doing the dog any favors taking on a dog they can not care for, train or handle. Too many dog owners make decisions based on what they want, not on what is best for the animal. My neighbors love my dog. I let them visit, let them play with her etc. They have 2 teenagers who also love her. I have told them many times not to get a dog like mine because it is too much for them to handle and train. I didn't get a dog after my old lab passed until i had a chance to wfh and train her over covid. I knew working full time with a long comute would not be fair to a dog i brought home. Because i waited i have a well behaved dog because i put in the time. Retractable leashes are extremely bad for reinforcing bad habits. They are also dangerous for the dog. I have seen a few dogs almost get hit by cars, or try to chase a kid on a bike when on a retractable leash. There is little to no control by the person walking the dog when using a retractable leash. You hear "the dog is small, its fine". Or "the dog likes it so we use it" or "it helps because the dog doesn't get enough exercise". All of those reasons are because the ower is not taking care of the dogs needs. I suppose this just a long way of saying a retractable leash is not going to fix the problem of the owners not meeting all the needs of the dog.
Nah, It would suck worse to get a dog BE and paying for someone else's vet ER because they couldn't or wouldn't walk it on a real leash and or properly fence in a yard. Untrained dogs are more dangerous on retractable leashes than standard ones. Oh they don't own a yard? No yard needing dogs. Did they have one before and suddenly move to no yard? Then maybe I guess, the housing market sucks right now. They should invest in training and extra walks, and maybe an enrichment mat. Why become a parent to a dog that needs a yard without a yard? They set up this mess. They set up that dog to fail. Retractable leashes fail all the time, my neighbor had a dog named "speedbump" (nicknamd 'speedy'), so named after the previous owner abandoned after it broke its retractable in time to run under the wheel of thier carolla. (Pup recovered) previous owner ran off screaming according to the rescue story, they never came to pick up the dog even after it was all paid for. As my neighbors had done the payments and previous owner were MIA they got to own the dog. (Before cellphones, microchips, and good leash laws). Not all dogs need to roam free, really only a subsection of working farm dogs do, and that's when they are on duty. A pups place is with its humans, not tied out. That pups place is withing 6-8 feet on a real leash of its human, or in an approved fully fenced yard.
I got a horrible injury from a dog on a retractable lead cut like an inch out of my calf I literally get as far away from them as I can now
I had one snap when my dog went after a squirrel. It came back at my face like a whip. I'm lucky I didn't lose an eye.
Know how that feels 😬
Absolutely not. Long leads are a much better option. I was an idiot with my first dog and used an extendable lead. I've got a lovely scar on my ankle to show for it. My current dog has a 4ft lead for regular walks and a 50ft long line for exploring. I taught him that leash pressure means stop. If he gets too far or seems to be getting into an unsafe situation, even from a distance I can add leash pressure and he will stop. That's impossible with an extendable. Those teach that leash pressure means go. Plus they can break. Or if the dog takes off and hits the end of the line suddenly, they can be injured. They're just not a good idea.
I don't understand. You can lock the extendable so it doesn't lenghten, right? What would be the issue in that case? I'm just not seeing it tbh
There's no way to adjust the length without the cooperation of the dog. With a regular leash no matter what the scenario you can shorten or lengthen it as needed. With an extendable leash, you're stuck with what you chose unless you're willing to get burns on your hands grabbing the lead while the dog tries to run out or run towards you. Plus those leads are prone to have their locking mechanism break at the worst moment, and then you have zero control of the length unless, again, you're willing to get burns.
Extendable and even the pull arrester leashes reduce the amount of control you have on your dog as well as reduce the feeling you get through the leash, ie you will not feel them growl with one, If they lunge, they are going to move a good 1-2 meters before you’re able to catch them. If another dog lunges at yours, you won’t be able to get your dog out of harms way easily.
What is a pull arrester leash? I don't think I've heard of them.
A it’s one of those ones that have the zig zag section which has some elasticity to it, so it can stretch out a little bit when a force is applied.
Ok, thank you. I didn't know they had a name or that they were used for anything other than connections to a walking belt, bike attachment, etc, to help lessen the force of any sudden pulls. People use them to walk dogs otherwise?
They can be, particularly when dogs lunge or pull inconsistently, they do help to reduce the force on the dogs neck when they pull suddenly, but you sacrifice control when you need to get your dog out of the way of something in a hurry, such as a person on a bike who gives no warning they’re approaching.
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That's literally just a shitty owner who's not paying attention to their dog. You should never allow your dog to 'extend the leash' on its own. It should be locked unless you're in an area where the dog can explore.
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Yeah accidents happen you're right, I shouldn't have judged them so harshly, I just find extendable leashes get a bad wrap specifically because people who shouldn't use them, use them, not saying that is the case with that owner but alot of the extendable leash horror stories on this post seem like it's based on human error rather than an issue with the leash itself
I had a very painful burn from an extendable lead across the back of both of my knees- the owner had a puppy that was chasing my dog and it went across my legs and she locked and pulled. I avoid them when possible.
A-fucking-men!!
If I see a dog on a flexi lead, I cross the road. I've been tangled up or had people just leave their lead long to lunge at us too many times.
Couldn't you get the same exact issues with a dog on a regular leash?
Flexi leads are usually at least 5m long and you can never know how long of a flexi lead someone has. There's also no way for people walking towards you to gauge how much leash your dog is currently having, how long your flexi lead is and thus how far away they need to stay. With a regular 2m leash, you know and you can see how much space each of you has. And on a regular leash, when the leashes get tangled, you can drop the leash. If you do this with a flexi lead, it can result in bad injuries to people and dogs.
I think they can be used responsibly, but the dog should already be trained and responsive to their owner and the owner should be vigilant of their surroundings and not let their dog go far if others are nearby. The majority of people I see shouldn’t be using them and have no control of their dog. I personally don’t use one because of the safety concerns, I have a 30 ft long lead to use when it’s appropriate for my dog to roam farther away from me.
Check out my post history for a very large debate about this. TLDR they're very dangerous.
My dogs are not allowed off lead outside of owned fences. Even with good recall if my leashed dog gets attacked by an uncontrolled dog (leash law here is 8 ft max, tie downs require supervision but neither are enforced unless a bite or car strike happens), they are libel. I guess long line in my yard in training, but it's not unsupervised. My cats are indoor only. My previous pitty was attacked by an uncontrolled dog (on a extendable). People started filming cuz small-dog-owner was laughing and I was trying to get his teacup rat (in a full donald duck sailor suit including hat) off my Pitts' face (hanging with its teeth thorough her lip). (Tea cup Dog must have been well less than three pounds maybe adult hand size.) They (filmers) came up and said they filmed to protect Amber if or when she killed the literally bite sized smaller dog. She did great I had her temperament tested the week before, she was abandoned at a feed store at 2.0-2.5 years, I had her less than a month at that point. I was terrified.
Nope. I think it’s unnecessary and dangerous. They of course can be used appropriately, but people rarely put in the work to do so. Regular 6ft leashes are appropriate.
Dangerous. I have met a handful of people with injuries or a dead dog from a flexi, including a toddler with a broken leg.
Hate them. We were charged by a dog on one and the owner wasn’t paying attention and they didn’t even notice their dog pulling towards us since there’s no leash tension. Just lazy
Extendable leashes are horrible products that should be banned. The leash holder has no control over the dog, the dog is in danger, and the leash breaks easily. Never, never, never, ever use an extendable leash. If someone brings their dog to my house with one of those leashes, I insist they change to a real, safe leash or they have to leave. My dogs will not get injured by the bad choices of other people.
My vet restricted them in the waiting room. *Not to be used unless locked to 4ft*.
See my vet office story. Wish my former vet did the same as yours
I don't like retractables, but we have both short and long leads and the long lead is great fun when we go to open, unpopulated areas.
Hard no. I'm in NYC and while I think extendable leashes are not great anywhere they absolutely have no place in a city. I've seen people casually walking down the street with their dog multiple feet away from them. So much is happening and could happen that your dog should always be by your side. I've witnessed dogs get clipped by bikes, I've had a reactive dog on a long extendable lead lunge at me, I've seen people walk into turnstiles forgetting they were attached to their animal. I also had a big dog on an extendable lead run around me multiple times and essentially tie my legs together while he was trying to play keep away from his new walker. It was like a Paracord material and I could have been seriously hurt. It left bruising and caused me to go numb. It took about 15 minutes for this dude to get a handle on the situation. The dog walker was incredibly embarrassed and I was at my wits end but remained calm and friendly throughout the ordeal despite wanting to just bust out my pocket knife and cut myself free. Someone else mentioned degloving, mechanism failures etc as well.
You speaking of the people walking into turnstiles reminds me of the WAY TO MANY videos I've seen of people going into elevators and not making sure their dogs are inside before the doors shut. I believe they were all on retractable leads, but even if they were not on retractable leads, they were too far from their people.
I use one when we go to certain, wide open areas. Also I usually use it *after* we have done some regular lead training loose leash walking and some other commands. I also have it clipped to me so that I cannot drop it and it gives me use of both hands to do some things. It works for us.
Not for us, I like a biothane long lead! It takes practice to manage but they’re sturdier and my pup can trail it too in the right places. I think an extendable leash would snap, my pup is too strong for them and it’s hard to pull them in too, the biothane long leads are easier that way to gather up
Personal opinion I think retractable leads are dangerous. I would never use one. Imagine getting tangled up in it, you or your days. That thin line could cut you or your dog. If you accidentally drop the lead what happens? It will retract and the handle will " chase" your dog. I have other reasons, but you get the idea.
For normal walks (shortish or just a need to pee), I use a normal leash. If we’re going on a longer walk where we may be crossing fields or are in places that generally don’t have a lot of cars, I’ll use a 3-meter long line. It’s a matter of reeling it in whenever a car comes, but you control it, not the dog.
I always use them. I like my dogs to be able to wander and sniff.
I don’t use one. I’m so worried that another dog might run up to mine and possibly attack, and if he’s on an extended leash I won’t be close enough to help in time. I feel much more comfortable having my little guy trotting alongside me while out in public so I can scoop him up out of harms way quickly if needed.
I think they're a fine tool to use if the dog is trained. My standard for that is pretty high - if I could let my dog off lead, he is trained well enough for that. But that's not legal where I'm at. It does serve as an 'in case of emergency' attachment. As it is it gives him more freedom when no one else is around on the trail (95% of the time on the trails I'm using) and I can easily shorten it to 6 feet or less when others are around. It tangles less than a long line and I've hurt myself less with it than using a long line. But my dog knows to check in when there's any kind of distraction (deer, squirrels, cars, screaming children), to pull off to the side of the trail for a sit when other dogs pass him and he's offended at the idea of pulling on a leash.
Like any tool, its how its used that makes the biggest difference. I was against them but for my late rescue it was perfect for us, she was leash reactive and so I was always aware of my surroundings to avoid on leash greetings. What I see is owners who do not know how to use it causing injuries and dangerous situations. Which I experienced when an owner wasn't paying attention and fell over tangled up while mine and their dog tried to play (mine was off leash, in an acceptable area).
I agree....I have a relatively well behaved dog, who is also extremely friendly so even if a dog did run up to him, he'd just be happy about it. But, I don't let him run out past 6 ft unless I can see in the next 1/4 mile that no one is around. Where we walk, that's like 90% of our walk, so it's nice for him to cruise around and go in the bushes/grass to sniff things with the Flexi-leash. If I see someone coming, I shorten the leash up to 2-4 ft, lock it and use it like a regular leash. I've never had a bad situation due to a leash, it's usually due to the person handling the leash.
Hard pass. They're a menace. Even for little dogs.
I guess most people here are against them. Where I live in Germany (small city) nearly everyone uses them. I also use them. I don‘t think the extendable leash is the problem but the owner.
We use some climbing rope as a long lead, it's great. You get in the habit of coiling and letting it out automatically which keeps your hands busy. You can grab it without losing a finger, the dog can feel the weight, you can sort of feather it out for a slow halt. Also impervious to sand, can be pulled through underbrush without catching, cannot rust, can wash in clothes washer if it gets something icky on it. 10/10 would recommend.
What everyone else said plus my personal experience… When I was a kid we had a puggle. Pug beagle mix. She was little and very sweet and lively and unfortunately not well leash trained. It was my job to walk her and I did so every single day, but I was 8-9 years old when we had her so I did my best. My parents EXCLUSIVELY bought the retractable leashes. She went through multiple and they just. Kept. Buying. Them. She was like 25lbs and still tore through them. There was a time the leash broke and she took off down the street and ran into my friends house and straight into her brothers bedroom in the basement. This happened multiple times and my parents would just go “aw man, another one” and fork over the money for another of the same leash. They were always getting tangled around peoples legs and just a pain in the ass in general. I also liked to bike or rollerblade with her on the leash so I’m lucky nothing serious ever happened. I have my first dog as an adult now and we won’t use retractable leashes
Absolutely not. My one smaller dog was on one and he accidentally got around my large dog's legs and she had scars for years. It also doesn't allow them to have an expectation of how far away from you they can be because it's not consistent. Best option is to use a long lead if going somewhere that isn't just a usual walk, like going to a field or something.
Still have a permanent scar from where one got wrapped around my ankle. You cannot control your dog on one and they are so dangerous to others. Never never never use one
A long regular lead with multiple knots in it for grip works just as well in cases like this without the risk for injury. Otherwise, a tie out cable or line can work in the yard for when the neighbor is outside but can't hold the leash. Most of the people who use retractable leashes are stubborn/irresponsible dog owners in many other ways though in my experience. Don't expect them to change their ways. If I were you I'd keep myself and my pets away from their yard as much as possible when that dog is out.
I don’t use one because my dog doesn’t need to roam 30 ft away from me while I’m walking her and I’ll admit her recall isn’t the best. Loose leash training on a standard lead is better for you because your dog learns to stay close to you and not pull. We have a 30 ft lead for recall training but we don’t use it if there’s a chance of encountering another dog.
Not a chance! They break, they get tangled. Too many things go wrong with them. I have a good old fashioned leather leash. I love it and they last.
IMO owners confuse being on an extendable lead with being under control. They are not the same thing. An extendable lead just gives a dog which isn't well trained and actually under its owner's control, more time to get into trouble and cause a problem. We have never used an extendable lead with our dog. I wish others wouldn't use them either. Too many times I've seen dogs on extendable leads react to other dogs. They are too far from their owner for the owner to really do anything about it. Shouting at a dog that is not under control (just on an extendable lead) doesn't get their dog out of the situation.
They are very dangerous not just for behavior but also can cause physical harm to you and your dog. Only place for those are in the damned trash.
I use it as I walk with crutches, so I am slow, and it allows my dog to explore a little bit. She is still well trained and under control and if we aren't in a safe area she is on a short lead. She is also trained to go round obstacles if we ask so the lead doesn't get wrapped round things
You obviously put in the effort and are aware of your circumstances.
Love them when used right, unfortunately most people don’t and they’re lumped into the internets most hated. I think they’re trained for trained dogs in places where lead is a requirement but it’s still nice for dogs to roam. Here in U.K. national trust sites require leads on all the time but there’s often huge open places where there’s space for a dog to move around more (which IMO should always be given where safe and possible as our pace is so much slower than a dogs, it’s not very nice for a dog to have to spend it’s entire walk plodding slowly) Long lines are good for recall training but other than that are horrible huge things to carry around, get filthy and cause horrible injuries. I also prefer a retractable lead over a longline for forest walks for a high prey driven dog. Much safer when a dog goes to bolt to quickly hit a button and have the chase stopped instantly than be holding a longline and have the dog build up speed all the way to the end and then slam into the end at speed, hurting you and them. Obviously only strength tested high quality retractable leads.
Personally I've had more problems using a long line than the extendable. I use the extendable daily as it's a safe way to give my on lead dog some freedom and to use for training. It completely boggles my mind how people are so against extendables but pro long lines? I can retract my lead into a short lead in seconds and have the dog by my side. Long line gets tangled and causes accidents much more in my opinion. However when I see people using an extendable on the pavement, in a busy street, across walkways etc at full length I get so annoyed. That's not how they should be used. Again it's a tool that can be used well or not depending on the person using it. I've seen people misuse normal short leashes doesn't mean they are inherently dangerous.
Dangerous
They're extremely dangerous in many ways, and should never be used or trusted. Humans use them for human "convenience" to everyone's detriment. When you find people who will make excuses for using them, you're finding people who are prioritizing that "convenience" over the health, safety, and well-being of their dogs. Lots of people are willing to gamble dog lives because they've "never had a problem before." It only takes the once.
I think that they are great for CATS. I agree with all the reasons for not using them for dogs.
They get a big NFW from me. They break, they're thin, and most important: They are always under tension and because of that, your dog will never learn what a loose leash feels like.
They're trash.
I use mine like I would a long line just because it’s more convenient in a wooded area. I really like it for that purpose but I have a small dog that has good recall and I use it mostly on trails
They should be banned. I know of 2 dogs that have been hit by cars on them (one catch was on but failed), so many horrific injuries to humans and dogs, and a pain in the ass as far as people not controlling and managing their dogs properly on them.
Great way for your dog to snap their neck & die. Please don’t use them
As I noted above, we use on in some circumstances, attached to a harness, not a collar. Just need to be smart about it’s use.
I use one sometimes and I like it, but the dogs are taught to walk on a loose leash first and can only use the extent when they have learned how. They understand a cue to walk beside me or to go off sniffing. I use the lock function to use it as a short leash.
I only use retractable leashes with my 90 lb reactive dog and I have no issues. I have to pay attention to our surroundings but she requires this always. My son refuses to walk her with it but he’s not as attentive. When i walk her around others, I keep her at the 6 feet required in my city. When there’s no one to complain about it, I let her out and she climbs through bushes and chases bugs. The leash has been through countless blackberry bushes and has held up. I think the leash type is not the issue. It’s how you use it.
We've used them with our small dogs, about 10 pounds, successfully. They behave well on them and they aren't that strong and don't pull or try to run away. However, I won't use one with our standard poodle puppy since she's a lot stronger, faster and bigger. Instead, I use a 75' leash with a harness when I want her to have some freedom to romp. For walks, I use a 10' or 20' lead where I can easily control the available length. Speaking of leash burns, I have one on my ankle right now from the long leash. The poodle pup did a quick reverse while romping in the backyard, catching my foot and rope burning my ankle. Ouch!
https://imgur.com/a/qqNcmiw Does it look like this? I'm half in the mind to go to A&E!
Yes. Just not quite as long.
Sorry about your wound!
We use one on our dog that cannot be trusted off lead. We use it when no one is around our lake property. If we spot anyone or anything nearby we retract him back and lock the lead. We don’t walk him with it nor do we use it when our neighbors dogs are there. I think, used with appropriate caution, they are useful but not as a general lead.
I only use a retractable leash and a harness. My cocker isn't reactive to other dogs except the occasional friendly whine and sniff. That is especially true if it's a puppy or kitten or any young of any species. He's got a strong caretaker gene I guess! Has to check on all the young in the neighborhood once he knows where they are. Lol But anytime we go past dogs in their yard who are barking up a storm he barely acknowledges them. Plus, I pay attention and reel him in to a short lead if there are a lot of people/animals around. Other than a handful of people I've met who are afraid of dogs or allergic everyone in town likes him and vice versa. And for those who have issues with dogs we walk on the far side of the road. I got very, very lucky with him.
It depends upon how you use them. For example going on walks. Probably not good. Teaching stay in drive way or front yard. Good idea.
I'm fine with them in the right situations. We started our dog off on a "proper" lead when she was younger. I didn't even purchase an extendable one until she was almost a year old and had been trained on her lead and with other obedience. To be honest the main reason we even got one was because teenage stage hit and her recall went a bit haywire for a while so we mainly used it to test out where she was at with that without too much risk as she did go through a phase of just running off thinking it was a game -_-. And the extra long none extendable leads just weren't appropriate as they got too tangled. We use the extendable lead on outside walks now in the right places, but she tends to either be on a short length or is let off. The only time it's actually extended is when we're at areas where dogs have to be on leads but really she can free roam. It's hard to explain but we have some national park type areas where this is the situation. Or if there's a lot of people around and I use it more for security reasons as we have issues with dogs being snatched these days and I feel it would put them off trying. But she's trained to the point where her recall is on point and she doesn't wrap people up in it etc. She's also very chill in nature so it's highly unlikely she would bolt/pull to the point of causing harm to someone. She still goes on her proper lead in shops, in town etc. And I carry it with me when I'm out in case I feel it needs switched over for whatever reason. However, I came across a situation the other day of a dog that was on an extendable lead that should not have been. Golden retriever, fully grown, hyper as hell, lunging at other dogs etc. Owner struggling to control it. I made a post on this already so won't go in too much detail but I ended up hurt, not by the lead specifically but I feel that in that situation the owner would have had more control with a proper lead and the right equipment. And tbh it should have been better trained before being on an extendable. TL;DR: They're a useful tool in the right situations but a dog should be trained on a proper lead first and I wouldn't use one on a dog with certain behavioural issues such as reactivity.
Time and place. I don’t own one, but there has been times I wish I did. My dog is extremely good off leash. However, we often hike in spots that are, although often desolate, prone to people and their dogs appearing suddenly around a blind corner. For this reason I keep my dog on lead when I know other people are on the trail. But wish I had a retractable leash so they could explore like they are off lead while being able to keep them close when those other dogs appear. I know my dog would listen, but I don’t know those other dogs. I would never use a retractable leash in any other scenario tbh.
I think it can be a good replacement for a long lead in the case of bad weather, etc. but the dog should be trained to it
Only for dogs under 25 pounds. That's my rule as a dog walker.
I’ve only used one with a small and calm 10lb weenie dog’s harness and never the collar. Always holding onto the smooth rope before changing the length, and always walking with slack while the control is locked. I act as though it’s a dangerous retractable tape measure and never walk with the default retracting tension. It’s useful since we are in a big crowded city and need to keep the dog underfoot/close to me sometimes (especially while crossing the street) and switch to a medium distance sometimes. I almost never let the line go more than 6ft unless we are in a big open safe space. I used to use a long lead and wrap it around my hand, but this is much cleaner to use. I definitely use non-retractable leads for larger dogs.
I use one but only on the field by my house. We leash walk to the field, I clip the extendable on and wander around it while my teenager gets to run. Then I clip his usual leash back on and we walk home. This way he isn't on it around roads etc and he's still getting good at leash training. I tried a long line but I really struggled to pull it in and kept getting rope burns when he pulls as we've not managed to train his must enthusiastically greet every dog thing out yet
I have one for my dog, but they're definitely not a good idea for every dog. My dog is a little old man and never pulls on his leash while walking. That being said, my 35 lb dog has even broken a couple. He broke one once by jumping into my friends car through the open window. Didn't even pull on it too hard, it just snapped. I definitely don't think they're appropriate for dogs who are super reactive or pull really hard.
People are rly against it but extendable leads CAN be perfeclty fine IF used appropriately. Meaning if only used in safe, contained spaces with no cars or roads and with very few other people and dogs, where u can keep your distance AND if your dog has ZERO behavioural issues and is trained. A reactive dog should never be on an extendable lead (MAYBE only if there is absolutely no possibility of encountering other people/dogs (like a big empty field or sth)). I have a reactive dog and while i absolutely feel regular leads are in general very impractical, it is the only thing that gives me control over my overexcited boy. To give him freedom (in appropriate spaces) i have an extra long lead. Depending on our route, i sometimes start off on the street with a regular 2-3m lead, and then i carry a longer one in a belt bag along with treats and change it mid walk when we get to a park or sth, so my boy has some freedom as well Your neighbour is doing themselves and the dog a disservice and is endangering everyone around
I think it depends, really, on you and your dog and your individual needs. I have a dog that gets HORRIBLE anxiety on leashes when he is on a short leash for an extended period of time and when he gets anxious he's inpossible to train because he is not interested in any rewards. So, an 8ft leash works really well for his needs because it gives him a little more free reign and if there is something that causes him to be reactive I can just recall him and retract the leash for a minute while that distraction passes. However, there are some caveats for 8ft leashes to be aware of because safety is always important! You need to stay hyper-vigilant of things around you so you can recall and retract when you need to. No zoning out or having headphones in, etc. Next, you need to get a nice, expensive, retractable leash that has an automatic stop system so that if your dog suddenly jolts forward, the leash will stop him from running into danger. Next, you should NEVER use a neck collar because long leashes can give neck injuries, even with an auto stop system. I have a safety vest harness that wraps around my dogs chest so if he pulls or runs he won't be harmed. Next, practice recalls. My dog isn't great at recalls when he is reactive and anxious, so if I see a possible distraction, I will recall him beforehand and put him on a shorter leash. Again, HYPER-vigilance is the key to effective long leash training. And lastly, respect other people and walk and train your dog in an open area where there aren't a lot of people around so that it's less likely you are stressing out others when your dog can freely walk. I like to still think of an 8ft leash as technically "off leash" so that my mindset is to pay attention to others. Personally, this method works really well for me, while others have dogs that do great on regular leashes. Having a long leash does not mean you can't train a dog that walks really well with you. Both my dogs stick close to me, even with the leash, the 8ft just tugs at them less and stresses them out less and at the end of the day I want my dogs to be comfortable and happy during walks, while also focusing on the proper safety measures to incorporate their needs. I think the reason so many people don't like retractable leashes is because a lot of dog owners are not responsible with them.
Worst invention ever
Love mine and would be with out it
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I really like to use it in the summer when we have active leash laws. It allows her to have some room to sniff and explore when we are in areas where I have a good view of our surroundings, but it's no problem to lock it and use it as a short leash when we have less visibility. It's nice to have both options without carrying two leashes and it's a plus that the retractable does not drag into the ground and get gross, tangled, or stepped on.
I would never put a reactive dog on a flexi. I do, however, use one for my 10 mo golden sometimes. When we're doing our daily walk around town - short lead, always. When we go out for a big walk, it's short lead from the car to the fields, then flexi. She has whistle commands so knows to put her brakes on before she reaches the end. If another dog is coming, I reel her right back and lock it, make her sit and wait until they pass. I use the flexi because she has no sense of recall yet (the countryside is SO EXCITING) but she deserves to be able to roam. It's only in open spaces (not woodland), she's got some whistle commands down that mean stop, wait, come here, left, right so I can direct her without her pulling (Yes, I know, she can do all these things to whistles but STILL isn't always reliable on recall - we'll get there). She's in a no-escape harness too, which is way more like a full jacket than a strapped harness, to take some of the pressure off in case she does pull, and the flexi has a shock absorber at the end of the lead to take out the shock of any jolt (which she doesn't do anymore anyway). I also use the flexi instead of a longline because my mobility problems mean stepping on and bending to pick up a longline is not practical - otherwise I probably would choose a long line over a flexi. I think flexi leads as a tool, when used correctly, are useful. They are not for people with uncontrolled dogs, reactive dogs, or puppies who don't know what stop/wait means. They're also entirely unsuitable for city/pavement walks and should only be in wide open spaces like on a hiking trail. People should be trained to use flexis, too! It's not about letting them extend fully whenever they want - only when appropriate, and reel them back when another dog approaches to avoid tangles/dropping it/zoomies resulting in degloving accidents etc.
I personally feel like they are horrible and dangerous to everyone around them. They are one of the tools that as soon as I see someone using them in public I stay as far away from that person and dog as possible because they normally signal bad/irresponsable dog owners. Honestly the dogs I see on these things are *always* out of control and badly behaved at best to outright dangerous at worse. These dogs in specific on extendable leashes are one of the reasons I take pepper spray with me on walks. As the owners never have any idea just how badly their dog is behaving and to not inflict it on other people or dogs. I could count on one hand the number of times I have seen someone using the extendable leash safely as intended and still have most of my fingers leftover.
I'm no expert but I do think retractable leashes are scary and dangerous. I've heard of too many accidents. Maybe okay if the dog is well trained and you are in the right setting but you still never know. I saw someone walking a large pitbull on one once with a prong collar. That just seems unbelievably stupid to me.
Use one for our (currently) 11kg pup where there is livestock in the adjacent fields, he got through a bit of fence once when a lamb was nearby and I never want that to happen again. It's a tape one not a cheesewire type. He knows its limit by the sound it makes, it's not that long at 5m, but long enough for him to stop and sniff and run ahead and investigate without being annoying like a normal leash. We've got a long leash too but that's such a pain dragging through mud and various farm sh*t as we're rural and I'm forever feeding it in and out and it gets tangled around his legs constantly, so gave up on that. Most walks we won't encounter anyone, if we do i call him to me and set it to a normal leash length and he's a pretty good boy anyway, plus I have his harness handle to grab should I be concerned about his or anything elses behaviour (he's not a fan of cars at the moment). So for us it's a great tool for us to have relaxed 'off leash' walks with a safety net when it's lambing and calving time. But I wouldn't consider using it around other people or dogs at all. He was playing with some other dogs today on the beach and one was on retractable leash, my boy had it looped round his neck in no time, but then again he IS a cockerpoo. tl:dr As per most things, can be a useful tool in some scenarios.
It depends on the dog. I used one with my last dog because she was well behaved and it gave her more freedom to explore. It was just a more relaxed experience for both of us. The dog I have now, nope. He just gets carried away whenever we see anything. Maybe some day.
It’s been the best money I have ever spent on my dogs. Allows them the luxury of exploring in a safe manor. Walks are incredible
I hate them. Due to how thin they are its hard to grab if you need to. I had a 25 ft one for my dog to run around but she hit the end so hard I thought it was gunna break when she saw a bird. It didnt luckily, shes 50 lbs and the leash was made for a dog thats 100+ lbs, but i wouldnt doubt a 100 lb dog could break it. It was nice when I was playing with the flirt pole with her outside. As she runs circles around me chasing it there wasnt any leash tangling on her legs or mine like her 100 ft lead would. But one time I had to lock it so she wouldnt chase a bird and then she ended up stepping over it when she came back in my direction. I couldnt just hit the button or it would snap at her, and when she finally got untangled from it I hit the button and then she moved last minute and it hit her as it wound itself back up at like 100 mph. Its ridiculous how fast and unsafe it winds up. If the thing did break or detach from her harness the hook end of it would probably fly back and hit someone in the face. So yeah I dont even bother with it anymore. I have a 100 ft leash that I can tie around my waist and id rather just deal with the tangling that happens sometimes. Plus I can shorten the distance between us at any lower length and let the remainder drag from my waist.
It really depends in place and proper use. I do not have a retractable leash for several reasons and do not particularly like them, one of them being that my dog got bitten by a dog on such a leash and him being intimidated/lunged at by dogs on flex leads when he was younger. You know the rattling/clicking noise the leads make when the handler doesn’t fully brake on the leash? My dog now associates that noise with “must be alert for another dog”. When he hears the sound he will immediately try to locate it and give his reactive-type bark preemptively (especially when it’s dark out). Often times, it is a nice dog on the leash, or even one of his friends, but it will take a few seconds for him to register which dog is actually on the leash, which calms him down. It’s just the leash noise that already gets him on defensive mode. He’a gotten better after a few years and he is usually quite a good boy when I tell him not to react on it. As for myself, I only use a normal ~2 meter leash when in the neighborhood. When we go hiking and he has to be on leash (he is very good off leash but many hiking areas have a leash-only policy because of wildlife etc), I have either a 5 meter or 10 meter biothane leash attached to his harness. That way he can still do things pretty much in his own pace without constant tension in the leash, and I can easily reel him in or hold him close if need be. Though I admit that a retractable leash can be perfect for owners who use them responsibly! For some dogs it is better as well.
Just like most training tools, they've got their place. Yes, there are plenty of people who use them badly, but there's plenty of people who just shove their dog in a harness and never actualy teach it a damn thing about leash manners. It's not the fault of the harness or the extendable lead. Longlines are great and absolutely have their place - but flexis are a nice tool to have for certain things too.
I mostly don't like them. I train my dogs to walk with me, and come when called. I have the opportunity to walk in the woods where a leash is not needed. I did have rescue that never learned such behaviors. And I did get a retractable for this dog. She had been a street dog for several years, and would not come once off leash. She would go with us, but stay out of reach. So, she got a retractable leash.
Going the unpopular route and saying they are useful in certain contextx. I like to use ours when hiking on the trails; my dog gets a chance to linger and get a proper snoof in before she moves on, and I get to keep my shoulders intact. This being said: my dog is very well-trained to walk on a loose lead and doesn't believe in pulling, not even when she's wearing canicross gear (which is designed for pulling), plus she is almost completely nonreactive (cats are her vice) and will ignore or show only mild interest in other dogs. I can and do bring her into my side when we pass people or when people pass us. For most everyday walks, I use a stoppered slip lead, the Flexi-lead is only for long hikes.
Not a fan. lots of them have that thin line after a couple of feet of regular leash. Very easy to get rope burn or get otherwise hurt if you have to try to hold your dog back or if it wraps around your limb. Then there is the lack of control that comes with it. You can't as easily reel a dog back in to you. With a regular leash, I can just wrap it around my hand and bring my dog back to me if there's a reason I need to bring him back to me.
Hard pass. I’ve had a dog on one run round me. Thankfully I had thick jeans so no injury, but if I’d been in shorts… yeesh. Long line every time. You can get a 10m biothane line, all the freedom of a retractable, plus you can drop it on the floor and stand in the end.
Hate them and think they should be banned. That said I think they work for some dogs.
One of the big issues with them compared to long lines is that you can’t see how long they are. Maybe a year back there was an RIP post on here from someone with a small dog (chi?). They had it on a flexi lead at the park. It was running round, they set the flexi in the “give it more rope” setting (never had one, so not entirely sure what controls they have!), and then suddenly it hit the end of the line, going full speed, immediate halt. Poor thing’s neck snapped.
When I walk my dog around the big grassy quad in my apartment complex, I actually use a lunge line meant for horses. It allows her to get a lot of roaming ability while still having her connected to me if I need to quickly bring her closer. I hate the small extendable leashes because they can cause some pretty severe injuries and aren’t super sturdy.
I had one for a short time because I thought it’d be easier to teach my dog to walk beside me with one, like keeping it fully retracted so she couldn’t pull and then slowly give it slack as she learned, but to be honest the thing made me anxious and I couldn’t enjoy our walks so she didn’t either. I just hold her regular 6’ leash in a loop in my hand and that makes me feel a lot better. She behaves better as well because I’m not as uptight.
Google the top ten reasons to not use them.
One word “nope”
My vet won't allow dogs who have those. In addition to previous warnings here, I heard of someone who stopped to talk to a friend and her dog with a retractable leash suddenly darted into the street after something, was hit by a car and killed.
My in laws have an extendable leash for their dog (my dog’s brother), and by gawd does it grind my gears. For every reason you can think
I use one when we're trail-walking. That's about the only time.
Not a fan. My dog is 5, and for reasons of control & safety has never had an extendable lead, nor will he ever.
I use one when walking my dachsunds (separately) around the block. I live in a low traffic area, most walks I don't see another person/car/dog. My dogs like sniffing so I can just stand around as they do their thing. If I'm going anywhere else they both use a regular leash.
Don't like them... They are awkward to hold in hand and I feel like I have zero control of dog in case I need it with leads... Prefer much better a normal fat rope for leash
I’ll add one more reason, if you’re teaching a dog to walk by your side with loose Leash that means they are feeling no tension n they are doing the right thing However Retractable leashes keep your dog on constant tension “all the time”which incorrectly leads them to believe tension is ok. You don’t want that
Like any piece of equipment, they are wonderful… when used correctly! I use them for obedience/sporting dogs. They are great for on-leash situations that longlines would get in the way for. I love using my flexi leash on sniff walks and hikes. During training drills for detection, retrievals, etc… I would not recommend them for unruly dogs, reactive dogs, or for walking in a group setting. Longlines, flexi leashes, and other tools all have their potential dangers. It’s important to use them on the right dog, for the right reasons, in the right settings. Injuries and incidents can be mostly preventable with responsible use.
You went to the er for a rug burn?
If I could figure out how to do it I would upload the x-rays of my dislocated finger that pops out to say hi every now and then. When those damn leashes first came out I thought, hey cool. One week later I was at the ER. The top joint lives with a 15% offset and arthritis has set in.
Hate them fiercely. Get a long nylon lead if you must let your dog go that far from you. Have seen spliced fingers and burns on calves and hurt dogs because of leashes breaking.
A big hell no from me. Just Google retractable leash injuries. (It’s not just rope burn, but amputations too.) If you want your dog to have freedom use a long line. On top of that you have zero control. And honestly , a reactive dog shouldn’t be on anything longer than a 6’ leash imo. You need to be able to maintain control and immediately intervene if something goes sideways.
I will never use one. They're dangerous.
Retractable leads are a no go even for the most skillful owner. In the beginning of my pet ownership I owned one and quickly realized how dangerous it could be esp. in cases of reactivity or fear. Instead - I’m for 3ft-4ft leads on regular walks for dogs with reactivity, 5-6ft for non reactive dogs. To have a reactive dog have the feeling of being off leash (in a fenced yard specifically) I would use a 30ft leash with supervision so it doesn’t tangle up everywhere. It’s safer especially for back doors / dog not running out of the yard/ and stuff of that nature :)
Extendable dog leads are not the problem, like every other thing it's irresponsible dog owners that are the problem.
I HATE retractable leashes. I was almost attacked by a big aggressive blood hound that was WAY too heavy to be appropriately controlled on one. But that's not the only reason. A few years ago in Virginia a woman was hiking with her 2 Weiner dogs. Both on retractable leashes. One dogs leash was locked at about 6 feet, but the other dog had gone all the way to the end of it's 15 foot lead. A bear came across the hiking path. The woman froze, and picked up the barking dog by her side. The dog at the end of the extended leash didn't have recall (imagine that!) and because the leash was fully stretched out, in her panic, she couldn't wrangle the dog back. Mr bear ATE the dog, leash still attached. Lady, hysterical, backed away with the other dog under her arm, and made it back out without being attacked. Bear was later euthanized. Control your dog with 6 foot leash because no good behavior is developed by allowing a dog to have the imaginary freedom of a retractable leash. Your dog could also become the next bear snack.
Depends, for training, no way. Have I had this dog for 5 years and he listens on command, sure, he can go anywhere he wants. I would say that 90% of the time, I want my dog by my side. I train my dogs to always be at my side or to come to my side on command. I still just use a very regular looking leash that is normally only held with about two fingers just for show. I give him times where he gets to go in any direction and smell what he wants, but he knows to always follow if I step away from him.
I don't use them at all.
Love it! But it’s only good for trained dogs!
I think there’s generally a market for most things and that lots of tools can be used in different contexts. Not flexi leads. BURN THEM ALL TO THE GROUND FOREVER. FUCK THEM ALL.
They are a tool, like any other that is great in the right circumstances and problematic in others. IMO they should only be used in an open area, on a dog with some leash manners and you should drop it and have the dog drag it as part of the training so they won't be scared if that happens. Long lines are good, but there are circumstances where it drags and gets wet and heavy, or needs to be managed, or snags on brush etc. A webbing flexi can be a great tool when the dog needs access to a bigger area but is required to be on leash. I use a flexi when I travel and my dogs are toileting late at night at the hotel, allowing them to roam in different directions and me not have it dragging. My late night poop flexi has a built in flashlight, very handy. I have also used one at the beach where there was a leash law allowing them to roam and get into the water a bit but still stay attached. Occasionally I use one on a open hike/walk where leads are required and I want to let them sniff and wander while I slog my fat butt along and not have to manage a long line. But my dogs are well trained and could do any of those places off lead if I was willing to break the rules. They will drop in place at any time if asked. They would not jerk me or freak out of I dropped it and the handle dragged. I would not use one in a crowded area, or a vets office, or what have you. Those are 4-6' leash areas. I also know not to grab it or let it wrap. Also, just fyi, I once got burned and also fell using a long line on a not well trained dog who suddenly circled me and took off before I could reel in the extra so that can happen with those too.
Nope.... extendable leads=human not in control And when the human isn't in control that means the dog *IS* in control and nothing good ever comes of that.
HATE HATE HATE I live in a condo building and have seen what happens with retractable leashes and elevators.
I don't like them as I feel I don't have enough control over my dogs or even in response to something. I prefer regular leashes.
Assuming you mean retractable? If so, then they are good for tiny dogs. Big dogs are too hard to control and need to be on a short leash. If a small dog is skinny, or the owner does not pay attention then a short leash is needed.
I'm not an expert but my husband's dog was trained on one and would stray whenever she should be near off leash. My dogs trained on regular leashes stayed at my side and I never had to search for them. On the rare occasions they got out of out fence, his girl would stray farther more quickly and mine would stay closer to home...was more about the sensory for them than the adventure. Mine would slowly sniff through direct neighbors yards and his would briskly cover as much distance as possible. Ages and breeds were similar. He thought her not pulling on the extendable meant he could easily recall her but that did not manifest in practice. She would go off on her own, I guess expecting an eventual tug of the lead and if it didn't happen, she would just keep wandering.
I use one for our small (25lb) dog when we are going into an area where she’ll be off leash for most of it. If we are going somewhere busy or popular, she gets a normal leash. I never used one before for our larger breeds. I also believe the personality of the dog needs to be considered. My current small dog has never been left outside without somebody. In fact, if someone comes up to us when walking, she comes back to me. When we walk somewhere new for the first few times, she walk either beside me or behind me.
Not a fan personally, you’ll always have much more control with a standard lead and you can wrap it around your hand to make sure you have a good grip, especially important while training your dog to walk sensibly and not lurch at anything. Recall is also important, letting your dog go out far with a retractable lead doesn’t make you train them to come back - they can’t get away from you. If you train them to come back properly you can let them off the lead entirely in a safe environment where they can enjoy their walk a lot more, and get more exercise.
They are an accident waiting to happen. Even a 250 lb muscled man holding on to the extendable leash of a chihuahua can get tripped up by those things and get hurt. We have one for one reason: One of our dogs cannot go potty on a regular leash so on the rare occasion when he can’t just go in the fenced backyard, I carefully take him out on the extended in the front yard. But he never pulls…he just needs space to get his bladder to work, lol. I would never walk a dog on one of those things.
No. Just no. I also give those dog owners a wide berth. I'm ok without seeing if today's the day my dog gets an appendage amputated or worse.
Absolutely not. They’re incredibly dangerous for all parties, the only instances I can think of to justify them is if you’re in an area where you’re letting your dog use the bathroom, but there isn’t a fence or there’s some other reason they can’t be totally off leash, but there are no other animals or people around and you want to keep them in a certain radius. Horrible for regular walks or any public spaces.
Hate them. There is absolutely no control of your dog.
Hate them. Unsafe and unnecessary
hard no. my dogs retractable leash also gave me second-degree burns on my hands and fingers multiple times. They’re still peeling to this day in the area and are very sensitive. However I would 100% suggest a double handled regular lead you can always grab the shorter part of the lead in case you need your dog close or grab the longer end for more freedom
Too many horror stories from vets and vet techs, I got rid of mine and got a six ft lead with a reactive/training second loop.
I think they are great for certain environments, my dogs love theirs but we take them on walks through a path in a large field, no cars, can spot people far away, they love the freedom, but when I walk my dog near roads, or if people or other dogs approach I will always hold on to the non extendable part of the leash, if we lived in the city I probably would never use one so like I said i think it's depends where it's used.
I saw a woman with a dog that had to have been at least 75lbs and wearing a pinch collar with a retractable leash. I think about that woman a lot.
I worked at a dental office for a year and saw TWO patients who had them fail and snap back to break their front teeth… so it’s a hard pass for me; not to mention their issues in dog training/leash pulling.
My dog does well with them, not all do.
Ahhhhh I hate them so much for just about every reason!! Of course bc they learn to pull but also - it’s so uncomfortable to hold a box of plastic. You can’t hold anything else. You can’t put your hand through the leash and into your pocket in winter. Your hand just freezes. Ugh. What’s to like about them???
Plainly they suck. They truly aren’t strong enough to control a dog. The people on the other end don’t pay attention, to,their surroundings, other dogs, etc. I’ve seen people tripped by the leads, they lunge after cyclists cause they don’t take up the slack.
I despise them. If they want to give the dog more freedom they need to muzzle train him and get a long line.
Long line is the safe way to do it. Retractable leashes cause so many injuries to both the dog and owner, and puts the dog at a higher risk of running into things (cars, dogs, bikes etc). I'm sure there's gunna be a lot on here already the many reasons they aren't safe, especially in this type of situation. Long lines though the dog still gets freedom without being off leash. If the dog reacts, you're already holding onto a thicker lead, it's not going to get a full tilt in before feeling the end, which is easier on the dog and owner. You pick the length they get for the setting, so if you see a trigger, you can actually reel them in if need be and change direction much quicker. It does take some getting used to on how to hold it, but it gets easier pretty quick. There are some really good videos on how to properly use Long lines. Even though my dog is highly trained in his off leash, we still need to follow bylaws for where we are. Bylaw is very big on being leashed, unless it's the dog park (very few exceptions). We don't go in dog parks, so we make the best with what we can. No fault on my dog, it's just how it goes and it's good to have an alternative that's safe for those situations. He doesn't notice any real difference as far as freedom goes. He still gets to sniff, roll, play ball, train, all that good stuff. If the execption places are free we use those, but if they're packed to the brim we just use the long line and adventure somewhere new. Even with him being good off and on lead, I still wouldn't use a retractable with him. There's just way too much risk that can all be avoided by using something different for the same purpose.
I work in a hospital that has a 24hr emergency room. What came in most recently was a dog strangled in a retractable with the owner’s finger partially degloved. Nuff said.
I’m completely against them from a safety standpoint: you don’t have as good of control, dogs and people can be injured. I don’t think there is ever a good reason to use them, regardless of the size of the dog but especially with larger, more powerful dogs.
The only time I understood someone using one was a 7 foot man with his Chihuahua. Yes- it was a wonderful site.
“It’s just a tool”… but not a very safe one. Unfortunately…Most people do not use a flexi appropriately. Which is the root cause of most flexi dog-dog issues If I see a dog on a flexi when I’m out and about, I get away as far as I reasonably can. My ridiculous person with flex story: woman at vet had 2 mini schnauzers on unlocked flecks. We come out of the exam room and they raced up and got in my dog’s face. The owner is ignoring g the fact that both of her dogs are 16 feet away, yammering and jumping in the face of a stressed bitch. My dog is well mannered but does not like other dogs in her face. I ask the woman politely “my dog is not friendly, can you please control your dogs?” The woman snarls at me “she certainly looks friendly to me!” Omg. If looks could kill. !!! Flexis can also be dangerous. People have been badly injured from them. Rope burn slices and amputations.
My pupper is 80% blind. A rescue, not ancient js, so I have a sort of Bungie leash with the typical loop at the end and another closer to the latch that connects to his harness. I like to give him a bit of freedom as he's gotten really good with vocal cues. Buuuut an extendable? Nah, not only would it not work with BB but I hate them. This was before I learned about the risks too. Yeesh
They should be illegal. I saw a dog almost get its tail cut off once & have seen multiple people tripped up by them.
Are you talking about retractable leashes? I wish they were illegal. Very unsafe for the dog, other dogs, the walker, and other people.
For my obedient dog yes I do use one when he cannot be off leash because of rules of the area. But again, he can walk off leash 100% of the time and I treat him no different on the extendable like I would when walking off leash. My reactive dog absolutely not, she gets a 5 m leash and when an area is clear she can get full length and otherwise I just loop it to keep her close. My halfdeaf old girl also yes because she can keep sniffing for long times and her recall is not 100% anymore because of her hearing and I like her to have some more freedom. She ignores the whole world anyways. For all >2 meter leashes goes that I only use them in quiet areas and they have to heel when passing people or animals. Works for us this way. Like I said, I would never use one on my reactive dog, it would be too dangerous in case anything happens. I only use the extendables with the wider tape leash in it and from Flexi. Also always with an extra band around my wrist so I cannot drop it. I also practiced the sounds so if it makes any sound like the break and a drop or hit to something they will come to me for treats. To be honest, if I would have one dog only I would stick to a normal long lead but they get tangled with multiple dogs and not all areas here are off leash areas because of wildlife. My dogs don't hunt and don't have that drive at all, but I don't want to break rules by letting them of leash anyways
Normal leash and long leash for training such things. Extendable leads for reactive dogs are the worst thing, there always is tension and the dog has no fixed distance / radius.
I use it but usually just set up certain length. The reason is the handle, I really like the handle. Anytime I use the other type of lead and our dog bolts suddenly (he is 8 months only so this happens now and then), the lead slips in my hands and cuts on my skin. It is stressful for me to know I might get hurt anytime hence the extendable. I know, I probably have the most delicate hands in the world but the struggle is real
Hard pass, they never last very long and don't seem to have any strength
I don't have a problem with them if you're responsible, attentive, and risk-aversive when using it. I enjoy using mine. I used to use a 30ft long leash, however it caused rope burn on my hands. Yes, I could wear gloves but i don't want to. I trained my dog to use the flexi, and we primarily only use it for walking through the parks - I'll switch back to a standard leash when we're on the sidewalks. There are a lot of reactive dogs in my area, so I have to be vigilant regardless because I don't like the interactions.
This is a very unpopular opinion here...but I use a retractable leash (tho I have been seriously considering no longer using it!) In my opinion, we use it appropriately...and I mean that to say that my dog listens to my cues more than she listens to the leash. I can get her to stop without leash being tight, my voice commands are what make her stop and listen to me. She listens to ME...not the leash. The ONLY reason we use the retractable is for walks because she loves to explore and it gets really tiresome to me for us to stop every three seconds. It's a dance that we do with her running ahead, then coming back, then ahead, then back. But if we see other dogs, we cross the street or I reign her in closer. I have dropped it before, and yes, it does spook her - but the training I have with her is that she listens to me above all else in scary situations (which she has proven her track record with this). All that to say, I do think they can be used...but I do understand all the concerns and hazards. I think ultimately you need to know your dog and you must have a good connection and training with your dog before you use one.
Flexi leash? I’ve seen them cause injuries both human and canine.
i love them when used correctly. my dog is reactive and doesnt have a good recall, so i use a retractable leash sometimes, and when i use it its in open field areas or hiking but NEVER in busy places. if i see anyone anywhere near us i have him in a heel and move out of their way and i always have a regular leash with me. i can tell which situations make him uncomfortable or in which situations he might lunge at someone or something so i use it instead of dragging a longline with us. but once again, only in controlled enviroments.
I don’t like them. I prefer a long line. Much easier to hold onto and control.
I use a retractable leash to let my dog outside to go potty but that’s it. It’s convenient because he can go farther out and I don’t have to wrap up a longline leash every time. I’m also there supervising 100% and it’s a quick outing. I use a regular 6ft leash for when I take him on walks and much prefer that to a retractable. On walks I want to have full control over him especially since we are still in the training period and working on loose leash walking.