• Welcome to the Dachshund Forums. Member registration disables ads and allows you to post and share.

Retractable Leash?

Doxmom

Doxmom

Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2012
Messages
341
Pets
Bree the Doxie
Petsmart had retractable leashes on sale today. I've seen several dog owners with those, and I thought I'd try it with Bree.

We haven't been on a walk with it yet. Have any of you tried them? Opinions welcome. :D

Retractable Leashes
 
Hey Doxmom,

Well I haven't personally tried one, but our trainer told us they are junk. He suggests not to have any leash longer than 6 feet. Ideally your leash should be 4-6 feet. Too much control goes out the window when you get those leashes. You want to keep your dog near by in case you had to correct a behavior or get him or her away from a sticky situation, i.e. aggressive dog etc.

Hope that helps. :) If they are cheap enough, you could always try it. But after what our trainer said, I'll stick with the plain ones. :p
 
Yes, thanks. I always had a shorter leash, especially with Bree being young and still 'in training.'

I may return it in the end..:o
 
The retractible leashes can be locked to give your dog less wandering space. When walking our dogs, I'll set the leash so the dogs are close to me. If I take them to a park, and want to let them have a bit of time to roam, I'll unlock the leashes. Then, when it's time to head back to the house (or RV), I'll reel them in and lock the leash again.
 
That was the first leash I got for Jax, mainly because i used them for other dogs and liked them. Well for him, not so much. He likes to jump and spin during walks and would get tangeled in the thin rope from them. So i went and got a regular leash lol
 
jax's_mommy said:
That was the first leash I got for Jax, mainly because i used them for other dogs and liked them. Well for him, not so much. He likes to jump and spin during walks and would get tangeled in the thin rope from them. So i went and got a regular leash lol
Click to expand...

Oh yeah, they can be dangerous to the human, if the human is wearing shorts. Kathy and I have both suffered rope burn from letting the cord zip past our legs or arms with an enthusiastic runner on the other end.

And then there is the sudden stops that can be rough on the dachshund. We won't walk them with the retractibles unless they are wearing a harness.
 
In most places these things are actually illegal. If you check your leash laws, most of them state a leash no longer than six feet so the dog is in your care and under your control at all times.

I won't walk any of my guys on a retractable. I've seen too many dogs get hurt by being walked on these things. Not just from confrontations with other dogs, people who don't like dogs, but from things like bikes - young kids riding on the sidewalk all of a sudden come across a dog and then both dog and kid are tangled in the leash and from dogs running off the sidewalk to chase a moving vehicle...saw that too early in the morning one day. The dog almost got smoked by the car...

If you're going to use one, I would suggest a safe place where you can see your dog at all times. Perhaps work on your recall with it :P since we all know how doxies recalls are, lol
 
I personally do not like them. They break easily, a dangerous to both the dog and the human, are just plain rude to use in crowded spaces and are useless to teach loose leash walking.
If I need to have Nola on a leash but still let her have room I use a 20ft long line. Otherwise she's on a 6ft leash.
 
I have one since we cant have him loose because of his hunting-instincts. I love it but I often meet people who dont know how to use them.

You need to be able to CALL your dog to your side if you meet someone. Our neighbour dog got in an accident, a bike run her over when she run to the other side of the sidewalk, the biker didnt have a chans to stop and run her over :( she broke a bone but is now fine.

So be carefull and respect others who may not se the leash. :)
 
It's the only type of lead I use with Lottie but then we do live in a rural environment, I can see they would be a nightmare in a city. I find it gets her out from under my feet and out of the way of the 5 pointers if they are having to walk to heel as it allows her to walk ahead. Vizzla ours has strong hunting instincts too (we are training her to track deer and she comes shooting with me) but I do let her off the lead which is a bit scary at times especially when I can hear her yipping through the woods after rabbits but she does always come back looking very pleased with herself. I guess we are lucky as she can't come to any harm where we live.
 
Yikes! Some very negative experiences in the replies. I tested it out for the first time today. I used his regular leash on our walk (six ft) and on the return, I swapped it for the retractable.

For my purposes in our quiet neighborhood, it worked well. Always on our return walk, Bree likes to run a bit more on the grass. It took some getting used to, and I'm not really comfortable with it yet, but he seemed to enjoy the extra running room. And I'm using it with a harness.

On our nighttime walk, I went back to the regular leash.

Thanks for all your comments. I'll be working with it a bit more, but my main leash will be the six footer. :)
 
Last edited:
If you shop around they make them that are a flat nylon strap instead of the cord that will give you rope burn on bare legs.

I have them but seldom use them just because if you relax at all the dog can pull them from your hand. I prefer something with a loop I can put hand through.

If I am walking the dogs some place that I can let the roam a bit I just use a 25' leash.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top