My Love/Hate relationship With Retractable Leashes

My Love/Hate relationship With Retractable Leashes

Last updated on June 10, 2017 By Puppy Leaks 6 comments
This post is in action to what I found to be an unusually high number of “what’s the best leash?” searches happening here on the blog.

x

Pets

0 seconds of 34 seconds

Live
00:00
00:34
00:34

My answer? Well certainly not a retractable one if you want something reliable. If you’re trying to find a leash for your pet dog it’s hard to go wrong with a conventional 6 foot one.

My Love/Hate relationship With Retractable Leashes

A few weeks ago I spoke out against using retractable leashes for pet dog walks.

I still stand by that. Retractable leashes are bad for pet dog walks. They’re horrible when it pertains to keeping control of your dog, and they can be pretty dangerous.

But I have to confess; I use a retractable leash at least 3 times a day.

Why I love My Retractable Leash
I’ve never been a big fan of leaving my dogs unattended in the yard. I know lots of people rely on a fence or chain to keep their pet dog safe, but that’s not something I’m comfortable with.

So at least three times a day I accompany Laika out to the yard to do her business, and I use my retractable leash every single time. I still use a conventional 6 foot leash when we choose walks, but the retractable one is used for all her yard business.

We live on 3 fenced in acres, but that fence is only 4 feet high. I could just let her go leash complimentary but there’s never a shortage of deer, turkeys, rabbits, squirrels, moles, or cats running about. I learned pretty swiftly that a 4 foot fence indicates nothing to a pet dog that’s chasing a squirrel.

And then of course there’s the times when she’s managed to catch those cute little baby bunnies & turkeys. She didn’t hurt them physically, though psychologically I’m not so sure. She just casually brought them back to me and handed them off when I told her to “drop it.”

Instead of enjoying my pet dog terrorize animals and flush out our backyard each day I selected a retractable leash. Yes, her recall is pretty good, but it’s never going to be perfect; especially with all those pesky little squirrels are around.

And then there’s her legs. due to arthritis one quick sprint can put her out of commission for the night. She certainly doesn’t hesitate to take off after deer, but it’s pretty sad having to enjoy your pet dog limp all night because of it.

So I use my retractable leash each day to cut down on all that chaos. I’ve had mornings where I was late for work because I made a decision to let her go leash free. On those fun mornings she opted to chase down those gang of turkeys, packs of deer, or evil squirrels rather than come back to me.

For me the leash is a matter of convenience. sure I could use a long line, but my basic brain can’t get over the fact that I can just reel in a leash with the push of a button. Wheee, look at it go. For me that button is just as fun as having a lever to automatically wind up the cord on your vacuum. Wheee, look at it go.

That button works about 90% of the time. Retractable leashes, as I’ve come to find out, aren’t that reputable when it pertains to working as intended.

I do this to keep the baby bunnies safe Laika…Even when they eat all my spinach, I’m doing this for them.

Why I hate Retractable Leashes
Retractable leashes are far from perfect. I’ve had lots of instances where Laika’s took off while on it, and those sent me falling ideal to the ground.

And when she does manage to run off while on it she ends up getting stuck. That silly leash gets stuck on nearly every branch, pricker bush or bramble it comes into contact with.

Did I mention that I’m on our 4th one? Yeah, turns out they’re pretty flimsy and have a tendency to snap.

They are unreliable, and when it pertains to keeping control of your pet dog just forget about it. You’ll likely end up on the ground, burning your hand from trying to grip the cord, or holding onto that awkwardly large manage for dear life.

The moral of the Story

When it pertains to retractable leashes I really do have a love/hate relationship. One one hand I know they’re extremely unreliable, on the other hand I keep using mine every single day for the convenience.

When given choices we select convenience, even if we know there’s probably a better option.

I keep getting these silly retractable leashes because for the most they make it easy for me to supervise when Laika’s gotta do her business.

Could I just get a long line instead? Of course. but then I wouldn’t get that fun wheeee moment as I enjoy my leash do that automatically. I’d have to manually reel it in, and in my basic mind that just sounds like a lot a lot more work.

Perhaps it’s a lot more to make with familiarity. For the most part the retractable leash keeps Laika & the baby animals safe, so it need to be working…

Oh how our minds have a way of sticking with the status quo, reganull