Just told ddog she is grounded!!

[Summertimeatthebeach]

Lovely walk out with ddogs, down the beach as usual - though usually the dunes with ddog 2+4. Took all to the shore, empty beach except us - let ddog 2 off. Bloody madam heads straight for the water and headed out to sea!! Cue me putting on best fish wife voice screaming her name! Dh standing there with the rest on leads, with me in wellies hurtling towards the water!! Glad it was darkish and no witnesses!! Off extendable lead shopping at the week end.
How has your ddog disgraced themselves this week??
Heart rate just about back to normal!

[Ellmau]

Be careful with nan extendable lead if you haven't had one before and your DDog is a puller/will try to run off anyway.

[Bookworm4]

Please don’t buy one of those awful extendable leads, if she’s determined to swim but a long line training lead; £6 on Amazon.

[MattMagnolia]

Mine disgraced himself by racing over to a man with a buggy and (well-behaved) dog. He stole other dog’s ball and leapt up and down demanding that cross man throw it for him.
When mine came back it was lead on and home.

[missbattenburg]

Extendable leads have their problems but also their uses, provided you are careful about how you use them:

1. There is a risk the dog could get a real run up and the sudden stop at the end of the long line causes injury, especially to necks. Attach it to a harness, not a collar and be aware of that when walking your dog (i.e. try not to allow long run ups with sudden stops).
2. The think cord/string types can be very dangerous to other people and dogs because they can cut or burn skin very easily. Use one that has a thicker tape for a lead and preferably a bright colour that is easily seen to avoid it getting tangled round legs.
3. The locking mechanism should not be trusted near roads etc. If you have an extendy with a tape (instead of string) you can use it like a normal flat lead, using your hand to grip it to keep control.
4. They can sometimes encourage pulling because they provide a little bit of resistence but ultimately,, if the dog pulls, he gets to move forward so can learn pulling = forward. Be careful of this with your own dog.
5. I would also use one rated for a dog weight well over (double?) that of your own dog. e.g. for a 25kg dog, use one rated for 50kg.

All that in mind, there is then very little difference between an extendy and a long line, except that you have to manage a long line each time the full length is not required.

I use/have used both. A long line for training walks (e.g. practising recall, leaving other dogs alone etc) and an extendy when walking in places I want to give the dog room to roam but still have ultimate control (e.g. over large open spaces where I know cattle are around but not nearby).

In all honesty, the dog and I appear to have risked injury far more times with the long line than we ever have with the extendy.

[Nesssie]

What was the issue with your dog swimming? If you are in the UK its been really muggy recently so was probably nice and cool for your dog. Swimming is great exercise and fun for dogs.

[Spidey66]

Not this week, but a couple of weeks ago.

We were on holiday in Cornwall and I'd taken Maggie (5 month old border collie) for a walk round town. I took her into a dog friendily cafe, where I had tea and a scone and she had a doggy ice cream.

Went to the till to pay, dog was on lead and I was waving my debit card at the machine.

Turned around, Maggie was eating a scone on the floor. Screeched at dog, looked round to see where she got it from. There was a buggy parked and in the tray part was a paper bag of scones. There was a family sitting nearby (not buggy owner) and the kids thought the scone stealing dog was hysterical, but I was mortified.

I located the buggy/scone owners and wanted to reimburse them but they were ever so nice and saw the funny side and wouldn't have it.

We went back in a couple of days later and they guy at the till said ''cover your scones everyone, here's the scone stealing dog.''

I can laugh about it now.

[doodleygirl]

I disagree about extendable leads if they are used very carefully and in the right places.

[picklemepopcorn]

Pickledog has been hunting for baby blackbirds in the garden. Yesterday they were all out learning to fly and spending a fair bit of time scrambling about the lower bushes. I hadn't realised, and let him in the back garden. Cue him hurtling through the undergrowth pursued by angry parent birds and me, slapping at him with a plastic trowel I happened to be holding.

All appears to have ended well- I've been keeping an eye out and can't see any injured fledglings, and the dad was helping himself to the raspberries later, so clearly not too traumatised.

[Theoscargoesto]

I walk across a park to get to a country park with a lake which has signs asking dog owners to be careful around the lake because of wildlife.

Last week Oscardog started our walk by chasing the (very large, tractor-driven) mower on the field, then once that was negotiated, hared into the lake, right underneath the sign. Which was bad enough, but she was right next to a group of about 20 people being given a tour of the park by a warden.

That was bad enough, but like @picklemepopcorn there are baby birds around my garden and the dog was too quick for one yesterday. Thank goodness I was in the garden with her, and a very loud, firm, 'leave it' worked for long enough for the baby bird to escape unharmed.

[shiningstar2]

Was the issue that she was swimming out away from shore op. Our last dog regularly had a little swim and came back ...all fine. Until one day for some reason in the water she became disorientated and lost her sense of direction. The more we called her in the further she swam out. DH was stripping jeans off to go in after her when she suddenly got the right direction and swam back. Never had such a fright in our lives. Never allowed her to do more than paddle on the edges after that. Don't know why it happened we had been using the same beach for 7 years with no problem. She lived to aged 16 and enjoyed many another ramble at the beach but never to swim after that. Even now I get nervous when I see other owners throwing balls way out for their dogs. I can hardly look and I long to tell them what happened to ours. She wasn't even chasing a ball at the time.

[Yellowweatherwarning]

Nc
Yes she was swimming out!! Last summer she got sucked under twice!! Thought she had learnt - wasn't a nice warm day and she is usually such a wimp! Skinny lurcher with zero strength!
As a dc my friend's dm's ddog got swept away in a river. Broke us all tbh...
Ordering long lines tonight!

[yarenbaren]

I used an extendable lead very successfully with my GSD (it's attached to his harness). He never pulls and is very aware of how far he can go before pulling. My dog was attacked and I like to keep him close. He is let off the lead for a runaround when I know it's safe. I switch to a normal lead when I get near the road/carpark.

[pigsDOfly]

I've used an extendable lead on my dog for years and never ever had any problems.

Used properly they're a really good way to allow your dog a bit of freedom in places, such as the beach, where you don't want the dog running off.

missbattenburg has given you all the salient points regarding use. The one that always makes me cringe is when I see them being used with a collar, very dangerous, and the metal ones always look like an accident waiting to happen imo.

Obviously, there are times when you need an ordinary lead but mostly I use an extendable.

[Squirrel26]

I took SquirrelDog to a local fun dog show. Friend’s mum kindly bought us all some tea and cake. Unfortunately, while she was busy photographing friend’s dog behaving beautifully in the show ring with friend’s child, my dog reached over and stole her momentarily unattended cake.

Then for good measure he peed on my leg. I told him he was going on eBay.

[Yellowweatherwarning]

Another 2 of my ddogs are in disgrace today. Bought a hide /seek treat finder game and 2 of them decided to fight over it with my leg in between them!! Cue more fish wife shouting! No damage though! Gave the other 2 some time to try it! 1 had no clue despite watching it be done!
And I thought dc were stressful!

[Ihopeyourcakeisshit]

Nearly ended up in my arse when an inattentive dog owner let his dog in an extendable lead run too far and then wrap itself several times around my legs in the middle of town.
I went bloody beserk.
My dog started barking furiously at a vicar and a guide dog this week.The shame

[pigsDOfly]

Well yes, that is definitely not the correct way to use an extendable lead.