To think this was bloody dangerous and some people are just batshit

[Redgreenfroggy]

We are in London at the moment. Can I just say I like dogs and have no issue in general with owners, dogs etc as long as they are well behaved and considerate etc.
Was at the embankment tube station and was walking along the platform with my son and husband. Son was a bit ahead taking to another boy.
Suddenly my son and this lad going flying forward and ended up on a heap and this women starts shouting at them. Turns out her little dog was ok an extendable lead and the dog walked right in front of my son and the other lad. The dog was so near the platform edge. I shout back at the women that on what planet does she think having her dog on an extendable lead on the tube platform was ok. Everyone else is just looking in disbelief. Then member of tube staff just walks past ignoring the issue.

the women picks up her dog and storms off back up the platform.
WTF

I CANNOT STAND FLEXI LEADS. They should be completely banned. Pretty much exclusively used by small dog owners instead of training their dog properly.

@paperrocksiscissors where did the OP say anything about primary age children or not being a Londoner?
Her post could have been exactly the same if it was 4 adults walking down the platform and the two that were ahead fell over the lead - the LEAD was the dangerous part - not whoever was walking ahead.
You seem to have gone on a strange rant about "kids" running around on platforms which is nothing to do with what this thread is about.

You don't speak for London 😅

@paperrocksiscissors I've been to Embankment Underground station many many times - what's your point?

Is Embankment different to many other busy tube stations? How do Londoners cope with school children who use the tube independently for school travel?

Extendable leads are really bad for people and DOGS.

They really should be banned.

They pull out of owner's hand , sending the ''cassette'' clattering behind the dog, causing it to bolt into traffic.

Use a flat leather or Nylon wide soft lead. Much safer.

Lots of entitled and selfish people about. Some of them own dogs.

Bet that is the railway 'path' between Bristol and Bath!

I agree, up to a point. If ever my aging spaniel has to come on public transport with me, he's on his fixed lead. If we are pottering about in the lane at the back of my house, he's on an extending lead. The one I have is all high vis tape about an inch wide, not a cord one. The corded ones should be banned, they have the potential to strip skin from bodies.

Extendable leads are handy when you're in rural areas where you're unlikely to bother anyone else but your dog can't really be left loose either (ie possibility of livestock in the next field), they have a little more freedom to explore. In busy or urban areas they should be on a short lead.

Londoners don’t give an arse about children using the tube responsibly on their own. I’m guessing you’ve never actually lived in London.

???

She said her son was walking ahead. She didn't say he was "running about." You seem to be imagining a toddler, but the OP did not say how old her son was. Children of secondary school age use the train independently in London, so older kids do not need to be right by their parents' side.

The woman should have the dog on a short lead, but as a Londoner , kids running about on a platform on the tube is DANGEROUS.

Not only is it very easy to lose a child on the underground, its dangerous as hell if they bump into someone and end up on the (electrified) rails!

You should have control of your children on the underground, its not a bloody playground and that dog owner was probably pissed because two boys were charging around on a platform. She , like me, probably lives here, not visiting like you, Londoners do not like children running around on the tube.

My 7 yr old has better comprehension then this poster 😆😆

Londoners do not like children running around on the tube.

You are not a Londoner @paperrocksiscissors

I used to think that, until the day I was walking with my dog down a street in a small town.

Lead was locked at about 4 feet. We were on the inside of the pavement and just as a woman was walking towards us in the middle of the pavement, my (large) dog decided to investigate the smells around a bin on the edge of the pavement, The mechanism slipped, the dog cut straight across the woman, then returned to me around the back of the woman, fully encircling her like a lasso.

It was like something out of a comedy sketch but the woman was terrified. though thankfully unhurt and I was mortified and obviously very apologetic

I've never used an extendable since, the mechanism can slip/break and the leads themselves are often thin so if you have to grab it in an emergency it'll cut into/burn your hand.

All those saying extending leads are fine rurally…. Just train your dog? Your dog should not be on a flexi lead with a field of live stock IT IS NOT SAFE. They should be on a fixed lead.

flexi leads can fail, the grip on the ‘casette’ is not as secure as on a fixed lead, and the length to which it retracts is also not sufficient.

the amount of times I’ve walked past a dog on a retracted/ short flexi lead with the cassette awkwardly being held in the owners hand with the dog straining to get at mine. It’s not equivalent control. In those situations a dog should be at heel. That’s impossible to hold a dog there with the 1m leeway that those leads even have at their shortest.

they are just an excuse for badly trained dogs and people that can’t be bothered. Infuriating.

Extendable leads have their uses, but shouldn’t be used in a busy area or shared use path. We used one for our old dog but she was well behaved. Won’t use one with our new dog as she’s a knob head. Have a training lead or fixed lead for her.

OK @Towelmode whatever you say!

Nothing suggests the boys were running or being silly.
A bit head means just that - the underground is busy, you often have to walk a little in front of the people you are with - having 4 all together takes up too much room.
The op doesn't say the child is really young or of an age where they'd need to be holding hands really close by.

A small dog on an extendable lead will be difficult to see, especially in a busy environment, very easy to miss seeing the dog or the lead in such a situation.

It would appear that it is the dog owner at fault entirely. No dog should be loose (which an extendable lead is akin too in many ways) on an underground platform. They should be sat at heel on a fixed short lead or held.

Wish my primary age kids had better comprehension than me. You're very lucky!

Wish my primary age kids had better comprehension than me. You're very lucky!

Not really, she is definitely average 😆

I agree , I don't give an arse about children using the tube responsibly on their own either.

The ones iresponsibly on the other hand are a pain.

YANBU I remember seeing a video on social media a few years ago. Boy about 12 was riding his bike down a road. There was a dog on one side of the road and a man on the other. He didn't see the lead accross the road the man was holding . You would think nobody would be that stupid to do that. So the lad cycled into it causing him to fall off his bike. The lad was asking them to be banned.

Also yesterday at Grange when we were walking to the station to get our train home. There was a woman on the beach with 2 out of control dog's not on leads. They were both running towards the road by the station. She just stood there waving her arms and shouting. Think she was expecting someone to grab them. I couldn't as had DD with me who is scared of dogs. When she eventually realised they weren't coming back she went after them stupid woman.

Paperrocksiscissors

You do realise that children who are Londoners have 11 year olds using the underground independently on their own, most days.
Doesn't mean they are running around and getting in people's way.

The op makes no mention of age, where they live, that the boys were running or not looking where they are going.

Why have you decided to come up with an imaginary scenario rather than just accept that a dog should not be in an extendable lead in an underground station?

Maybe mine are more clever then😂