Retractable dog leads yay or nay?

[Marthar31d]

Not had one before, are they safe?

Depends on the dog. Mine is not a puller at all so I use one on his harness and it means he can dawdle around sniffing and I don’t have to keep stopping.

Not so good for built up areas, strong dogs or dogs that pull on the lead.

We have one that’s a strap which is about 4 cm wide. Used it for years without problem. It cost quite a lot though.

No. The dog isn't under control when the lead is long. Owners seem to forget it enables the dog to roam sideways on a whim - e.g into traffic. The people who like them seem to be holding the handle rather than being the person avoiding the lead tripping them up.

Yes used one with my old boy who's now 13 since we had him at 8 weeks, you don't have to extend the lead whilst pavement walking

My small, not very pully dog is reactive to some other dogs.

He is on a 'normal' lead on road works but uses the retractable lead on parks and open settings like fields. It gives him freedom whilst also keeping him safe.

Before I had him, I naively thought that they were for lazy people who couldn't be bothered to train their dogs to heal. My dog can definitely walk to heal but the retractable lead gives him some freedom.

We use one with our 9kg dog. It gives us the flexibility to keep her close or have a bit of freedom. It uses a ribbon rather than a wire, so isn't likely to slice anyone! It works really well for us and has never caused problems.

We use a retractable lead on harness for our dog. But he's tiny 5kg and it's the lightest thing we could find. We keep the lead short in busy areas.

If used responsibly, yes.

In my experience, far too many owners use them irresponsibly, making them dangerous.

We have one but I very rarely use it, and certainly wouldn't use it eg in town or fully extended in the local park and then allow your dog to walk around other walkers, causing trip and injury hazards....

Not with a larger dog. They'll have your shoulder out of its socket if they build up speed on a slack lead.

With a smaller dog all the other issues including the slicing into the skin come into play. I'd only use them with extreme caution.

No

If you drop it it’s quite a large and heavy thing to be flying around.

I use a 5m flat lead (or a much shorter waist lead when running that keeps the dog right next to me). It’s easy to let the dog in or out on a fixed lead too

And it’s no plastic for the flat lead and vastly less plastic for the running one (just the clip), so expandable is also the worst environmental choice

I say nay, only because the careless owners give them a bad name. Many times the owner is on the phone, dog wandering about on cycle track, and despite slowing down, and preparing for anything, the dog leaps at my tyres. Poor training, poor control? Worse in bad light or the dark, as the lead cant be seen, and when walking, I’ve been tripped…so I love the light-up leads!
having said that, my sibling uses one and her dogs are never a problem.

Depends on the owner and the dog. We use it when we are hillwalking, it gives the dog some freedom but means we can reel her in close if lots of sheep.

my husband sometimes doesn’t bring her in close enough on it on the short bop it if busy road to one of the routes we use so I’ve started clipping the normal lead on her for that, he rolls his eyes but if she saw a cat she’d be off.

I agree. I use one daily for a small dog. Someone mentioned constant pressure pulling on the lead but I don't find this at all as my dog usually walks close to me and the lead is rarely fully extended. It gives the dog more freedom in a place where I don't want her completely off the lead but she can quickly be restricted if necessary. We don't walk much on the pavement but if we do I keep it short which is only common sense.

I wouldn't use one for a larger dog.

Just no. They are ok I guess if you are walking alone but v anti social if you happen to be anywhere near other people. I’ve had to jump out of the way of the cheesecutters many times. Even worse if you are accompanying someone with a dog on a retractable lead, the dog keeps walking in front of you and you have to keep jumping over the wire. V frustrating, spoils the walk and is so dangerous.

A friend of a friend accidentally pressed the release button when walking her small dog by a busy road. Dog ran and got run over and killed by a lorry. So definitely a no.

Also a friend got her leg cut badly by one when someone else's dog ran at her!

Depends on the dog and the owner.

Childhood dog was walked on one all her life and was perfect on it. My dog used to get herself tangled up it in as a puppy and i was scared of her damaging her legs. Now shes grown up she doesnt get tangled but she knows when she's on it and doesn't heel compared to her usual lead.

I did use it whilst pregnant to give her more freedom as I struggled to walk at her pace and didn't like letting her off on my own.

If used properly. I have always used them, but generally only have them not locked when I am walking in the park (not the street) and my dogs are well behaved and if other people or children are around I make sure they cannot be tripped up.
One of my dogs does not have great recall snd it allows him to have some freedom.

We use one when looking after a friend’s, smallish dog. We always lock it when on the pavement and unlock it when in the woods. When I see other people, I shorten and lock it again. Gives dog the freedom to sniff and explore.

A dog on a retractable lead was trying to run after my dog to play. My leg got sliced pretty bad. It really hurt. Please be very careful if you use one.

No, my dog hates being on one. I think it’s the constant tension from it. I only use one if on certain walks like in fields.

I now use one for my elderly spaniel as he likes to potter along and explore but his eyesight isn’t good enough to be off lead. Only ever a wide tape one though, never cord, and I always retract it to a safe length when by the road or I see people or other dogs coming towards us.

We use one pretty much all the time (dog now 14 and been using all his life). We do live rurally so don't have the problem of needing to avoid other people or dogs.

On the very rare occasion we go somewhere busier, I use a leadrope instead for more control.

Another mumsnet no no that in real life most folk use. I can't think of a dog who regularly just goes on a normal lead when I go for walks. I prefer it as my dog loves to sniff and pretend he's not with us on walks .

I use one everyday, I have a small (7kg)) dog and it means he can have a bit of freedom on his walks and I have control if I need to. He can be reactive to some other dogs so it's peace of mind for me.

And yes he is well trained.