Don’t Use a Retractable Leash to Walk Your Dog- Here’s Why

I see them all around The Woodlands. The person walking their dog on that extended leash at 15 feet, while the dog is out front pulling for even more distance! Their dog doesn't have a clue what the owner is even doing. The owner has a big heart seeing that their dog wants to run out even further and orders an even longer extended leash. 

Retractable leashes are very common but not very practical and even somewhat dangerous for the dog and the owner. Imagine walking your dog on Kuykendahl on that 15’ retractable leash and suddenly your dog decides to jump into the street. How would you stop that from happening at 15 feet? Or maybe your walking your little Maltese (or she’s walking you) and here comes a big, fast dog off leash, no owner in sight and this dog goes straight for your little fluff ball. How do you plan on dealing with that in 2 seconds with a 20 foot retractable leash? Or maybe while your walking your dog you stop to talk to a friend or neighbor, when you say goodbye and begin to walk off, you trip and go down hard because you never saw fluffy wrap your long leash around your legs. 3 times!

The best way to stop all this is easy. Get a simple six foot flat leash with a good solid clip. Cotton are the best due to the possibility of “Rope Burn”. Cotton is softer then nylon leashes but harder to find. A good 3/4 to 1” wide 6 foot long leash made of nylon will do just fine.

The best remedy for all of the above is to learn how to walk your dog properly. Teach her to respond to and respect you rather then just pull on the leash all day. Get some good dog training, it could save your dogs life.