5 Reasons Why You Should Ditch Your Dog’s Retractable Leash
by Dina Fantegrossi
Being a responsible pet owner involves choosing the right diet, providing regular veterinary care, and tending to your dog’s every physical and emotional need. Something as simple as choosing a leash should be the least of your worries…right? The truth is, retractable dog leashes are dangerous. Not only do they offer little control during walks, they are often directly linked to serious injuries in people and pets.
Retractable dog leashes typically have a thin cord that extends 10 to 25 feet from a large plastic handle. The handle features a button that locks and retracts the cord, so dog owners can regulate how much leeway their pups have at any given time.
While it all sounds great in theory, retractable leashes are prone to malfunctioning. The entire apparatus depends on the retraction mechanism, which can stick or fail entirely when dirt gets inside the handle or the cord becomes knotted.
Their unreliability coupled with the dangerous situations listed below will make you want to ditch your dog’s retractable leash today!
1. The handles are bulky and difficult to hold.
Traditional dog leashes have a simple loop small enough for most children and adults to hold comfortably. The handles of retractable leashes, on the other hand, are made of thick, hard plastic and can be difficult to grip. Should your dog make a sudden sprint for a nearby squirrel, the handle can easily be ripped from your hand. This leaves your dog at risk of being hit by the heavy handle or even becoming lost.
2. When retractable leashes break, people can suffer serious injuries.
Some unlucky pet owners sustain horrific injuries from retractable dog leads. The most common involve tripping, tangling and minor rope burns. More gruesome are the stories of people suffering fractures and even amputations when the cords become wrapped around limbs and fingers.
Facial injuries are also startlingly common when retractable leashes malfunction. Incidents include lacerations, broken bones and broken teeth caused by flying screws, bits of plastic, and the whip-like leashes themselves.
12-year-old Dereka Williams sustained partial, permanent blindness in one eye due to her dog’s retractable leash. The metal clasp attached to the dog’s collar suddenly snapped, sending a fragment of metal hurtling backward into her eye.
3. Retractable leashes offer too much freedom and not enough control – sometimes with tragic results.
Believe it or not, your dog can be hit by a car while walking on a retractable leash. One of the most heartbreaking memories I have from my years as a veterinary technician involves this very situation. A client was walking her Chihuahua mix on a retractable leash when the dog suddenly darted into the street. She was hit by a car and passed away before the owner could get her to the clinic for treatment.
In addition to veering into the road, dogs can get into a variety of other dangerous situations when walking 10 to 25 feet ahead of you. They may eat something harmful, accidentally tromp through a red ant hill, come face-to-face with a snake, or encounter a not-so-friendly pup. Large dogs may even snap the cord or pull it loose from the handle during a surge of adrenaline.
It is impossible to protect your pooch from every potential hazard, but your chances are better with a traditional leash.
4. Walking on a retractable leash teaches dogs bad habits.
Retractable leashes teach dogs all they have to do to gain more freedom is pull on their leash. From a behavioral standpoint, this is the opposite of what you want your dog to learn. Ideally, the leash should be slack, not taut and dogs should walk calmly at their owners’ sides, not pull ahead.
Karen Peak is a professional dog trainer in northern Virginia, and the founder of the Safe Kids/Safe Dogs Project. She forbids the use of retractable leashes in her training classes, having witnessed far too many injuries and mishaps.
“They should never be used on neighborhood walks or in stores or other situations where there might be distractions that can make a dog suddenly bolt,” she says.
5. Sudden stops may cause back, neck and tracheal injuries to dogs.
Retractable leashes can be especially dangerous for small breed dogs, seniors, and those with spinal issues. Depending on the size of the leash, the stop button can cause quite a jolt. Similarly, the dog receives a sudden jerk when the leash runs out of cord. These jarring impacts can damage the neck, trachea and spine.
What kind of leash should you choose instead?
Traditional four to six foot leashes are a safe bet for the average dog, unless your veterinarian or trainer recommends a specialty lead. Whether you choose to go with a length of four feet or six feet depends on the size of the dog and your personal preference. You want the lead to comfortably extend from your hand to your dog’s collar or harness. There should be enough slack to keep the line loose when your dog is walking by your side.
Choose a leash made from sturdy, long-lasting material such as heavy-duty nylon, leather or paracord. If you are looking to reduce your pup’s carbon pawprint, some companies make quality leads from recyled bicycle inner tubes or plastic water bottles.
by Dina Fantegrossi
Being a responsible pet owner involves choosing the right diet, providing regular veterinary care, and tending to your dog’s every physical and emotional need. Something as simple as choosing a leash should be the least of your worries…right? The truth is, retractable dog leashes are dangerous. Not only do they offer little control during walks, they are often directly linked to serious injuries in people and pets.
Retractable dog leashes typically have a thin cord that extends 10 to 25 feet from a large plastic handle. The handle features a button that locks and retracts the cord, so dog owners can regulate how much leeway their pups have at any given time.
While it all sounds great in theory, retractable leashes are prone to malfunctioning. The entire apparatus depends on the retraction mechanism, which can stick or fail entirely when dirt gets inside the handle or the cord becomes knotted.
Their unreliability coupled with the dangerous situations listed below will make you want to ditch your dog’s retractable leash today!
1. The handles are bulky and difficult to hold.
Traditional dog leashes have a simple loop small enough for most children and adults to hold comfortably. The handles of retractable leashes, on the other hand, are made of thick, hard plastic and can be difficult to grip. Should your dog make a sudden sprint for a nearby squirrel, the handle can easily be ripped from your hand. This leaves your dog at risk of being hit by the heavy handle or even becoming lost.
2. When retractable leashes break, people can suffer serious injuries.
Some unlucky pet owners sustain horrific injuries from retractable dog leads. The most common involve tripping, tangling and minor rope burns. More gruesome are the stories of people suffering fractures and even amputations when the cords become wrapped around limbs and fingers.
Facial injuries are also startlingly common when retractable leashes malfunction. Incidents include lacerations, broken bones and broken teeth caused by flying screws, bits of plastic, and the whip-like leashes themselves.
12-year-old Dereka Williams sustained partial, permanent blindness in one eye due to her dog’s retractable leash. The metal clasp attached to the dog’s collar suddenly snapped, sending a fragment of metal hurtling backward into her eye.
3. Retractable leashes offer too much freedom and not enough control – sometimes with tragic results.
Believe it or not, your dog can be hit by a car while walking on a retractable leash. One of the most heartbreaking memories I have from my years as a veterinary technician involves this very situation. A client was walking her Chihuahua mix on a retractable leash when the dog suddenly darted into the street. She was hit by a car and passed away before the owner could get her to the clinic for treatment.
In addition to veering into the road, dogs can get into a variety of other dangerous situations when walking 10 to 25 feet ahead of you. They may eat something harmful, accidentally tromp through a red ant hill, come face-to-face with a snake, or encounter a not-so-friendly pup. Large dogs may even snap the cord or pull it loose from the handle during a surge of adrenaline.
It is impossible to protect your pooch from every potential hazard, but your chances are better with a traditional leash.
4. Walking on a retractable leash teaches dogs bad habits.
Retractable leashes teach dogs all they have to do to gain more freedom is pull on their leash. From a behavioral standpoint, this is the opposite of what you want your dog to learn. Ideally, the leash should be slack, not taut and dogs should walk calmly at their owners’ sides, not pull ahead.
Karen Peak is a professional dog trainer in northern Virginia, and the founder of the Safe Kids/Safe Dogs Project. She forbids the use of retractable leashes in her training classes, having witnessed far too many injuries and mishaps.
“They should never be used on neighborhood walks or in stores or other situations where there might be distractions that can make a dog suddenly bolt,” she says.
5. Sudden stops may cause back, neck and tracheal injuries to dogs.
Retractable leashes can be especially dangerous for small breed dogs, seniors, and those with spinal issues. Depending on the size of the leash, the stop button can cause quite a jolt. Similarly, the dog receives a sudden jerk when the leash runs out of cord. These jarring impacts can damage the neck, trachea and spine.
What kind of leash should you choose instead?
Traditional four to six foot leashes are a safe bet for the average dog, unless your veterinarian or trainer recommends a specialty lead. Whether you choose to go with a length of four feet or six feet depends on the size of the dog and your personal preference. You want the lead to comfortably extend from your hand to your dog’s collar or harness. There should be enough slack to keep the line loose when your dog is walking by your side.
Choose a leash made from sturdy, long-lasting material such as heavy-duty nylon, leather or paracord. If you are looking to reduce your pup’s carbon pawprint, some companies make quality leads from recyled bicycle inner tubes or plastic water bottles.
Why Spay & Neuter your Pet
According to the ASPCA, here are 10 top reasons to spay & neuter:
Whether you’ve recently adopted a pet or you’re considering it,
one of the most important health decisions you’ll make is to spay or neuter your cat or dog.
Spaying—removing the ovaries and uterus of a female pet—is a veterinary procedure that requires
minimal hospitalization and offers lifelong health benefits.
Spaying helps prevent uterine infections and breast cancer,
which is fatal in about 50 percent of dogs and 90 percent of cats.
Spaying your pet before her first heat offers the best protection from these diseases. Your female pet will live a longer, healthier life. Your spayed female won't go into heat. While cycles can vary, female felines usually go into heat four to five days every three weeks during breeding season. In an effort to advertise for mates,
they'll yowl and urinate more frequently—sometimes all over the house!
Neutering—removing the testicles of your male dog or cat—will vastly improve your
pet’s behavior and keep him close to home.
Neutering provides major health benefits for your male. Besides preventing unwanted litters, neutering your male companion prevents testicular cancer, if done before six months of age.
Your male dog won't want to roam away from home. An intact male will do just about anything to find a mate! That includes digging his way under the fence and making like Houdini to escape from the house. And once he's free to roam, he risks injury in traffic and fights with other males.
Your neutered male will be much better behaved. Neutered cats and dogs focus their attention on their human families. On the other hand, unneutered dogs and cats may mark their territory by spraying strong-smelling urine all over the house.
Many aggression problems can be avoided by early neutering.
Spaying or neutering will NOT make your pet fat. Don’t use that old excuse! Lack of exercise and overfeeding will cause your pet to pack on the extra pounds—not neutering. Your pet will remain fit and
trim as long as you continue to provide exercise and monitor food intake.
It is highly cost-effective. The cost of your pet's spay/neuter surgery is a lot less than the cost of having and caring for a litter. It also beats the cost of treatment when your un-neutered tom
escapes and gets into fights with the neighborhood stray!
Spaying and neutering your pet is good for the community. Stray animals pose a real problem in many parts of the country. They can prey on wildlife, cause car accidents, damage the local fauna and frighten children. Spaying and neutering packs a powerful punch in reducing the number of animals on the streets.
Your pet doesn't need to have a litter for your children to learn about the miracle of birth. Letting your pet produce offspring you have no intention of keeping is not a good lesson for your children—especially when so many unwanted animals end up in shelters. There are tons of books and videos available to teach
your children about birth in a more responsible way.
Spaying and neutering helps fight pet overpopulation. Every year, millions of cats and dogs of all ages and breeds are euthanized or suffer as strays. These high numbers are the result of unplanned litters that
could have been prevented by spaying or neutering.
Reference: ASPCA, 2012
Whether you’ve recently adopted a pet or you’re considering it,
one of the most important health decisions you’ll make is to spay or neuter your cat or dog.
Spaying—removing the ovaries and uterus of a female pet—is a veterinary procedure that requires
minimal hospitalization and offers lifelong health benefits.
Spaying helps prevent uterine infections and breast cancer,
which is fatal in about 50 percent of dogs and 90 percent of cats.
Spaying your pet before her first heat offers the best protection from these diseases. Your female pet will live a longer, healthier life. Your spayed female won't go into heat. While cycles can vary, female felines usually go into heat four to five days every three weeks during breeding season. In an effort to advertise for mates,
they'll yowl and urinate more frequently—sometimes all over the house!
Neutering—removing the testicles of your male dog or cat—will vastly improve your
pet’s behavior and keep him close to home.
Neutering provides major health benefits for your male. Besides preventing unwanted litters, neutering your male companion prevents testicular cancer, if done before six months of age.
Your male dog won't want to roam away from home. An intact male will do just about anything to find a mate! That includes digging his way under the fence and making like Houdini to escape from the house. And once he's free to roam, he risks injury in traffic and fights with other males.
Your neutered male will be much better behaved. Neutered cats and dogs focus their attention on their human families. On the other hand, unneutered dogs and cats may mark their territory by spraying strong-smelling urine all over the house.
Many aggression problems can be avoided by early neutering.
Spaying or neutering will NOT make your pet fat. Don’t use that old excuse! Lack of exercise and overfeeding will cause your pet to pack on the extra pounds—not neutering. Your pet will remain fit and
trim as long as you continue to provide exercise and monitor food intake.
It is highly cost-effective. The cost of your pet's spay/neuter surgery is a lot less than the cost of having and caring for a litter. It also beats the cost of treatment when your un-neutered tom
escapes and gets into fights with the neighborhood stray!
Spaying and neutering your pet is good for the community. Stray animals pose a real problem in many parts of the country. They can prey on wildlife, cause car accidents, damage the local fauna and frighten children. Spaying and neutering packs a powerful punch in reducing the number of animals on the streets.
Your pet doesn't need to have a litter for your children to learn about the miracle of birth. Letting your pet produce offspring you have no intention of keeping is not a good lesson for your children—especially when so many unwanted animals end up in shelters. There are tons of books and videos available to teach
your children about birth in a more responsible way.
Spaying and neutering helps fight pet overpopulation. Every year, millions of cats and dogs of all ages and breeds are euthanized or suffer as strays. These high numbers are the result of unplanned litters that
could have been prevented by spaying or neutering.
Reference: ASPCA, 2012
