Expendable Leads

[fruitsalad]

What is your thoughts on them? I just used one for the 1st time and its great when over the fields, but just as I got near to home someone with 2 dogs came round the corner, and my dog pulled toward them, I couldnt draw it in and put the lock on quick enough, tried to pull him back and the lead sliced through my finger, my 1st and last time I think.

[fruitsalad]

Expanding *

[AZardoz]

Expendable or expandable ?

[fruitsalad]

Expandable, I blame it on my phone

[gingejbee]

I think they're actually called "extending leads"....

[pastafreak]

I read up on them before I got Sally and decided they would not suit me. I'm also wary as I'd seen warnings to keep lurchers (like Sally), sighthounds and other similarly built dogs away from them as getting such a lead twisted around their legs could do serious damage.

[ethandron]

The first one we had was a thin cord which I didn’t like. We then got one which is tape about half an inch wide, much better.
You just have to get used to using them and never, ever use your hand to stop it, just the brake on the handle.

[Tashi]

On my phone, so hope this works. Extendable, we have two 34' ones for when the hounds need them, no problems at all.

[tonyav]

We have one for our choc lab ( she's quite a big girl ) this one works fine although the lead we had previously was rubbish ( cheaper version ) the mechanism broke.

[wolf63]

My rescue dog wasn't very keen on other people so I couldn't let him off the lead. I bought a six-foot fabric lead which allowed me some control whilst letting him wander and sniff. He was a big lad and the extending leads looked a bit flimsy.

[Rockrose]

Damn dangerous things, too many dogs have been killed because the locking mechanism failed and dogs were hit by traffic.

[woofgang]

You have to use them carefully. Dogs have been known to break their back or neck by being brought up short either by reaching the end of the lead or by the handler using the brake. I have got a couple and find them useful to give an injured but recovering dog a bit more freedom whilst still preventing him from going too far or too fast. For walking a Dog on a lead, I think a suitable ordinary kead is safer, especially around roads, people and other dogs.

[pastafreak]

Oh...you have a chocolate lab, Tony? That would be my next choice of dog.( Don't tell Sally...she's a tart for labs). My next door neighbour just lost his. Sad.

[tonyav]

Yes a choc lab, pasta. Lovely natured dog ( mad as a box of frogs though ).

[ethandron]

We have four completely different leads for different walks...a halti training lead, a very long lightweight trailing training lead, an extendable lead, and a normal short lead.
I would only ever use the normal short lead for walking our pup round the streets, most of his walks are done in the countryside though and now he seems to have got the hang of recall (after a lot of effort on his and our part) he’s mainly off the lead then.

[pastafreak]

I think "mad as a box of frogs" is in their nature...more so than other labs. I have a dog walking acquaintance who dog was a pup when I got Sally. He's now 7, and still throws himself at you. Just a big slobbery pup.

[tonyav]

Yes that just about describes our Bow, pasta.

[Ratty2E]

I have always used extending leads for my various dogs but only ever in parks, fields, forest etc. And only with a harness. It's never a good idea to use one in the street because you should have close control of your dog and also I wouldn't trust the mechanism around traffic. If you want to use one again you should try a tape one not the cord. I use Ferplast 'flippy' leads now, they work differently to most extenders and you have to push the button to release the lead rather than stop it so they can't just bolt away from you.

[ladybirder]

If you get a good quality one and use it properly they are great. Just take note of what is going on around you, be aware of others, and there shouldn't be any problems. I am amazed at how many people grab the lead with their hands and injure themselves. Having a smallish dog helps but I've used them for many many years without any trouble.

[tonyav]

Our's is the same has Ratty2e's, with a button and it works very well with our choc lab who is pretty powerful when she wants to be.