✦Awakening Souls✦ wrote:maninkari wrote:What are all of your opinions on retractable leashes? They're a bit of a pet peeve of mine, haha.
Hate 'em. Personally, they're better for cats than dogs if you tend to walk your cat lol. I find that they don't give me enough control over my dogs, because for one, the leash part is usually thinner compared to normal leashes (not very sturdy), and on another point, they tend to jam a lot. I'd prefer my dogs to be beside me at all times, not running ahead of me (it's just how I trained them and it provides me a lot more control over the dog, and it shows the dog who's alpha), whereas a retractable leash would allow them to walk me, not the other way around. They can also put the dog in danger if it's way far ahead of you, not giving you enough time to pull your dog out of that situation. Just my opinion, anyway.
There is no "alpha" in dogs, dominance theory is a myth, debunked by science. Having a dog next to you as opposed to walking in front does not show him you are the "alpha", "boss" or anything like that. It's fine if you want to train your dog to walk in that position, but he won't "respect" you more because of it, and he wouldn't "respect" you any less if he was trained to walk in front. Obviously a dog shouldn't be pulling when you don't want them to, but that has nothing to do with you being an "alpha", the dog is either trained properly to walk on a loose leash or is not.
I also hate retractable leashes. They train the dog to pull, degrade and can malfunction over time posing a hazard. If they break and the cable snaps they could injure the person or the dog. If they are pulled out of the person's hands the clatter of hitting the ground then winding up towards the dog giving the dog the feeling of something chasing him can cause him to bolt. Not only is this an immediate hazard as the dog can run into traffic, is loose, etc.; but it can cause a phobia about being leashed in general. For these reasons I think if you want to give your dog more leash, it's much safer to use a long line.
I also hate the people who use them without concern to the safety of others. The people who refuse to use a safety strap which makes it easier to have it pulled from their hand by the dog. The people who refuse to lock it in a store, or when they see someone/thing approaching, etc. I also hate the stupidity of people who complain their dog pulls on leash but don't realize they're training their dog to pull by using a retractable leash. Or worse, they use a prong collar with the retractable leash
And of course so many have the leash attached to the collar causing damage to the dog's neck, spine, etc. @.Middy. - Oh wow, it's a rare sighting of the Kesness monster
You're so lucky. 
