Wolf & I Co. Blog | Adventures Of The Wolf Pack

We've collaborated with Pet Parents Portal (a team of vets sharing vital tips to help care for your dog) and they've put together some helpful information regarding retractable dog leashes. Here's what they had to say:

Retractable leads are a type of lead that are still commonly used by dog owners. They consist of a plastic cassette which stores the wound up dog leash. There is also a plastic grip handle.

The leash is designed to unravel as the dog pulls and runs and there is a brake and release mechanism which can be activated to immediately stop the dog from running.

At first glance, this has the potential of being an absolutely awesome tool for any dog parent. The dog is free to explore its surroundings while the owner isn’t pulled along for the ride! What’s not to like??

But in actual fact, we as vets, strongly recommend that our clients stay well away from retractable leads and for good reason!

Here are the reasons why we are very wary of the dangers of these types of leashes.

Retractable dog leads can contribute to the occurrence of preventable injuries and behavioural problems. And the injuries we are talking about aren’t affecting the dogs only but their parents too.

Injuries from retractable pet leads:

1. The lead is designed to lock so that a dog that is running away from their pet parent can be physically stopped.

2. Once the lock mechanism is engaged the dog is stopped with a sudden jolt mid-run.

3. If the dog is wearing a neck collar its neck bears the full brunt of the jolt which can lead to:

• muscle injury
• spinal injury
• potential injury to trachea and oesophagus

4. Even if the dog is wearing a harness, injury can occur.

5. Constant use of the leash can cause fraying and weakening of the cord which can eventually snap with a dog running full pelt towards a dangerous situation. At this point the pet parent is left helpless on the other side of the snapped lead.

6. Because the plastic handle is bulky and the pet parent is unable to wrap the lead around their wrist for security, if the dog pulls or runs suddenly while the brake mechanism is activated, owners often drop the plastic cassette.

A similar situation to (5) ensues where a dog is running while dragging the lead apparatus behind them and the only thing the owner can do is chase the dog and try to catch it.

7. The tight cord can also wrap around limbs (human and canine) and necks (canine) when dogs are playing leading to cuts and other injuries such as strangulation.

What about behavioural problems?

Unfortunately, retractable leashes can contribute to the development of behavioural problems in dogs too.

There is always some tension in the cord of the retractable lead as it is designed to wind back into the cassette when there is some slackness in it. As dogs are rewarded with freedom and more opportunities to explore and sniff when pulling against this tension, the use of a retractable leash can teach a dog to pull against a tight lead.

This is the opposite of what you want as when we have dogs on a tight lead it is usually for their safety or ours and this isn’t the situation where we want them to pull.

Retractable leashes can also undermine the connection between the pet parent and the dog because the dog is ahead of their handler and has no incentive to check in.

Recall training is near impossible when using these types of leads.

And we all know that recall is incredibly important for dogs and their handlers.

Our advice?

• Invest the time into training you canine friend to walk by your side and to come to you when called using positive reinforcement
• Invest in good quality harnesses, collars and leads that will assist you in your training and wont cause injuries or bad habits.
• Teach recall using a long lead and make sure that the lead is slack when the dog is doing the right thing so that they are rewarded for the desirable behaviour.
• Enjoy the bond with your pooch and continue strengthening it one walkie at a time

If you were asking yourself if retractable leashes were good for dogs, we hope this information will help clarify the disadvantages of this dog leash and explain why vets do not recommend this type of dog retractable lead.

Want to follow Pet Parents Portal? Check them out on Instagram and subscribe for more epic adventures sent direct to your inbox!

Don't forget to grab a new dog leash for your dogs next walk here.