Comments on: It’s Not the Leash; It’s the Relationship

By: MysticsMama

MysticsMama — Fri, 12 Jul 2013 09:45:26 +0000

I used 2 Flexi’s to walk my 2 dogs in many cities in Europe and the USA. Augra was a curious, busy, 11-pound Schnauhuahua old lady with short legs. Mystic was a young, well-proportioned, 50-pound Whoknowswhat alpha mutt. Two (well, three) very different gaits, interests, and exercise tolerances. Mystic was the bold, focused, lead dog out at the full, 16-foot length. Augra went side to side, sniffing, and marking, everything at the 8-foot or so length. She’d stop to do her thing, I’d walk past her, and by the time she was 7 feet behind, she’d be done and would run to catch up to her 7 foot lead. I tried to walk fast enough to keep Mystic trotting happily. Both dogs would stop if I dropped a handle, and watch as it caught up with them. Then they’d look up at me, like, “Well, come on, mom. We’ve got places to go, things to sniff!” They always chose to stay with me whenever I dropped a handle. They ignored other dogs and people, but for a quick glance and maybe a sniff. It was all about the mileage, apparently. If I’d had them heel, all three of us would fit side-by-side on the average city sidewalk, but passing people might’ve been intimidated. As it was, oncoming pedestrians would smile at the disparate crew as they passed each of us. It was dog-weaving at its best some days, but we couldn’t have enjoyed all those kilometers on a couple of 6-foot leashes. I acknowledge that we were an unusual team enabled by the Flexi-leashes. Now, I have another disparate crew: an 8-pound Pom mix, 30-pound Border collie/blue heeler mix, and an 85-pound Lab mix. Lots of recalls, treats and releases for all. Thankfully, we live out in the country, so only the headstrong Pom always needs to be on a leash. Otherwise, too much swearing on my end of the leashes, and/or advanced degree in dog-weaving!
I completely agree, it’s all about your relationship with each dog, and each pair of you has to find and develop your own ‘best practices.’

By: Jessica@YouDidWhatWithYourWeiner

Jessica@YouDidWhatWithYourWeiner — Wed, 10 Jul 2013 02:57:04 +0000

I agree with you Pamela. Each pet owner is the best decision maker for what is right for their pet. Hopefully they are making decisions that improve the dog’s confidence, health and strengthen the bond between them and their human. Most people are very intrigued and supportive of our hiking adventures. However, on occasion, someone has said or implied that I am being irresponsible for taking them such places. I know the signs of what Chester and Gretel can handle and what they cant and the hiking improves our fitness and bond. Each case is unique as with the flexi-leads.

However, I was a bit horrified to see a “dual” flexi-leash the other day. The handle has TWO flexi leashes coming out of it. I don’t care who you are, it just seems unreasonable to have solid control of either dog attached.

By: Pup Fan

Pup Fan — Mon, 08 Jul 2013 16:08:11 +0000

Amen! No leash can solve the problems created when people don’t pay attention to their dog when walking. The relationship is important too, even more than the type of leash you choose. I do tend to be anti-Flexi, but I think it’s because I rarely see them used properly.

And if Mike figures out how to get some tax benefits out of all of this, please share with the rest of us. 😉

By: Greyhounds CAN Sit

Greyhounds CAN Sit — Mon, 08 Jul 2013 10:01:15 +0000

Obviously a flexi leash isn’t any good with a Greyhound as they can reach top speed in 3 strides! I used to use one with Frankie when I first got him and we were at the park and it worked quite well. But I’d never use one walking the streets, a normal length lead is plenty long enough for a relaxed walk. Although I don’t think I ever had a relaxed walk around the streets with Frankie! He should have been a Malmute X Beagle. He’s very strong for his size and can pull and sniff at the same time! Things are much better now he doesn’t have to be on lead and he’s much more aware of me when he’s free to do what he wants. Now he chooses to be with me much more often 🙂

By: Human Rescues Dog

Human Rescues Dog — Mon, 08 Jul 2013 09:26:09 +0000

A lot of people use extendable leashes here in Australia. I like the idea of them, but when I actually used them, I found that I had very little control over my dog. I think your dog would have to be very well trained and you’d have to be a pretty experienced pet owner to use it safely, and I wasn’t at the time when I tried it. I do completely agree that it should be more about the relationship than the tool used. For pulling on the leash, I used to spend a fortune on fancy tools like harnesses, but in the end, focusing on improving the relationship and having consistent and humane leadership with my dogs actually worked better than any of the tools we tried.

By: Mike Webster

Mike Webster — Sun, 07 Jul 2013 22:24:12 +0000

From the Husband:
My only reason for having a dog is the tax benefits. Will the leash improve my tax benefits?

By: houndstooth

houndstooth — Sun, 07 Jul 2013 14:56:40 +0000

My first question when I’m looking at new equipment is “Is it safe for me and my dog?” If I have reservations or doubts, then some research is happening first. I also want to know other people’s experiences with it.

I’ve heard enough horror stories to know that a retractable leash isn’t for us. We do have one that we got for review, and we did use one during the winter when Kuster was a puppy for potty training, and it was great when he was little. Now, the only thing I use one for is occasional pictures outside if my husband is available to hold the leash while I use the camera. I had thought it might be nice for hiking, but holding on to that handle while you’re trying to climb up and down hills and over obstacles is not handy or convenient at all. My own personal experience without having something bad happen is enough to know about that subject. I’m not going to tar and feather people who use one (unless their dog does something to us) but I also don’t recommend them to people, and I usually use the argument that you presented here. I can’t “feel” my dog on the end of a retractable leash and I doubt that she can feel me, either.

By: Dawn

Dawn — Sun, 07 Jul 2013 14:00:15 +0000

Very good point. We tend to criticize others for not doing it our way (which we, of course, think is the best way). Or when we see one person using certain equipment wrong, we assume everyone who uses that same equipment does it wrong. Or we make judgments about a person and their relationship with their dog based on how they train or what training equipment they use. I say ‘we’ because I’m sure we’ve all done it at one time or another. I know I have. Thanks for bringing this up. It is important that we see different perspectives without judgment.

By: Jana Rade

Jana Rade — Sun, 07 Jul 2013 05:56:01 +0000

The relationship, trust and bond has always been an important part of every decision. Second only to safety and physical well-being.

By: BoingyDog

BoingyDog — Sun, 07 Jul 2013 05:46:15 +0000

Really fantastic article and I definitely appreciate your perspective and I completely agree with the questions that you ask, they really get to the heart of things. When I thought about your questions, I changed my own perspective. The problem I’ve always had with flexi leashes is that oftentimes when I’m walking with Kayo and we approach another dog on a flexi leash, the owners allow their dogs to approach Kayo without permission and they take very little control over what their dogs are doing. But looked at from the perspective of your questions, that could happen with any leash. I’ll have to work at not having such a strong negative opinion about those leashes. The relationship is key!