We know many of you out there love your retractable leashes and probably wonder why we don't carry them at Doggy Style Pet Shop. The fact is, these leashes are not that safe. And they are even less safe in an urban setting like Chicago. We've categorized the dangers into two categories - dangerous to your dog and dangerous to you.
Dangers for you:
The dangers to people from retractable leashes are in the multitude and very serious. Probably the least serious is the rope burn you can get from the thin cord zinging through or over your bare skin when your dog decides to spontaneously chase a squirrel.
Much worse includes finger amputation or bone breaks that happen when the cord wraps around a finger or limb and the dog then pulls hard.
If you think aputation isn't a risk for you because you keep the retractable leash locked at a shorter distance, the tension can cause the thin cord to break, resulting in serious eye injuries, face injuries and disfigurements.
Retractable leashes are also more likely to cause the dog-walker to fall. The fact that the leash can be so long allows a dog to build up a great deal of speed and momentum, and so a person (especially one caught off guard) can be pulled to the ground and dragged. There are many reports of bone fractures and serious abrasions from these exact circumstances.
Finally, your retractable leash can injure other people or property too! If a cord breaks, it can hit someone else in the face. If the dog runs loose it could attack another dog or bite a person. If the cord wraps around a third party's hand or legs, it can injure them.
Dangers for your dog:
One of the bigest dangers with these leashes is that your dog can get far enough away from you that if an unpredictable bad situation arises, you can't do anything to keep your dog away from it. For example, if your dog turns a blind corner before you and is then met by an unfriendly dog, a fight could erupt before you are even aware that there is an unfriendly dog. Or, if your dog enters an intersection when you are some distance behind, a driver might not see your small dog in the cross-walk. This latter example has happened to one of our customers and her dog was seriously injured by the car. Your dog could also eat or drink something bad (like a dead animal, or some rat poison) and you aren't able to quickly pull them away from it.
Also, retractable leashes have very thin cords as the leash. They are easily broken, chewed through, etc. If this happens when you are on a walk, the best case scenario is you have a loose dog and get some exercise chasing it. The worst case scenarios involve losing your dog, or having your loose dog hit by a car and killed.
Finally, retractable leash cords can wrap around an animal's neck or limbs and cause strangulation or serious injury/ampution.
In short, the dangers of retractable leashes far outweigh their benefits. If you do decide to continue using your retractable leash, please keep and read the instructions and the warnings contained in the packaging! You can find the warnings from Flexi-Lead right here. They are VERY long - and sometimes recommend that you wear protective gear when you use the leash! We think that with warnings like that it is smarter and safer to stick with a traditional leash.
