Extendable leads...

Whats people opinions on them?

I thought letting dogs walk ahead of you was letting them be the pack leader?

On my walk thers a long bit of road, with a wide bit of grass to one side, so ive been walking along ther with chase on an extendable lead, then back to normal length around roads n stuff.

Just wondering what peoples opinions on extendable leads are and if anyone has any long term experience with them? I never used one with my last dog, and ive only used one with chase a few times.

i like the extendable lead your still in control but the dog has a bit of freedom. theyre great for all sorts of places but are fantastic is your dog isnt so good at recall. theyre also great for doing some stay and wait training

I use a long lead so duke can have some freedom as he cant go off lead . I think when you have established whos in charge with your dog then it doesnt matter whos in front of the walk respect is the key for me

Personally i always worried about an extendable lead as I wasn't sure you could purchase one for a strong staffie.
I used to use instead a horse/dog training lead as you can get them in huge sizes and are really strong. Mine is 30ft, but I can reduce it to 15ft, then just hold the rest in my hand when i want her close.
But extendable or dog training leads are good if your training your dog recall and don't let your dog off leash.
Lola doesn't need one now, but it was a godsend when I was training her to come back to me.

I have a flexi lead all tape and suitable for a dog up to 50kg although Harry is more like 20kg. I uses this in the fields so that he has a sense of freedom but use a fixed lead on the road or amongst people. However please be warned that even though it is supposed to be strong enough for a dog twice my dogs weight Harry decided to chase a squirrel and pulled on the lead at such a force that the catch released and it fully extended and pulled right out of my hand. Now I use a horse lunge lead which you can buy quite cheaply, as I feel I have more control pulling him in, though the disadvantage to this is that it can get quite wet in grass.

Lizzie wrote:I have a flexi lead all tape and suitable for a dog up to 50kg although Harry is more like 20kg. I uses this in the fields so that he has a sense of freedom but use a fixed lead on the road or amongst people. However please be warned that even though it is supposed to be strong enough for a dog twice my dogs weight Harry decided to chase a squirrel and pulled on the lead at such a force that the catch released and it fully extended and pulled right out of my hand. Now I use a horse lunge lead which you can buy quite cheaply, as I feel I have more control pulling him in, though the disadvantage to this is that it can get quite wet in grass.

I agree about the disadvantage, especially when they decide they want to stomp through stuff you really don't want on the lead

Yer, Recall is Chases weakness, especially around other dogs. I just wanted to give him a bit more freedom without losing all control.

Louise you put that very tactfully, much better than I could have!

I agree about the disadvantage, especially when they decide they want to stomp through stuff you really don't want on the lead [/quote]

like when they decide pee just as you start to walk towards then and the lead slackens as it coils back in. with girls not so bad but when boys * their leg nnnnnoooooo!!!!!!!!!!

_julie_ wrote:
I agree about the disadvantage, especially when they decide they want to stomp through stuff you really don't want on the lead

like when they decide pee just as you start to walk towards then and the lead slackens as it coils back in. with girls not so bad but when boys * their leg nnnnnoooooo!!!!!!!!!![/quote]

We use an extender lead for Tinkerbell. She walks by my side when I want her to, even if the lead is on the long run she will come back in when called. But because her recall is non-existent and particularly because she wants every person and dog to come and see her, it gives her the freedom to explore whilst she is still on lead.

I would like to use a long line with her, but as I often walk with the children meaning I am also pushing a buggy I am not sure how easy it would be to hold the lead (when I want her close to me) and push the buggy. As it is now on the extender she walks next to the buggy so I can hold her lead and buggy in one hand and hold the buggy with the properly with the other hand. Although saying this when people approach to make sure I have proper control I do push one handed so I can hold her tighter!

I personally don't trust them, they seem to weak for me... although I've never used one so I can't really tell how they work in practice.

I've been meaning to ask a similar question myself.

We got an extendible lead the other day from pets at home. When we got home we realised that the shop assistant had ended up giving us one for a 12k dog, so we are going to swap it as we want it to be suitable when Dora is an adult. Also, half of the lead is a very thin cord not tape which I expressed my concern about in the shop at the time but the assistant simply said - you'll have to teach her not to chew it...?
I thought, well that is all well and good in theory... but it will take her all of two seconds to bite through it with her puppy teeth if she decided to... also, even if I replaced the lead for a 15kg one or whatever - is this still going to be strong enough if she gets it into her head to really pull or chase something?

So my question is - what do people recommend I swap it to? Or should I simply return it and buy an alternative from somewhere else?

(sorry I hijacked your thread a bit Owen)

Its fine Ive bin usin a pretty flimsy cheap one just to see how he was on it. gunna upgrade to a more durable when i get paid now i know his good on it.

I dont really like the sound of the long leads, i walk chase over a muddy park a lot, and i imagine it would be absolutely filthy within a few days!

Extendable leads are ok, but prefer long leads as they still work the same way in that they get some freedom but not actually off lead.

When Molly was young we used the extendable lead and we use it for Duke now, but once he is old he will have a long lead too.

As for walking behind/to the side of you instead of in front, your right this is important to start with an for general walks is advisable, but if your somewhere you want to give your dog a little freedom but without being off lead totally then extendable leads or long leads are great.

Forgot to mention in my earlier post that these leads should always be used with a Harness and not a collar. My Vet told me that she sees no end of painful whiplash injuries to dogs whose neck has been jolted by them pulling the lead out fully and getting injured when the lead is fully unleashed and suddenly stops.

Tape ones are better then wire ones as you can get a nasty injury yourself from a wire one.

No they are not strong enough to hold a staffy if they decide to chase something, even the 50kg ones, I had the misfortune to find out.

I'm busy trying to make Kasidys recall better, i used an extending lead to stop her running over to dogs on a walk but she tended to just walk beside me and the lead never extends. I've been using a 20m line if they are playing fetch etc and then she can run about but not run over to dogs until they are close, i can stand on the line and call her over.Seems to be working but i'm sure she will always be tempted by big hunky males

flexi lead for large dog are perfect for staffie...

my as lasted 7 years with my sam pulling me all over of the fields lol

Mine works well with Monte. He is pretty strong and I haven't had any issues.

I use an extendable lead with Henry. And I wrap the tape around my wrist, so the handle cant be tugged out of my hand. I let him walk ahead, no problem.

you want to be careful doing that i nearly chop my feets off a few times

Not a fan for walks on paths etc, i have an exstendable lead for tara when over the park as shes not great at recall and would run over too a dog if she saw one.

I think there great for dogs who cant be offlead and for trainning but thats it.

Bella is only a baby so I haven't tried one on her yet but I use a large flexi tape one for Millie. She's a 23kg lab x collie an has managed to break every cord one i've got for her but the tape one has lasted a couple of years now. People are usually surprised at her strength cause she doesn't look that strong. They are great for places I can't have her offlead but want a little freedom for her. Just have to watch out for her breaking into a fast run. couple of times thats ended in me pulled off my feet and her doing a headflip.

I had one for Cairo when she was younger,i used it to help teach her recall.I had no problems with it but she only used it to the age of about 6 months when she started going off lead,so i cant comment on how it would cope with a fully grown staffy,i emagine if you get the biggest one possible,it would be ok.

My two have the training leads that reach up to 50ft and can shorten it to 25 if i half it etc .. skye had an extendable lead when she was a pup but shes too big for it now lol.
i prefer the extendable leads because the slack gets pulled back in where as on the training leads you have to keep pulling all the slack back in, you get ya feet tangled and rope burn when they spot something they wanna chase!! lol.
So currently looking to buy to extendable leads strong enough for my two lol.

staffy-lover89 wrote:My two have the training leads that reach up to 50ft and can shorten it to 25 if i half it etc .. skye had an extendable lead when she was a pup but shes too big for it now lol.
i prefer the extendable leads because the slack gets pulled back in where as on the training leads you have to keep pulling all the slack back in, you get ya feet tangled and rope burn when they spot something they wanna chase!! lol.
So currently looking to buy to extendable leads strong enough for my two lol.

I've been on the floor a few times from Lola tangling the long lead and yep the burn when your not looking and they decide to lung or totally go for something, painful.

Tell me about it!! lol .. i myself dont have the confidence to let my two of the leads .. vinnie i think would be good as his recall in the garden is great UNLESS he see's a cat which is where i worry and skye is just selective hearing! lol .. so i feel they would pick up on that etc and not come back so i just stick to the training leads etc, i just like them to have a little run and space to roam at the park etc.

staffy-lover89 wrote:Tell me about it!! lol .. i myself dont have the confidence to let my two of the leads .. vinnie i think would be good as his recall in the garden is great UNLESS he see's a cat which is where i worry and skye is just selective hearing! lol .. so i feel they would pick up on that etc and not come back so i just stick to the training leads etc, i just like them to have a little run and space to roam at the park etc.

Thats the thing with Chase, his great with other dogs, no aggression at all, but he just gets over excited, and if he sees another dog, however far away it is he will run to it full speed, then he cant stop quick enough and usually skids straight into it. And if his with another dog or doing something he considers fun, he wont listen to a word i say until he wants to. Recall is the one thing i just haven't managed to master with him unfortunately.

We have one atm but Paddy will outgrow it soon I think. I already worry!