Flexi leads - dangerous? or just freak accidents?

[imported_Cassie]

Well, after some of the events which have occured in my neck of the woods...I am not too thrilled about flexi leads.
within the last 4 months we had one man walking his dog on the flexi lead...lost the lead..the recoil sent the large plastic handle flying and hit him in the eye...he almost lost his eye...
we also just had a dog lose her life due to an accident involving a flexi...the owner had just had her pup spayed (13 month old Newf) she was keeping the pup to leash walks only....on the day of the horrible accident she had the flexi lead on the pup and was trying to get out the front door with the pup...the pup was very excited and took a run for it while the owner was trying to close the door...she lost the flexi and the recoil sent the hard plastic handle towards the pup and hit the pup in the leg causing mutiple fractures....the pup was in surgery for about 9 hours...which is not good..this caused all the stomack acids to flow up to the throat. As a result of being under for too long she could not keep any food down, she was put on IV etc...she was eventually put out of her misery...it was horrible. :cry:
Any way, not to say that these accidents would happen to others.... these were just freak accidents ...I guess its just that the 2 accidents occured so close together that had me so concerned...and it seems as though every one I see has a flexi lead for their dog....it just seems so dangerous to me now, with that hard plastic handle and the recoil action these leads have (I myself have never used one) I have heard you can lock the leads which would save a person from such and accident...
one of these leads would never be some thing I would ever get for one of my dogs.

[snowpaws]

I have thought about this, It is quite worrying, especially when you have a strong dog on the end of the lead.
I do have a flexi for Kodi, and am using it at the moment, because I'm having problems with his recall and can't always let him off the lead.
He is fine in an empty park, or if he is with other dogs that he knows, like ellie and rio, but if he is alone and spots another dog, no matter how far away, he will bolt, and nothing I do or shout will get him to stop.
I know that you are supposed to wait for them to come back of their own accord, but if it is a vicious dog that he has gone after, he could end up seriously hurt. Snarling and growling doesn't put him off, he just goes back for more, and when the other dogs owner is shouting at you to come and get your dog, you can't do anything but run after and tell him off.
So he is on the flexi now, as he needs to be able to run around, until I know that there are no other dogs in the park, and then I let him off.
But there are also alot of foxes near us, so if he spots one, he chases :roll:
Now I have started deliberately going there when I know dogs will be around, and while hes on his lead I put him in a down and say leave, until the dog has gone, then give him a treat when he does.
Kodi doesn't tend to bolt on his lead because he knows he wont get anywhere, but there is always that worry that if he did, would the lead become detatched from the handle?
I think they can be ok if used by people who know what they are doing, but some people can be so irrisponsible, and just let their dog run at full speed to the end of the lead. This is very dangerous, as the further away the dog gets the more force you get at the other end, and when you have a strong dog it is very difficult to hold on, as well as it being very bad for the dogs neck.
Aren't there long line leads you can buy? I want to get one for Kodi, but haven't seen them. I would have thought they can do the same sort of thing, without the danger.

[snowpaws]

Ah, maybe not so safe then, might look into the lunge line, I have a horses leading rope that I sometimes use for Kodi, as it is nice and strong, but not much longer than a regular lead..

[Bentleythewonderdog]

:) Hope I don't offend anyone but this type of leash has been a pet peeve of mine. I know there are people out there that are responsible and control their pets but I personally have never seen a dog on one that was in control. I feel that they are unsafe for the pet and people. I have seen dogs dart out into streets while on them and I have seen aggresive dogs lunge at people walking by. I just prefer having a good lead that keeps them at my side.

[abker17]

I do have a flexi for Kodi, and am using it at the moment, because I'm having problems with his recall and can't always let him off the lead.
He is fine in an empty park, or if he is with other dogs that he knows

but if he is alone and spots another dog, no matter how far away, he will bolt, and nothing I do or shout will get him to stop.

Same with Abby. I use a nylon lead to walk to the park, then put on her flexi while we're there. I let Abby off leash in the fenced areas, but I can't let her off leash outside fenced areas. If she saw another dog she to would bolt, but she's sometimes dog aggressive. So I never know if when approached by another dog, Abby will want to fight or play. It just varies with her, and it's very nerve racking. :x

[Kiger]

They cause rope burns - always to me, never the dog. Kato walks on one 5 times a day, and I don't have any problems with him. If I see people coming, I just reel him in and lock it down so he's close to me and can't go bother them unless they want to see him.

[Rosebud]

:-?

I'm not a real big fan of flexi-leads either. I would never even consider using one on the ridgies, however I do use one for Sandy my IG when I'm walking all three at once. With the flexi on Sandy I can let her walk out in front of Sally & Rocket and still be able to "reel" her in if I have too. Sally & Rocket are on a Y attachment so they have no choice but to walk beside each other, Sandy's flexi is always in the lock position regardless of how much line I let her have.

I'm still not wild about small breeds on them either, a frightened toy can wrap itself around you and cause you to fall and possible be in danger faster than you can reel them in.
I think anyone that uses one on a large breed is just an accident waiting to happen, the plastic handle is very hard to hold on to when a 60-80lb dog hits the end of the line at a run.

Note to Kiger: I'm sure your baby is very well trained to walk on loose lead and that you will be responsible for him, however I still would suggest you consider a different lead.

:angel:

[Kaleb124]

Bentleythewonderdog napisał(a):

:) Hope I don't offend anyone but this type of leash has been a pet peeve of mine. I know there are people out there that are responsible and control their pets but I personally have never seen a dog on one that was in control. I feel that they are unsafe for the pet and people. I have seen dogs dart out into streets while on them and I have seen aggresive dogs lunge at people walking by. I just prefer having a good lead that keeps them at my side.

I agree with you completely...That being said, when Kaleb and I are on long walks, I use a flexi. However, I always keep it locked in the shortest position unless we are in a big grassy area with no obstacles or people to get tangled up in. Then I unlock the lead and encourage him to run and play. I will admit, if I MUST have real control, I use a 6 foot leash. I can never get a decent correction with the flexi because it seems to "ratchet" a couple of inches when I do try to correct.

I cannot count the number of times that a dog connected to a flexi leash has jumped on Kaleb or got tangled up in his legs or my legs and the owner was so far behind the dog that they did not notice. There are even people in my therapy dog group who use a flexi leash. I hate it. I have been badly cut from a flexi leash that was wrapped around my legs by a little corgi mix dog. I would hate to see that happen to someone that we were visiting in a health care facility

[Rosebud]

Kaleb124 napisał(a):

Bentleythewonderdog napisał(a):

:) Hope I don't offend anyone but this type of leash has been a pet peeve of mine. I know there are people out there that are responsible and control their pets but I personally have never seen a dog on one that was in control. I feel that they are unsafe for the pet and people. I have seen dogs dart out into streets while on them and I have seen aggresive dogs lunge at people walking by. I just prefer having a good lead that keeps them at my side.

I agree with you completely...That being said, when Kaleb and I are on long walks, I use a flexi. However, I always keep it locked in the shortest position unless we are in a big grassy area with no obstacles or people to get tangled up in. Then I unlock the lead and encourage him to run and play. I will admit, if I MUST have real control, I use a 6 foot leash. I can never get a decent correction with the flexi because it seems to "ratchet" a couple of inches when I do try to correct.

I cannot count the number of times that a dog connected to a flexi leash has jumped on Kaleb or got tangled up in his legs or my legs and the owner was so far behind the dog that they did not notice. There are even people in my therapy dog group who use a flexi leash. I hate it. I have been badly cut from a flexi leash that was wrapped around my legs by a little corgi mix dog. I would hate to see that happen to someone that we were visiting in a health care facility….notwithstanding we would probably be asked to leave and not come back.

What therapy dog organization do you use? Delta Society aka Pet Partners does not accept flexi-leads as a means of control for therapy dogs that they license.

http://deltasociety.org/petpart/ppeval.htm

Equipment
Acceptable equipment:
Well-fitted buckle, quick-release connection, or snap closure collars or harnesses made of leather or fabric.
Martingales (i.e., limited slip) and halters (e.g., Gentle Leader, Promise, Snoot Loop, Halti).
Metal buckles, slip rings, and D-rings are acceptable.
All leather or fabric leashes, no more than 6 feet in length.
Unacceptable equipment:
Metal collars and harnesses, including martingales with metal links.
Slip collars of any type.
Special training collars such as "pinch," "spike," electric, or spray collars.
Metal chain and retractable leashes (e.g., Flexi-leash).

:angel:

[Guest Anonymous]

I have a flexi for drey and he loves it. I like it because it give him freedom to roam furthan than the sidewalk when we are out on walks but still gives me a means of correction. I dont think that puppies or dogs that are not well trained are good on them just because of the lack of a good correction. But i know that dogs do enjoy them immensly, you just have to be a little more wary of you surroundings and of your dogs reactions to them. If you know that your dog jumps at people or other dogs then keep them close around those things, that why the leash has a lock on it. For training purposed nothing beats a good 6 foot leather lead, FLEXIs are not for training or for dogs that still require regular corrections. The occasional correction on a flexi is ifine you just have to be sure that you press the button before the correction and not during or after, that causes that clicking and it hurts your thumb too.
JMO :black:

[Kaleb124]

It is a local therapy group that is organized through our local Humane Society. Not very many of the dogs are therapy certified (most are not). Which is why some people do not associate with that therapy group, I have just learned. The dogs that are certified are done through TDI, Inc.

Speaking of which...Kaleb was denied certification through TDI because he is 10 months old. :( We will have to retake the test after his 1 year birthday to gain certification. I just wish someone would have told me. GRR

[Rosebud]

Kaleb124 napisał(a):

It is a local therapy group that is organized through our local Humane Society. Not very many of the dogs are therapy certified (most are not). Which is why some people do not associate with that therapy group, I have just learned. The dogs that are certified are done through TDI, Inc.

Speaking of which...Kaleb was denied certification through TDI because he is 10 months old. :( We will have to retake the test after his 1 year birthday to gain certification. I just wish someone would have told me. GRR

I checked into TDI and decided that I liked Delta Society's program better, although TDI has a good program as well. Neither one of them will certify a dog younger than 1 year old, I have decided to wait until Rocket is at least 2 years before pursuing his certification.

:angel:

[Mary's Mama]

Well let the lashing begin. I use a flexi lead with a splitter to walk Mary and Stew. However, we walk in a very quiet neighborhood, I am very vigilant about keeping them under control, and they are trained very well. They must stop at each street corner and sit down, that way they dont run out into the street. They are so good, they do it automatically now. They also know better than to walk in the street, they know the curb is their boundary until I say "okay lets go". If people approach, we step into a yard off the sidewalk and they sit until the person and/or dogs have passed.

I understand the concerns with the flexi lead but as with correction collars it is a useful tool if used properly. Once again the problem is the irresponsible owner. My main reason for using it, I walk my dogs so they can have fun. I do not expect them to heel the entire walk. I want them to wander around and smell and romp in the grass, be a dog. My other reason is the tension in the lead prevents it from getting under their feet and tangling in their legs. Maybe it is a individual dog thing but it is much easier for me to walk them with the flexi than a regular lead.

It is sad those accidents occured but I would have to blame the owner not the product.

[Rosebud]

:D

Maybe it is a individual dog thing but it is much easier for me to walk them with the flexi than a regular lead.

I absolutely agree with you Mary'smama. My problem with the flexi is the owner responsibility issue. If your dogs are not trained you are an accident waiting to happen. I still don't like the idea of a large dog on one, but a JRT is just right for one, if it's trained properly to begin with.

:angel:

[Kaleb124]

Mary's Mama napisał(a):

It is sad those accidents occured but I would have to blame the owner not the product.

Me too. :-?

[marion]

We have occasionally used flexi leads but mostly static. Living where we do they just go straight onto the heath, although I always have leads with me. Normally we travel to a local woods where they are off lead. They are quite good, if we stop chatting or sit on the beach they just lie down and wait for us to go again. I'm not really keen on the flexi and to be honest I can't remember the last time we used them.

:o Our neighbours thought they were seeing low flying UFOs on the Heath when they moved here 2 years ago. I had the flashing collars on them so we could see them in the dark. It frightened the life out of them, all they could see was flashing red lights (hehe). But I don't use those anymore now. :o (Sorry, off topic) :oops:

[spiritsmom]

I hate Flexis too! I have a couple that I only use when I take my dogs down to the creek when we are by ourselves. That way they can splash around but I don't have to worry about them running off or getting pulled downstream. But no one else is around when I use them. I have a friend who only uses them on his two medium-sized untrained dogs. I stopped going out with him to fairs because we'd take our dogs with us and he was embarrassing. I would take Spirit on a regular 4 foot leash and he'd take his two on a flexi with a coupler. They would always be at the end of the flexi jumping on people sitting down eating trying to get their food, jumping on kids, running up to other dogs there, etc. If something were to happen he'd have no control as they are 26 feet away from him!

Also I go to Petsmart and people will take their dogs in on Flexis (can't they ban them from the stores!) and you'd see the dog halfway down an aisle while the owner is looking a something somewhere else. You can't tell me they have complete control over their dog because they don't, most times they don't even pay attention to what their dog is doing. I have just walked in and someone at the checkout had their dog on a flexi and the dog just ran up to me and my 2 dogs when we set foot in the store. Luckily I had my 2 dog friendly dogs with me and we escaped, but Kara WILL bite at another dog if it rushes up to her. She is of the bite first, ask if they are nice later type of thinking. She has had dogs rush up to her and initiate a fight so she is defensive now and will be the first to attack.

Flexis can ruin pleasant outings wherever I go!

[gooeydog]

I think a lot of the problems with flexis stems from people who haven't ever taught their dogs to behave on leash, and use the flexi as the "easy way out", never bothering to actually teach their dogs. Used sensibly, they can be a good tool. One reason I don't like them is that in order to "reel them in", you have to grab that skinny little cord, and if your dog is pulling towards something, you may end up getting your hand cut up by the cord. Or if they tangle someone else/their dog, they can cause cuts. I have seen flexis with a "flat" leash type line, but the ones with the cord are still on the market for people with untrained dogs to buy. The other thing that annoys me to no end are the people who put a GL on their dog, hook a flexi to it, then let their dog run around. I have used a flexi when we took Annie swimming at a nearby park.... they have strict leash rules, but she needs room to be able to swim, and I didn't want the long line getting tengled on her or other swimmers, so the flexi worked well for us. Most of the time though, I'd rather have to deal with 30 ft of rope myself than worry about something going wrong with a flexi... that's just my preference though. Another thing that has really soured me on the use of flexis is how many times I've had people's flexi-controlled dogs come flying up to one of our dogs... this has happened while we've been training, while we've been out walking, even while we were sitting in a parking lot waiting for my mom to run in the store. I can yell to them to hold their dogs, but either they don't want to (and the flexi is a tool that allows their dogs to have access to mine while their owners are still 20 ft away), or by the time they do, the dog already has enough lead to get to us.

[mydogroxy]

i am not a big fan of flexis either. i've never used one with roxy since we live in a highly populated city environment and there are just too many variables for me to feel safe. her leash manners are also a work in progress. if i lived in a less populated area i might consider them though.

a neighbor of mine walks his two HIGHLY aggressive american bulldogs on flexis (if they're even leashed at all) and i am always nervous when i see them out.

[spiritsmom]

Oh and one more thing, those flexi leashes can HURT! I was injured by one a few summers ago and it was horrible. I was at a friend's house and we took her dogs out for a walk. The one she was walking saw something and darted after it. I had the flexi I was using locked, but her's wasn't. That dog zoomed behind me and I felt this burning pain. The skinny rope part and caught me right behind my knees and cut into my flesh. I was a bloody mess! It had actually cut into my skin and didn't heal for a long time. Since it was summer and right behind my knees I was in tears when I would bend my legs or that part would get sweaty. It was the worst pain, felt like I was on fire. The pain didn't go away for a few weeks and I really thought I would have a scar there, but 3 years later you can't see anything. That friend no longer uses a flexi around me though!

[ayb2101]

Frankly, I think that flexi leads can be good, even with big dogs, PROVIDED that they are used CAREFULLY.

The owner needs to be AWARE of what is happening. They should use the lock button frequently, and not let the dog RUN while on it. They should not let the lead out all the way so if the dog starts to run, it won't pull it out of their hand. They should, of course, be only used with dogs that are leash trained with good recall.

The design of the leads could be better too. They could have a spring controlled ratchet break which slowly engages on the last few feet, so if the dog ran, the lead wouldn't suddenly become taught and get pulled out of your hand. They could have a centrifugally engaged lock like a seatbelt has, so if the lead was retracted too fast, like if it was let go of, it would lock before it recoiled and slammed into something.

Proper use and the addition of these features would make flexi leads as safe as regular leads, and would have prevented those things from happening. They should, of course, also warn people who buy them.

As for the owner who was letting their dog wrap itself up while that talked to someone, I hope for their sake, that they never try woodworking, or they might have to change their name to 3 finger bob.

[Guest Anonymous]

From what i can tell these are all problems with the people using the leashes not the leash itself. Its just irresponsible to take a dog to a place like petco or petsmart with a felxi. its irresponsible to let your dog run around all willy-nilly just because "technically" it is on lead but still running rampant nearly 30 feet away. Its is all about the mentalit of the person on the other end of the lead. if they are responsible and have been working with their dog then the flexi is just a way for the dog to enjoy the walk too, as im sure the grass right next to the sidewalk gets pretty boring. and when we go to the park he loves to run from tree to tree...notice i said HE. i can pretty much just walk and he gets to mark everything in sight but if i see another dog in the distance or coming our way a quick "Here" gets him in the heel position. its in the training, those sonic collars are nice but they dont always work. and if your dog is like my dog, if he gets excited enough it needs to be on the highest setting just to phase him and when are you normally walking around with that thing on the highest setting? more than likely you dont want to physically hurt your dog all the time so you have it set so that is mildly discomforting to get his attention, but that correction is nearly meaningless when hes amped up.

also Goo touched on this but there are different types of flexis. what bothers me are these big huge dogs on these little tiny cordsmade for the 30lbs dogs. they make the all belt variety that is much safer and cant be broken by an excited dog and are for dogs over 100lbs.

in short(I know, too late) as with any product made responsible use and good training are the key. Flexis are as popular as they are becaue they are a good product, if used right they are a great break for your dog, and a way for them to really enjoy their walks.

[Queen Bitch]

My personal gripe with flexis other than what has already been succintly mentioned is the fact that I have fairly small hands and the few times I have had to walk a friend's dog on a flexi I was ultra paranoid that a) it was going to break or b) that it was going to pulled out of my dainty lil hands. Therefore my hands started to sweat, thus making it even more difficult to keep a grip on it. I ended up with a two hand death grip on the thing. Give me a regular leather or nylon leash anyday.

[imported_Cassie]

hillside, that was hilarious....dainty little hands...but, yes your right they are not great for people who get nervous and get sweaty palms. :lol:

I just wanted to add, the Newfoundland dog which had her leg ruptured due to a flexi lead was owned by a VERY responsible owner..the owner has been breeding/showing, training...attending water rescue seminars etc with her Newfoundland dogs for about 20 years, never has some thing like this ever happened to her ...her pup was spayed due to poor conformation.
Newfoundland dogs are normally a very laid back docile breed...they do not normally go running off after things...unless you were drowning... :lol:

I guess my point is, you never know what is going to happen and if you will be prepared at that percise moment, who knows if you are going to have the flexi locked as soon as you put the dog on it...i suppose that would be the proper thing to do...but, do we always do the proper thing all the time??? I don't...the owner of the Newf had the door fly back and hit her and the pup was already outside anxious to find a great spot to pee...when you have a freak accident like this happen while you have a normal lead in hand when it flys from your hand the most that will happen is your dog will do what it had in mind in the first place....like find a great place to pee like the Newf pup....which was a very well behaved pup and was obedience trained...
I myself will continue using normal 6ft leads, and perhaps a horse lead as mentioned by K earlier in the post...I just don't like the possibilities of what could happen if you are not careful or prepared....I'm quite accident prone myself. :wink:
So I will chalk these two flexi lead incidents up as a freak accidents....just like that car I "accidently" backed into in the parking lot last week...things happen...although I am a responsible driver...I guess I just wasnt paying attention at the right moment.... :o

[courtnek]

I dont think that puppies or dogs that are not well trained are good on them just because of the lack of a good correction.

I agree Rott - they are NOT by any means training leashes... a good leather or web leash is better for training. I have a Flexi for Freebee, and I also walk her on a no-pull harness, and she's very good. But I have a standard web leash for training. The Flexi's allow a well-behaved dog to
have some "off" time and run a little farther than a standard leash, but the dog needs to be trained to obey on command before using one. I use mine for walking Freebee, and give her commands like "no pull" where you can lock the leash down at any length and stop her in her tracks. It is good for the no-pull command, but that's about it. People with dogs who arent trained are going to have problems with it, cuz a big dog can break them, and an out of control dog will wrap around trees and light poles.

The problem with them is that the handle is hard plastic, and cant be wrapped around your wrist like a leather or web leash, so if you're not paying attention and the dog pulls suddenly, he can pull it right out of your hand and be off. OK so laugh at me, but when I first got Alex and walked him on a Flexi, he almost got away twice...... so he had to be walked on the web leash until he learned his commands better....they're not for everyone....