Advice: Dogs: Using flexileads safely

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Advice on Animals

Dogs: Using Flexileads Safely

Flexileads are extendable and retractable leads that can either be played out to allow dogs a great deal of freedom, or shortened and put on lock to keep the lead short. They can be very useful if dog owners are careful, but they can also be lethal if used unwisely. Some trainers even believe they should be banned. So what is the fuss about?

The main problem is that they can diminish the amount of control a dog owner has over the dog - the opposite to what leads are meant to do. The leads themselves can also cause injuries, because they can become tangled up, around human fingers, or around dogs. More specifically, there are times when owners need to be especially alert when they use flexileads. Here is a guide to some of the key situations when it's safer to be especially alert.

1) Around traffic. There is a serious risk of dogs causing fatal accidents or being killed themselves if the flexilead is not on lock when a dog is walking along the road, or in any area where there is traffic. Motorcycles and other loud vehicles can appear suddenly and startle dogs, and many will rush towards the threat. If the flexilead is not on lock, this means that the dog may get near enough the car or motorbike to get hurt, or cause an accident where humans are hurt. It's really safer to swap your flexilead for a short lead if you are walking along a road, because it's very easy to forget to put the flexilead on lock.

2) Around other dogs. Dogs can dance about, chase each other, and scrap if they are given too much freedom on a flexilead. They may tangle the cord or belt round owners' legs, or get caught up in the lead, which can cause friction burns and cuts to dogs' legs. It's safer to keep your eyes peeled for other dogs, and shorten the lead if you approach any. The belt leads are also much safer than the flexileads with cords, in terms of avoiding injuries.

3) Drawing in the lead. Inexpert users often cause themselves serious friction burn
injuries trying to draw in the lead suddenly. Friction burns can be very serious, especially for children, and it is safer never to allow young children to use a flexilead. Novice users need to practise drawing the dog in, when they are somewhere safe, like an enclosed back garden. It's a knack, which comes automatically after a while, and involves putting one's
hand towards the dog, then locking the lead, an action repeated until the lead is short enough. Because this takes a little while, it's safer to stay alert and shorten the lead well before it's absolutely necessary. Otherwise, it's easy to panic and try to pull in the lead by grabbing the rope or belt, which can be dangerous.

4) The whiplash effect. A flexilead that has become detached from the dog can whip back suddenly and catch an owner or dog in an eye, or other vulnerable spot. There are safety loops that can be attached to collars to prevent this. The handle can also travel at a fast speed if dropped by the owner, and can give dogs or people a nasty clout.

5) Pulling. Flexileads can encourage dogs to pull, because they exert a constant slight pressure, which means that the dog has to pull a little to go where he or she wants. Owners may also absent-mindedly release the lock while the dog is pulling, which is effectively rewarding the dog for pulling, and so reinforcing this bad habit. It helps to ensure that dogs are walked daily on a short lead, and aren't just walked on a flexilead all the time. If you have to use the flexilead, make sure that you have a daily period when it is locked on the short length, and the dog is not allowed to pull. It also helps to deter pulling if you ask the dogs to sit before the lock is released, and before they are allowed off the lead, so that they are rewarded for good behaviour (obeying a sit), rather than for pulling as hard as they can!

6) Walking more than one dog. Some owners can safely walk two dogs on flexileads, but this takes some skill, and is not recommended for novice owners, people with very lively dogs, or people walking dogs in the dark! It's very easy for the leads to become tangled, and virtually impossible for owners to disentangle flexileads in the dark! It's safer to have just one dog at a time on a flexilead.

7) Sudden tugs. It is far more difficult to control a dog which takes off after a cat or other interesting attraction if the flexilead is extended. It's especially difficult if the dog is large and powerful. It's really safer to restrict the use of flexileads to smaller dogs, and only extend the lead in safe places where there are not likely to be serious consequences if
the dog does jerk the lead out of your hand.

So why do people use flexileads if they can cause so many problems? They are in fact very useful in certain specific situations, mainly where owners need some control over their dogs, but most of the time there is little risk of skateboarders, cyclists, joggers, screaming children, or other hazards suddenly appearing. An example is a large playing field or park area where you have a good line of vision, so can anticipate any trouble, and can safely allow the dog some freedom when it is quiet, keeping the lead locked on a short length if hazards appear.

Some owners use flexileads for training dogs. You need to be quite experienced in using a flexilead before trying this, and to be somewhere where you are not likely to be surprised by joggers, bicycles, and other possible distractions that might tempt your dog to give a sudden lunge, because it is much less easy to control a dog at the full length of the flexilead. A long line is safer for training because you do not get the whiplash effect if one end becomes separated from owner or dog.

Flexileads are much safer if you can trust your dog to come back if there is
a mishap. They are no subsitute for good recall. Teaching a solid recall means repeating recall exercises in all sorts of situations, until your dog comes to you automatically, and then continuing to use recall commands every day so that he or she doesn't get out of practice. Flexileads can't replace training. but they can be very useful as a supplement to a training programme.

You can buy flexileads from