Why I Hate Retracable Leashes

Most of these things have very thin material for the leash part (see the picture). It fine for walking because it's lightweight yet strong.

However, this leash becomes a hazard when a dog who is on the retractable meets another dog. Basic doggie instinct tells them to sniff each other's.....errr....ass ends to get the information needed to form a social opinion. When dogs do that, they tend to circle each other. When they circle each other and one or both have retractables attached to them, it's a nightmare of a tangled situation. The thinness of the leash makes it really easy for the dogs to get wound up, but very difficult to get the leashes unwound. When dogs get stuck together like this, they begin to get upset, then frightened, then they fight.

Franklin and I have a few doggie friends in the neighborhood and many of them use these types of retracables. I hate that I can't let Franklin sniff & jump & play like he wants to because the tangle will be horrible to undo. He has gotten tangled with one of these in the past and I had to undo his collar in order to extricate him before a fight started.

How about just a nice, normal, wide leash, huh?