Warning Re Flexi Leads

[lankeela]

Sharing this as I have personal experience of someone's dog this happened to.

"I've just had a call from a very distraught and heartbroken client. She was out walking her dog on his extending lead when he pulled hard on it and the brake mechanism snapped. This allowed him to pull the whole length of the lead out, he ran onto the road and was sadly killed by a passing car. This is the third dog I have head of dying or being badly injured when being walked on these leads. Please, please, please don't use them when walking near roads and in car parks. There is only a slim piece of metal inside that activates the brake and over time it can become weak. Also make sure you do use one that is designed for the weight of dog. Better to walk your dog to the park on a normal length lead and then change over once you are away from cars and roads. Please pass this on to anyone you know who uses these leads and don't let this poor wee soul have died in vain. RIP Vince. x"

[murraymints]

I witnessed this happening a few years back...dog just leapt off pavement and was struck by vehicle...owner still holding on to lead !..horrible !

[Old_Geezer]

Sad. But I guess, as a non-dog owner, that owners must train their dog to behave calmly on the street, lead or no lead :-(

[Zacs-Master]

Better to have a well trained dog (such as a Border Collie) who you can walk without a lead.

[FredPuli43]

Never understand people using these. Extended they present a hazard to passers-by, the dog yards away from the owner. If the dog wants a sniff a way off, take it to the sniff, and on a standard lead. Even ordinary long leads are not without their problems; I had a specially long lead but the problem was that the dog would suddenly go around trees and bushes and then decide to come back a different way, leaving me to either go round the way he had gone or disconnect the lead.

[viv38]

I have heard of this before and would NEVER use one of these leads. Poor doggie.

[lankeela]

Dogs are live animals and as such are unpredictable even if highly trained. No-one should expect their dog not to react in certain circumstances, so even the best trained dog should not be walked off the lead near traffic. Standard length leads are perfectly adequate for walking and if needed these extending leads should only be used to allow a dog to exercise where it is safe to do so, which is what they are intended for, as no dog needs to be walked up to 20 feet away from its owner near a road.