Manufacturers Warnings - click here

The Dangers of Flexi Leashes

I am sure many you have experienced how annoying people can be when their dog is on a Flexi leash. Dozens of times I have been in big box pet stores and seen Fido in aisle two urinating on products, ‘shop-lifting’ treats or snarking at customers and their dogs – while his owner stands utterly clueless in aisle three chatting with a friend. Hundreds of times I have been accosted in parks and on sidewalks by a lunging beast on a Flexi whose owner is grinning inanely or pointedly avoids eye contact. In this article I will be taking a look at the dangers of Flexi leads and how they promote bad behavior in dogs.

TRAINING ISSUES

• Flexi-leads give many owners a false sense of security. They assume that simply being attached to their dog is an adequate substitute for paying attention to it. This typically leads to a pattern where the owner ("securely" attached to his dog) ignores the dog as it repeatedly engages in inappropriate, self-rewarding behavior thereby allowing the dog to train himself to behave badly when he is out in public.

• The flexi-lead appears to have been specifically – and perfectly – designed to teach dogs to pull. Dog pulls – dog gets REWARDED with more space and freedom. Dog stops pulling and dog gets PUNISHED by leash and collar pulling back on him.

This represents a nearly flawless schedule of reward and punishment as the leash is NEVER loose. Either the dog is pulling on the leash/owner or the leash pulling back on the dog.

• Would you give your car keys to a 10 year old child so he could ‘enjoy his freedom’?  Would you let the same child go “say hi” to the stranger he met on the street because the stranger (or the other guy with him) assured you that, “It’s OK, I’m friendly”?  Of course not (I hope).

There’s a reason toddlers stay in play pens, young children play outdoors when supervised and preteens get their first tastes of freedom only when their parents have a very good idea of what they’ll be doing. — It gives them a chance to learn rules and boundaries while they mature so that they can make good decisions on their own when the proper time comes.

Giving a dog (the majority of which have no proper training) 25 feet of uncontrolled freedom doesn’t make sense either, plus it is dangerous for the dog.

• The Flexi puts the handler in a position of constantly being reactive instead of proactive on the walk. The dog is given nearly unlimited freedom – until he annoys or worries the owner - then the owner reacts to the dog (or tries to) by taking space back from him.  

A dog that thinks that he makes the decisions is a dog that will never recognize his owner as a leader. He is therefore much more likely to challenge the owner for freedom (and other resources) in other situations.

And Now for the Safety Issues

• The majority of dog owners don’t seem to be aware that there is danger associated with the use of this tool — even though the manufacturer makes a point of this on the packaging and on their website. See the link at the top of the page.

• According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) 16,564 injuries associated with leashes required hospital treatment in 2007.
  
  While CPSC doesn’t break down the leashes involved by type, based on a couple of decades spent obsessively watching people walk their dogs in all kinds of situations I very strongly suspect that the lion’s share of these injuries were caused by retractable leashes like the Flexi lead. And data provided by Consumer Reports supports my suspicion.

According to Consumer Reports:

"The most common injuries reported were burns and cuts, usually sustained when the cord came in contact with skin as it rapidly played out from the handle of a leash. Other injuries occurred when the cord got wrapped around part of the owner or the dog."

The kinds of injuries described by Consumer Reports can only occur with retractable leashes like the Flexi lead. A good old-fashioned six foot lead does not ‘play out’ from a handle. It will not give you a rope burn and it does not cut your hand when you grab it. The kind of leads favored by obedience competitors and skilled dog trainers are not likely to hurt you in day to day use. The same obviously cannot be said for retractable leads.

• Dangers include burns on human and canine body parts when the cord or webbing of the lead gets wrapped around body parts.  When this happens (and it happens a lot), at best you have a nasty tangle of line wrapped around an excited dog.  In a less fortunate situation a two- or four-legger will trip and fall over the line or get a rope burn.  The worse case scenario is amputation or strangulation.  Not things any sane person wants to risk.

• Retractable dog leashes have been known to break apart, causing pieces to become airborne. According to ABC News, a 12-year-old girl was blinded in one eye in this way

• Other dangers include potential hazards to a dog who has moved ten to twenty-five feet beyond an inattentive owner.  Being hit by a car, attacked by another dog, smacked or pepper-sprayed by a person who does not welcome his advances or eating something toxic without his owner realizing it are just a few of the ugly possibilities.

• And then there are those pesky leash laws.  Most of them specify that a dog be on a leash that is six-feet or less in length.  Flexi-leads, when fully extended (as they usually are) do not comply. Leash laws also typically require that the dog be “under control” and all too often, this is not the case when on a Flexi.

• Another problem stems from the awkward handles.  Even if you are a conscientious dog owner who pays attention to your dog, it can be darn near impossible to take control of him with a hand brake from 15-feet away.  And - if you drop the handle your dog is going to run off as he is hit by the handle or startled by the sound of the hard plastic handle bouncing along behind him.