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Question about that retractable leash I used for 2 years on the Riverside trail
I always thought the 16 foot retractable leash was the best way to let my beagle Ruby roam on the Riverside trail in Tulsa. Last month a trainer named Dana watched Ruby lunge at a squirrel and told me the constant tension was teaching her to pull harder, not walk loose. I switched to a plain 6 foot leash and after about 3 weeks she actually walks beside me now. Has anyone else had a trainer call out their leash like that?
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laurabennett5d ago
Wondering if this is really as big a deal as that trainer made it out to be. Dogs pull on all kinds of leashes, and plenty of people use retractables for years without their dog turning into some wild animal. Ruby probably just got better because you started paying more attention to her on walks, not because of the leash itself. A beagle lunging at a squirrel seems like normal beagle behavior to me, leashes do not really teach that. Maybe the trainer was right about your case, but I would not run around telling everyone their retractable is ruining their dog. Sometimes a dog just needs more practice, and the leash is not the whole story.
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lopez.linda5d ago
Did you ever stop to notice the dog was always tight on that cord though? I used to say the same stuff, that it was the dog not the leash, until I watched Ruby pull me around for two years straight. Once I switched she finally figured out that a loose leash gets her where she wants to go, and I had to eat my words.
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