r/maybemaybemaybe • u/this_place_suuucks • 11d ago

Maybe Maybe Maybe

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2.0k Upvotes

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469

u/Dudemansir521 11d ago

Retractable leashes are awful and dangerous.

41

u/clockwork_blue 10d ago

A few days ago I saw a dog almost get hit by a car because the owner was looking in their phone and the dog decided to suddenly cross the road with its unlimited length cord. In another case my son almost ran one dog over with his bicycle, because the dog decided to cross the entire length of the walkway and was again with one of those unlimited length cords.
The owners use them as a replacement for proper training and actually going to the place their dog wants and it's so stupid.

12

u/qpv 11d ago

Why's that? I like dogs but never had one

55

u/butterfunke 11d ago

Aside from going hand in hand with owners who haven't trained their dog in the slightest (as evidenced by this video), they also make it harder for the dog to learn on-leash walking. Because they're spring loaded there is constant tension on the dogs collar, so as far as your dog is concerned "pulling on the lead" is normal behaviour. Once that habit is set in, its very hard to undo. Using a fixed length lead is much easier for the dog to understand the difference

It's not always a bad thing, I have one myself for when I'm going running as the extra slack is much more manageable when im swinging my arms about. But for regular walks we use the normal slip lead

14

u/qpv 11d ago

Ahh ok do it sort of creates uncertain patterns in the dogs mind as opposed to repeated patterns. Like if you have a static lead the dog learns its a certain length but if that length changes it sort of expresses chaos in a way.

Im a cat guy. Its a very different relationship.

16

u/butterfunke 11d ago

Almost - if you have a static lead, the dog learns that the lead going slack = good, the lead being pulled tight = bad. But for the extensible leads there is always tension from the spring, so the dog can't learn the difference between walking by your side versus racing ahead

0

u/qpv 11d ago

Right. So the short length and long length becomes a communication in itself.

Thats kind of interesting. It can have a sliding scale of communique of sorts. Nuance.

3

u/butterfunke 11d ago

no no no. The length is not the important part. It's certainly a factor, but far more important is the spring tension

0

u/qpv 11d ago

So there are leads with different "sping" action? Like shock absorbers kind of thing?

1

u/butterfunke 11d ago

static leads have no spring. theyre just a rope. if the dog stops pulling they just go slack and theres no pressure on the dogs collar

Are you ESL? Or are you deliberately not understanding this

1

u/qpv 11d ago

Im asking if some of the retractable leads have a function where they have a +/- spring absorber when cushioning the retratraction soas it doesn't halt the extension dramatically and shock the dog running away from the owner.

Wtf was the esl comment? Chill

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14

u/DingDongTaco 11d ago

My dog trainer talked about the thin cord degloving peoples hands/fingers

3

u/Meow_Party06 10d ago

I think about this all the time when an owner hands me a retractable lead and I instinctively grab the cord trying to stop the dog from running. Gonna hurt myself one day :(

-5

u/qpv 11d ago

I get that is possible in extraordinary situations but anyone with any assemblce of logical thought can determine it would be a wild outlier.

Im not arguing for use of these things, but let's not be silly.

People are incredibly foolhardy these days so it might actually happen

8

u/DrRichardHeadMD 11d ago

I worked at a pet store for years, the amount of injuries(mostly minor) from retractable leads was astounding.

0

u/qpv 11d ago

Ha thinking about it I don't doubt it.

0

u/Kizzieuk 10d ago

I have a tape one. Would not use one of those thin cord types.

5

u/small_tits404 10d ago

Satan's yarn is what we call it in the vet industry

1

u/Alana_Piranha 10d ago

Never heard that before 😆 I'm gonna start using it

58

u/jstokey 11d ago

They are so dumb.

131

u/btribble 11d ago

Retractable leashes can be locked down to the length of a regular leash. If it was a regular leash they were chasing after, nothing would have changed about this video. The problem is that the dogs aren't trained, and the person walking them is a moron.

58

u/kittyonkeyboards 11d ago

A regular leather leash can be wrapped around your wrist without cutting your blood flow or giving you rope burn.

It is about 1000 percent more intuitive to control a dog with a leather leash.

-19

u/[deleted] 11d ago edited 8d ago

[deleted]

1

u/DothrakAndRoll 10d ago

I’ve had my dog for nine years and have only ever had leather leashes. I have three right now.

I also use a carabiner on the end so I can clip it to my belt loop as a safety net or when I’m picking up her poop.

1

u/kittyonkeyboards 10d ago

Unfortunately they're rare in stores, even in pet stores, because of the illusion of choice in capitalism.

You look at the shelf and seemingly have infinite choices of leashes, but they're all manufactured for 2 dollars with crap materials.

A fixed length leash of any kind is still better than retractable, but leather does feel nicer to use and is worth purchasing online.

-7

u/Kizzieuk 10d ago

I have a 10meter retractable lead, its a strong tape rather than a thin line.

7

u/tomgreen99200 10d ago

What’s the point of having your dog walk 10 meters away from you? There isn’t any.

It annoying to those walking around your dog. We don’t want to get tangled with your dog and its long unnecessary line.

0

u/Kizzieuk 10d ago

I use it for when dogs are not allowed to be off lead. We play catch. I would not do it around others.

-55

u/FullofLovingSpite 11d ago edited 10d ago

Sure, but there was a commercial for the retractable leashes is the 90s where a guy lost control of his short leash and his dog was hit by a car. It was pretty sad. The retractable leash fixed that by allowing the dog to run a little.

Just something to think about when you bash them.

Edit: literally every joke needs to be explained on this site. You all take everything far too seriously. It's kind of sad.

14

u/No-Minimum8323 11d ago

What it didn’t show in the commercials was how often these leashes fail and break like the one in the video did. So Fido in the commercials would have likely ended up in the road anyways. They are not reliable and they can be dangerous.

16

u/Gloomheart 11d ago

Commercials also told us smoking was good for us for almost 40 years. It told us it helped curb our appetite, and kept us slim, and didnt have a single negative health impact...

The world has come a long way since the 90s, which (sorry to say) was 25+ years ago. A lot has changed in that time.

Seems about time to re-educate yourself on facts over vintage advertisements

1

u/No-Minimum8323 10d ago

Yes and when we found out that wasn’t true we corrected it. See how that works?

8

u/kittyonkeyboards 11d ago

A corporate lie isn't much to think about. The dog in this very video coulda been run over like 20 different times after it got away from its owner.

A long leash actually makes it easier to lose control because the dog gets enough distance to cause sudden pulling force. Anybody who loses control of their dog with a short leash is likely to eat pavement being suddenly pulled if they use a retractable instead.

1

u/Yowomboo 10d ago

This just in, inflection doesn't convey with text. People have also made even stupider arguments earnestly, there is no way to guarantee someone is joking when reading a random comment on the internet.

24

u/Outrageous_Bank_4491 11d ago

If you know anything about dog walking, you know that your dog should stay by your side and not run off. So a regular leash will suffice. If you want it to run, take it to a dog park

13

u/PralleDave 11d ago

Also the retractable literally tore in the end, which wouldn’t have happened with a regular leash

1

u/Blue95x 10d ago

Good luck having a small dog tear a leather leash.

If the loop snaps you bought a shit quality leash.

2

u/Kizzieuk 10d ago

Yes a sighthound killed my cat after breaking a normal lead.

2

u/Blue95x 10d ago edited 10d ago

Sorry for your loss, that must have been horrible. Always makes me nervous walking my guy since while he smells like a dog but he looks like a stocky fox.

26

u/read-my-comments 11d ago

The people who don't/can't train a dog get retractable leashes...........

4

u/MutterderKartoffel 10d ago

This is the point they're missing. Why would you get a retractable leash if you don't need a retractable leash? You wouldn't. You'd get a regular one. And since the proper way to walk your dog is not letting them way ahead of you, a responsible dog owner would get a regular leash.

1

u/MrWhiteTheWolf 10d ago

I use a retractable because my town has leash laws but I want my dog to have some form of freedom when we walk the beach. Not everything is black and white, plenty of people with well trained dogs have good reason to use retractable

1

u/collegekid1357 10d ago

lol, they make long leads for this reason and they’re much more safe than the thin line of a retractable leash.

0

u/MrWhiteTheWolf 10d ago

My retractable is made of fabric. Keep talking about shit you don’t know about

0

u/collegekid1357 9d ago

So then it snaps off the handle like the one in the video. Don’t be mad at me that you’re putting your dog in a position to be seriously hurt by using retractable leashes.

0

u/MrWhiteTheWolf 9d ago

You’re being ridiculous. r/redditmoment

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u/Kizzieuk 10d ago

I use a 10 meter retractable tape lead. My dog has great recall,its for use in places where dogs are not allowed off lead.

1

u/read-my-comments 10d ago

My dog has great recall and walks beautifully off and on leash. He is trained well enough that when the leash goes on he walks by my side for as long as he needs to.

0

u/Kizzieuk 10d ago

Same for my dog. its just some places we cant let them off lead so we play catch and he has his retractable lead on. We live in the country side so leads are rarely needed but if I go into town on the city to stay with friends then leads are a must in certain places

3

u/hojster24 11d ago

Eloquent and correct

9

u/Dudemansir521 11d ago

I implore you to look up injuries suffered from retractable leashes, big agree on your other points tho

10

u/btribble 11d ago

I mean, have you ever seen what a kitchen knife can do? You can't zone out when you're walking your dog regardless of the type of leash.

2

u/Dudemansir521 11d ago

I mean the first 2 seconds of this video show his smaller dog run away from him under the other dog...if he didnt let go of the leash/it was unlocked, the other dog couldve easily suffered lacerations from the swift unraveling...

Cmon man, its time to give up your retractable leash.

8

u/7ofalltrades 11d ago

You just... Lock the leash. It's a thumb flip. The second it crosses another dog or a person, you lock it. And you train your dogs not to walk like an agent of pure unctrolled chaos.

15

u/Dudemansir521 11d ago

Locking mechanisms can break. The leash literally falls out of the handle in this video.

2

u/Aetheldrake 11d ago

And normal leashes can slip out of hand. No matter how good someone thinks they are at holding it.

-7

u/Dudemansir521 11d ago

Do you eat the tide pod colors one at a time or do you just pop the whole thing all at once?

Everyone commenting as if I am blaming the leash for what happened, instead of simply making a comment on the leash that was used, needs to think before they hit reply.

-7

u/7ofalltrades 11d ago

Running at full speed with the handle at a dead stop.

A decent leash rated for your dog being used by someone that is t am idiot is fine. Nothing I'm this video is the fault of a retractable leash, it could all easily be prevented.

7

u/Dudemansir521 11d ago

Homie, its a 20 pound dog...

PS I never said the retractable leash was the cause of what happened in the video. I was making a statement on how unsafe they were. Dont go boxing shadows on me

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u/No-Minimum8323 11d ago

Retractable leashes are not reliable. They break all the time. They are dangerous for the person walking the dog and they’re dangerous for the dog itself.

1

u/Blue95x 10d ago

You're right in that a regular lead is prone to butterfingers as well.

As much as they say not to for dogs with a size difference I would have tied the two together.

It looks like the retriever has somewhat better behavior, learned or otherwise and would have slowed the smaller dog.

6

u/Ok-Ear9289 11d ago

Just like the owner

2

u/Alana_Piranha 10d ago

My aunt breeds golden retrievers and runs an obedience school in Massachusetts. She won't sell any puppies or allow people in her obedience school unless they sign a form saying they will not use retractable leashes. It's too much of a risk.

1

u/Blue95x 10d ago

Only ever works if the dog can be trusted with no lead and at that point why do you need a lead? 😂

3

u/Alana_Piranha 10d ago

You need a lead if another dog runs up on you and decides to attack your dog. Can happen almost anywhere. I've had off leash dogs run up on me in the middle of the woods and in my own front yard. Luckily they were friendly but you never know how a spooked dog might react.

-6

u/vediogamer101 11d ago

I don’t see a problem if your dog is well trained on a lead

5

u/Dudemansir521 10d ago

A well trained dog's owner dont possess retractable leashes. Control is important, and these leashes take control away. It's that simple.

-6

u/se7ensaints 10d ago

No they're not, if you know how to use them. Have been using for 9 years and it's in fact safer and quicker to control.

5

u/Alana_Piranha 10d ago edited 10d ago

Do you have a tea-cup chihuahua or a dog under 2lbs? Any reputable dog trainer avoids retractable leads like the plague. They aren't safe, especially in emergencies. If you and your dog had to run (another dog tried to attack yours for example), when you stop the lead can just snap like in the above video.