It did not occur to me to post about retractable leashes until Raleigh and I went on vacation last week because I never, ever use the things here in Brooklyn. First of all, the large plastic handle does not give you any ability to steer a dog around a Brooklyn side walk where we are constantly competing for strolling space with strollers (carts with kids!), scooters, kids, killer dogs and other normal pets. I also just can’t see any reason to let my dog get far enough away from me that she can get hit by a car or more likely, use the extra freedom to tie up two to four medium sized trees. Raleigh handles off-leash hours at the park well enough to get in a good run. There is no need to let her run out a measly twenty feet just to pull her back again.
However, things are different on the beach. In fact, the Flexi leash company’s website has a bunch of pictures of their products on the beach. With that much open space, I am a little nervous about letting her run free. I think it’s fine when no one is around, but I worry about her getting caught in fishing line or knocking over small kids. She’s used to hearing “Come” at the park, but at the beach she tends to get too distracted by the new smells to respond.
The Owner
Raleigh
Raleigh Pop 