Suburban Gal….in my experience you and your dogs are the exception rather than the rule. I could use a retractable leash with my 4 and it would be okay but I find the handle to be too unwieldy. I will admit before I knew anything about dogs and we adopted Lucy and Desi I did use retractables…..I did drop them a few times and did have some tangled up experiences. After I started doing obedience training and began using a standard 6 ft. leash, I realized how much more control I had and I really liked the regular leashes so much better. I actually use 4 ft. regular leashes when I am doing therapy dog work. Some of the experiences I’ve had with retractables occurred when I worked at a pet specialty store. We would have customers come in with all kinds/sizes of dogs using a retractable leash. More often than not, they would not be paying the least bit of attention to their dogs and they’d let their dogs go too far on the leash. We had dogs knock stuff off shelves, go around the corner from their owners and “do their business” (which of course the owner denied it was their dog because they didn’t see them do it lol), go around into another aisle and harass other customers and/or dogs. We actually had a customer get tangled up in her own retractable with her dog and almost cut her finger badly! I decided then and there I would never in good conscience recommend them. Sorry, if you disagree Suburban Gal. That is your right and I’m sure you and your dogs are perfect when using them….just wish everyone could be like you.
