Novas News: Retractable Leashes

Hi Friends, Nova Here.

My mom is Jaimie, one of the co founders of Roscoe Rescues and I'm here to give you some dog insight. From time to time my Aunt Crisee will let me take over the blog to give pet lovers and pet owners animal dog advice through my eyes! Please remember this is merely an opinion based on my personal life experience as a doggo.

Today I want to talk about RETRACTABLE LEASHES. Friend, or foe? I'm pretty much a walking expert, I've been on a lot of walks in my life. My mom and I have walked through parks, on trails, we've taken road trips and potty breaks together. The world is my walking oyster! Retractable leashes have a time and place, but the reality is, they're not a dogs friend first. When walking on a retractable leash the leash is always taught, just because it's not tight, doesn't mean that I dont feel that it's firm on me. And no matter how far I walk from my Mom, or whoever is walking me, the leash is taught on my neck. This allows me to not know when to stop, I don't know when Mom is going to press the little button on the part she holds and try to stop me. It's not a good feeling on my neck, and my communication with my Mom lacks. When walking on a loose leash, I learn the limits quickly. I walk side by side with Mom and if she gives me slack I sniff the side of the road and mail boxes and fire hydrants (lol) and when I feel the leash start to tighten, I know, without looking at her, that we are to keep moving. Mom doesn't have to press a button and pull back to get me to understand. We are communicating through body language. Another thing I love about loose leash walking is that it is safer. One time a friend of mine was walking with her human on a retractable leash and she got super excited over a squirrel, began to chase it, and the leash snapped. My friends human got smacked with the leash and an icky sore, and my friend did not catch the squirrel. Worst case scenario am I right??? I asked my Aunt Crisee about her experience with these leashes during my research for this blog and she brought up some good points. Recently, while walking a friend of hers, Kobe, she was using a retractable leash and when he started being all puppy and pulling at something, she went to pull on the leash (she uses loose leashes normally) and the leash hurt her hands. She thought I should mention that. She also wanted to mention that sometimes, when letting her friend Kobe out to go potty, (like in the rain) the leash was useful because she could stay dry while he ran to go do his business in the grass. So I guess that's a plus. Overall, like I said before, retractables can be useful! But perhaps think a lot before making a leash purchase. How do you want to use the leash? What will it communicate to your doggo? How can you two understand each other and walk the best way possible together? We rely on you! No matter what works for us, we have to understand each other! There are many types of leashes out there, some for running, some for walking, some for hiking, and some for holding your poop bags! Overall, loose leashes (non-retractable) have the Nova stamp of approval! That's all from me today friends. Talk soon! -Nova Flores German Shepherd Dog & Co-founder of Roscoe Rescues