Yikes! - sorry this happened.
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I have a massive prejudice - i despise extendable leads, whatever the name-brand might be.
The "good" ones last a bit longer, but even the good brands can fail, & knock-offs are everywhere.
The knock-offs can fall apart spectacularly, the very day they are purchased - the glue holding the case fails, & the whole thing disassembles as the dog takes off dragging it; the brake or the lock fails, & the dog is free to leap into the street or onto the passing human or k9; the SNAP fails that clips to the collar or harness, & the handler is injured when it flies back & strikes them.
The bulky plastic handle is
hard to hold when it rains, or if yer hands get sweaty; if U lose yer grip, it goes skipping merrily behind the dog with a Godawful loud clatter, & sound-sensitive dogs can be traumatized - they take off like bats outta H*** & try to outrun the scary thing, but of course, it's ATTACHED to them, & they are attached to it... so it chases after them; the faster they flee, the faster [&
louder] it follows.
This is no different than the cruel "tie the can to the dog's tail" 'prank' of our great-grandparent's era, when dogs ran themselves to exhaustion trying to escape the following clatter - a frightened animal isn't thinking, they run headlong into traffic or get caught in fencing, when they'd normally negotiate the obstacles.
Severe facial injuries have happened when the snap gave-way & the spring-tension on the cord was suddenly released, snapping it back at the handler; ppl have needed multiple plastic-surgeries & skin grafts to repair the damage, & some have been blinded in one eye, or even both eyes.
That's without even considering the hassles they cause for those moving around them, & the damage or upset they cause when they tangle or pull on objects.
Many mature flowering & coniferous shrubs in the apt-complex landscaping were killed [Marina Shores, Va Beach, Va], when owners thoughtlessly let the dogs meander among the plantings, & the cords cut into the bark. // On a knee-high dwarf azalea, a 1/4-inch slice severs the cambium layer.
I can't tell U how many times a display table crashed as an oblivious handler was leafing thru a stack of merchandise on another table, at a Bark in the Park event, scattering brochures, biz-cards, bandannas, newsletters, adoption forms, or what have U, all over the trampled grass [or muddy ground, on rainy days]. Anything stained is a total loss - it can't be sold that day, & the stain may not come out. Mucky brochures are thrown away - & for non-profits who dangle on shoestring budgets over the abyss, that's beyond irritating, it's
painful.
Dogs have dragged down a whole corner or side of a sun-canopy, walking away with it, while the owner chats with somebody... :yell: One of those moments when U'd really like to tell them precisely what an incompetent insufferable moron U think they are, &
can't.
Instead, U grab the dog's COLLAR -
not the bedamned cord, which will slice yer hand up like shaved steak! - & try to limit the damage, while other folks grab the canopy poles & detangle the Flexi.
I suggested numerous times to the hosts [the ACC of whichever city] that Flexis & all extendable leashes be banned, b/c of the hazard they presented in such crowded venues, with many dogs, ppl of all ages & sizes, & so many obstacles to go around or between. // None of them acknowledged the problems, most likely 'cuz they didn't have a booth & never dealt with a post-Flexi disaster.
Dogs went under tables, around ex-pens & crates, around ppl's or dogs' LEGS, around postcard carousels, tent poles, trashcans... if it was there, at some time, it would be entangled.
And over 80% of the folks using Flexis never lock them, IME - even on direct request, in a crowd. They just use
the brake, which requires actually paying attn, & they're distracted. :bashself:
I hated to see one coming, & would often leave the booth to meet them in front of the display table to fend-off too close an approach by the dog. // Of course, i wasn't about to tell the handler that!
They just thot i was being hospitable & welcoming, when in fact, i wanted to be ready to intervene at any second. :rofl: Our P.A.C.C. T-shirts & clean crisp adoption forms weren't going into the muck on my watch - if i could possibly prevent it.
Nerve-wracking. // I spent a lot of time, at those events, saying things like,
"Mind yer leash...",
"excuse me, U're tangled...", &
"Watch the dog!"
I have a scar on one ankle, from a too-close encounter many years ago, when they were new to the market - the abandoned GSD that i'd taken in to re-feed, train & B-Mod was beside me on my left, & coming toward us is a huge Lab-mix towing his owner along at speed, aiming straight for the GSD's face.
I took him behind my back on the leash to put the Shepherd on my right, & told her to pull him back - he was at the very limit of the Flexi.
She didn't know how, & he went around BEHIND me after the GSD, who by this time, i had on my left.
The bl**dy dam' dog lunged, i fell, the GSD was pulled atop me, i hung on & kicked the Lab's ribs, & the owner proceeded to abuse me verbally & threaten to sue, while dragging her 90# lug by his collar away from us.
The Flexi-cord had sliced my ankle deeply just above the line of my shoe, outside the Achilles' tendon, right thru my sock - which was also sliced. It didn't bleed a lot, which wasn't good, as blood welling from the inside helps wash bacteria out. // I hobbled home, about a half-mile away, cleaned & dressed it, & limped for over a week while it slowly closed, changing the bandage morning & evening.
I felt i was very lucky that it hadn't been a little to the left, & nicked or sliced the major tendon. I was in college at PSU, & as always, on the razor's edge of poverty; no insurance of any kind, & no spare income.
Even an infection would have been disaster - i couldn't afford a hospital stay, nor any time lost from classes or jobs.
I use long-lines, but i don't deploy them when there are trees, brush, passersby, & other obstacles to get caught on! - so many extendy-users seem completely unaware of their surroundings, & they often don't seem to know how to operate the brake - OR the lock.
I try just to give them a wide, wide berth - even crossing the street to avoid a head-on encounter - but on ped walking paths, it can be impossible to escape or get any setback from the path itself.
Until i see otherwise, i just
assume the handler has no idea how to manage the dog, the dog is reactive if not actually hostile, & respond accordingly - if that means an abrupt U-turn, that's what we do.
Better safe than sorry.
- terry
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