Again: I Hate Retractable Leashes

In shocking CCTV, shown to a judge in Moscow, two elderly women can be seen strolling through a city park walking their pet dogs - one of which was on a long leash. Suddenly, roller skater Igor Berin, 56, races past the women and gets caught in the lead pulling one of the pensioners off her feet and dragging her along a path.

Here we see an elderly woman walking her dog on a retractable leash. A roller-skater goes by, gets entangled in the leash, the woman is pulled over and falls and sustains a fatal head injury.

 

I see way too many people oblivious of the risks of using these type of devices. The long cords are almost invisible in busy environments and the dogs are too far away to be controlled. The dogs are also oblivious to the owners as they have been conditioned to pull ahead to explore. It is rewarding to the dog to be away from the owner. 

 

This case is tragic. The maximum leash length in most cities is 6 feet. I think that is reasonable on sidewalks. Longer lines are useful when training and in some hiking and hunting situations. My preference is actually a 4 foot nylon leash, such as this… (Amazon affiliate link; I earn a percentage off of each sale). I don't hold dogs tight to my thigh, however. Dogs should be taught to walk on a loose leash, and that isn't taught by holding the dog tightly (good dog training can show you the proper method).