My 2 both walk great on a leash.

I will use a retractable leash when we are going on a road trip. We recently took a road trip up to WA from UT and it was a 17 hour drive. We stopped alot at rest stops and I loved having the retractable leash. As long as there was no other dogs around, I could let them run a little ways out. My leashes both lock if I want the leash shorter (if other dogs are around)

Maybe ok for small or lower mid size dogs, easy way to have a finger cut off with large or giant breeds.

They are perfectly safe if used by people with common sense, as with most things. However common sense is severely lacking these days and with that comes your problems.

I can assure you my Missy who has walked on one since a tiny puppy over 11 years ago, doesn't pull while walked on one

A long line IME is far much more hassle, and totally not safe or appropriate when walking a DA dog!

Actually, I find a long line far more safe and appropriate to walk my DA dog with!

And it's not a hassle at all if you know the right technique, which is really easy. I would never walk my dog on a retractable, because I don't like the fact you can (and will have to at some point) just lock it and the dog will run into a stop with no warning. Especially with other dogs around and with her already being insecure around other dogs.

We don't sell retractable leads in the shop because they're not safe (even with the right kind of handling, they can brake etc. or you can accidentally drop it and then you've got the situation of a dog running wild with a plastic thingy chasing it) and I've seen so many of them where the lock just randomly broke (yes, even expensive, good quality ones. They're still made from plastic, which isn't the most reliable of materials). We also have a lot of customers with reactive dogs as the owner of the shop works as a behaviourist, and we'll only ever recommend long lines over retractable ones

Agree with everything Florence said. I'd much rather walk my DA/reactive Jade on a long line than a faulty piece of crap retractable. Even expensive ones have those horrible mechanisms that keep the leash in the plastic thingy and they easily break/snap and then you're WAY up the creek.

The plastic thingy is awkward to hold and not pliable and it's just annoying. Add in the fact that they tend to cost a lot more, there is not a solid reason to use them IMO. If you have a very small dog, MAYBE but I find they are just too faulty to trust with a larger, and possibly reactive dog.

Any dog walked on any lead is ultimately going to come to a stop at some point...even on a long line. That is where having good voice control is handy, so you can prevent your dog from coming to an abrupt halt. If I ever fear Missy was going to race to the end of the lead or stop sharply at the end of the lead, I ask her to 'wait' which she is excellent at and then I can reel her in safely and quickly.

Long lines take double the time to reel in, they drag in dirt, wet, get tangled up in leaves/twigs...whatever. I tried it a few times with Missy, carefully feeding her the line as we went...leaving a mass of line tangled up behind me or wrapped around my arm. Was just a nightmare. And not forgetting the time she managed to get to another dog before I had chance to reel her in once! It's just far to much lead which I found unsafe to use.

I find the added benefits with a flexi is immediate stopping action if needs be and super easy and quick ability to reel your dog in if needs be. Plus no dragging on the ground.

I guess it's each to their own at the end of the day. I find my long line invaluable and it's never got tangled or messed up, and Ella's never got to a dog before I could stop her.. I don't know if you have experience with horses, but I hold mine a bit like when lungeing a horse!

No, no experience with horses.

Like I said, I've used the same lead for over 11 years now and never had a single issue with using it. As you said, each to their own. Obviously personal experience dictates opinion too. If you have a good experience of something you're unlikely to change the method that's working for you

It was funny the other day. Visiting a friend we hadn't seen for awhile who has an elderly ridgeback and a pug. For him the ridgeback trots slowly with him off leash, her running days are over. The pug is happy on a retractable leash. At around thirty pounds she's not a big puller.

We got ready to take a walk, me and Callie n' him and his dogs. We had a loud chuckle. Here he is with this long line retractable resembling fishing line. Like I've written before, Callie's leash is the same measures they use for horse leads because it's what we need.

He's very well behaved on leash. Not dog, cat or squirrel aggressive in any way. It's just people jogging or on skateboards-"Oh what fun! Let me join you!!!". Even being easygoing he's almost seventy pounds of solid dog. Better to err on the side of caution.