Absolutely agree. I have a longline and I use it in certain situations (when allowing Cain some freedom in close proximity with other dogs) when I feel a flexilead is unsuitable. However I LOATHE using the long line. I feel out of control with it, I get in a total mess with it, Cain is too strong with it. I can't concentrate on the walk properly as I'm too busy concentrating on getting untangled. My bf broke his finger with it, I got rope burn with it (wear gloves now!). I definitely struggle to reel him in quickly if I need to. It constantly gets wrapped around Cain's legs and body. I avoid using it unless I have to.

Personally I feel a lot more comfortable with my flexi. I never use it by a road. I always reel it in short around people and dogs so no risk of it getting wrapped around people. I can reel Cain in very quickly if I need to. I feel much more in control and I feel it is safer for all involved if I use my flexi.

Claire, I agree with you on most things, but I'm afraid (at least for the foreseeable future) the flexi will have to be my solution, not a training aid, because there is no way I could let Cain off lead in public with good conscious.

I get sick of people bashing flexis. Yes, some people use them irresponsibly, but it is how I chose to walk my dog. So until people volunteer to come and walk Cain on a long line every day for me, I'll stick with my flexi

Unfortunately it's OTHER people using them that causes me problems. Like the silly cow that sent her poodle across the road on his flexi to come and say hi to Rupert. Or the little dog that managed to wrap the cord around my leg AND my dogs leg.

I don't use one as I don't like them. Unfortunately I can't stop others using them and using them stupidly.

I find a 30ft long line MUCH easier to manage than a flexi, guess I'm the odd one out here

I'm aware that some people use them incorrectly; I have a reactive dog and on one occasion a woman with a small dog on a Flexi let it go shooting forward so the dog ended up practically under Dexter!

When walking Dex in the streets etc, I avoid anyone who has their dog on a Flexi - unless they have it locked on the 'short' position.

WELL SAID - GREAT POST.

Absolutely, great post!

How do you manage to avoid them? I've had dogs cross the street to get to mine! I've lost count of the number of times I've turned a corner and come face to face with a dog on a flexi with the owners miles behind. That's how me and Shadow got wrapped up in the cord of one. I'd quite honestly rather a loose dog run up than one on a flexi after that incident.

As I say, no problem with people using them if they're using them sensibly. Sadly though it seems most people I run into just clip the leash on and leave the dog to do whatever it wants at full extension.

I'm a bit late in on this, but I occasionally use a flexi with Axel. I did use a horse lunge line first because it's not recommended to use a flexi lead on a dog who can accelerate like a Greyhound...however, the lunge line was a nightmare! Axel absolutely panicked if it was even slightly wrapped round this legs and wouldn't move. After we got to know him, and realised he doesn't run off without warning, we tried him on a friends flexi and because it never drags on the floor and so can't tangle him up, he is fine on it. He has a harness but has never yet ran to the full extent. Its the tape one.
He can be let off lead in lots of places, so we only use it at times we know he can't. I don't have it un-reeled by roads of course and still keep an eye on my dog - not everyone who uses them are irresponsible with them.

They are a training aid. I still use a Halti on Daisy if around people after 4 years. I never said they were an instant cure. Perhaps one day I`ll have the confidence to use a flat collar only in crowds. Anything`s possible.
What they are not is an excuse not to train. Which is why a lot of people use them, and which is why genuinely knowledgeable users are lumped in with the hopeless and helpless.

They are a 'training aid' for some people.

For others, they are not for training - they are a solution.

Likewise with headcollars: they are brilliant training aids for many of us. For a woman I know with a Great Dane, the headcollar is not a 'training aid' - it is a solution

TBF they are a MANAGEMENT solution, they do not solve the problem of pulling they just make the pulling more manageable!

They do not teach the dog to walk on a loose lead and they do not stop the dog from pulling.......