Walking a dog on an extending lead - surely sheer folly?

Is it just me or is it rather mad for anyone to walk their dog on an extending lead through a busy suburb??

I was walking Dexter to the park today and two women with small dogs were walking towards us. Dexter goes mad with excitement when on the leash around other dogs so I worked really hard to keep a relaxed leash and to stay calm.

All went well - but I didn't realise one of the small dogs was on a blinking extending leash! Evidently the woman hit the wrong button and suddenly this dog shot forward right into Dexter's face!

Of course Dex went beserk and the other dogs kicked off.

I totally appreciate that extending leads are great in parks and other spaces - but in a very busy suburb??

I've also seen a girl walking a Labrador along our road - this dog too is on an extending lead.

I hate extended leads i think they are better used on a field or somewhere like that. walking the streets with one is pretty stupid, i also think they encourage the dog to pull.

See it all the time around here - pure madness! You wouldn't walk a dog on a long line by a busy road or built up area so why would you do the same with a flexi?

Out in the fields or in the park, flexis can be a great tool for dogs who can't go offlead but by a road or in a busy built up area they are just an accident waiting to happen.

our only lead is an extending lead and about 70% of our walk is on roadside. We keep it short and our finger on the lock so she stays away from the road and out the way of others.

Where abouts in London are you? I found where I lived (North London) was TERRIBLE for crazy yappy dogs on extendable leashes near parks, jumping around roads people etc.... Out in the woods/forest absolutely fine!

I've just started using an extending lead when we walk across the fields, as it gives him a bit more freedom but I can still keep him reasonably close. I also carry an ordinary lead which gets clipped on when we have to walk down the road.

I don't feel like I have nearly as much control with the extender. Even with it locked off short I can't get the same secure grip I use with the normal lead. They definately have their place but it isn't by the roadside!

Well said - you are spot on.

I've also heard a few horror stories about extending leads where the 'lock' part failed and the owner couldn't get the dog back before the dog ended up in the middle of a busy road.

I think it is lunacy to ever use one of these leads anywhere near cars.

It's also unfair to use them in busy areas where young children and other dog owners are walking.

They're fine for open spaces and at other times if they're kept reeled in.

Just over a year ago i was sitting in one of those shelters on the sea front with my Rott and my late Cocker when around the corner came a GSD on an extendable and all hell broke loose the owners being oblivious to what was going on then it grabbed my Cocker and started dragging her.
The owners just stood there making no attempt to remove their dog so we had to and when we eventually did for the 2nd time they walked away mumbling something about not realizing anyone was in the shelter at this point i lost the plot.
I should of let my Rott off and made myself as irresponsible as them.
Not long afterwards my Cocker wasn't the same and withing a month couldn't walk down the stairs and 3 weeks later was paralized and i still say that attack could of been what caused the problem.

i only use extenders in the fields or over on parks. I'm OCD that the lead is going to fail, or the clip presses and the dog zooms into traffic.

Although in fields they can be just as lethal.. It was my fault i lost concentration for a moment as i was trying to find a poo bag of all things.
I was in a waterlogged field, with a very muddy waterlogged area with a fence on my left, and a row of thick, prickey bushes the otherside.
Hunting for this poo bag, i finally find it when my arm is practically ripped off. The pointer i had been walking had only gone and seen something in the bushes and darted inside at full pelt. The flexi reached its end, taking my arm with it...
Alas, we had to ditch the flexi when it got wrapped around lots of different branches and thickets, and would not come loose. Daft dog!

I walk my dog on one in our suburb. I know how to use it and it gives her the ability to explore the yards on either side of the sidewalk a bit. It's only sheer folly if the person on the other end of the leash is a moron.

(Edited to add: And I have seen a lot of morons who have no clue how to ues them, but I guess it's better than the idiots who walk their little dogs with NO leash on because "they're just little dogs"?)