Retractable VS Standard Leashes

Many people are huge advocates of the retractable, extendable or cord leash concept for walking their canine counterparts and have happily laid out anywhere from $15. to $50. or more, depending on the size they require, to purchase one of these dog walking devices for their favorite canine friends.

The idea behind the retractable leash is that it offers (on average) a free range of 16 to 26 feet for the fur friend so that they can get plenty of exercise sniffing about and exploring while remaining safely attached to their human.

Unfortunately, while many people have been lulled into believing that they are doing a great service to their dog by purchasing one of these leads, what they’ve actually been doing is teaching their dog not to listen, to be walking in the wrong position, to drag the person walking them, to be hazardous to other dogs and humans and to be the cause of all round bad manners that can lead to behavioral issues.

For starters, a well behaved dog must be a follower, which means that at no time during the walk should your dog be romping 20 feet ahead of you, or lagging 20 feet behind you. The walk is the time when your dog needs to be concentrating on following it’s leader and this is impossible with a extendable leash arrangement.

Secondly, for every dog to be safe, they must be listening to their leader (you) so that they don’t find themselves suddenly in trouble, and this just can’t happen when the dog is so far away from you.

When you allow your dog to reel out on the extendable leash, they are no longer paying attention to you, but instead may be so totally engrossed in smells, sights and sounds that they might even forget you’re there at all.

Dogs can move at a speed much faster than the average human has adequate time to react to. I’ve seen it happen many times,  when a dog who is 20 feet or more in front of it’s owner is suddenly startled by another dog, becomes nervous or afraid and before you’re able to reel them back, a fight has already broken out.

The extendable leash can also be a hazard to children, adults and other dogs because often they are often not seen and because of this they create dangerous tripping hazards, and if you’ve ever been wearing shorts and run into a extendable leash, you will know the pain of that nasty rope burn.

As well, dogs getting tangled up in an extendable leash can panic and start to fight each other or lash out at humans in an attempt to free themselves.

Attaching an extendable leash to your dog encourages the dog to pull and be in charge of the walk, which is both painful for the human as well as potentially dangerous if your dog feels that it needs to protect the following human and decides to attack another dog, person or animal.

If all of the above doesn’t give you second pause about using an extendable leash on your dog, consider that because extendable leashes give a dog a good 20 feet of running room, they could actually be struck by a vehicle if you are unable to react quickly enough, should they suddenly decide to chase a cat or squirrel across a busy street.

As well, the extendable leash oftentimes provides the human with a false sense of security that can quickly create an embarrassing situation as simply being attached to their dog becomes a substitute for not paying attention to what their dog is doing.

Most cities have leash laws in effect, requiring that we have our dogs under control, and it’s just not possible to be “in control” when your dog is already 20 feet or more behind or in front of you.

Further, many city laws require humans to pick up after their dogs and guess what? A dog can easily be doing their business at the end of a 20 foot extendable leash with the human being totally obvious to the fact. Not only is not picking up unhealthy for the environment, it could also mean a serious fine for you.

One final fact you might like to consider is that the actual handle of the extendable leash is not only cumbersome to hold, it’s easy to drop, and if you do, the dog at the other end can become scared by the noise of this large plastic handle chasing it down the sidewalk and will run as fast as it can away from you. The handle can also become a flying missile that has the potential to cause much harm and pain.

So let’s recap in bullet form what we’ve learned about the extendable leash.

•        it places your dog in the wrong walking position

•        it teaches your dog to pull and be in charge on the walk

•        it teaches your dog to ignore you

•        it places your dog in danger from approaching dogs

•        it places your dog in danger from traffic

•        it’s a tripping and rope burn hazard to humans

•        it’s a tangling hazard to other dogs that could start a fight

•        it provides humans with a false sense of security

•        it doesn’t fully comply with leash laws

•        the handle is cumbersome, easily dropped and can be a missile

Bottom line, while a flexible leash may be suitable in certain circumstances, generally speaking, if you truly care about the safety of yourself, your dog and those around you, get yourself a simple 4 or 6 foot leash that fits comfortably in your hand, keep your dog beside you when walking, and avoid all the problems that could be a result of having your dog attached to a flexible leash.

The helpful staff at www.PeachyKleenPets.com hope that you have found this blog post helpful and informative and that you will enjoy walking your dog every day.

Asia Moore ~ Ask a Dog Whisperer

© 2013 - All Rights Reserved

K-9SuperHeroesDogWhispering.com

Why You Need to Brush Your Dog’s Teeth Every Day

Today a doggy neighbor called to ask my advice about her little dog who was not acting their usual, happy self, was hanging their normally curled up tail and was not eating. My neighbor was also concerned about a “sweet” smell that was coming from her dog’s mouth and wondered if she should take her dog to emergency.

I asked how long her dog had been displaying uncharacteristic behavior and whether or not she was able to look inside her dog’s mouth to see if the gums were pink or pale in color. When she told me it had been several days and that the dog would not allow her to get anywhere near it’s mouth, I immediately said, “Get ready, I’m driving you and your dog to the emergency clinic.”

We safely secured the little guy in the back seat, and I have to say that even though I’ve smelled a lot of bad smelling doggy breath over the years, nothing in my past experience prepared me for the “gaggingly” horrible odor that was emanating from this little dog’s mouth.

I could only imagine that there was some pretty noxious infection happening and when the nurse took the little guy’s vitals, sure enough, he had a temperature which was an indication that he was fighting an infection.

My neighbor always meant to brush her dog’s teeth, but just never got around to it, so she was totally unaware of what was happening inside her poor little dog’s mouth.

When the vet came into the exam room and firmly held the little guy’s mouth to take a good look, all of his teeth down one side of his jaw were in such a terrible condition that you could actually see the roots of the teeth which were all covered in a gray paste.

This poor dog had only been able to chew on one side of his jaw for quite a long while and I can only imagine how much pain this must have caused the brave little soul.

Now, he must have ten days of antibiotics to get the infection under control while he is fed a soft, recovery diet by spoon, and then he must go to a veterinary hospital to have all of the teeth removed down that one side which will likely cost $2,000 to $3,000.

All of this trauma and expense could have easily been avoided if only the dog’s guardian had taken proper care of his teeth by brushing them every day.

We take our dogs to the groomers to be bathed and clipped and have their nails trimmed so they can look and feel beautiful and healthy, yet 80% of 3 year old dogs suffer from periodontal disease and bad breath.

A dog with cavities and gum disease is forced to suffer in silence while the pain associated with periodontal disease will make your dog’s life miserable as it will be painful for them to eat and the associated bacteria can infect many parts of the dog’s body, including the heart, kidney, liver and brain. If your dog has bad breath, this could be the first sign of gum disease or tooth decay.

TIP: Keep your dog’s teeth sparkling white — buy an electric toothbrush (which does all the brushing work for you) and dip the bristles into some old-fashioned hydrogen peroxide (it’s what’s in human whitening toothpaste) to use as doggy toothpaste. There will be such a small amount on the brush that it will not harm your dog, and will kill most bacteria in the mouth.

The helpful staff at www.PeachyKleenPets.com hope that you have found this article helpful and informative and that you will not forget about the importance of brushing your dog’s teeth every day.

Asia Moore ~ Ask a Dog Whisperer

© 2013 - All Rights Reserved

K-9SuperHeroesDogWhispering.com