Using flexies

[Doberluv]

Maybe it's because at work we don't teach dogs "walk without any pressure on the leash," we teach them "walk at my side."

Lizzybeth, could you describe how you train the dogs to walk by your side when there is tension on the leash or pulling? See, I've always discouraged pulling by not allowing forward movement IF there was any tension in the leash. So, the part of the cue for walking is no tension in the leash. I wouldn't know how to discourage pulling by rewarding the dog...by letting him walk (usual motivator) while there was tension/pulling on the leash...UNLESS...I made a point to reinforce the dog frequently while creating a taut leash at the same time as walking by my side... first in a non distracting area (a small room) where I could control the tension and keep the dog next to me, rather than the dog controling or creating it. Sort of like when you teach a dog that grabbing it's collar is a good thing (so he is not surprised when you grab it) or tightening up on the leash is paired with walking, but not so much pulling hard on the leash. I wouldn't want a dog to think that pulling against my will is okay. It could be dangerous with a big dog.

And if you want the dog to walk next to you, why would you want a flexi? Or is it that sometimes you don't need the dog to walk next to you? I guess if that's the only way they get some type of free time, it would be tidier than a long line.

 

[MandyPug]

Izzie learned on a 6ft lead, then i got a flexi so she could have a bit more freedom at the park until our recalls were bang on. She had no clue how to walk on it when we first got it... She didn't know HOW to pull so she'd just walk at my side. So i would think "great, just paid for this and now she won't use it", but she eventually got the hang of it. I think it's a great tool, gives her some space to do her own thing but it still keeps her "legal" lol.

Oh and my flexi is really comfortable to hold and not very bulky. It's this one from planet dog:
PlanetDog.com: Buy the Planet Dog Zip Lead?  Retractable Leash - New colors!

 

[Saeleofu]

Oh and my flexi is really comfortable to hold and not very bulky. It's this one from planet dog:
PlanetDog.com: Buy the Planet Dog Zip Lead? *Retractable Leash - New colors!

But...that one is only 6 feet long anyway?

 

[MandyPug]

But...that one is only 6 feet long anyway?

That's a typo i think, mine goes to 16 feet, the small goes to i think 18 or so, and the large goes to either 10 or 12 feet... We used to carry them at our store.

Edit... Let me check mine... i could swear they go longer though... izzie's definitely goes longer than 6ft and it's the medium.

Okay just measured Izzie's and it extends to about 12 feet, the large would likely go 8-10 feet and the small would be around 16 feet i assume.

 

[TheGoldenRetriever]

Flexi leashes? We have two. He likes them, I don't ... but I do still use them sometimes. There's just SO many open areas here to walk dogs, and the flexis do give them more freedom to roam. But they don't get used anywhere near roads or homes of other people. It's not that we don't know how to use them, but a regular leash is more secure in those situations.

The reason I prefer regular leashes is more to do with flexi handles ... don't like how they feel, that there's only one way to hold them, can't easily loop the leash through a belt loop, etc. A regular lead is more versatile.

 

[corgipower]

And if you want the dog to walk next to you, why would you want a flexi? Or is it that sometimes you don't need the dog to walk next to you? I guess if that's the only way they get some type of free time, it would be tidier than a long line.

Because maybe I'm walking the dog to a park where he'll be able to run out on the flexi, but I'm walking through town to get there and want him at my side.

Or these days, if I'm in my yard, my dogs can run out on a flexi, but then maybe I decide to walk the dog to the mailbox...now I want the dog by my side as we are near the road and crossing the road.

 

[noludoru]

I think Flexi leads have their time and place, but most people who use them are clueless dog owners who think their dog needs 20ft of freedom on a leashed neighbourhood walk.

:hail::hail:

I have to use a flexi to walk EvilTerrierBrat because they don't have any real leads. The neighborhood is pretty quiet, but it's still not appropriate, IMO.

 

[Whisper]

I agree with Devan. My friend had a flexi lead. When we walked our dogs together Millie and/or Lucy would be at my side and her dog would have 25 ft to roam into the road, get tangled with my dogs, etc. When a car came she had no way to reel her in and I swore her poor dog would get hit.
Most people just have no clue how to use them.

I've used a flexi only once. I was nine years old, riding my bike with an untrained dog. I ended up having the length of it completely wrapped around my legs and my bike, and falling over with burns from the material.

Now of course that's not the flexi's fault. That's the kid who had no idea what she was doing.

It still brings to mind unfavorable feelings, though.

 

[Beanie]

Oh and my flexi is really comfortable to hold and not very bulky. It's this one from planet dog:
PlanetDog.com: Buy the Planet Dog Zip Lead? *Retractable Leash - New colors!

Oh that is VERY nice!! I really like that one. I like how you can wrap it around your wrist too.

 

[Doberluv]

Because maybe I'm walking the dog to a park where he'll be able to run out on the flexi, but I'm walking through town to get there and want him at my side.

Or these days, if I'm in my yard, my dogs can run out on a flexi, but then maybe I decide to walk the dog to the mailbox...now I want the dog by my side as we are near the road and crossing the road.

Ah-ha...I see. I guess it's my life style that is so different where I live that I don't immediately picture that kind of scenario. When I walk my dogs on a leash, they stay near me. When there's a place where they can run somewhat near me, like in my pasture, forested part of my property or on a hike in the woods off my property, they're off leash. I don't have an in between. It's either on leash (walking near me) or off leash, completely able to rip roar.

I did buy a Flexi once...still have it somewhere in the garage. I just didn't like that clunky plastic handle thing and the steady pressure it made on the dog's neck, as the line was always taut. (I know...it's not a strong pressure) It is personal preferrence, to be sure. I can see how it might come in handy with dog parks or in town where sometimes you can give them a little more sniffing room and you can reel it in when you're close to the road or other people...what have you.

I may not always live in such a wilderness area so I should think about what it's like to not have these trails all over where we never see anyone. Today was our first hike of the season with not a soul in sight or another sound...just some moose tracks in the muddy parts. That was a little unnerving. (don't want to run into a moose)

 

[Beanie]

It's either on leash (walking near me) or off leash, completely able to rip roar.

I did buy a Flexi once...still have it somewhere in the garage. I just didn't like that clunky plastic handle thing and the steady pressure it made on the dog's neck, as the line was always taut. (I know...it's not a strong pressure)

Not everybody has dogs that can be off leash though, or places where dogs can be off leash. There are lots of places here that Auggie can romp out and play and explore, but he MUST be leashed according to their policies.

What I do with the flexi on the odd occasion I use it is extend it out then lock it at 6ft. Then it's no different from a normal lead. Except that chunky plastic handle, which I agree with you on... not comfy to hold onto at all.

 

[Doberluv]

Not everybody has dogs that can be off leash though, or places where dogs can be off leash.

I know...hence, the rest of my post about how I should get use to the idea in case I move nearer a city, where that is common. It could be hard on my spoiled dogs...and me. There are definitely plusses and minuses to living here.

Do you hold your Flexi in the same hand as the side your dog is on? Or have the leash in your right (if your dog is on your left) and cross in front of you?

 

[Fran101]

Romeo knows when hes on flexi and when hes on lead..

when on his normal lead hes a very good walker and stays by my side, he knows once he gets to where we are going (park etc..) and I put his flexi on and he knows he can run around and have some more freedom.

 

[Beanie]

Do you hold your Flexi in the same hand as the side your dog is on? Or have the leash in your right (if your dog is on your left) and cross in front of you?

uhhh... well, I usually hold my leash in my right hand because that's my dominant hand... Auggie walks on whatever side he feels like walking on, LOL. XD

Our walks are for fun, not an obedience exercise (unless we're actually doing an obedience exercise.) So he walks a little bit ahead of me and usually weaves around, crossing from one side to the other. It drives my mom insane but I don't care... we're out so he can explore around, not perform a heel!

 

[ihartgonzo]

I had a very expensive flexi made for dogs 80+ lbs... on Gonzo, who is under 40. We were walking on a secluded trail, he ran around a tree and started to run back and broke the flexi instantly. D: If we were near a road, or he didn't have a good recall, that could be disastrous.

I don't like flexis at all. They make me very nervous, and I've been whipped by them before and got cord burn from them. Scary! I totally prefer long lines. Our Rallyo trainer wanted us to practice doing recalls with flexis for the resistance, and Fozzie was SO uncomfortable with it. It also made me uncomfortable, because I'm not going to use one of those ever again.

 

[lizzybeth727]

Maybe it's because at work we don't teach dogs "walk without any pressure on the leash," we teach them "walk at my side."

Lizzybeth, could you describe how you train the dogs to walk by your side when there is tension on the leash or pulling?

No, that's not what I meant..... we do not teach the dogs to pull at our side (except for the occasional wheelchair-pulling dog, but that's a completely different discussion). What I meant was that "heel" means "walk at my side." It's a concept more than anything.

A lot of trainers just teach dogs to walk on a loose leash, with methods like the "be a tree" and others, which simply teach dogs to loose leash walk by discouraging pulling.... anytime the leash is loose, the walk continues, and it doesn't matter so much what the dog's position is relative to you. If this is the way you're training heel, then yeah, I can see where flexis may cause problems .... though I still think it could work because dogs do become equipment-savy and can learn that they can pull on this leash but not the other; I also think they can learn that a little tension (from the flexi) is ok, but more tension (from them pulling) is not ok.

The way we teach heel, though, is that the dog gets rewarded for being in heel position ("walk at my side"). The first two or three weeks we teach this, we don't even have the dogs on leash, because we don't want the tight leash to become a cue; we want the dogs to think about where they should be rather than just waiting for the equipment to tell them. By the time we add the leash, the dog should be fairly competent at walking at our side and focusing on us at least for short periods. If the dog is pulling chronically on the leash when you're trying to practice heel, it means that you haven't done enough off-leash work, you've added distractions too quickly, your session is too long, your dog is too tired, or any number of other reasons why you shouldn't be doing that session with that dog at that time.

That said, we never reinforce pulling on the leash, even when we are doing some of the first evaluations on the dogs before they have learned heel. ("Reinforcing" meaning, of course, to let the dog continue the walk while pulling on the leash.) At that time, we will do the "be a tree" method among others, but only to not reinforce the pulling, not because we're training the dog to heel. Same thing with the flexis, we do not reinforce the dogs if they are pulling at the end of the flexi.

And if you want the dog to walk next to you, why would you want a flexi? Or is it that sometimes you don't need the dog to walk next to you? I guess if that's the only way they get some type of free time, it would be tidier than a long line.

Yes, sometimes we don't need the dog to walk next to us. It goes back to how methodically we teach heel... we don't want to practice heel if the situation is too difficult for the dog. Also we don't want to practice heel if the trainer is too mentally tired - because the beginning stages of heel is, of course, just as mental for the trainer as for the dog. So, if we need to transfer the dog from building to building, transfer from car to building, or just take him on a walk/jog for extra stimulation and exercise, flexis are the way to go.

We do have one trainer who refuses to use flexis, and she walks dogs on a long line. It is very complicated to do and the leash constantly gets tangled, so most of us don't really understand what the benefit is. But, she happens to take only about 1/10 the walks that I take, so maybe she just doesn't have the practice with the flexi where she feels comfortable. *shrugs*

I had a very expensive flexi made for dogs 80+ lbs... on Gonzo, who is under 40. We were walking on a secluded trail, he ran around a tree and started to run back and broke the flexi instantly. D: If we were near a road, or he didn't have a good recall, that could be disastrous.

It probably got snagged on the tree and torn.... Something similar happened to me the other day, the flexi cord got snagged on a metal trailer and tore halfway through. Luckily it wasn't bad enough that I couldn't get the dog back to the kennel without it breaking, but we did have to get rid of it just in case. Luckily too, stores will replace them for free!


I was thinking today that an important point to make about flexis is the danger to your shoulders and arms if the dog does jerk hard at the end of the leash.... This is probably my biggest worry with flexis. We have a rule at work, that you must have two hands on the flexi at all times when walking a large dog... just in case he bolts all of a sudden, it's much easier to cushion the blow if you're using both hands instead of one. You also must make sure you have good footing all the time you're using one; we have a lot of hills we walk the dogs up and down, and you have to be very careful to be ready just in case they choose that minute to jerk you.

 

[ihartgonzo]

It probably got snagged on the tree and torn.... Something similar happened to me the other day, the flexi cord got snagged on a metal trailer and tore halfway through. Luckily it wasn't bad enough that I couldn't get the dog back to the kennel without it breaking, but we did have to get rid of it just in case. Luckily too, stores will replace them for free!

It didn't tear... it jerked the cord out of the base. Even so, if it tears that easily, I don't feel safe using it. I've never had a long line or a leash tear.

The store that I bought it from (a fancy dog boutique) basically said "that sucks" and the employee said that she doesn't recommend flexis for those reasons... not safe.

 

[corgipower]

It didn't tear... it jerked the cord out of the base. Even so, if it tears that easily, I don't feel safe using it. I've never had a long line or a leash tear.

I've had leashes snap in half, I've had collars break or come unbuckled, I've had leashes come unsnapped from the collar.

 

[lizzybeth727]

I've had leashes snap in half, I've had collars break or come unbuckled, I've had leashes come unsnapped from the collar.

Oh yeah, buckle collars are the worst, I don't trust them at all anymore.

I've never seen a flexi tear out of the base. But Petsmart will exchange them even if you don't have the original receipt.

 

[Saeleofu]

Oh yeah, buckle collars are the worst, I don't trust them at all anymore.

I'm not a fan of the plastic snap type buckle, but an actual buckle collar with a real buckle (like a belt) is great. That being said, I do use the ones with plastic buckles for tag holders because they're cheap and readily available, and sometimes with just tags it's actually a good thing if they're flimsy. For walks and training and stuff I much prefer martingales.