I LOVE flexis! We use them at work to exercise dogs, and I really don't know what we'd do without them. Before I started working here I HATED them because I saw so many people misusing them, but within about a month of using them myself I bought one for my dog.
At work we ONLY use the "all belt" type flexis, the cord ones are way too dangerous. I've only been burned by the belt twice (the last time was last week
), and we've only ever had one dog break the flexi by pulling too hard (and it was while he was being walked by a volunteer, not a trainer, I do think it could have been prevented with a little more dilligence). We buy flexis that have the highest weight rating you can buy in the store (and we ordered a special stronger one for the great dane we just got
), and we get the shortest length you can buy - 16 feet... the longer the length, the more speed the dog can build up before hitting the end.
From a training perspective, they do have huge downsides...the biggest being that they tend to teach the dog to be on a tight leash ~ but that's because of how they're used.
I used to think this too (back when I hated flexis, actually), but now I disagree. I really don't believe that the amount of pressure a flexi puts on the dog's collar is great enough to make any difference when you're training loose leash walking. 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."
And as for the dog needing to be "trained" before using a flexi, I disagree with that as well. At work our dogs usually walk on a flexi the first day or two they're with us, and they certainly had not had enough training at that point to do recalls or loose leash walking. But it really doesn't seem detrimental to their training to be on flexis.
I also don't understand how long line leashes are better than flexis. I used a long line before I bought my flexi, and it was really annoying because it kept getting stuck on every little rock and twig on the ground. Plus I really believe that the pressure a dog has to pull against to drag a 20 or 30 foot cotton line (the ones you can buy at pet stores) across the ground is far greater than the pressure they have to pull to pull out a flexi. Plus they get wet and muddy, which makes them even heavier (and messier in my car).
Going for walks with more then one dogs is impossible with a flexi leash. Though when we go places like the beach where we're seated for a while I love using them.
Nah, I do it all the time with my dog. It can be annoying sometimes, but it can be done. I dogsat for a trainer-friend of mine who had two dogs that were experienced agility dogs. I walked them together on flexis through dense woods, and they stayed 10-15 feet in front of me the entire walk. I could "steer" them just by turning my shoulders, and we'd weave through the trees easily even though they were so far in front of me.
