I often hear of owners who have dogs who bark when left being advised not to go back into the room until the dog has stopped barking. This is good advice, as we don’t want the dog to think that barking makes the door open. However, it’s slightly more complicated than that.

Dogs who bark for attention will usually bark in a repeated pattern. For instance 2 barks, short pause, 3 barks, short pause,  2 barks, short pause, 3 barks, short pause, 2 barks, short pause, 3 barks, long pause. The long pause is to see if there has been any reaction to their barking. If you open the door during any of the pauses (because you’ve waited for the dog to stop barking) in the dog’s mind the door has opened because of their barking and you will have reinforced that idea. Your dog will now bark more when they want a door to open. Attention seeking barking isn’t very demanding of energy, so dogs can keep it up for a very long time.

To ‘fix’ the problem with a dog who has made a habit of attention seeking barking over a long period of time, you need to make sure the door does not open for at least 2 minutes after the barking has stopped (be strong!) to be sure the dog has given up on the barking. With a younger dog if they become distracted by something else that’s a good time to open the door, or better yet, if any age dog lies down, and perfection, they sigh. That’s the perfect time to open the door.

Indy (5 months old) had a little accident on the doormat, so I popped him outside while I cleaned up. I videoed him for a very short while because it’s a really good example of attention seeking barking. 2 short barks, pause. 2 short barks, pause (and repeat). He gets a bit more insistent after a while and does 3 short barks and pause. I waited until he was distracted by a noise at the back of the garden and turned right away from the door before I opened it.

One day course specifically designed for new dog walkers, those thinking of setting up, or anyone who wants to work with dogs. It can be adjusted for dog rescue volunteers and staff if required, or dog trainers who have done lots of theory courses but need to get some practical handling experience and skills. Course covers:

• Dogs -body language & communication, multiple dog handling, safe transportation
• Owners – customer services, initial consultations, expectations
  Common issues and problems
• Business – key handling, background checks, insurance, advertising

and lots lots more. Includes PRACTICAL experience with dogs, you will meet a minimum of 4, up to 30 depending on day attending.

Course is based on a personal basis, one student at a time, however we may be able to accommodate small groups at a reduced rate, or will try to match you with another student to reduce costs.

A Certificate of Attendance awarded at the end of the day. Clients look for experience when taking on a dog walker which is difficult to provide when just starting up – there are lots of ‘theory’ courses you can go on, practical training for dog walkers is very hard to find – this is a unique opportunity not to be missed!

I have been looking after dogs professionally for over 6 years and have cared for well over 200 dogs in that time, of all different shapes, sizes, breeds and temperament, and have been training dog walkers since 2010. I also run dog training classes so am experienced in training people as well as handling dogs.

Linda answered all our questions and provided us with more information then we could possibly have hoped for, and we got to experience what life was like in her shoes, as someone who has made a successful career in the pet industry. Both Becky and I thoroughly enjoyed our visit with Linda and we are so happy to have received such hands on experience whilst learning all that we needed from her. I highly recommend Linda as a pet professional, as she truly understands the way a dog’s mind works and is able to assert the control necessary to get what you want out of them.”

Kieran Murphy, Perpet Work Pet Sitters, Kent

Ideally you would attend on a weekday when we have clients dogs to walk so you can gain the most from your day, but we also have dogs boarding with us, and our own dogs so even weekends there are plenty of dogs to meet. If you provide a simple camera I can take plenty of photos of you with the dogs for your website or social media sites.  You can also chat to my staff during the week, so can get even more of an idea what it’s like to do the job, not just my perspective.

Usually the dog walks and visits are all done by around 3pm, then we’ll go back to my training centre to go over some of the ‘business’ ideas, and anything that hasn’t come up during the day – included in the information pack is a list of topics we usually cover, but will ask you to provide a list of important questions you would like answered prior to arrival. If you are travelling a long way we can include a second day with the dogs for only a small extra fee.

You will also be given access to all my booking forms, terms and conditions, information pack etc, which you can adapt for your own use, as well as some suggestions of follow up courses it would be beneficial to attend during your career with dogs.

I consider myself extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to spend some time with Linda Ward at Boredom Busters. I got much more than I ever expected. Linda took me under her wing and showed me how her business is run. Her knowledge is endless and I was amazed by the control she has of the pets she is looking after. She always treats them with respect and kindness.

Linda is so professional and I have seen how she has gone the extra mile to make sure all her clients and pets are happy and satisfied. I will always be grateful for the opportunity; Linda has been an inspiration as a professional and as a person. Thank you!
Francisco Freeman, Amigo Pet Services, Exeter

If you have been claiming JSA for 6 months you may be able to get help setting up your own business (back to work support, new enterprise allowance). Speak to your local job centre for more information.

Working with dogs is hugely rewarding, making a career out of dog walking could be the best decision  you have ever made, contact me now for a full information pack.

I am really glad I went to see Linda when I was considering setting up a dog walking company, as spending a day with her gave me the confidence to see I could do it. Also, it was lovely to spend time with someone so “doggy”, and to have all my questions answered.

I have now got myself set up, and am just waiting to get some more dogs on my books (do have some chickens to look after next month!)
Emily Barclay, Doggle Walks, Norfolk

Whatever ‘that’ is, the answer is generally ‘I painstakingly taught him’.

I was asked how I could make my dog stop walking when I told him. I was on my way to work, so I couldn’t go through it, so here it is.

Not every training method works for every dog, but this is how I usually start, and may start tweaking what I’m doing if it’s not sinking in. Also it can depend on whether their relationship with you is a good one, or if they like other dogs better, but try it and see.

There are three essentials every dog should know – stop doing that, stop moving and come back to me. Of these, stop moving is probably the most important, because if your dog manages to get himself on the edge of a cliff, or escapes and rushes across a road, a recall may not be appropriate. Each dog really must understand how to stop moving, the emergency stop.

If you go to a training class, this is usually taught with your dog facing towards you, but if he’s off the lead on a walk, he will often be facing away from you as he’s pottering about, or they are so used to obeying commands at your feet they will carry on moving until they get to you, and only then stop, which is not what you want.

It’s reasonably simple. When you take your dog for a walk on the lead, every time you stop walking, say ‘wait’ (or whatever you choose to use). When you start moving again, use another word to say they can move – I use ‘forwards’. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Stop lots of times, when you need to pick up poop, to have a drink of water, to stop and chat with someone, when you fancy stopping to take in the view, or rest halfway up a hill. Stop more times than you need to, every time.

The dogs soon pick it up – if you’ve got an under-exercised dog who is a maniac on the end of the lead you’ll need to start giving him the right amount of exercise, or at least, don’t start doing this until he’s had some time to have a leg stretch. Once he seems to have got it, start doing it off the lead, and try to time your Waits until he’d have to stop, somewhere like a gate, or walk up to a fence, just to give him the extra help.

What you have to remember is, lots of practice, lots of times. If you forget your Forwards word, your dog will learn to stop walking when you do, then as soon as you move, he’ll start walking again. If you are trying to catch him up reattach the lead, or pick him up, or otherwise do something to him, for instance he’s carrying half a bush in his feathers, this really does defeat the object.

You could also try – just falling over…

You may wonder what relevence this has to you – I walk dogs in small groups of around 4 dogs. We walk in country parks where it’s very safe to have dogs offlead. But occasionally the rangers drive round in their small trucks or land rovers. If we’ve got 4 dogs off the lead, this can be a problem! ‘Wait!’ I call. They all stop walking, allowing the vehicles to pass safely. Once, I came round a corner in a part of the park we dont’ walk in very often, to find an electric fence not 10 yards ahead. The wait command stopped the dogs from getting a nasty shock while I attached their leads and walked them carefully past it.

Another way to do it is to just stop walking. Any dogs off lead will keep going of course, until they check in (which our dogs do frequently as often unexpected things happen), turn and come back. If you do this often enough, allowing your dog to get all the way back to you (if they won’t come close enough, turn and walk away, making no fuss about it), they’ll check in more often, and as they learn to stop walking when you do (to avoid that bothersome walking all the way back to you, just for you to walk back to where they were in the first place!), add in your word ‘Wait’. Practise, practise, practise! If you need help, with your dog not checking in or not wanting to come back to you, contact us about our Ready Steady Recall. We do private recall training, or training classes.

I also teach Wait at the Gate.

Related Blog Posts:

• Behind the Scenes
• Home Dog Boarding in Essex
• Multi-dog walks – Good or Bad?

Ever noticed a greeny-blue scum on top of water around this time of year? Looks pretty disgusting and froths up near the water’s edge.

This is likely to be blue-green algae, otherwise known as cyanobacteria, and it toxic to people, pets and livestock. Dogs, due to their love of swimming and drinking from lakes and ponds tend to suffer more than humans, but please be careful for yourself as well. Please check lakes and ponds for notices by the land owner, which will warn of any danger, but if in any doubt, keep your dogs out! There is more information on the Lake District website.

For locals – Weald Park lake has had outbreaks in past years.

July’s Guest Post comes from Gabriela from Mind Health Movement about how you can keep fit and healthy while walking your dog.

Dogs can make the best companions. Perhaps one of the reasons you bought a dog as not only to be a companion or another member of the family, so to speak, but for someone to join you on walks so you could enjoy a healthier lifestyle and enjoy the beautiful countryside and local parks in Essex. Perhaps you also enjoy taking care of your dog and tasks you do for your dog are more of a pleasure than a chore. To enable you to walk and care for your dog to the best of your capabilities you need to keep fairly fit. I am a qualified Exercise and Nutrition Coach and here are my top pieces of advice to keep you fit for your dog for as long as possible. I hope you find it useful.

Fuel first – If you like to walk your dog first thing in the morning, perhaps before you leave for work, make sure you hydrate the body and have something to eat before you leave. Preferably eat within 30 minutes of rising from bed as your body has just fasted for 8 or more hours! Your blood sugar levels will probably be low and if you begin to move around a lot they will become depleted further which is likely to create higher levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, and also increase fat storage and the risk of diabetes.

Heat can be deceiving – When we initially get out of a nice warm bed, and when the temperature of our surroundings is mild, we can wake up feeling warm. This feeling can remain as we pull on clothes and have a hot drink. Make sure you test or look at the weather forecast before you head outside the door. You need to make sure your muscles are nice and warm before you head out the door even if you know you will need to take up layers once you begin walking. This will reduce your risk of injury as you walk, hold your dog on a lead and pick up any mess!

Carry snacks – if your last meal or snack was more than 2 hours before a dog walk, carry a snack with you. I recommend dark chocolate, dried apricots, “Trek” or “Naked” raw pressed fruit and nut bars, wholegrain brown rice cakes oatcakes or Soya beans.

Core focus – As you begin your walk focus on tightening your pelvic floor or ‘wee’ muscles and then brace your core. To do this draw your abdominals about 1-2cm towards your spine and brace them so they feel as firm as able. As you do this visualise your deeper core muscles wrapping around and encompassing your spine. In time this will not only help your stomach muscles look and feel better but your spine will become stronger and your risk of suffering back pain will be decreased.

Feeding and cleaning – When you are bending down to clean up after and feed your dog try to bend your knees when you are in spaces that allow you to do so and keep your spine fairly neutral so that you are not allowing your chest to collapse and shoulders round or hunched.

Like a baby – if you ever have to lift or carry your dog from one place to another, squat down, as far as you are able, and take your dog towards the centre of the midline of your body. Make sure your spine is neutral and brace your core as described above. Keeping your core and pelvic floor braced, lift your dog and carry to the destination required. Make sure you reverse the process as you place your dog where he/she needs to be.

Small breeds – If you often find yourself carrying your dog because he/she is a small breed, vary which side you carry it as if you always carry it on one side your joints will become misaligned caused by tight muscles pulling on them.

Long walks – When completing walks that are an hour or longer, very fast paced or challenging eat a piece of fresh fruit or drink a pure fruit smoothie once you have finished. This will help replace lost muscle glycogen stores and aid recovery and repair.

Stretch it out – Have you ever seen your dog stretch? Well we need to stretch as well. Muscles that might become tight during walks are calf muscles, hamstrings and quads, glutes, hip-flexors and chest muscles if you have rounded shoulders.

No neglect so don’t forget – As active as caring for and walking your dog is, you still need to do upper body resistance training just like everyone else to maintain muscle mass, raise metabolic rate and maintain good posture with muscle balance, and joint, ligament and bone health. This is how we get the most out of our bodies and remain independent for as many years as our health allows. Free weights and/or resistance bands can be used for this and body weight and yoga exercises. Being taught by an exercise professional who is qualified in anatomy is advised to learn correct technique.

I hope you enjoy many many more happy and healthy years with your dog.

Gabriella Clarke

If you would like to know more please contact gabriella@mindhealthmovement.com or take a look at www.mindhealthmovement.com

It’s been so hot after such a long time being cold it’s taken us all by surprise! Well, not all of us. Today while Will & Graham walked the dogs, I was back at home loading the van up with sausage and tuna icecubes I’d frozen the day before, ready for an after walk cooling game.

The gallery chops bits off, but if you click each photo it comes up in its full glory! I have tried having the photos come up as a page, so people can comment on them individually, but nobody ever does, so the big file it is!

If you’d like to know how we made the icecubes, let me know in the comments. Obviously ice cubes are simple, it’s the toppings that are tricky.

Our dogs and their funny little ways!  We love them like part of the family and they have their little routines….so what if your treasured pet goes missing – who’s making sure they get their bed time snack or their belly rub?  The thought of them disappearing is heartbreaking for most owners.

I lived in rural Stondon Massey between 1999 and 2002, where we had a fairly open garden.  One midnight, our two dogs woke me up for an ablution and despite always watching them, after a few minutes Gypsy our beautiful Scottish Terrier cross was nowhere to be seen.  After an hour we were frantic, after two hours we thought we would never see her again but then, as we had almost given up hope, about 3am we drove down a side street to see her come out of a neighbour’s garden with old Baldrick, a medium sized terrier cross.  She had clearly had a lovely time and was in a really happy mood after a dalliance under the stars with this distinguished gentleman dog!

So, thankfully Gypsy was missing for a short time, but some dogs go missing never to be seen again or are missing for much longer.  So, where on earth do you turn?  Well, before 2003 when DogLost (@DogLostUK) started it was very patchy indeed and, even now, it’s far from perfect so, the dog owning community have come together to circumnavigate the system!

That’s where DogLost and its network of volunteers comes in.

Jayne Haynes set DogLost up after her own dog was stolen and had just such an eye-opening experience.  Jayne found that she was only allowed to deal with the dog warden from one area, even though she lived 50 yards from the boundary of the next county.  I have had this experience myself, as recently as a month ago when I found a black Labrador in Thurrock but, despite the area I found her being at the apex of Thurrock, Brentwood and Havering I struggled to get the Thurrock dog warden to take down my details as I lived in Brentwood!  It’s a good job I insisted as just three hours later, the dog’s (Aveley based) owner called me after a six hour search, having got the details from said reluctant dog warden!  It’s probably a good job that I didn’t mention complicate it further my telling her that the dog was actually being cared for overnight by my friend in Upminster!  It was good to be involved in such a happy reunion!

So what does DogLost do and how does it help owners?  Well, I would be surprised if any regular dog walker hasn’t seen, reunited or looked for a missing dog on their walks and, very simply DogLost gets the message out in the community as quickly as possible whilst giving the searching family lots of advice on what to do.

The website www.doglost.co.uk is providing an increasingly vital service. It receives over 100,000 visitors a month and reunites over 100 lost or stolen dogs every week – I have been privileged to be part of some of quite a few reunites! The site is free to use and run by volunteers

DogLost also make maximum use of every new communication method that comes along – Twitter and Facebook are fantastic ways of letting people in your area know that a dog is missing and lost dogs get tweeted, re-tweeted, shared and shared again to keep people looking.

They will also help with press releases and give out numbers of your local press and radio stations.

But one of the best things is the fact that DogLost will create a missing dog poster that you can print or email to friends.  DogLost will also email the poster to all DogLost helpers within a 30 mile radius of where your dog went missing from. All without charge!

Becoming a helper is so rewarding too – just a few days ago met Lacey, one of the first dogs I helped find just before Christmas 2010 and I was so pleased to see her!

There are, of course, some simple ways to help prevent your dog going missing – ensuring your dog has a tag with your name and a contact number and micro-chipping your pets are two of the simplest things to do.  Remember to update details if they change.

Dogs that are chipped have been known to turn up hundreds of miles away from home years later and still be reunited with their owners.  For instance, Archie the poodle was missing for 549 days after escaping from his Corringham home and turning up in Oxford two years later!  His chip was the only thing that brought him home to Essex to his delighted family.  Otherwise he would be living in Oxford, re-homed, with his people assuming he was gone forever.

So, my appeal to everyone reading this guest blog is to sign up to be a DogLost helper today – all you need to do is provide your details on www.doglost.co.uk and they will notify you when a dog is missing near you so you can keep an eye out, walk your dogs in that area, tell your friends, share it on Facebook and Titter if you use them and help get another baby home!

So, what became of my Gypsy & Baldrick the terrier you might wonder?  Well, after her moonlit adventure we had to take our girl off to the vet for the morning after injection, just in case!  She lived to a good age (15) and had a lovely life with lots of love.  But, poor Baldrick, I think it finished the poor old boy off, he passed away a few months later but I hope Gypsy gave him some happy memories in the autumn of his life!

Karen Chilvers
DogLost Volunteer

From Linda:
I hope you like the ‘Guest Post’ I’ve organised for you this month! Many thanks to Karen who has written a brilliant post!

Losing your dog can be devastating, as Karen says, make sure your dog wears a collar and a tag – even at home. Dogs have gone missing from their own gardens or wandered out when a door has been left open. Under current law, dogs are required to wear an identity tag when they are in public places, with the owner’s name and address clearly inscribed on it. I would strongly recommend as many phone numbers, of as many people, as possible are also attached to the collars. Although you may feel this is a security risk, the aim is to make your pet as easy to return as possible if found. If a dog warden seizes the dog (in the legal, not physical sense), or it goes to the pound, there can be large fees to pay. Having the dog’s name on the tag does not make a difference to your dog being easy to steal – a dog will respond to a new or similar name very quickly!

If your dog (or cat) strays and is taken to a pound or rescue, although they should make reasonable attempts to trace and contact the owners they cannot spend a lot of time on each animal, and some authorities have not even checked for a microchip!  If there has been no contact, after seven days they can put your pet up for adoption and rehome it. If this happens owners have no legal right to the return of their pet, and it is not uncommon for new owners to refuse to part with pets they have legally adopted, even after as little as a week.

If your pet is micro-chipped (most pets can be micro-chipped, not just cats and dogs), give the chip company as many phone numbers as you can. You may add my number to tags or chips if you wish. I will always help reunite lost pets, even if circumstances change and I am no longer caring for your pet. Keep the microchip updated with your details! If you move or change your phone number (or both!) it will be useless.

Tell everyone you meet you have lost your dog, and ask them to tell everyone as well. Poster the area your dog went missing as thickly as possible – make your dog too hot to handle. Some finders either do not know they should report a found pet, or misguidedly feel the dog is better off with them! Contact as many dog wardens as you can, and all the vets in the local area. Dog Lost has more great information, so do sign up as a volunteer, and if you see other volunteers posting details on the internet – share them! It could be your dog.

Here at Dog Trainer house in Essex we are experiencing a mini-spring! Not quite a heat wave, but I’ve dropped the thermals for a while. The dogs here for boarding and daycare and I decided to take advantage of the warm weather and do some kong stuffing for garden games.

What’s kong stuffing? A kong is a rubber, hollow dog toy (other dog toys available) which can take a lot of dog chomping and is great for all sorts of games. We mostly stuff them! So here’s my basic recipe for stuffing.

I’ve been having trouble putting the photos where I want them, so I’ll just pop them all at the bottom of the post. Hopefully you can work out what each photo is illustrating, but if not, let me know!

You need:
Kong or kongs
Dog or dogs
Something to fill them all with. You can use their normal dog food (soak dry food with water until saturated) to make their mealtime more interesting, today I used some sausages just gone past their use by date (dogs have a much longer use by date!) which I mashed up. Well, the food processor mashed them up. I’m not silly! Anyway, give the kongs a good stuffing, then you’re ready!

A word of warning – if you have a dog that shows any signs of food or toy possession (eating fast, especially if they get faster when you walk close, growling, ‘nesting’ toys, or runs off to hide with them), you will need at least twice as many stuffed kongs as dogs. All dogs will need to be supervised during this game.

Chuck kongs and dogs out into the garden.

When the weather gets really hot, and if you have plenty of space in your freezer, you could try some more of our activities for dogs. The kongs can be put in the dishwasher, of if like me you don’t have one, boiled in a pan of water on the hob to make sure any remaining food is cleared out, especially if they may be shared with different dogs. Enjoy!

When I was a young teenager I once got into a fight with my younger brother and our cousin, who were both a little younger than me. They’d been teasing me for a long time, and I’d snapped and hit my cousin. My dad was FURIOUS and told me that they could push me under a bus and I still could not hurt them. So of course, being kids, they just teased and taunted me all the more, especially when around traffic, as now they had permission from my dad (status by association) to do what they liked to me as I was not allowed to retaliate, and certainly he wasn’t going to interfere now.

Did this decrease the chance that they would get hurt by me? No. It increased it. As I was only a child myself and hadn’t learned self-control. No-one was protecting me (in fact the protection was going to the boys who were ganging up and bullying me) so I had to do it myself. Eventually, the boys were crying, then I got walloped by my dad and I was crying too. We all got hurt.

Why do I tell you something that makes me sound unpleasant and maybe a bit of a thug? Chances are we’ve all got into fights with our families when we were kids and you’ll understand. But why is it related to dogs? I’ll tell you.

When I look after puppies, they get a lot of leeway from my dogs, and the dogs I walk, as they’re all good-natured nice family pets. But they all have different temperaments and different levels of tolerance of being messed about by puppies.

One day I was walking with an older puppy, just on the cusp of adolescence when the tolerance of adult dogs can sometimes drop. He was bouncing around, happy to be alive and in the great outdoors, wanting to play, like every other puppy. He’d bounce off the other dogs every now and then, trying to get some dog games going. None were really interested as they just wanted to do their own thing, and dogs walking with me never know how long they are going to be out so they like to pace themselves just in case.

So eventually one of them had enough, and told the puppy off. He ran off to another dog, who also told him off, which started a bit of noise and nonsense with a couple of the dogs running after the pup and barking at him – really telling him off, but not hurting him. He ran to me for protection, as that’s what I always teach the dogs. If you’re worried or don’t like what’s going on – come to me. Only when the pup got to me this time…

I told him off too.

Why would I do such a wicked thing? Because I don’t want to give the puppy status by association. He has to learn that he can’t just insist on a game. He can’t go up to other dogs and bounce all over them. He can ask for a game, and lots of dogs will say yeah, great! But when they say no, he has to accept that or face sometimes unpleasant consequences. Of course, being a pup who did what he was supposed to by coming to me I didn’t tell him off badly. I simply ignored him. Wouldn’t look at him, wouldn’t touch him, wouldn’t talk to him. I don’t want him to think coming to me is a bad thing. I just wanted him to know that I wasn’t happy with him either.

This protects ALL dogs, as this puppy is learning that when he’s told no he should gracefully accept it. The other dogs know they do not have to bite or fight because they are allowed to tell another dog to leave them alone. Why didn’t I stop the puppy bouncing on them in the first place? Because it wasn’t excessive, he just hadn’t accepted the no the first time. When pups are really excessive and not taking no for an answer time after time after time no matter what, I will take steps to prevent them being a bother, usually keeping them on a lead until they’ve calmed down. But in cases like this it is beneficial to allow the puppy to learn something without being traumatised by bouncing up to a dog who’s had one too many dogs bounce on him and get bitten.

Two minutes after that I did a successful recall with the puppy which meant I could shower him with love and affection. By leaving it two minutes, pup didn’t associate the fuss and love with the scolding from the other dogs, nor my cold reaction. He just knew he’d done A Good Thing and Aunty Was Pleased.

Broken Extending Leads

One of these leads has either snapped or been chewed through. The other has definitely snapped as there’s no lead there any more!
Most of my regular clients know that I don’t like extending leads and won’t use them. If that’s all a dog owner has, we bring our own, it’s not a problem. I’ve recently read a couple of blogs where a dog trainer has done some research and compared them to guns (only in America!), and a blogger who works his terriers in the States also agrees they are dangerous.

My assistant once said “I know you don’t like them”, but that’s not the case. I believe them to be dangerous – as do the manufactuers who have a very, very long safety notice on the product. Possibly the smallest injury could be cuts to your fingers, if you grab the lead – you can’t reel the dog in without the dog’s co-operation as they have to relax the pressure. If they don’t, then you have to hold the lead to allow the mechanism to work. If the dog pulls at that time – cuts all over your fingers, which, like, paper cuts, may not be life-threatening or bleed, but are very, very painful! Finger amputation is apparently a real worry.

If you have a small dog and he pulls it out of your hands – if it retracts while he’s running and hits him in the back of the head it can cause a lot of damage, even death. If this is avoided, dogs have been known to be so scared by the noise of it dragging along behind them they’ve run away in panic, getting lost – if you’ve been walking your dog on the side of the road – he could run out into traffic (a danger when he’s on the lead as well). Dog have also been known to jump obstacles, that chunky handle getting stuck, the dog can’t reach the ground on the other side and slowly strangles.

I have also heard many stories of other dogs, or young children, running into the lead because it’s so fine they don’t spotting it and being injured.

If you use a flexi lead because your dog doesn’t have a recall, please contact a good trainer in your area who can work with you to improve that for you, join our Ready Steady Recall workshop, or sign up for our newsletter to get hints and tips delivered directly to your inbox.

They also encourage your dog to pull on the lead, something you may be dealing with for the 10-15 years of your dog’s life – inless you come to our Stop Pulling on the Lead workshop.

Rob said…

I know it’s each to his own but I don’t like those leads, they just seem like an excuse not to train your dog properly.28 March 2011 22:07

Linda Ward said…

I hate the damn things. I’ve seen Greyhounds on them… 28 March 2011 22:16

Kay9 Services said…

I don’t like them for the following reasons:- I have a customer that lost an eye when it broke and longed back hitting her in the eye- one of my off lead dogs was almost garotted by one. Lady had her dog on one, the dogs were sniffing at each other. She pulled one way her dog the other and it was wrapped round my dogs neck! I had to pry it our of her hands to let it go so my dog could breath!- it teaches dogs to pull on the lead! They quickly also get used to tension on the collar and never learn to walk on a loose lead.28 March 2011 22:23

Linda Ward said…

This was posted on my Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/BoredomBustersPetCareServices):”one of the reasons Tali is so cautious of other dogs approaching her is due to an incident when she was a puppy & a dog was allowed (by his owner not me!) to rush over on his flexi lead & ‘make friends’ he wasn’t aggressive just totally out of control, the result was Tali & I became completely entangled in the flexi lead, Tali was absolutely terrified & I had to virtually pin the other dog down to untangle us all while the other owner did nothing!”28 March 2011 22:25

Chris White said…

As a professional dog walker I am not a fan of the retractable leads. Too many mechanics involved made of cheap plastic. If it breaks when the dog is already 20 feet away from you, then what? I like to walk a dog close, within 5 feet, safety and control are key.16 April 2011 16:26

Linda Ward said…

I’m so used to clicking ‘delete’ for the spammers I accidentally deleted a genuine comment, so sorry! If you are around, please post again so I can find you, thank you!Cherie and Dogs has left a new comment on your post “Why I Won’t use Extending Leads”:Great blog and great topic! These leads are the worst in the leash industry. We are dog trainers and never tell clients to use these leads, actually we have a topic on this on our site. I think we might have fit here for building a relationship with you guys. Email us and would love to talk further with you guys19 April 2011 06:43

Anonymous said…

Hey – I am really delighted to find this. Good job!20 April 2011 14:35