This kind of ties in with the collar thread..I just wanted to share our leash disaster story

Bean walks on a 16 foot retractable ( usually all out at the end of the 16 feet ) HMMMM   add the length of my arm, she gains almost two more feet  ANYWAY three times we had the same disaster ( early in our relationship )  I'm walking along fat dumb and happy and Bean takes off for SUMPIN...bird/plane/goat/mouse/rabbit    and jerks the entire leash out of my hand, and vanishes into the woods, when I found her she was HUNG UP and the 16 feet of leash was tangled beyond belief, in & out of briars etc....

Yep it took me THREE times to get a clue....  I carry her nylon collar through the handle of the retractable leash....Now I loop the nylon collar around my wrist ( it's still looped thru the retractable ) When she gets the urge to GO, I feel it instantly & have that safety loop to give myself a few extra seconds to PLANT MY FEET and hang on.....My left arm is VERY STRONG

Renee'

Marie,

I appreciate your concern for my arm   ( more than you know )

I have Arthritis in both shoulders, wrists, and hips....FUN ! 

My main concern was for Bean's safety....getting a rip going and reaching the end of the leash with a snap.....I regulate her with verbal commands as well as shortening her up.

In my opinion >>>  She is the smartest dog in the world  One of the first commands she learned on our walks, was "UP"  As we approach an obstacle, be it a briar patch, or a street sign, or whatever....when I say UP she returns to my side and avoids the obstacle, and it only took her a couple times to learn it.... I was impressed

Bean must heel during on walks because of traffic...I mean a tight heel....Some days she tries my patience...because she likes to pull left, as if she were at the end of her 16 feet, It drives me crazy,   On those days I must verbally remind her to heel....TODAY however was hilarious, The roads were icy, I mean I almost turned around and came home, but we have areas that I can walk on the side of the road....  we encountered paved areas that we couldn't avoid, We both almost busted our butts, more than once...So when we neared one of those areas, I told her to heel and she was a perfect angel    ROFLMAO...She wasn't into that slipping & sliding

Renee'

If you need the leash attached to you, I would suggest rigging the retractible lead to some kind of waist belt instead. You could go with a skijoring belt although I've also seen very useful looking padded belts in the construction tool section at Fred Meyers. I've jury-rigged a fat elastic skijoring line around my waist with a carabiner to hook a retractible leash to me so I could have my hands free for other things.

IMO that sort of arraingement is MUCH MUCH MUCH preferable to injuring your hand, wrist, or arm! It's also less likely to tip you clear over since the force is going to hit closer to your center of gravity.

I need to make some new leashes, since the last set worked out so well... I made them out of bulk horse lead rope, put what I've seen called a 'trigger' snap on the handle, then a sliding brass ring on the main section. I could snap the dogs off to a chain link fence, attach it around my waist, tie them to a tree or lamp post, or even put the handle end around the dog's waist if I needed more control (read "taking Rogan to his annual cat-hunting event at the vet's".

It was basically like this only much longer. Heck, mine are even red. They stole it from me!!! LOL...... but unlike that one I made the 'handle' loop big enough to actually get a hand with a glove through.

That big fat nylon rope is SO MUCH EASIER on my hands, on my legs when they tangle, etc etc etc. It looks like total overkill on my 30 lb females but I figure we're not in a fashion show. Besides, if you've got one in the car you can always help capture someone's loose horse.

on the topic of leashes....

I completely disregard leash laws. Why? Because my weim is 8 years old and loyal as can be. My words to her are stronger than any leash would be, so I let her meander next to me and she only ever gets about 8 feet away. I call her to my hip if there are people or cars approaching. She also knows to ignore other walkers or dogs, I tell her "keep walking" and she does. I've even done 6 mile road races in crowds with her off leash. No complaints. Anyways, most of the time I spend with my dogs are on techinal mountain bike trails, deep in the woods, and away from most people or at least "wimpy" people. My GSP, Lacey, gets leashed all the time except for on these trails. I have a 6 foot lead and choke chain that she wears high on her neck and walks inches from my knees. So, she loooves to run on the trails, wherever she pleases and as fast as she can.

My point being, this week we ran into some "resolution walkers". New faces, and I would say out of place on this particular trail. I've been doing this trail since before I even had these dogs, at least  8 years. Well, twice we got told to "get your dog" or "dogs are supposed to be on leashes". yada, yada. I didn't bother to address these people because one had his ipod so loud he was waking the racoons.  Then, today I took the girls out, with Lacey on her e-collar incase she barked at oncoming walkers I would at least correct her for that. We came across another dog though, who was on a leash. Well, that dog bit my weim; a small gash on her ear. I had slowed the walk to let the dogs sniff and be social, because I believe every little bit of socializing helps. Then she got bit and we moved along quickly. (Lacey was off chasing a group of deer btw.)

So if a leashed dog bites, and my unleashed dogs don't, am I wrong to disregard the rules? We are in a city park granted, but deep in the woods, and only one other time have I seen someone walking their dogs on a leash. Most people just carry one in case.

I have a very different opinion, as someone who has a life-long fear of dogs. Many people do not want to be greeted by a dog no matter how well trained. (We live in a very ethnically diverse neighbourhood, and many people are not used to large dogs.)

There are plenty of safe places to walk your dog off-leash. Why do you need to walk your dog off-leash in a on-leash area? People who may be afraid of dogs, may use use the area with a resonable expectation that dogs will be under-control. By circumventing the rules, you are making this an un-safe area for these people. I think it is completely irresponsible and very inconsiderate dog ownership to disregard a posted sign because it is inconvenient for you to do so. The on-leash laws are designed to protect people.

We walk Bo in a lot of off-leash areas, but choose to keep him on-leash, not only for the consideration of other walkers, but also because the trails are used by mountain bikers, etc. If he bolted off for whatever reason, it could be disasterous for both him and the bikers (we cannot always see them coming, nor can they see us).

And yes, there are dogs that are leash aggressive. That is why I always check with the owners before letting Bo say hi. Most owners know how their dogs behave on leash, and will let you know.

He gets plenty of off-leash run time at home, and in enclosed field near our house. He doesn't need to be off-leash on walks.

On public trails, I keep Rocky on a 16 foot extension leash. I only let him off if we run into an open field that I can toss tennis balls in for retrieves, or water that is safe for him to retrieve off water. If we meet another dog on the trail off leash or on leash,  I don't let Rocky get close and body block the on coming dog and say NO  to that dog.  You just can't trust strange dogs and GSP's have short fur doesnt take much for a GSP or a Weim to get a tear in their skin from a biting dog. We did have one incident last winter that taught me that lesson. Rocky running off leash is off  on public trails is very limited now. We are fortunate that we have permission on private farm lands to run Rocky  daily. Location right behind our backyard

Thank you for the different perspectives. Perhaps, you live in a different geography/topography. My dogs have about 1/4 acre fenced in, and really less than that once you count the deck and the gardens, and in the middle of the city. We don't have acres of property or friends with fields so I rely on this single set of trails to really run my dogs. We frequent the dog park so they can play and socialize, but its obvious they don't enjoy a specialized off-leash area compared to the real woods (too many dog scents, not nearly enough squirrels).

I like the idea of having the dog return to me when she sees someone coming, without first getting any closer to the oncomer. This sounds hard to train though, how'd you do it?

Oh, Lacey is great with the come command. I have a specific whistle I make that I can recall her with, and she will stop on a dime, turn and come back to me. Problem is, on a twisty mountain bike trail she can get ahead of me and around a corner. If I hear a bark I immediately call her and she comes back, and now I put her on the leash and we walk by like a proper little doggie would (just until she learns to ignore other walkers). For bike riders I can hear them coming, I tell the weim to "get off the trail" and she steps to the side Lacey I recall and make her sit and watch them ride by.  For the most part people passing say, what pretty dogs, what good dogs, or "looks like they're having a blast"...

Lacey is young still and needs some more etiquette but admittedly, I spoil her and let her get away with some stuff out of my own guilt. I just hope that we could have a place that lets us indulge in off leash running.