<p>Yes, somebody else said that in this thread. That makes a lot of sense. I would prefer that to the finger method! Ugh, though I’d do anything to protect my dogs. Though my sister said if the dog is in a death lock bite on your dog, the finger method might work better.</p>
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<p>Trouble is, you don’t hear a bike coming. Or a Prius, for that matter. That’s why I dislike the retractable leashes; they don’t keep the dogs out of the street.</p>
<p>I have a wonder walker harness & leash. The leash has a foam handle & a clip for dog bags & another handle farther down for more control.
Made locally too.
[Wonder</a> Walker? Body Halter© - Dolan’s Dog Doodads](<a href=“http://doodads.mybigcommerce.com/wonder-walker-body-halter/]Wonder”>Wonder Walker® - Original No-Pull Harness - Dolan's Dog Doodads)</p>
<p>Ok - go ahead and attack irresponsible pit bull owners.
Out walking my dog tonight, two huge pit bull mixes attempted to attack our pup.
They were on leashes, but the owner barely restrained them, and instead of turning around and defusing the situation, he kept coming.
They did not want to play, they wanted to fight.
This was on 15th & 65th in ballard, ( which are main streets by schools) & now I am afraid to go that way again.
If you cant control your dogs, dont take two of them out at a time, and dont keep advancing.
Idiot.</p>
<p>That’s true. But I usually have it locked on a shorter length, and pull it in when I hear something. Not sure how it would help if it was on a regular leash?</p>
<p>We have a halter too, emerald. Don’t want to pull around the dogs necks. That is awful about your night. What is wrong with people? Why are they so unconcerned about their aggressive dogs? I wouldn’t want to scare anyone.</p>
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<p>I was actually at a meeting last night where, someone shared an aside, that their dog had been attacked earlier in the week. A Rottweiler had blown through someone’s front screen door and attacked the pup. An unfortunate consequence was the woman walking the dog, was also thrown down to the sidewalk on her hip… the hip she’d just had replaced less than three months ago. She almost could not get up. The dog attacked had a couple of small puncture wounds, but otherwise will be OK. The owners of the attack dog were apologetic, and offered to pay all medical/vet fees. The dog walker had to go to the doctor’s office the next day and make sure no damage was done to the recovering hip.</p>
<p>Anyway, after the story was told, I chimed in, “Did you know that if two dogs are attacking each other, you should grab your dog by their two hind legs?” You should have seen the looks I got from everyone. You’d think they’d just seen Einstein walk through the doors! Sorry I didn’t cite you guys! Hope you don’t hold it against me!</p>
<p>Here’s a picture of the kind of leash I was talking about:
[Wagwear</a> Double-Handled Dog Leash - Collars, Harnesses & Leashes - Dog - PetSmart](<a href=“http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=16785676&f=PAD%2FpsNotAvailInUS%2FNo]Wagwear”>http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=16785676&f=PAD%2FpsNotAvailInUS%2FNo)</p>
<p>That leash is similar to the one that matches the wonder walker.
[Service</a> or Traffic Lead - Dolan’s Dog Doodads](<a href=“http://doodads.mybigcommerce.com/service-or-traffic-lead/]Service”>Service Leash - Dolan's Dog Doodads)
Plus colors!
:)</p>
<p>“Anyway, after the story was told, I chimed in, “Did you know that if two dogs are attacking each other, you should grab your dog by their two hind legs?” You should have seen the looks I got from everyone. You’d think they’d just seen Einstein walk through the doors! Sorry I didn’t cite you guys! Hope you don’t hold it against me!”</p>
<p>Good thing you didn’t say you should stick your finger up it’s butt, they probably would have thrown you out the door! Hey, I say, grab the OTHER dog by their hind legs. Meaning the one who is attacking, not yours.</p>
<p>Interesting leashes. I should take a look at those in the stores.</p>
<p>I guess my problem is the retractable leashes that aren’t retracted, that are like twenty or thirty feet long. Oh, great, your dog is confined to a circle 40 to 60 feet in diameter? And as long as I don’t approach any closer I’m fine? Yeah, gee, thanks. But if you have a retractable leash that is retracted to a reasonable length, then I don’t have any quarrel with that.</p>
<p>I think my leashes only go out about 12-13 feet, fully extended. It doesn’t seem that far, even if it’s squirrel time, they can’t get too far.</p>
<p>I am most certain that you wouldn’t be scared of my dogs approaching you, even if you got in that 12-13 foot range. Unless you were a spider. If so, watch out, you’re edible.</p>
<p>I doubt I could ever stick my finger up there- even assuming you could find the spot in the midst of a dog tussle, with all that movement. Not to mention that, wouldn’t some dogs, already being aggressive, just turn on us, if we, you know?</p>
<p>We had a female corgi mix. Couldn’t get any harness to stay on her, when she was agitated enough to squirm it off. I know these are supposed to be secure. She was a sort of Houdini.</p>
<p>With the retractable leashes, the point isn’t to extend them to the max, except in some darned controlled circumstances. When on the sidewalk, we never let it out enough that she could reach the street (if they can go 10 feet into a yard after a squirrel, they can dart the same distance into traffic. Ours wasn’t ever savvy to cars.) If she stopped and we were still moving, we still watched the length. Not much different than keeping a firm eye on our kids, when we were out walking with them. </p>
<p>Any talk about certain breeds shouldn’t mask that there’s much about animal behavior that we don’t yet know. How dogs act with us, as their leaders- or in a situation where we have clear control- is not the test of how they may interact with another dog or a stranger, when something triggers them. </p>
<p>Sorry for all the people who have had troubles with other dogs. Or their owners. And glad BD called AC.</p>
<p>The problem with dogs approaching me when I’m cycling is that, even if they are not the kind of dogs who bite (and I don’t know that, and small dogs can give dangerous bites) they can make me crash if they run under my wheels. In another thread you can read about the injuries a cyclist gets when the front wheel is suddenly taken out from under them: the kid got a broken jaw, stitches on the face, broken wrist and broken finger. That’s what happens in that kind of crash even if I’m going slowly (and why should I be forced to go 5 mph on the road, anyway?). Also, getting tangled in the leash could make me crash, and with a 15 foot leash you’ve made a 30 foot circle that I can’t go in without risking tangling the leash. I’m really not a fan of dogs on 15 foot leashes.</p>
<p>When some damn dog comes running up to me and the owner says, “Oh, he’s friendly,” I’m tempted to snarl, “Well I’m not,” and give the dog a faceful of pepper spray. (But I don’t; I don’t even carry pepper spray.) Dog owners overestimate how much other people like to be accosted by strange dogs. He’s your precious snowflake, but he’s my dangerous menace.</p>
<p>I love the retractable leash we have, but the way I use it shouldn’t bother anyone. When we are on sidewalk walks my dog is kept close on short leash. That is the way you are supposed to walk your dog, right? Except for really late night walks when I give a bit more leash when I’m sure nobody is around. But in open fields I can let the leash out. I have to be pretty careful about letting her off leash as she is not reliable around soccer balls and squirrels. But this way she can get some free exercise on leash when it’s not safe to let her off. We have the longest one. She likes to run in circles and figure eights, a tiny dog, so can do that on leash. They do take some getting used to. Can’t forget you are holding one for a minute or a little jerk and it’s on the ground. It is dismaying to see people use them irresponsibly. On the bike path with the leash stretched out all the way. So dangerous for bikers and rollerbladers.</p>
<p>I have several leashes that I use regularly - one has the “loop” teri mentioned. I used that frequently when sabadog was a pup to redirect him. Leather leash - because it feels better on your hands when doing obedience work - and a leash that snaps into his easy walk harness. Sabadog also has what we jokingly refer to as his “face leash” - a gentle leader that he hates but was remarkable in teaching him to walk with me. I also have a twenty foot lead that we use for training (recall work, sit and stay). </p>
<p>My biggest problem when walking Sabadog is that parents want their children (particularly those who are fearful of dogs) to “meet” him. Or the kids that zoom right up to him on their bikes. It is not my job to help your child overcome their fear of strange dogs. People see a yellow Lab in a harness and they think he’s Mr. Mellow. Nope!</p>