Originally Posted by
SunDance
I used retractables with Hershey and Honey when we were in places where there were no other people/dogs...and soon they lost all sense of walking properly on a leash. It was tough retraining them as adults. As long as you keep reinforcing proper walking in addition to allowing the freedom, you might do better than I did.
And, yes, they can be dangerous...to your dog as well as to approaching people.
For example (not meaning to apply this to you): There's one woman I see practically every morning whose dogs have been allowed free rein with retractables and people don't know where to walk when they meet her because the dogs have both zig-zagged from one side of the walkway to the other...cutting people off, etc. Her first dog ran in front of a runner....runner ended up on the ground...dog got scared and bit runner. And she's still oblivious to the fact that she's being totally discourteous.