Big Scare and word of caution!!
 

Tonight when I was walking Kirby I accidentally dropped his leash, it's the retractable type and it was locked at about 6-7 feet long. It's spooked him and he took off running, and I mean he TOOK OFF, he was going full speed and FREAKING out by having this big plastic thing clunking along behind him. He was "yelping" the whole way.

So I took off behind him yelling for him to come back but of course he is much faster then me and he was going as fast he possibly could I think to get away from the scary "thing" chasing him. There is a very busy road in front of my apartments and I was afraid he was going to run right out into the road and get hit. So I was freaking out too and imagining the worst.

Well he didn't run into the street, thank goodness, he ran back to my apartment and up the stairs and was waiting by the door shaking, as I huffed and puffed my way up to him. It's nice to know that he knows where he lives and runs home when scared but this really scared the hell out me AND him.

So, when we got inside and I calmed him down I put the leash on him and left it locked and laid it on the floor so he could drag it around and get used to it and he did the same thing he tore around the apratment trying get away from it, so I took it off but I'll keep working with him to get used to it so this doesn't happen again, so the word of caution is be careful not to drop your retractable leash, it may scare other dogs too, and beleive me, these are fast little guys when they're scared and trying to get away from something.

Whew!

Wow! That does sound scary. I'm glad to hear you're both well and safe but that was a close call. I have heard alot of stories about retractable leashes breaking and locking etc. so I just keep my Badger on one of the conventional ones. I prefer him being close to me anyway in case I need to scoop him up from other dogs or big feet and so on. Glad you're both okay!

So you got your workout in with adrenaline and all! It IS terrifying and they are FAST when they want to be. It is a great idea to train him not to spook, though sometimes when they run away from you (without the scary dragging clunking thing behind them) the easiest way to catch them is to run away from them and they will chase you.

I am sure you'll have a death grip on that thing from now on.

alls well....have a beer.

I've had the same thing happen to me a couple times -- yes - it is scary.

I think letting him drag this leash around your house is a very smart thing to do. He should certainly learn not to be afraid of it this way.

Carol Jaen

I am so glad Kirby is safe! I know how that feels and what a scare it is! I have the retractable leashes too and always have to have a firm grasp on Simon's (he's a runner too) so he won't take off if I drop it.

Again, I'm glad you are both okay! You can sit down and breathe now :)

Running the other direction in this case would have done nothing, he was totally freaked out and was not concerned with where I was, he was trying to get away from this thing chasing him, which of course if he would stop it would stop, but that's totally counter intuitve for them, so the faster he ran the more freaked out he got.

And yes, I will have a death grip on it from now on, I was changing it from hand to the other behind my back, he likes to tangle me up when we walk, I won't do that anymore!

Also, I've tried it a cople more times around the apt. and he absolutely FREAKS out when this thing is dragging behind him. He ran into his crate the last time and I took it off of him and he didn't want to come out of the crate. Then I had the leash laying on the floor and he wanted to come up on the couch with me but he went way around the leash. I might have to get another kind of leash, just the regular kind, so he doens't freak out anymore. I can't take the chance of dropping the retractable kind.

omgosh that exact same thing has happened to me but tripp just turned around and looked at it like it was some foreign object and i rushed over and got it before he realized he should be running lol. im so glad he is safe! thanks for the word of advice!

I am not a big believer of these kinds of leashes for a couple more reasons that it is just scaring the heck out of the dog.

1. When dropped they can bounce back at an alarming speed and I heard of a small dog being killed from one when it hit him in the head

2. When a dog is walking so far from you, you might not have time to react to pull them in if a large dog is going after them or it is to difficult with the wire. Cotton leashes seem to work the best.

3. Coyote bait when they are to far out

Okay now that I have scared you a little more - are you using an harness on him?

i have 3 to walk so i just use the conventional leashes, but this is a good piece of wisdom to know. i bet 9 out of 10 (if not more) Yorkies would react the same way and think it's pretty likely that someone could drop the leash handle.

Glad yours is okay and you probably saved someone else from going through this. so save our money and don't buy retractables - who really wants their Yorkie to far from them anyway.

Yes, he wears a harness and the retractable type is convenient, but you make good points, except maybe for the coyote bait, we live in the heart of Dallas, been a long time since coyotes roamed around here, but I can see that being a problem in the country. I usually keep the retractable locked at about 6-10 feet which I feel pretty safe with pulling hm away from a big dog or other danger but this bolting in a frantic state if dropped is what concerns me most. if he doens't get used to it, I'm definitely getting a regular kind.

That same thing has happened with Oscar and he took off running...but when I yelled at him, he stopped and I was able to get to him. As far as coyotes not being in Dallas, don't be too sure. They are moving into suberbia more and more these days. Some guy posted in the RIP forum about his baby being taken while on a leash in BEVERLY HILLS! And that is a very populated area. We travel a lot and we see coyotes killed on interstates right in big cities...plus there can be big dogs that roam the streets that might decide to jump on little Kirby...you always have to be on your guard. You and Kirby will be just fine tho...sounds like you are learning more and more about each other every day! Keep up the good work.

Did you happen to miss the headlines in New York City a couple of weeks ago where they had a coyote in the city? Seriously they did have one but I get your point. Of course here in Arizona they are all over the place :eek:

Glad you have him in a harness :thumbup: and I know I enjoyed the retractable myself but I dropped it a few more times than I felt comfortable with. Now if I drop a leash they never know and just keep walking along. We use the Lupine Harness and Leash and I am very happy with them.

Do you know what kind of home he came from before? Rescue's do bring a little more baggage than a normal puppy and some of his reactions can be a little more over the top but I know you will change over to a regular leash if you felt it puts him in any danger.

Did you happen to miss the headlines in New York City a couple of weeks ago where they had a coyote in the city? Seriously they did have one but I get your point. Of course here in Arizona they are all over the place :eek:

Glad you have him in a harness :thumbup: and I know I enjoyed the retractable myself but I dropped it a few more times than I felt comfortable with. Now if I drop a leash they never know and just keep walking along. We use the Lupine Harness and Leash and I am very happy with them and they are guaranteed for life - even if Kirby chews it up :p .

Do you know what kind of home he came from before? Rescue's do bring a little more baggage than a normal puppy and some of his reactions can be a little more over the top but I know you will change over to a regular leash if you felt it puts him in any danger.

Im glad that Kirby is safe. Wow, that was very scary. I have a retractable leash also, but hardly use it for the same reason. Gucci got spooked once when i drop the leash by mistake. When she sees it she runs away. SO now I just use a reg leash. Thank you for the warning.

You are exactly right and I do not recommend them ever for the reasons you have given. I have heard of all three things happening with a tragic ending. It is lucky of there wasn't a tragic ending but the potential is very high that there will be. I recommend a 6 ft cotton leash. Long enough to give a little freedom when it is safe, easy to pull up if you want them close, and of course, if you drop it accidently, dog doesn't even realize it and nothing happening to scare it.

Thanks for the heads up. These little guys can get spooked so easily and it's very important that we maintain control at all times. Poor Kirby probably had the bejesus scared out of him! :(

Just happy to hear you two are ok... Sounds like he gave you quite a run!!

The first time that ever happened to me it was with my Beagle about a year ago, I was putting my shoes on and set it down, he walked away, and it followed , next thing i knew he was scrambling and yakking, my kids were laughing like mad and it took me a minute to figure out what he was scared of. Later when we got back, i left it on him in the yard on the grass i sat outside with him dragging it for about and hour, since then he has had no problem. With 2 dogs I tend to use the leash for 2 dogs, Bailey always wants to be beside me or him anyway and they don't get tangled with that one, so it works well for us......I could't imagine the terror that I would have felt if It had have happened to me while on a walk.....I'm glad everyone is ok. :doghop:

Another "retractable" caution .... Patrick, Toto & I were leaving PetSmart one late afternoon. As we were about to back out of the parking space, we were looking around for cars coming in, pedestrians, etc. I noticed a man walking with a retractable leash in his hand and as dog lovers do, looked to see his dog and didn't see one. When I realized what was happening, I screamed for Patrick to stop! Evidently the idiot had just bought the leash and attached the dog to it ... walked outside the store and let it full out!! The dog was right behind us!!! I still shudder to think what could have happened. The man looked very embarrassed, as he should have been. Sooooo .... please practice in a safe place with your pet before using one of these leashes. ;)

LOL Cindy ! The Coyote bait scared ME :eek: but you're right. I like keeping my girls close by too. I wanted to get a retractable at one time after using my sons. He uses that kind of leash for his weiner boys - I LOVED it for them...but they are much slower than a yorkie.

Kirby's Dad....I bet you never knew Kirby had a Turbo Charged Butt until this happened - :D I can't believe how fast these little guys can run and you were VERY lucky he didn't run into traffic. Poor little guy....I bet your heart was racing and his too.

There's great harnesses out there and I bet he'll feel much better in one. I can't believe he ran right to his house. THAT is a smart little boy. :)

oh my gosh - I tripped and dropped Punkin's leash a week ago. I haven't taken her for a walk since. It scared me sooo much. She pulls to go home sometimes and I turned around to get her to come, somehow I tripped over my own feet and fell. Since she was wanting to go home she took off as fast as she could run. No amount of commands was working - I even tried hollering out treat and cheerio. She crossed the busy street in front of our house. I closed my eyes and hoped for the best. I stopped calling for her at this point as I didn't want her to cross the street again. When I finally caught up to her she was sitting very nicely at the bottom of the driveway waiting for me. I made it to the back porch sat on the steps and cried. I'm going to take her for a walk today and have figured a way to hook one leash to my belt loop and around a second leash so if it should ever happen again she can't get far away from me.

Not sure I can take another scare like that again - we were so lucky that Punkin was safe after crossing the street.

Ya really got some exercise during that walk, didn't you? You think....oh, they're small, can't outrun me, how fast can they possibly be? Greyhound fast, that's what. ;) Glad everything turned out ok.

PS An elderly friend did, indeed, kill her toy poodle using a retractable leash. She tripped while walking her either didn't have it locked or it came unlocked and hit her poodle in the head. The first lecture from her after getting my yorkie....Oh, Deb don't use a retractable leash...they're dangerous

Thats what I started to do with my Jack Russell. I would put his harnass on and hook his flexi and just let him drag it around the house. At first he was trying to get away from it, then he just realized it was coming with him no matter what. And believe me, hes a spooky one! I fell one time on a tree stump with my Doberman and the flexi went flying, but he came back when I called him and actually let me use him to help me up with a spranged ankle. No I woulnt recommend using my Yorkie to help me up, and no she wouldnt come back when I call her either!! lol Just two different kinds of breeds. :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
Patty and Nina

Like someone else mentioned, I think I'm going to try attaching the retractable leash to my belt loop with a shorter standard leash, that should be a safe way to prevent him from getting away from me if I drop it, or it retracting and smacking him in the head.

I'm still trying to get him used to dragging the retractable around the house, but he still totally freaked out by it.

Whew! Glad Kirby's okay. :) Most of us can relate to the time one of our little ones almost got away! It's terrifying. :eek:


Smart dog heading back to the apartment!

BTW, I'm sure you've gotten enough of everyone's this, and I know you weren't asking my opinion, but I've got to agree on the retractable leash...forget coyotes, what about "big unfriendly dog bait".

Thats a good point and I've considered that too. I don't know much about his history, other than he was picked up by animal control wandering the streets of Houston untagged and was resuced by UYR a day before he was to be euthanized.

He doesn't seem to have too much 'baggage' he's a very happy and healthy little guy but maybe he had a bad experience with being chased or teased or something that the leash dragging behind him reminds him of, becasue it is a total freak out thing for him.

Poor Kirby, I hope he's having a better today. I'm thinking some extra loves are in order. :love-hug3 here's a hug from me and Alphy.

I use the retractable leashes too. Chachi pulls too much on regular leashes. I am sure Kirby will get used to the leash.

My guess is the people dumped him (sorry to say it happens all the time) or else he got away but they couldn't be bothered to scour the different animal shelters. Mental abuse in my book but sounds like Kirby is dealing well with everything else - that is a miracle considering he was in the pound. 4 of my rescue's came from the pound/humane society (3 of them I cannot adopt out as they are biters) and they have a much higher fear level than 4 that were turned over directly from the owners. With rescue's I think it is very important to pay attention to their fear triggers and try to alive them or work around them. I am not a believer of forcing the fear issue with a Yorkie and especially a rescue one. Life has been tough enough for them already and if you can do something another way and get the same results you want then I am for it. I am betting Kirby will do great with positive training since it appears he doesn't have two suitcases full of dirty linen.

re: Retractable Leashes & Coyotes
 

My 1 year old Rylie has a retractable leash, which allows him to go 26 ft. I didn't buy it, my boyfriend (Rylie's 'dad' did) and at first I was not happy about it. It was hard for me to work with right away. The line often snags, catches or gets tangled. But with time and practice I finally have a hang of it. HOWEVER, I have dropped it in the apartment and a few times outside and Rylie-- who's a total NYC Yorkie--becomes absolutely terrifed. He doesn't like the noise it makes dragging behind him at all. I still don't understand why either, so if someone knows, please explain...

Knowing people or big dogs are constantly all around where we live makes me very aware of my surroundings. Rylie does get to run wild with the 26ft let out all the time. He knows it's a treat to savor once in awhile and he knows when it's not allowed.

I have dropped the retractable leash and Rylie has taken off running. Dropping his leash in NYC: not a good thing. BUT he is trained to COME when you call his name, regardless of ANYTHING. If your dog doesn't respond to his name everytime or only sometimes, you are in deep trouble. I've spent COUNTLESS hours training him to COME when I call his name and that has saved me more times than I care to think about.

P.S. We really did have a coyote in Central Park in NYC and a few weeks later another spotted in the Bronx.