I can't help thinking the release of retractable leashes onto the market has had a negative affect on the behaviour of dogs while on the walk. I can completely understand an owner/handler wishing to give more freedom to their dog in reaction to the necessary leash laws. But in my observations owners use the lock on the retractable lead as a remote control button. When the dog moves too far away from the owner, or too close to other people or another dog, the owner puts on the brake by locking the lead and pulling the dog back.

Consider the situations where is likely to arise, out on a walk, the handler removes the lock and the dog cn freely extend to the end of the length of the leash. So the first question that comes into my mind now is "who is in control of the walk?" I believe it to be the dog as he wanders and investigates, and not the owner which is fine once the owner allows that and can quickly regain control on command, not by using the lead. Now consider a situation where the dog wanders out ahead on the unlocked retractable leash and then a jogger, child or cyclist comes along. The handler spots this arrival, locks the leash and pulls to bring the dog back, adeptly unlocking so the spring loaded mechanism winds in the slack and then locking again to stop the dog moving away. This process repeats.

I cannot help but think of this process from the dog's point of view. Could the dog think.... Every time see a jogger, child or cyclist I get a sharp jerk on my collar and repeated pulls back where don't want to go!. So there is a possibility the dog will develop a negative association with the jogger, child or cyclist and could develop leash reactivity or even aggression. Another possible negative of this behaviour is the dog is being forced back to the owner when it is not willing or interested to come, an experience not conducive to a strong recall.

By not training the dog to walk politely on lead, therefore, allowing the dog to pull in the direction of his choosing, most especially in the case of retractable leads, the owner has allowed the environment provide the reward for pulling and so it is likely pulling on the lead is a conditioned behaviour. Retractable leads could be used in a very positive way as part of recall training or to give freedom in particular circumstances but as a tool for general walks it is, in my opinion, not used correctly and could contribute to problems. It is not a replacement for training a dog to walk politely when out in general society.