Would you put a two-year old child on one of these? Imagine the disasters awaiting an infant allowed to venture that far away from its guardian. Then envision the power of a full-grown dog idly walking along whose attention is suddenly drawn to something of interest. If the handler is lucky or strong enough to control an unexpected lunge, there’s hope of grasping the handle firmly enough to stay with the canine missile. But if that hard plastic handle is dropped, you are likely to find a dead or severely wounded animal at the conclusion of the chase.

Particularly vulnerable to the dangers of the retractable lead is an animal that spooks easily or is shy. The sharp crack of a dropped or fumbled retractable-lead handle hitting a hard surface is enough to frighten even the most secure animal right out of his skin. You may as well be firing a pistol above your dog’s head, because the report is about equal to that of a small-caliber firearm. If the dog is fortunate enough to survive such an incident, you’ll be lucky to ever get him back on a leash again or for that matter, even out the door to go for a walk.

The excessively long cord is a hazard. Fully extended, this cord can become entangled in countless objects and can strangle your animal or others and can strip the hide from a leg that haplessly encounters this poorly visible tripping device. People and animals with visual handicaps cannot see this cord readily, especially when all they see is an animal rounding the bend with no apparent handler. And what about your dog’s surprise when he races around a corner into....whatever. There are all kinds of surprises lurking when retractable leads are being used, not the least of which could be a lawsuit.