Top 5 Retractable Leash Users

Tweet  FYI - I hate retractable leashes. HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE them.  I hate them mainly because of the people who tend to use them. It's not the dogs' faults.  It's their owners.  If this offends you, maybe you should get another leash & take your dog through some obedience training because I'm not apologizing.

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Here are my Top 5 Retractable Leash Sightings in My Neighborhood - it should explain why I hate them so much.

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5 - The teenager who doesn't really want to walk the dog(s) and therefore pays absolutely no attention to what the dog is doing or where the dog is pooping.

Guess what?  This isn't good for the dog or the community.  First off, the dog is not being watched & is darting in & out of the road.  Secondly, I'm really sick of all of the poop.

4 - The person who just got home from work & trying to get a quick walk, all the while, texting/chatting on the phone & letting their little shit dog with an attitude run all over the place

See #5 because it applies here, too. I realize your nails/dress slacks might get a little dirty if your dog is near you & that your all-important text/phone call might be interrupted.  I DON'T CARE!  Pay attention to your dog.

3 - The dummy who thinks his/her crazy black lab puppy running full steam at big dogs is cute because it "just wants to play."

REALITY CHECK: It's not cute.  It's seen as aggressive.  Your adorable little puppy is not learning how to interact appropriately with other dogs or people.  It's also not learning to walk properly on a leash or listen to your commands.  You are in for a world of hurt when your cute little lab weighs 100lbs and still doesn't listen to you or walk well on a leash.

2 - The harried mom who lets one of her children "walk" their rambunctious golden retriever with absolutely no leash training while she manages a double stroller & another child who refuses to listen while riding his/her scooter.

I admit that I feel a little sympathy for this mom, to an extent.  I don't have childcare.  I can't leave Klaw at home while I walk the dogs, so I wear him.  You know what else helps?  Investing time in training our dogs to walk on a regular, static leash.  Retractable leashes are, again,  not helping your dog learn how to walk appropriately on leash.  Also, young children should not be walking dogs they cannot control, whether it is due to the size of the dog or because the dog does not respect the child enough to follow the child's commands.  The money &/or time you invest in obedience training with your dog & family is worth it.  If you can't afford a trainer, there are tons of good books & resources online.

As for your kid that won't listen?  I can't really help you there.  I would suggest taking away the scooter.  Just a thought...

and the #1 Retractable Leash Sighting in my neighborhood is:

...drumroll...

1 - The "my dogs are my babies" lady with her spoiled little shit dog with an attitude running amuck and trying to attack my dogs.

Please read all of the comments #5 - #2, because they can apply to you, too.  Your spoiled little shit dog with an attitude is a product of you.  I can't blame the dog.  You made the dog this way.  Just because the dog is little does NOT mean it's not aggressive.  It is not cute.  It is aggressive.  Please understand that other dogs don't think your spoiled little shit dog with an attitude is cute, okay?

It also does not mean that it's my dog's fault if he eats your dog.  Guess what?  In this case, your dog was asking for it.  In the natural world, animals fend off aggressors.  The quickest way for a 100lb dog to fend off a 5lb yappy aggressor is to EAT IT.  I would be sad.  For the dog.  For my dog.

By the way, it's not just me:
The Case Against Retractable Leashes
Beware the Potential Dangers of Retractable Leashes
The Dangers of Retractable Leashes
Retractable Leashes Pose Problems for People & Their Pets

The Journey Comes to an End.

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The epic adventure begins here...

With Chicago in our rear view mirrors, there was not much else for us to look forward to. We had no plans to make any detours and the rest of the trip plan consisted of an overnight stop in Ohio and then another overnight stop in eastern Pennsylvania before arriving at our ultimate destination in New London, Connecticut. Dana has been to Connecticut before for about a month. Now my tour there was longer than a month but she had had enough after a month. Certainly there wasn't much for her to be excited about. In fact, now that I think about it the only thing that kept us motivated to get there was, well, I had to get there because of my job. We were going to be arriving to our rented home, a home we had only seen in pictures.

I don't remember much about this part of the trip. Or maybe I choose not to remember because it meant that the trip was almost over or that it wasn't that great in this part of the country. Either way our stay in Ohio was fine and the stay in Pennsylvania at the Delaware Water Gap/Pocono Mountain KOA was fine as well.

Just to give you an idea of how we felt about these last two days, I will say that there was only 1 picture taken during this time period. I will include it here just to try to make this entry a bit longer. It does have some significance as Dana is a HUGE Eagles fan. Not the Philadelphia type but the music band type.

I would like to sum up this trip because it truly was one of the best times of my life. I relive it over and over. I'll do it in the form of a survey type style. The answers below are mine alone. Dana's may differ so if you are curious about hers just ask her. If you've taken the time to read all of the last half-dozen or so posts that I've written, I appreciate it. Hopefully, you've at least enjoyed the pictures. As pretty as they are, they don't do justice to and definitely are no substitute for the real thing. And maybe, if you ever find yourself making a cross-country trip, you can refer back to these post for ideas of where to or not to stay and things to do.

Best Campground: We actually stayed at some pretty nice ones. Since I can't narrow it down I'll give a couple. Salmon River RV Park in Elk Bend, ID and Sioux City North KOA, South Dakota. Both very well kept and ran by nice people.

Worst Campground: No contest. West Liberty KOA. Cow pasture, crappy hosts, BP gas station.

Best Drive: From Wells, NV north to Salmon, ID. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. Oh yeah, and they had Native Americans on dinosaurs on the side of the road.

Worst Drive: All of it across Iowa, and all of it after Chicago.

Best National Park: Yellowstone. Wasn't expecting much. Completely wrong.

Worst National Park: None. That's why they are National Parks.

Prettiest Scenery: Idaho and Montana

Ugliest Scenery: See answers for "Worst Drive"

Best Person interacted with on trip: Other than Arynn and Dane who we knew already, definitely Marcia from Salmon River RV Park. The girl who kept serving us beer at Craggy Range is a close second.

Worst Person interacted with on trip: Lady from West Liberty KOA. I can give a number of reasons but they are pretty harsh so I'll refrain in this capacity. Dude with dog, Ghost, at LaSalle RV Park in Columbia, MT is second. He wanted to make Samson his bitch. I don't think so.

Thanks again!!!

and just like that, he's gone again...

Tweet Yes, Chris is under the sea again.  (cue The Little Mermaid)

Don't worry.  No OPSEC violations.  I'm not telling you when he left or when he's coming back; granted, as usual, I don't actually know when he's coming back.  I'm not even going to tell you what boat he's on.  None of that matters.  All that matters is that he is gone and it didn't take very long for Deployment Karma to start rearing her ugly little head.