Personally, I don't use one, and in my opinion, I probably wouldn't recommend a retractable dog leash to anyone, especially someone with a larger breed of dog. My pit bull broke his as a puppy and for a few brief moments he was on the loose, in that short amount of time, a number of things could have happened. He could have darted out onto the main road, got lost, hurt , found some kind of trouble or ate something poisonous! Luckily ,none of those things happened but after that experience, I never used a retractable leash again.
The more I thought about retractable dog leashes, the more I kept finding reasons why they were not the right leash for me. I enjoy having more control over my dog when we walk on a standard dog leash. In my opinion, it creates more of a bond to walk side by side, the dog respects you. He looks to you so you know hes paying attention to you, and he listens for praise or command. A standard leash is sturdier and has less of a chance of somehow malfunctioning !
