Dial A-Distance Retractable Dog Leash, Adjustable 0 to 15 Feet, Auto Brake and One Button Lock,Grey

Non-retractable leashes are a pain. The minute the lease is not taught, the slack inevitably results in the leash going under your dog’s legs. You then have to pause the walk and untangle your furry companion.Retractable leashes solve this problem by… well, being retractable. Because they automatically reel in the slack, the lease adjusts it’s length to whatever distance the dog is, so there’s no slack to droop down to where the dog can get it underneath them.Since most retractable leashes also have a manual, push-button brake that can fix the leash at the current length, and most of these units also have allow you to lock the brake, they also allow you to adjust the length of your leash moment-by-moment to suite your current walking conditions or needs. So, when you are on the shoulder of a busy road, you can lock it in really short to keep your furry friend close by; but, when you get to the park, you can unlock it or lengthen it, to allow them to run free a greater distance.The problem with retractable leashes is, of course, that if you use the locking brake to fix the length of the leash, you have just lost all the benefits of the leash’s retracting ability. You’re essentially turning it into a fixed length leash! And you’re back to the problems with slack getting underneath your dog. Also, if you’re just holding the brake by using the button, it’s all to easy to have your thumb slip off, especially if your buddy unexpectedly bolts. Even the lock on some models can seem like you might not want to rely on it in a safety situation. This may cause you to pull out leashes of different macimum lengths to meet your plans.But… what if you could have a retractable leash, that allowed you to dynamically change the maximum length at any given time, while still being retractable? This lets you retain the convenience of the retractability, while changing the maximum distance.That’s exactly what this is and does. You still get the manual push-button break, and the brake does have a locking ability. But you also can turn the dial to set the maxium length of the leash when it’s not locked. So, when you’re walking on the side of the road, dial it to 2 or 3 feet to keep your pet close by. Then, when the situation allows for it, dial it up to 8 or 9 feel to let them roam more freely, but maybe still keep them on the path and our of the brush. Once you are in an open area where anything goes, you can turn it up to a full 15 feet, which is a pretty good distance. All without losing the retraction and without needing to fumble with annoying slack on the line. And all, too, while still being able to brake at a moment’s notice and lock the brake if the situation calls for it (a great way to pause things in place while you dial the distance down, for example).I can’t speak to durability or quality, because it’s too soon. But, what I can say is that for me this was one of those things that once you have it you feel like you’ve just solved a problem you thought there was no solution to.

This is the only option on the market for an adjustable length retractable leash. The mechanism stops the leash at the desired length perfectly every time while still allowing it to retract. This allows me to set the length to about 4 feet when walking my dog near a busy road for safety, but to extend it to full length when we reach a play field.What makes this unique is that you can set a maximum length while still allowing it to retract on its spring. Set it to 6 feet and it will extend and retract up to 6 feet without any slack in the line. Turn the dial and your dog now has a full 16 feet. It solves the problem of leads getting tangled in your dog's legs and provides peace of mind when walking near traffic.Since this is the only one in the market, I'm being more generous than I normally would with the rating. The latch is quite small and would not hold up all to a large dog nor would it operate easily for anyone with arthritis in their hands. It also lacks reflective thread in the lead which better leads and lashes have for safety. The line is also quite narrow. I would not trust this on a dog over 50 pounds. It just doesn't have the hardware robustness of heavier duty leashes.The dial is a bit weird. It shows not the maximum length setting, but how much length is left before it locks. So to adjust it when already extended you end up setting additional length and not total length. You can also turn the dial past the maximum length. Not a problem, just something to be aware of.

The media could not be loaded. The video sort of says it all about the clasp. Happened on day one or two of using it when the little guy was just a pup - four or five months old. I immediately rigged up an alternate clasp system with a third party clasp and a carabiner and short bungee between the two. Since then, have had zero issues with the assembly over a hundreds of miles of walks. (This dog loves to walk - typical walk with him is 2-3 miles, which he will do 2-3 times a day if I am up for it.) I live in downtown Minneapolis, which has a handful of parks in its environs. I really appreciate (as I think he does) being able to dial in a short length (3') when walking him on the sidewalks with busy traffic, but then dial him out to 10'-15' when we hit a park. I was quite panicked when the clasp spontaneously failed as seen in the video, but if the dial-a-length mechanism ever degrades as other reviewers have described (but I have not experienced), I would order another one immediately.Update August 2021: Still have it, still works. It got a little wonky a few months back, with the distance control not having a good positive lock when dialing it around. I disassembled it, cleared out some accumulated dust and debris and reassembled. Not quite good as new, but practically so. The exterior shows some wear. May buy another one just have as a backup if this one ever does give up the ghost.

Have had the leash for a couple weeks now and it's exactly what we wanted. Short leash for those walks in busy areas where she needs to stay close, longer when she can explore, all at the twist of a dial (and not having to use the brake manually all the time). Unfortunately, it's already started sticking sometime as if the brake has been applied. A quick smack on the back of it and it frees up and retracts again. Annoying when you're dealing with a very active dog that you're trying to keep in check. Would give it 5 stars if it didn't lock up.

Really nice idea. It seemed sturdy and well constructed, but after 45 days (15 days after Amazon would let me return it) it started to randomly fail to retract. It would suddenly stop retracting, and the dial would block. Only to retract (slowly) after a bit. A big disappointment.