Hollie Mcphillips | Dog Trainer 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

The famous Flexi lead🙃
Susan is walking along the main road… susan’s dog is somewhere in the next postcode. The lead is at full extension, communication is nonexistent, and they’re essentially two strangers who happen to be attached by a piece of string…
then another dog appears, and suddenly susan’s frantically trying to reel in 20 metres of dog ✌🏻

And this is where the flexi gets a bad reputation…

A flexi is actually one of my favourite training tools, and I use it a lot in my own training and with clients. But like any tool, it needs to be used with intention, not simply clipped on and left to do its thing.
I use it to build freedom with structure, give dogs room to explore while maintaining communication, and work on recall without immediately removing that physical connection. It can be brilliant for teaching dogs that having more freedom doesn’t mean switching off from their handler.
But that doesn’t happen just because you’ve bought a flexi lead.
You still need to understand lead handling, read your dog’s body language, recognise what’s happening around you and know when to give more line and when to take it in. Your dog needs to understand how to respond to you too.
A flexi isn’t something you attach to your dog and hope for the best. It’s a tool you actively work with.
Don’t be a Susan.