Surgeons warned dog owners recently about the risks of serious hand injuries from dog leads.
There were around 300 serious hand injuries from dog leads in the last year alone in the UK, and one surgeon commented that she’d seen an increasing number of dog lead injuries over the past few years.
One of those was to Jillian, 65, who has two retrievers.
She’d just finished walking her dogs when one became distracted by another dog and ran off towards them.
The lead ended up wrapped tightly around Jillian’s middle fingers on her right hand, causing severe damage, including the “degloving” of her finger – when the skin and some of the soft tissue are ripped off. She suffered other severe cuts and dislocated her index finger after the incident.
She’d been using a retractable lead which acted “like a filleting knife”, causing the dreadful injuries.
Jillian needed surgery to remove the top part of her middle finger and a skin graft. She’s been left with a shorter middle finger as a result.
At Down Dog we don’t recommend using retractable leads as they’re well known for causing serious injuries and not only to owners hands – nasty cuts to the legs and arms are also common.
But even a normal, flat lead can cause injury if not used and held correctly.
We teach you how to hold the lead properly and minimise the risk of injury at our Perfect Pet courses. It’s a key part of teaching your dog to walk nicely by your side, an essential bit of training every dog owner wants.
Here’s what Diane said:
“I thought I’d write to let you know how we are getting on.
I’ve continued to train Rex in the house and in the park. He is making amazing progress, walks now are fun and enjoyable. Rex still ignores the command come occasionally but comes every time I use the ‘here’ command and wave my hand. I’ve also trained him to fetch, bring and drop a ball on our walks, which is also fun but giving me more control. He has calmed down when meeting other dogs but occasionally gets too excited but we are working on this and he is improving rapidly. In the house he is a different dog so much calmer and controllable thanks to your techniques. He was really possessive with his toys and would dart round like a maniac. Using your ‘leave it’ command I have managed to get him to give me his toy and ignore his toy until I say he can go get it. This is a major breakthrough for me as because of this he isn’t darting around the house uncontrollably. When we have guests into the house I put a house lead on as this calms him, then we great each guest calmly as they come in. He is improving and I think soon we won’t need the house lead.
Anyway I just wanted to thank you and let you know what a difference you have made to our lives.”
Keep training!
Carol