Petmate Evolution retractable leash demise

Update to

I bought this in March of this year. It did not hold up real well. It has a lot of neat features and when it was working, it was OK.

But the nylon tape it uses instead of a rope started to fray in many places. The last straw was when it just stopped retracting at all.

One of the sales people at PetSmart said these kind of leashes are not suited for dogs that pull, and Wilma does pull. The packaging does not say anything about this, nor does the instructions.

I brought it back to PetSmart. Did not have the receipt anymore but they still replaced it. I got a different brand with a cord this time, figuring two of these failing within 7.5 months was enough. Our PetSmart does not sell this particular model anymore, although there is a similar one from the same company, but with a different name.

I have not had good luck with any of these type of leashes. I have been through about 6 now over the years. They just don't seem to hold up.

I have to say despite the failures, they are pretty handy for walking in the woods, as Wilma can go explore a creek or a river, or get a drink there, without me having to jump in. So maybe I will just use it while hiking so she can get to the creek or river, and stick to a regular leash other times.

The tape does tend to pick up moisture and dirt readily, and it may be that the grit and dirt it picked up contributed to the fraying, and maybe even the failure of the retracting mechanism. On many occasions the tape has gotten wet and I had to hang it out to dry. I can't blame the leash for that. When it is damp out it will get wet.

One mildly annoying thing about it was that when Wilma would give a good tug on it with the leash clamped part way along the 16 foot tape, it would not easily release with one hand. I often had to use both hands. That situation seemed to get worse the more it was used.

It might be that if I had opened it up and cleaned it out it may have lasted longer and/or worked better, but I was afraid if I did so that it would not go back together.

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