Here at Dogster HQ, many of us are not big fans of retractable leashes, mainly because of the long list of injuries they’ve been known to inflict on either dog or owner, depending on the worst case scenario.
But, that said, since we’re based in a busy cityscape and know what it’s like to lead a dog down a scary intersection, we do like the idea of being able to adjust a leash on a walk to keep our pups closer. When was someone going to create one without the dangerous retractability aspect?
When a family member posted the video below on my Facebook wall, I instantly knew this was the leash I was holding out for.
Designers Brandon Hatcher and Kerensa Durr created the Konalu City Lead for their dogs Kona and Lucy (whose names are cutely combined to create the product name). Their idea was to come up with a leash with quality hardware that allows you to adjust the length of your leash from five feet to two by simply sliding a buckle toward your dog.
That concept alone was enough to put my money where my mouth is and preorder one, but Hatcher and Durr took it a step further and added a leash handle that doubles as a tether for your dog. (NOTE: At Dogster, we only believe in tethering a dog when you’re right next to her, say, on a park bench or at an outdoor cafe. The Konalu creators are right there with us on that one.)
They also added the ability to turn the leash into a belt so you’re hands-free at an offleash dog park:
“We love to go everywhere with our dogs, and walking the streets of New York is no exception. It was on these walks that the flaws of standard leashes really stood out,” Hatcher and Durr share on the Indiegogo campaign for the Konalu City Lead.
“As we observed other people, we saw we were not the only ones with these issues. We noticed leashes wrapped around hands, not retracting, twisted around dogs, and tied in knots around makeshift tether poles. All of these are unsafe solutions to common problems. We set out to make a leash that would address these issues once and for all.”
If you like the Konalu as much as we do, you can preorder it here (they need $5,000 in funding before the leash can happen). If the leash doesn’t meet its funding goal, your money is refunded. Go, go, go!
