Paws and claws are as important for your dog as your wheels are for your car which is why they need to stay in top shape! Walking helps a dog’s nails wear down naturally, but in most cases, the humans need to help out a bit every few weeks with a nail clipper and/or file.
I was contacted by GoPets to review some dog products and I chose to try out the retractable leash and the nail clipper. GoPets has some great items for both dogs and cats! You may recall cat bro Bert’s review of cat products two weeks ago. There is a giveaway at the end of this post where one lucky entrant will win the same retractable leash and nail clipper I am howling about today! Did you know When you buy GoPets products, they donate 10% of all their profits to animal charities, no-kill shelters, and animal rescues? A great reason to purchase their great products!
Since I love to walk, I’ll start out by telling you about the retractable leash. Now before I start getting a bunch of nasty comments let me say a few things. Retractable leashes are always controversial, but the way we see it is if you use your thinking cap, and common sense, in the right situations, they work really well. If you use them in crowded areas, with an out of control dog, or other places where they don’t belong, they are a very bad idea.
Bailie and I walk with retractable leashes a lot. We rarely run into others when we are out, and if we do, Mom shortens the leash way before we pass the other people, and we are often in areas where there is a ton of space to run around with no issues. Since we can’t be off leash, it is a perfect fit for us.
The GoPets Retractable Leash is thirteen feet long, so not a length that is out of hand crazy. It will work up to 45 pounds, and has an easy to use push to lock design. Mom says the handle feels really nice in her hand.
For me, the retractable leash allows space to do some sniffing, sometimes tree a squirrel, a bit more freedom than I would have on a normal leash. We recommend you use a retractable leash after your dog has walking on a normal leash mastered. I said paws and claws need to stay in shape, this retractable leash will help with the paws portion.
For the claws, I have a nifty GoPets nail clipper which happens to also have a nail file hidden in the handle!
Trimming claws is not the easiest as Bailie and I have black nails so the quick is tough to see. When Mom is unsure, she trims just tiny amounts off at a time, and then can finish with the file. The non slip handle is really nice on this clipper too.
I’m pretty good about letting her trim my nails. This clipper is made with high quality 3.5mm thick stainless steel that will stay sharp for years of worry free use. It is designed and stress tested for thousands of smooth, quick, and sharp cuts. With all the claws at our house, we need a durable clipper like this one.
If you would like to enter to win the retractable leash and nail clipper from GoPets to help get your paws and claws in shape, simply fill out the giveaway widget below. Good luck!
My GBGV Life received the GoPets products in this post to review. My GBGV Life receives no additional benefits for barking about GoPets products or the company. The opinions in this review are the honest opinion of My GBGV Life. GoPets is not responsible for the contents of this post.
No purchase necessary. Giveaway is open to 18 and over US residents only. Giveaway will run from Monday, November 16, 2015 through Sunday, November 22, 2015 at 11:59pm CT. One (1) winner will be randomly selected by Rafflecopter and notified via email. The winner will have 24 hours to claim their prize; failure to do so will result in forfeiture of the prize. Participants must read and agree to Rafflecopterβs and My GBGV Life Privacy Policy before entering and participating in this promotion. Facebook and Twitter do not sponsor, administer or endorse this promotion. Prize is provided by GoPets and My GBGV Life is not responsible for prize fulfillment.
I agree, if both ends of the leash are in pawfect harmony, a retractable leash can be a win :o) for me we better don’t use it… there are some problems between me and the other end of my leash :o)
You have to know your dog to decide and it is good you know it isn’t for you.
I agree. The way you use the retractable leash is perfectly fine. We have a problem because it can be hard to find them for heavier dogs. They do not really make them. Best of luck to all who enter the giveaway.
Katie used one a lot at her 80 lbs, but they are more expensive.
We use retractables frequently too – especially for Jack – his recall was never stellar, but now with his hearing loss…well you can see the problem. The retractable gives him some freedom.
The freedom with the poor recall is our big reason for using them too. Katie has we guess about an 80% hearing loss and walks without leash now, but she can’t run, so it is no longer an issue.
Thanks for visiting my blog yesterday, Emma! I can’t believe I’ve never been to your blog before. Well, better late than never.
You have great info on retractable leashes and nail trimming here. I use a nail trimmer much like the one you show here for my pup Astrid, although as my little ball of energy she can be a bit fidgety during the task, so she often has to distracted with peanut butter.
There are so many blogs out there, I sometimes stumble on one that surprises me too. Thanks so much for stopping by. Bailie and Katie both are real good about nail trimming. I tend to squirm but not too much.
Every tool certainly has its place and time. Now, if only someone sold “common sense” the world would be a better place!
Exactly! Can you imagine if common sense was actually used all the time. The world would be so amazing and different.
I have the hardest time clipping Sydney’s nails that I’m considering taking her in to Nail Night at our local pet store to see if the groomer has better luck.
The photo of me is for the blog, normally, we are “attacked” when we are in the middle of a nap in our beds. If we are tired out and sleepy, we don’t mind much. Have you tried that?
I feel the same about retractable leashes. I think if you’re smart about them, they can be a great tool!!! Clipping the nails… oh boy! I can clip two out of my 3 huskies nails. My one girl, Mika, she has pure black nails, which makes it hard for me to tell where her quick is, and I am so scared to cut into it, so I take her to a groomer.
α¦ husky hugz α¦ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
If people use common sense there are no issues. Nails are not always easy and the dark ones are scary. Mine get done a bit here and there and then ground at the groomer. A good sharp clipper like this one really helps too.
Clipping is darn important and us kitties never seem to mind, me especially, I love it!
My kitties get their claws done every two weeks. They don’t like it, but Mom does it.
Cool giveaway. I could use those things
Edward (& Lily)
Maybe you will win? Good luck!
now that is perfect timing – our retractable leash has decided it will sometime retract and most the time won’t so Mom has been on the hunt for a new one. Denny likes having his nail clipped where as Reilly prefers the demmel grinding them down.
Well, perfect! Hope you enter and win!
We usually walk Pierre on a retractable leash. It is easy to reel him back in if necessary! BOL! I use it on both boys when they go in the backyard to do their business at night. They bark and refuse to come in if I don’t. They are convinced that we have monsters on the other side of the fence that come out in the dark. They both get their nails done at the groomer or vet because I’m a chicken. βΊ
I love to sit out in the yard in the dark, howl, and refuse to come in. Glad to hear you are the same way, Bentley! Mom has to chase me down!
Great review, Emma! I think rectractable leashes are appropriate in certain situations! We use ours on the beach!
Swimming is one big use for us since we like to swim but can’t be off leash.
I have to admit to being a bit disappointed in you giving away a retractable leash. And I agree that they can be appropriate. The problem is that the people that use them don’t know that. Hopefully if we did more of these types of things they can become better educated. Love Dolly
I know a lot of folks are not for their use, but we enjoy using them since we can’t be off leash. Hopefully someone responsible with win this one, and it is only 13 ft, so not all that long either.
We love their products! We also love what you said about retractable leashes. It is not the leashes that can be a problem…it’s the humans on the other end! We used to use them a lot, I stopped mainly because I was having problems with my thumbs and operating the lock caused me issues. Also, it looks like this one has the wider tape and not the narrow string which makes a big difference in security as well.
This one is light weight and has the tape not the string type thing. We only use ones with the tape these days. Sometimes Mom gets a sore thumb from using them, but most of the time they work great for our situation.
Mama and Arty always use the retractable leash on the beach. They pretty much always have it to themselves. This way Arty can frolic around in the sand and Mama can have piece of mind that if a big dog comes out of nowhere she can reign him in quickly!
Smileys!
Dory, Jakey, Arty & Bilbo
Exactly! If you use common sense, they are a great tool for walking when dogs can’t be off leash.
I agree that retractable leashes can be helpful in specific situations as long as the person using them is doing so responsibly. Unfortunately, I’ve walked into very many dog handlers using retractables on completely out-of-control, pulling/lunging dogs. Always makes me cringe.
I do have a heavy-duty retractable leash that I’ve used for Missy & Buzz’s recall training – our basic obedience class instructor suggested it, and I’m glad I followed her advice π It wasn’t cheap, but it’s durable. I’ve definitely walked a lot of my senior dog walking clients on retractable leashes, and have never had any issues with them!
I’m actually in need of new nail clippers, so I’m entering your cool giveaway π
There are a lot of people using retractable leashes that don’t understand when and how they should be used. But if people have common sense, they are a great way to walk. The nail clippers are great too, nice and easy to use. Good luck.
I know retractable leashes is like a bad word with a lot of folks, but I don’t have a problem with them if people use them properly. It’s the folks who don’t pay attention to their dog that give them a bad name. We used to use one with our beagle and it was great because she liked to sniff so much, but I could keep walking a decent pace while she had a little sniff, then caught up. Since Rita is pretty good (mostly) about walking next to me, I don’t really need one for her.
We can’t be off leash on walks, so this is perfect for us. We are all over the place, but we are also not running into any other people most of the time so it is not a problem and if someone comes along, we return to Mom and stay close on a short amount of leash. It is simple common sense.
We love our Retractable leashes, several different weights. Smaller ones for the puppies, unlike Aspen the girls grew up slower. All the dogs walk on a lose leash so retractable is no problem. They are also great to keep them from going into someone’s yard to do a job. That is a definite no, they are also not allowed up in someone’s yard so I can immediately lock it by me to pass. Toe nails gets done by groomer, cutting hair in the pads, anything for feet. Aspen still hates anyone to clip it takes a couple people to hold him :-~
That is a lot of dog to hold for doing nails. I would go to the groomer for that too! We love the retractable leashes for most of our day to day walking.
Great reviews! I love the nail clipper, will post up later. This week is my brush post.
Will look for it. We use a stripping brush and a finishing brush for our furs.