My wife decided to get another dog earlier this January. We adopted Molly, a mix breed Lab/Boxer. When our previous dog, Sierra, died, Shawnne threw away some of her accessories, so we needed to purchase new ones. As part of the drill we purchased a number of items: a dog dish, a leash and a longer wire to hold her outside, dog food and treats. I don’t think the first leash lasted a half our. Molly is a very strong dog and her first pull broke the retractable leash (rated for a 75 lb dog, our was about 60 lbs). We shortly afterward purchased another leash. This one was a step up, rated for 100 lbs. It lasted a few weeks but still broke. I took it apart and found out the ratchet inside was plastic. Not fixable. Even the wires and chains we purchased have been crappy. Our current lead has a clasp that keeps getting stuck. It isn’t visibly rusted or corroded it just gets stuck.
All of this stuff is made in China. If you want a hint about China and quality one should know that middle-class Chinese try to buy Western made baby formula, Chinese stuff is possible tainted with dangerous adulterants.
It is a shame. The original retractable leash we purchased in Sierra was something we just bought, we didn’t think about it. It lasted over 12 years and was only thrown out because we didn’t have a need for it and didn’t think we would get another dog so quickly. I don’t think Shawnne and I even thought about quality when we bought the stuff for Sierra. Now I have been researching online and see the better quality leashes seem to be made in Germany. Not everything made in China is crap. I have a 4 year of Olympus camera that has taken thousands of photos without any glitches. The body is made in China. I will note that the lens is made in Japan. But that kind of thing is the exception. It is a premium branded product that has a real guarantee.
My point is that all this search for cheap prices has had a price. The commodity end of the dog accessories market has really changed. Who thinks of brand names for dog accessories? We probably should have just bought the high end leash and we would have been satisfied on day one. It is just sad that so much mental effort has to be spent on things like dog stuff. I know that our dog Molly is a particularly challenging dog but hardly any more than other shelter dogs, and she isn’t doing anything to make the clasp on her outdoor chain stick.
Ok, rant over for today.
After writing this I found a post written last year that says what I am saying in a far better way, but I will stick with my version. I promise that I didn’t steal anything. http://barnsdalltimes.com/http:/barnsdalltimes.com/editorials/chinese-junk
I agree totally with Jerry. We’ve had this discussion at length the past few weeks about how Walmart is putting the small town businesses/small businesses in general OUT of business. We are boycotting Walmart from now on and shopping locally. Unfortunately, some of the things even sold locally are Chinese-made and fall apart quickly, such as the retractable leashes Jerry mentioned. It’s sad. We don’t have a lot of extra money to keep buying a new leash every other week.
Point is, things are made cheaply with poor materials, and in a careless fashion. We never had to think about the quality of such things in the “old” days, which really isn’t that long ago! Trying to get back to a simple way of life to where we do business with small businesses and buy quality, US-made products!