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Zack Keithy, our author, is a certified veterinarian technician (UC Blue Ash) for over 6 years (contact him here). The articles written here are based on his expertise and experience, combined with a review by our expert vet reviewers including Dr M. Tarantino. Learn more about us here.
A quiet evening walk turned into an all-out sprint after a small dog’s leash gave out mid-stride, in a video that’s since raced across social media for its sheer, escalating chaos.
The clip, shared by TikTok user Alex Hernandez, shows a small black and white dog making a break for it the moment his leash handle slipped loose. Hernandez took off after him, and at one point managed to step down on the trailing leash handle to stop him, only for the handle itself to snap under the pressure, sending the dog sprinting off yet again with even more freedom than before. What followed was an extended chase down the sidewalk before Hernandez finally managed to catch the self-declared escape artist and put the whole ordeal to an end.
The video quickly resonated with viewers, many of whom saw their own dogs in the chaos. One commenter summed up the mood of the clip perfectly, joking, “You walking them or they walking you?”
Behind the story: Moments like this one are common enough that trainers have a name for the underlying instinct: once a dog associates a leash coming off with sudden freedom, even an accidental separation, like a broken clip or snapped handle, can trigger the same excited “zoomies” response as an intentional off-leash release. It’s part of why trainers generally recommend inspecting leash hardware and stitching periodically, especially on retractable or thinner leashes, since a sudden snap under tension is a common failure point. For dogs prone to bolting, many trainers also suggest a secondary safety line, like a backup clip attached to a harness rather than a collar, so a single point of failure doesn’t turn a routine walk into a full-blown chase.
