Basset strength..

6599 Views 25 Replies 21 Participants Last post by Mikey T, Nov 20, 2007

niniel1970

Discussion Starter · May 10, 2006

Ok, I have a seemingly off the wall question, which stems from not being able to find any type of collar to walk Peanut...not one that does any good mind you...

Everyone I know (who does not or has never owned a basset) says, "Why don't you use a harness! Wouldn't it be easer?". I've tried to explain that putting a harness on Peanut would be like walking with a sled dog..

SO....has any one calculated or knows how to calculate...how much can a Basset Hound pull? Being low slung and muscular...Peanut can pull a heck of a lot, but how can you figure how much, with out actuall trying it (would not want her to get hurt)?

Felicia and Peanut and Tarquin (and Pippin in Spirit, and Miles the cockatiel who never came home

)

1 - 20 of 26 Posts

Lisar4

· #2 · May 10, 2006

After all Shyla and I have been through at the vets lately, I was told to buy a harness. The reason being, is that her esophagous is flattened and gets damaged when she is pulling on the leash when she wears a collar around her neck. It has always bothered me that she pulls so hard on her leash that she ends up choking and gagging and now I know why.

She absolutely LOVES her harness and steps into it on her own. Of course, it takes me a few times before I get it right!

So, I know I didn't really answer your question but thought I I'd put in two cents in regarding the harness! :lol:

niniel1970

Discussion Starter · #3 · May 10, 2006

well, I guess I need to see about getting one of those Sporn harnesses, the one that goes under their front legs. I have a gentle leader, but that is also a knock down drag out, she absolutely hates it....becomes grumpy flat basset in a heart beat!
:lol:

Lina

· #4 · May 10, 2006

Yeah, when it comes to Basset, there are lots of misconceptions among racoon (or human). People just don't know how strong they are! They might be short, but they are strong.

If you have a sled/garden wagon, you can strap it to your basset, and then you can put bricks or bags of cement one at a time then you can count how many bags he can pull.

jmm

· #5 · May 10, 2006

my hound is very strong.....but the harness doesnt work real well for her...because she lags behind me in our walks...sniffing, sniffing....also she does well with a regular collar most of the time...

kittiesareus

· #6 · May 11, 2006

I use a choker with my stella, I haven't had to use one with duncan but he is little yet. i used to be sooo against chokers, but if they are used correctly then they help everybody. I use the choker very high on the head just at the base of the skull so that they keep their head up and it totally controls the pulling and before you know it they are walking like civalized doggies.

Rubydoo

· #7 · May 11, 2006

Ruby is VERY strong. She's been known to pull so hard that her servant/mommy (me) has had to wear splints on my wrist from tendonitis.

And she LOVES her harness as do we.

Rocket

· #8 · May 11, 2006

Well when Scooter wants to stop and smell the roses she can stop me and Rocky in our tracks. I would say that together we weight about 170lbs - so I think that's pretty strong!

copsmom

· #9 · May 11, 2006

Copper actually prefers the harness. I don't walk Patty and Dolly very far because they are still so young but they seem to do better with the harness also. I am also scared about hurting their necks.

Lynne & Huck

· #10 · May 12, 2006

When we are on the boat, Huck wears a harness and this is on top of his PFD (personal floatation device) although the PFD covers the harness. The one thing you have to remember with a harness is that it can slip on them fairly easily. Huck fell overboard once (we were at the dock and he didn't have his PFD on - it really is unrealistic to have him wear it 24/7) and pulling him out with his harness was tricky as it came right up over his shoulders and head. We now know to grab it, twist abit, and THEN pull up. That keeps it from coming up over his head. When walking him though, I like the harness cuz' I'm not pulling on his neck and/or choking him and I have more leverage. I can actually move his whole body to jump start him moving in the direction I want to go.

Dean

· #11 · May 12, 2006

Bassets are incredibly strong. I took 55lb Stashu to a sled race and weight pull put on by a local Husky club. A friend loaned us a harness and we won second in the novice class, beating a 98lb Malamute.
Y. Lee Coyote has on at least 6 occasions torn holes in chainlink fence gates and at 74 lbs used to jump into my pickup truck bed.

Louise

· #12 · May 15, 2006

Love the comment about the gentle leader

Lea HATES it and she puts on quite a show I can tell you. She'll jump on the futon, hides her nose and I'll go awwww come on.... more nose hiding then the battle as I get closer but as soon as it's on she hops off the futon and off we go. hehehe

Lou

barblkr

· #13 · May 15, 2006

All I know about basset strength is what I've seen.

Daisy has towed loveseats several inches across the living room floor, dragging them by the skirt. Of course, most loveseats are light as far as furniture is concerned, but I don't know what they weigh exactly.

Daisy has also pulled my 45 lb. son across the floor--he had ahold of one of her toys, she wanted it, he wouldn't let go, so she just started pulling and moving backward. I thought he'd let go fairly quickly because she does pull hard, but he didn't, and she was tugged my son across the floor and moved him several inches. :roll:

I know it's awful, but it absolutely astounds me that she can move such big things, for as small as she is.

G

· #14 · May 15, 2006

Jasmine started out on a harness, but soon grew to hate it (I think she associated it with her car harness, which she really hates). I finally gave up and bought a martingdale collar for her. I still prefer the harness, as she does pull quite a bit, but she just won't have it. :?

corvuss

· #15 · May 17, 2006

I never tried a harness on either of mine, the martingale collar works just fine for them. They don't pull nearly as much as with a regular collar and hardly ever make choking/gagging noises (except sometimes sniffing 'hot on a bunny track' they get too excited).

niniel1970

Discussion Starter · #16 · May 17, 2006

Well, I was at Wally-world today, and thought I'd try an anti-pull harness....I have to say I am impressed. It was a battle getting it on her, she pulled a flat basset on me, but once we got walking, if she pulled, i pulled back and she actually responded!! Only problem is of course her nose! She sure loves to sniff! It's quite funny watching the end of her nose literally turn sideways chasing smells!

Tarquin, on the other hand, has inherited Pippin (my sweet late doberman)'s pinch collar. I long ago got the soft covers for the prongs, and it works WONDERFUL for him! He is learning so quickly now, quite like Pippin did!

Intersting views about their strength...I've always wondered, like my friend told me the other day, she knows she can pull at least ### ( didn't think that was very funny, though she couldn't stop laughing!)

I've thought about roller blading with them, but I am a pretty serious klutz, so don't think so.... :lol:

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jennyed

· #17 · May 20, 2006

when starting training with bassets for the first time on a leash is it better to use harness, instead of a regular collar and leash?

tstonich

· #18 · Nov 19, 2007

I've been walking my 5 1/2 mo old Jesse now for about 2 months with a normal nylon buckle collar. She's doing really well but does get gagged when she stops suddenly or exhibits the persistent basset behavior. I tried a harness but she pulls when she wants to go sniff or is interested in something. I've read about the martingale collar and am keen on trying it out as a middle ground between the chokers and the harnesses.

FredMom

· #19 · Nov 19, 2007

I had to get a chain collar for Fred. :lol: I just make sure that I don't pull real hard. He HATED the harness. All it did was make him pull me even harder. When he tries to pull me now, I just do a swift, quick jerk on the lead and he automatically knows to stop pulling me. Most of the time, when he starts pulling, I'll say: "where are you going, Fred?". He'll stop, look up at me with those sad, cute eyes and then start back walking again, without pulling his servant. :lol: :lol:

Lightning&Stomps

· #20 · Nov 19, 2007

When Lightning was only a puppy and probably didn't weigh 40 pounds yet, I had a medium-sized dog retractable leash for him. He was a terrible puller, so one day I decided to try to nip that in the bud, and when he took off running, I let the leash play all the way out, and I planted myself in place so that he would hit the end of the leash like a brick wall. It seemed like a good idea at the time. However, when he hit the end of the leash, the leash snapped like a piece of thread, and I fell backward on my behind (in front of heavy rush-hour traffic). Lightning was so shocked he stood stock still until I could hobble over to grab him. So even skinny bassets are capable of snapping a nylon leash made for medium-sized dogs and sending their walker flying backward. (I still use a retractable leash; both he and I have learned a lot since he was a puppy.)

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