Any advice on if to go the collar/lead route or harness route also appreciated. I've been looking at the martingale type collars, as have been advised that these are good for bassets - any opinions?
it is a matter of personal prefference, how the dolg walks on lead, and the train and training methods used to teach loose leash walking.
Personally I not a big fan of either any slip type collar whether limited like a prong or martingale or a unlimited like a choke chain. Any dog that pulls on a lead while walking and is attached by a collar even a flat buckle one is very likely to do cervical vertibrea damage. So a harness is safer in that regard. However if you have a dog which tends to pull a traditional harbess with a strap across the sturnum actual causes then to pull hardere against the restraint. Hence for puller I prefer a Sporn no pull halter or similar harness with straps the go under the arm pits. IMHO Basset are more sensitivce in this area than the neck which some seem to be immune for pain unless the training collar is worn very high up near the ears and is impossible to keep in that position given the shape of the typical basset neck. However the Sporn harness is not the be all end all for all dogs. For sensitive dogs the typical basset reaction to stress. and pain under the arm pits cause when the dog pull certain constitutes stress. is stop completely and refuse to move. ie flat basxet. there have been a few people that have experience a basset that simply refuse to move when wearing one So you need to keep an open mind about any training gear choose what you thing will work best for your training methodology and dog but be willing to change it up if it does not work to expectations.
Head halters like a gental leader or halti can be effective with pullers but some dogs react poorly to them and need more prolonged conditioning before they can be worn than other device., they are also dangerious if used on a long lead There is a new front buckle harness/halter first produced Sensi-ble harness. however while the do reduce pulling vs a traditional harness they are not nearly as secure. The is a recommendation for puller to attache the harness to a collar. When that is done you end up with the same potential for injury as with a collar alone.
With a dog that is trained to walk on a loose leash I general use an english training lead which is choke collar and lead all in one. Simply slip it over the dogs head and it on. This eliminates the need for putting on a collar or harness. Or wearing one in the house where accident do occur with dogs getting strangeled or hung up on them. So I prefer that dog be without any collars or harnesses in the house
I have one dogs that reaction to stress when on lead is not simply to stop and not move it is to back up. as such she has proven to be able to escape for martingale, flat buckle collar, and traditional harness. while she can not escape by backing up from a choke chain or lead she can drop her head and back out IMHO when i come to security a properly fitted sporn type harness it har to beat but at the same time there is no restraint that can not be defeated.
