[Kimberly]

As most know I have three dogs. Penny gets walked by herself and Noonie and Buddy typically are walked together on one leash with a coupler. Buddy is pretty strong, but when walked together the two kind of cancel each other out and do fairly well. I still like to be able to walk them by themselves sometimes though. A few days ago I tried taking Buddy and it was bad. He was pulling so hard he was crushing the bones in my hand and I had to cut our walk short. I ended up going to the pet store and picking up a halti. I was a little apprehensive, but the clerk said if it didn't work I could bring it back. We tried it out last night for the first time and it was great. He only stopped a few times to paw it, but once we got going he was fine. I must add that a few days prior to our walk I put it on him so he'd be used to it. If anyone has similar problems, this product is worth a try.

 

[hsk0526]

What, exactly, is a halti? My daughter's basset about pulls my arms off when I walk him!

 

[Dozer-Digger]

Dozer (aka bulldozer) is my puller. He's not bad most the time, but if he sees something like a cat, he will drop low to the ground and claws his way forward. He would pull so hard that he would choke himself with a regular collar, so I got him a standard harness. Then he broke a 100 lb rated leash. Your idea might work for him.
Digger is also a puller, but he's not near as bad as Dozer. Dudley doesn't pull hard at all, but he's not near as heavy as the other two, yet.

 

[Kimberly]

The Halti looks a bit like a muzzle and is designed to lead the dog by the nose. Below is a link that shows what it looks like. You should be able to pick this up at any pet store or order on line.

http://store.shelbymarlo.com/hahebl.html

 

[Bibis_Mom]

I am super interested in what everyone uses on their Basset for walking and pulling.

We have a regular harness on Bibi now and it's just not very effective.

I went to a local pet store and asked the gal to help us fit something else on here. She felt that a pinch/prong collar would be too harsh, since our Bibi is kinda thin-haired and sensitive-skinned. But then we tried the kind of harness that snaps in the front, and it just seemed like it was rubbing against her armpits since she is kind of wide in the body.

Are haltis the only other option?

 

[Mikey T]

I am super interested in what everyone uses on their Basset for walking and pulling.

We have a regular harness on Bibi now and it's just not very effective.

I went to a local pet store and asked the gal to help us fit something else on here. She felt that a pinch/prong collar would be too harsh, since our Bibi is kinda thin-haired and sensitive-skinned. But then we tried the kind of harness that snaps in the front, and it just seemed like it was rubbing against her armpits since she is kind of wide in the body.

Are haltis the only other option?[/b]

The more popular brand of head halter is called a "gentle leader." I have and do use a head halter but only in specific instance where control of the head is inporant. I do not find this in necessary to stop a dog from pulling and their can be some major drawbacks to their use as outlined in this articlebelow, but one also keep in mind there is no perfect training tool
THE PROBLEM WITH HEAD HALTERS

As for the harness that snaps in the from I am assuming you mean a SENSE-ible™ Dog Harness or a clone

They a reputed to work quite well but I have never used one myself

I prefer a ssporn training halter or a clone which IMHO if the one of the only safe traning devices to use with a puppy to pull the other being the Sensi-ble harness.

I never use the sherpa pads.

It is also important to keep in mind that as with any piece of equipment they are training devices, that is the goal is to train the dog not to pull regadless how he is connected to the leash. Dogs can and will still pull on any of this equipment if one does not work at training the dog not to.

SELECTING TRAINING EQUIPMENT

There is also the coventional choke collar or a slip lead which is a choke collar and leash all in one. The tradition prong collar works very well for other. Keep in mind how well or poorly a device works says less about the device and more about the person using it.

TRAINING WITH THE PRONG COLLAR

and just to be fair another point of view on head halters

A Case for GLs

A head halter is not a magic cure for a pulling dog. Dogs can, and will, learn to pull on a head halter, just as they learn to pull on a choke or prong. It should be used in conjunction with a training program -- reinforcing for desired behavior -- even if you never plan to wean the dog off of the head halter.[/b]

Hopefully that gives you an overview of the difference devices out there and the pro's and cons of each and more importantly the importance of training to achieve the deisred results rather than a devices whose added control can often be fleeting.