[puddingtjie]

Hi guys, in all the awesome pics I see all your dogs off their leads. How is that possible...I was warned that Lexie will just start running and never return because of the Bassets scent driven exploring?

She got out of the door the other day - she usually stays put if we tell her to but the Guinney fowl were just too tempting - my husband had to run after her and tackle her without calling her - otherwise she thinks it's a huge game and runs even faster!!!

Tell me what I need to do - she isn't very fond of her little red harnass.

Thanks guys!!!

Simone.

 

[copsmom]

I also don't let mine off lead outside the fenced yard. I know just walking them when they catch a scent of something they have a single track mind.

 

[Milly and Lily]

off lead work

Lots and lots and lots of training. first your dog, any dog before going off lead must have a complete and consistant understanding of the down from a distance command and a recall. Otherwise forget it. Their noses will take them on an adventure everytime. But a down at a distance can save their lives. It could allow you to stop them before they get too far away from your before they run into a street or something. It is easier to tell them to down and then recall them, than it is to just try to call them back to you.
Never train for off lead in an open space. They aren't reliable yet and cannot be trusted in open spaces.

 

[joanr]

Training in a family call circle, training outdoors on a long lead, at school with distractions, and lots of treats. And we keep training for fun and treats. We also keep Hap exercised so he dosn't feel the need to bolt just to run off steam. Also we are very careful as to where he is allowed off leash, never near traffic.
Joan

 

[Emma and me]

I walk mine a lot off leash, but mine have so short legs that I can walk
faster than they run. Even so, I don't trust them near traffic and roads.
In the forest, they follow me like shadows, won't risc losing track of dad...

Bassets are slow learners, but respond well on food and treats.
It's wise to learn them to stop on command, could save their
lives in an emergency.

Good luck!

 

[Guest]

I walk mine off the lead but ONLY away from traffic and other dangers. And I watch him all the time. Jake has learned 'WAIT!' (said in a LOUD voice) and he usually stops. It's taken lots of training to do this. Also agree about the use of recall and 'down' commands - Bassets must be trained reliably to do this!

However, the training didn't work recently when we were walking by the canal. The Basset nose took control and Jake decided to roll in something disgusting. Despite my loud "JAKE...WAIT!" he toppled into the water! Ever tried fishing a 45 pound Basset out of the water and up a vertical 1 foot drop? Not easy!!! From now on he's on the lead by the canal...

 

[tinaherb]

I walk mine a lot off leash, but mine have so short legs that I can walk  
faster than they run. Even so, I don't trust them near traffic and roads.

This usually works just fine for me and my foursome too.

However, every once in a while they do have a roll in something utterly disgusting.
They KNOW that I hate it so they just do it QUICKLY :roll:

 

[Terry]

My friend always walked hers off-lead. Last fall though, they had a terribly frightening experience. Sweet little Zelda (18 months old) got lost in a four hundred acre state-owned property nearby. It was late afternoon and her husband was alone with Zelda and two of their other Bassets. It took him some time to round up the other two and get them back to the car (a fifteen-minute hike). Then he spent an hour searching for Zelda himself, with no luck. He went home to drop off the dogs and to get help but by dark they still hadn't found her. After a terrible night of worrying and no sleep, they recieved a phone call from someone who found her in their yard, several miles from where she was lost. Her collar was embroidered with her name and phone number (an idea I liked so I got similar collars for Moe and Tally). They considered themselves very lucky to get her back - some people may have found and kept the dog, or she may never have been found - our area is very rural.

Another time (way before the first incident) I went with my friend and her three Bassets to a beach in Westport MA. She convinced me to let Moe off lead like her dogs. Moe happily trotted off down the beach with the others, then he did a sudden about-face and ran past me back in the general direction of the car. One of her dogs followed him. I chased after them (anyone who thinks Bassets are slow because of thier short legs never had to chase one!), and finally caught up to them... AFTER they had found and rolled on a PUTRID, rotted, dead fish! :roll: My friend came along behind me with the other two Bassets just in time for THEM to have a roll also! :roll: :roll: With only two people and four dogs who REALLY wanted to roll on that dead fish there was not much we could do, except try to get the leashes on as quickly as possible and forcibly drag them to the car. The ride home was very difficult for us... the smell was so TERRIBLE that it was all we could do not to puke! I have never smelled anything so terrrible in my life! I had my head out the passenger side window and she had her head out the driver's side window - how she managed to drive that way, I'll never know! :? Neither of us wanted to TOUCH any of the dogs but they seemed to enjoy thier own odors very much...

So those are two reasons I NEVER walk Moe off-lead!

Terry

 

[Trixie's Mom]

I also choose not to walk my basset Trixie off her leash. This is not only because I have read that you should'nt, but my 7 year old lazy girl takes off like lightening whenever she sees a cat. I don't know what it is, it is like she stores up all her energy for when see sees a cat and then she becomes like an olympic runner running the 100-yard dash.

 

[xtineebee]

Sebastien rarely allows himself to get far from me in any situation. At the dog park, he will only go so far before checking to see where 'mummy' is. That said, I have seen how he responds to certain stimuli (read: ground squirrels) on walks. I don't think I will ever be comfortable to offlead him, however getting a long reractable lead is a terrific option. Sebs can run and romp at the end of his long lead, and still remain in my control.

He is very good and responsive to being called in a contained space but I am not certain he is a bassett who will ever be trusted off lead. Clearly Steinar is a far better runner than me if he can catch up with his girls.

 

[Valerie and George]

George rarely even notices I'm back there when he's on the lead -- sometimes I'll speak to him and he'll look back at me like "Where did YOU come from???" so there ain't NO way I'm walking him anywhere without a lead. :lol: I used to have a dog that would walk without one -- she died about two years ago and George did not learn a THING from her -- and all I had to do was say her name, not yell it or say it commandingly, just conversationally say her name, and she was back at my side in an instant. And I didn't teach her that, either. She just did it on her own. She was very anxious to please and obedient and I never taught her anything specifically, she just seemed to figure things out. She was NOT a basset.