Sizing Help

shanagarry

Hi all

Hopefully you can help me with a sizing query. My goddaughter will be getting a Basset Hound in February for her birthday (don't worry, doggy home, just first dog that's her's, not a family dog) and I'm getting a collar, harness and lead as my birthday gift to her. As I'm living abroad and home for christmas I want to order them now for her. However, I'm struggling to know what size to order as I know the basset is known as being a big dog on short legs so I'm afraid of getting it too small. I want stuff that she can use straight away.

Any help would be much appreciated!

star-pants

What age will the Basset Hound be when you get to see it? (or when you get to give the present).
Short legs won't really matter with a harness, it's the size of the chest and neck that you'd need. That said most harnesses are easily adjustable, they come in rough sizes.
If it's a pup, a small collar will last a while til they get a little bigger, and some collars are more robust than others. I don't use leather collars or big thick ones on my two dogs, I think we actually have puppy/cat collars on them. As we use the harness to go walking every time.

I have one like this for my younger dog

And one similar but with a softer underbelly and two claps for my older dog.

Regarding a lead - if it's a pup it'll have to be trained whilst walking first, so a short (ie non extendable lead) is probably best. Or you can invest in a good quality extendable lead for when they go on long walks (again if it's a pup it won't be on long walks til it's a bit older).

If you look online or go into shops, they sometimes tell you breeds alongside the sizes as a guide. I don't have a basset hound so I'm not sure what their average girth and neck size is, but if it's a pup you'd be getting a small adjustable one for starters.

Paul91

i saw collars made by EZYDOG over the weekend, they are apparantly waterproof and seemed pretty sturdy to me, €20 in the shop, so of course i checked them out online, they are available on eBay and Amazon but i got two collars direct from their website - they also do hanress though see - http://www.ezydoguk.co.uk/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=24 - £17 for a large harness + p&p

All our harnesses include a seat belt attachment complete with stainless steel snap shackle to allow for quick release to and from a vehicle seat belt. The Highway Code stipulates that all animals in vehicles be "adequately restrained" and failure to do so could result in serious injury for your pet or you and your family. Many dogs find the presence of a comfortable harness is reassuring and owners like the additional sense of control they give. When choosing a harness make sure it has adequate light reflecting tape woven into the fabric for extra safety at night and in low light conditions and that the chest plate is broad enough to spread the load so your dog gets maximum comfort.

now with a basset being close to the ground chest wise, thought the waterproof might come in handy - they also have a sizing table http://www.ezydoguk.co.uk/index.php?main_page=page&id=10

Sigma Force

Sizing can be tricky, lost track of how many harnesses I've sized wrong for our pup and still haven't got him one to fit. There's a sizing guide on a lot of websites that can give you an idea. But perhaps might be a safer option to give her a gift voucher for an online pet shop so she can work it out when she gets the pooch there's one called mollys.ie there's a sizing guide on it that might help.

Star pants, I was looking at those collars yesterday the review on them said it was a bit slippy and has to be adjusted a lot when out walking, how do you find it?

tk123

We had one of the grey zooplus ones like in star-pants post and found it kind akward to put on - especially over his floopy ears!! The ones that the dog steps into and clip around the back are easier imo. We're using a 'sensible' one atm and it's brilliant. Is there a PetMaina near where she lives - you can buy gift cards? I got some stuff for our pup before he came home and they said I could exchange it no probs if it didn't fit.

shanagarry

Thanks for the feedback guys. I know I'm taking a bit of a risk buying in advance, but she's only 12 and she will want everything there and then, you know how it is at that age! Plus she lives in the middle of nowhere, so getting to a decent pet shop isn't easy for her.

I think I should maybe try and find something with the biggest range of adjustability? I saw this harness on zooplus that goes from 30cm-60cm, but is it more a car harness? Do you think a collar starting at 30cm would be too big? I'll go for an extendable lead so she can get use out of it, she can lock it short in the early days.

The pup will be about 10 weeks when she gets her.

Paul91

would it be too small - 30 to 60 cms? does say it is suitable as a regular harness - so covers both areas - could you contact the breeder maybe and ask their advice or at least get the size from them?

LBD

Hey there!

One reason we prefer harnesses for our bassets over collars is the fact that the diameter of their head and neck are quite similar....a few times before we became wise to it we'd be walking down the road and suddenly realise the lead was a little light, turn around and one of the lads would be sitting in the middle of the path as if to say where you going without me ( we were convinced they were to suprised at escaping to actually think to run off!!!) In other words unless the collar is perfectly fitted its very easy for them to slip their heads out of it..... On a side issue we found in the end we just couldnt have a collar on one of the lads cos the other fella kept pullin it over his head and running off with it!!

As for the harness, some pretty good advice from previous posters, vouchers etc but basset pups are similar to any other pup with regards sizing....its when they grow a few months older that their chests get a bit larger then the average dog!

star-pants

Guineapigrescue wrote: »

Star pants, I was looking at those collars yesterday the review on them said it was a bit slippy and has to be adjusted a lot when out walking, how do you find it?

Sorry I never got mine from there, I was just sourcing a picture to give an example of a harness. I didn't mean that exact one, but was just trying to explain to the OP about harnesses needing chest and neck sizes.
The one I have for my pup only has one clasp on the back, two bits joint into one and one side has the receiver clasp the other side has the bit that goes in. I'll see if I can get pics of them in a bit and show ye what I mean. I find them grand tbh.

shanagarry

Just back to say a quick thank you to everyone. I busied myself with the measuring tape last night, to get an idea of sizes. The poor cat even got her neck measured for comparison purposes! Also, I must give a plug to mollys.ie (thanks for the heads up GPR) - I emailed them and they came back with a very helpful email. And then I didn't buy from them as the prices were a bit steep for stuff that will be outgrown, but I will definitely try and send business their way in future.

I ended up going with that combo harness. 30cm is very small, but the next sizes up tend to start at 50cm, which I though risked being too big, and it goes to 60cm. Rather than going for dearer stuff I went for stuff on special so its not the end of the world if they don't fit. With the money I saved I was able to buy her a kong and some more bits, so happy days. Incidentally, I found zooplus.co.uk about 25% cheaper than .ie. The kong was the only thing that was cheaper on .ie.