Bettering your Bulldog Walks - Ep 05

We separate fact from fiction and provide practical insights to boost your confidence in enhancing your Bulldog's walking experience. We delve into the world of Bulldog hardware, uncovering the empowering benefits of Martingale collars, slip leads, and longlines, while dispelling the misconceptions surrounding harnesses.

• Martingale Collars: Uncover why Martingale collars, also known as half checks, are Sara's top pick for adult Bulldogs. These collars offer control without neck pressure until tension is applied, making them a practical solution for Bulldogs with thick necks that often slip out of traditional collars.
• Slip Leads: Delve into the versatility and functionality of slip leads, a favourite among show enthusiasts and owners of multiple dogs. These simple yet effective leads are designed for ease of use and control, making them a possible choice for trained Bulldogs.
• Long Lines: Unveil the safety and control that long lines offer as a secure alternative to off-leash walking, especially for Bulldogs unfamiliar with recall or in unpredictable environments. Sara shares why long lines simultaneously provide a sense of control and freedom, underlining their significance within the Bulldog community and making your off-leash walks more secure.

Be a part of the conversation and share your valuable experiences with Bulldog walking gear in the Bulldog Broadcast community. Stay tuned for weekly episodes brimming with insights and practical advice for Bulldog enthusiasts worldwide.

📝 Click to read Show Notes

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Transcript

[00:00:00] Are you worried about your Bulldogs Houdini like escapades on walks? Are you looking for the perfect collar for your Bulldog? Let's rummage around and discover the benefits of Martingale collars, slip leads, and long lines. Plus, our share wire harnesses are my pet peeve. Welcome to the Bulldog Broadcast the Pure Talk Pedigree podcast. Join me, Sara Lamont, as we delve beyond the pedigree, propaganda and misinformation surrounding the beloved Bulldog breed. Together, we uncover the real life realities of Bulldogs, sharing insights with admirers, owners and breeders worldwide. Hello and welcome back. So you're wondering, what are we talking about? What am I going to bang on about this week? And I want to have a conversation about dog leads and collars. So I'm going to start off with what do I like? And then I'm going to talk you through what I would recommend. And then I'm going to explain to you stuff I don't like. And then food for thought. When it comes to pet hardware, I think it's called hardware. Nowadays they're like collars only. So my preference is. An adult Bulldog should be walked on a Martingale collar, which is also called a half check. Now this is a collar that is part collar, and then there will be a small segment in that collar that typically consists of a little chain triangle. One way to put it, I guess the top part of that triangle is what clips on to a lead. Should you pull tension on the lead.

[00:01:47] The the Martingale section is. Generally, chains are running through loops that these would. The two loops would be pulled together by the tension on the chain, which actually would extend your lead a little bit, so to speak, but would actually make the collar smaller. I find this good for Bulldogs because any collar on a Bulldog you want a nice chunky width to it. You don't want any skinny little collar because it'll just end up becoming a bit of like a cheese wire, I suppose. A bit of a like a choking hazard. So you want nice thick, chunky collar and and equally least in my opinion, but a nice thick, chunky collar. So at least an inch - inch and a half at least depending on the size of the neck of the dog. And also how much skin, how much loose their skin there is around the neck. These can come in all different materials. Leather obviously is going to last forever if it's a decent leather. Nylon is nice and washable. Again, leathers to be fair, you can get leather cleaner can't you? And sort of scrub them down. Also, one of my favourites that's really popular at the moment is paracord because it's super, super strong and you can get some amazing colours and designs in the paracord. So I'm all for a paracord lead and collar, personally, but any of those I'm happy with but nice and chunky wide so it doesn't compress on the dog's neck.

[00:03:09] Obviously you get what you pay for when it comes to these and collars, and so don't ever buy some cheap, nasty, spindly stuff where the hardware, the actual metal could crack, come open, tarnish where you want really decent, robust stuff. What I like about a Martingale is that it has no pressure on the neck at all until you pull the lead. And I'm assuming you're doing that because you want to instruct the dog to do something, or to move or to follow you, and then at that point it then closes up. Now this is good for, in my opinion, this is a good collar to have, because what most people suffer with Bulldogs is that they can have a really thick neck, and it's almost the same width as their head. Some collars, they can manoeuvre out of it. It's almost like they know, like, oh, let's make my neck shorter and let's shimmy my bum back and move my head this way. And then they've suddenly got out of the collar that they're on. So I like this because really, what you could do is have it well fitted when the chain is loose, when the Martingales relaxed, then it goes tight. Not that it would ever be at a choking point. You know, it's very snug that they can't then slip out of it if they are prone to that. I mean, I've always said my dogs walk just really well by virtue somehow. So I never have any dogs basically dicking around like that.

[00:04:33] But I know what Bulldogs are like, so and I've seen them do it so it doesn't surprise me that some of them think they're Houdini when they're trying to get out of going for a walk. From six weeks old. I start putting collars on my pups anyway. When they leave for their new home, they always leave with a collar and lead so the new owners can carry that on. There's no. And hopefully, maybe that's a reason why I don't have that problem. And my owners don't seem to have that problem. But that's how early you should start with your lead and collar training. At first, all you need to do is just get them used to wearing a collar and just trotting around the house with it. Never leave a dog unattended with a collar on because they are a choke hazard. And last thing you want is them to get caught on something. Particularly particularly if you're crate training your dog. Never leave a collar on your dog when it's in a crate and you're not there. I don't have collars on any of my dogs in the house, apart from if I'm training a puppy, and it would be a case of first time when I'm puppy training, it would just be a small nylon collar with a fast buckle clip. If you have like an old school buckle, all becomes a bit of a faff of you trying to get the thing on the dog and the thing off the dog, but then I don't want to taint the dog's collar wearing experience with having to get it on and off.

[00:05:48] Just a simple nylon collar would do the job, get them used to wearing it, and then eventually you clip the lead on and they take you wherever they want to go in the garden, and then eventually you try and get them directing one way or another, and then eventually they're trotting along on a lead and collar, and then it's, let's walk to the end of the garden, out the front. Let's walk to the end of the driveway, let's walk to the end of the road. And then you've got a dog that's up and walking with no issues from a training collar point of view. Yeah, I just like a simple nylon collar with a quick, fast buckle clip when they start growing and they're actually out and about exercising correctly, then I do like a Martingale because I like that sense of control and also change jingling through the rings as you pull it. It's another sensory cue, isn't it, that something's about to change, that your instructing them to do something even though you haven't actually said anything to the dog. So I really do love a Martingale slip. Leads do exist, and that's really where it's just one solid bit of material, generally with a loop at the end and you can loop it in on itself, also known as a full check or a full choke lead.

[00:06:59] Many a show person. There's many a working dog that have these on. In the show ring. You would see people have these on their dogs because obviously they're under full control. It adds to the elegance of the dog that you'd have something so simplistic that doesn't detract from the dog, basically. But I see a lot of working breeds having people having these on their dogs. And likewise, there's many a Bulldog kennel. And when I say kennel, that could be someone that just owns four or more Bulldogs. Just happens to show some people think kennels. I think, oh my God, they've got like 20 dogs and this, that and whatever. No like a show kennel generally is just somebody that has a group of dogs and they, they applied for a kennel name. And so collectively it then just becomes a kennel. But it doesn't mean there's a massive establishment with all these hundreds of dogs stashed everywhere. But if you go to a show, you'll see many a dog in and outside of the ring with full choke or full slip lead. It's just a really easy, convenient thing. And obviously it fits any dog. So people that have multiple dog households and they don't always want a for a better expression fanny around with putting collars and leads on that. Actually, if you just have a full slip, then it is a collar and lead all in one.

[00:08:14] It's really straightforward. So that's why they're popular. It's quite funny because I see there's a lady local to me that makes these really beautiful collars and leaves and other bits of dog paraphernalia, and she posted up one this really beautiful. I think it was like rainbow or pastel like tie dye version. She got loads of slack for it and I thought, oh God, it's ridiculous. Talk about like, yeah, people are just hard work just jumping on there. Like, you're not going to leave a dog with a full slip and put them on that. When they are a dog that has training issues, they would just they would literally just choke themselves, wouldn't they? But I have never witnessed that on anyone that's walked their dog on a full slip lead. But they're out there. They exist. Would I recommend them really, for a pet person? Not really. It really tends to be the people that have multiple dogs, and they just know that they can put it on any dog and get them in the direction that they need to get to or have full control of them. So for me, I still like my Martingales. Half checks with a lead, but I totally get it. Why people have slipped leads what I really, really hate. And which is really, really popular with Bulldog people is harnesses. And I've just never seen anyone that there's no anyone that owns multiple dogs. The breed.

[00:09:36] They don't put their dogs in harnesses. It's I don't know what the obsession is with harnesses. Years and years and years ago, before people were consciously breeding healthier Bulldogs. If I ever saw a Bulldog in a harness in my head, I went, well, that dog's in a harness because it can't have anything round its neck because it's going to impact his breathing. That dog's such a bad breed, and that's why it's got a harness on. And it's probably why so many old school people hate harnesses. I've never put a harness on a Bulldog. I just in my head, there's no reason for you ever to do that. And I'm sure a lot of people will disagree with me, and they're going to going to respond to this podcast with a thousand reasons as to. But I, I still disagree with you. I still think there's better ways. And maybe it's just training your dog to walk properly. The reasons I don't know. Harness is one they are ugly. They're so ugly it's unbelievable. But that to one side, I'd rather just look at a nice outline of a lovely Bulldog. Not with, like, this whole harness equipment, as if he's going to abseil down some building or something. The problem is, if you put a harness on a dog, it then means that they can use the whole weight to drag you around. So for all these people that say, oh, my dog pulls me, putting it in a harness just means now it can lean its whole weight into wherever it wants to take you.

[00:10:58] Where before, to a degree, it's dependent on its neck and how much its neck can take to drag you around. Now I know people will say, I have to put a harness on my dog because he's like Houdini getting out of his collar and lead. Then you've just not found the right collar and lead, in my opinion. I guess it's like you need to find some like dog, tailor or nowadays don't go to an off the shelf. Oh, it doesn't fit. There are people that make collars and leads exactly to the size and spec that you want. So maybe it's a case. You need to have something made for your dog for the fit to be absolutely perfect. But in my opinion, a half-check will solve all of those problems. Also what's come to light since certain harnesses have become popular is they actually negatively impact the dog's movement. Any harnesses that seem to be quick, fit or easy get on and easy get off minimal sort of framework to them. And to do that, it means that you're restricting dogs in a in an unnatural way. And so the most popular ones that you'll see, well, I won't name, I won't name him because they sue me. But no, the most popular ones, you'll see is that it actually restricts across the shoulder. So yeah, maybe they don't pull when in the harness anymore because they can't actually move their front legs to get any leverage to pull you.

[00:12:24] But these will impact the front movement. So you're restricting the dog's natural gait for your convenience of putting a harness on it, which to me doesn't sound like the right thing to do. If you are into harnesses, then you should be getting a Y-shaped harness, because ultimately that's going to go round the neck and around the ribs. There will be no loss of motility across the front legs. Basically, if that is the thing that you're into, then go for a Y-shaped harness and I'd make sure. And to be fair, Billy Bellows, they do a decent nice and thick padded. Yeah, one that if I had to put a harness on the dog, then that's what I'd be putting on a Bulldog. But again, I've never put a harness on the dog, so it's not happening any time soon. I don't know, some people said about, oh, it's the type of exercise that the dog needs. So it's easier if they're on a harness. I don't know, I'm just not I'm not too convinced personally, and you're probably never going to change it. I understand some dogs might need a harness. Yeah, I'm just not into him. I'm not into him. I think they give off the wrong signals to somebody as to why dogs in a harness. So I'm just not into them in any way, shape or form.

[00:13:39] And I've never needed them. Hence why I'm not into them. If you're going to do a harness, do a Y-shaped harness and make sure it's nice and well padded, because you see them cutting into dogs and doing all sorts and obviously it needs to fit well. So even just the fact that it's a harness, it still needs to fit well, because I've seen I've actually had a dog in once that who denied herself out of her own harness. Obviously it wasn't a very good fit in harness, and that's why it's happened. So regardless, it still needs to fit properly. Now, I've said about no collars in the house because they are a choke hazard, and also it just leaves a really horrible if a dog is constantly in the collar eight it's probably not that comfortable and b the fur will literally grow around the collar. So even if you took it off, the dog's then got this really thick ridge around its neck because I show you would never want that in a show ring again. Probably. Maybe another reason why slip leads are more favoured in that type of environment. Yeah, no collars in the house. Definitely no collars when they're in a crate. I just want to quickly touch on leads as well because it makes me laugh. There was a meme going around not that long ago about flexi leads. So they're the leads that contract, like the extender balls that are on a reel and they contract into the handle.

[00:14:53] Basically, the meme was like, these are the devil's spawn, which made me laugh because I absolutely love them for ball dogs. And now again, this depends on what breed of dog you've got. And it was shared in a Labrador group, to be fair first, but I did see it doing the rounds. And yeah, would I exercise my Labrador on an extendable hell no. I'm going to clip it on. I'm going to move and think, oh, I've got freedom here and this is going to go to run. And then she's gonna get to the end of the five metres, I think is the maximum one that you can get. It's going to stop. And then she's going to still be running. And either the thing is going to go flying out of my hand and then potentially that spooks her. And then she carries on. Running doesn't come back. And obviously, the things following her now. So I totally get it. Why some breeds they are 100% not suitable however for a Bulldog I actually quite like them. So I've talked to you before. Most Bulldogs are road walked, which means typically they would just have a standard length lead, which I believe is like 1.2m, because if you had a really long one that they could then stroll into the road and off the pavement that you're on. So that's a nice length of lead. I totally get it.

[00:16:13] If you're gonna, I don't know, take them to the park and you think, oh, it'd be nice if they had an extendable. If you buy extendable, there's literally only one company I'd buy an extendable from. I can't even think what the. They're the most expensive. Don't be buying. No, Teemu. Extendable from the pound shop. Extendable rubbish. I would only ever use a tape based extendable so that that thin little bit of cord stuff. I chuck it in the bin like don't never be using extendable with that. It needs to be the thick tape. Extendable lead section. And also, what ultimately happens with expendables is the retracting ness of it starts to not work the more it's used. And so if you're using a cheap one, the components are going to be cheap, it's going to fail quicker. And that could potentially end up in a in an accident that you don't want. If a dog doesn't come back or you can't stop it when you need to stop it, that could be a catastrophic issue. My recommendation is that you again, you get what you pay for. Buy the really good brand that generally most decent pet shops only stock the decent stuff, but online you can buy cheaper, nasty stuff. You want the tape? I think I only go for the three metres, I don't. I don't go for the super long stuff. To be fair either. They give you a wrist strap to actually loop it onto the retractable handle should a dog ever pull.

[00:17:41] And obviously because they think they're free, they can literally pull so hard that they pull it out of your hand. You compounded this issue of a nightly if you let go of the lead, but now they think they're being chased by something, and then that could send them just run in in fear of something that's going to carry on following them. The responsible companies actually sell flexi leads with a wrist strap, obviously at your own discretion where you use those or not. I wouldn't be letting my kids if I had any or any kids walk a dog on a on an extendable, it would either be a lead and that's it. But should you be in any doubt, please just use this wrist strap, because I think it would save a lot of the horror stories that you do hear about extender balls being inappropriately used. That's probably one of the reasons why you also need to remember these things are actually quite heavy. So if you've got little weak wrists. No, I'm joking not. But if they are heavy. So after a long time, you're going to know that you're carrying it in your hand. So it might not be. If you're on a long walk, it might not be the thing that you want to take with you. And this is why I mention long lines. And a lot of the work in community are all over this stuff, but Bulldog people aren't.

[00:18:56] It's basically a super long, strong but skinny lead biothane I'm sure that's what it's called is in at the moment. And this is where you can buy basically plastic leads and collars, but they come in all fancy colours and it's all washable. So if you've got dogs that like water then they don't get all gunky and manky. There's a lot of companies that sell these because they're lightweight, and you can literally have metres and metres and metres in your hand, and it literally doesn't weigh anything. Now that is better, especially if you've never let your dog off lead. And I've already told you, Bulldogs are hard, that they're stubborn. So if they've got beer in their bonnet and you've let them off, they're not going to come back when you call them. Should that ever happen, never chase a dog because they're just going to carry on. They're just going to start running. If I have a dog ever run away from me, I always just turn around and make a head in the opposite direction to head away from them. You're hoping they're going to think, oh, my days, mum and dad are leaving or going somewhere without me, or they found something more interesting. I need to run back to them and possibly get in front of them again to find out what's going on. Then hopefully they're running back to you and then you can stop them before they before they pass you again, or at least divert them away from some major road or something or other.

[00:20:15] So if you do have a dog run away from you, don't chase them. You need to turn around, go the other way and call them. Be like, come on, we'll go back over here. This is way more important. Get some treats out and all the rest of it. So if you've never let a dog off before and it's not a secure field, you should be putting your dog either on an extendable or a long line. And now the long lines are better because they can be way longer than extendable. And because they're lightweight, the dogs can still move freely and it just drag along the ground and they're really robust material. My recommendation is, however, that you tie knots in the long line because if they just run and it starts to slip through your hands, you're going to give yourself rope burn to an effect. You can't stop it where if it's got knots in it, however many feet or metres or whatever, then you can grab hold of that knot and it's not going to slip all the way out of your hand. But I definitely, definitely if you Google search long lines, there is cheap as chips. It's a really comforting way to let your dog off lead without them being off lead. And they can, you know, you can buy them at different lengths, especially if your dog's interacting in an area that you don't know and possibly could be other dogs coming up to them that you can actually yank them out of a situation quite quickly so you still have control of them.

[00:21:32] So I'm all for long lines. Not enough people use them, not enough border people use them. In some instances they're better than the flexi leads or extender balls, and they're way better than the risk of just letting your dog off lead. So I think that's it. I think I've. I found my point. Hopefully not to offend too many of you. I'm all for Martingale collar with a short 1.2m lead job done. I'm all for paracord. I love the stuff or the bully below stuff equally. I love that kind of stuff. Expendables. There are thumbs up, not a thumbs down from me, but also long lines can most definitely be used more within our community. If you agree with me or disagree with me, especially about harnesses, then make sure you get your voice known and heard in the community. I'm all up for discussion and a disagreement because I'm not right about everything all of the time. Just most of the time. No, I'm joking, I'm joking. But no, that's just my opinion. And everyone's entitled to their own opinion, so I'd love to hear it. So come and join us in the community. Otherwise I shall speak to you next week. Before you leave, make sure to visit BulldogBroadcast.com for a media access to the show notes, community forum recommendations and episode extras.