Basset Hound

History

Elvis Presley once sung a song famously called "Hound Dog", directly to a Basset Hound on television and who could forget that face? The Basset Hound is very unique, from its history, to its fame from being known for their droopy ears to droopy eyes it is no surprise that this breed is a descendant of the Blood Hound bloodlines. Bred for hunting Rabbits, Pheasants and Fox, they are able to hunt alone and in packs. In the mid 1800's, this breed’s popularity became so high that they were solely used as companions much like today.

Appearance

Long and low to the ground, the Basset Hound is quite large. Males 13-15 inches tall and weighing 50-65 pounds, females come in close at 11-14 inches tall and 45-60 pounds. With large brown eyes that will melt anyone’s heart, slightly sunken in and round, the Basset Hound has a face unlike any other breed. Famously described as "ears that wipe away the morning dew" this breed carries large ears that hang very low and loose to the ground. Their skin is loose as well all over their body. Big, round paws and pronounced knuckles carry this heavy body around, while their tail is thick and long in length that hangs straight to the ground. This breed typically comes in a tricolor of black, red and white; however there are fawn and white, and other patterns as well. The Basset Hound is one of the few breeds to have no rules regarding color or pattern.

Temperament

The Basset Hound is a wonderful and pleasant family dog. Great around children of all ages, even when growing up without them around, perfect towards the elderly and even other pets. This breed is calm, loving and quite lazy. The Basset Hound does require a firm owner, so stubbornness doesn't get the best of the breed, and as always, positive reinforcement is highly recommended for training. The Basset Hound needs a daily walk, and this takes care of much of the activity needed in their routine. It is extremely important to always have your Basset on a leash and harness or within a properly safe fenced yard, due to their extreme tract scenting capabilities it is always a concern that they will pick up a scent and start to follow it.

Grooming

Basset Hounds require daily brushing with a bristle brush, and do shed heavily all year round. Due to their ears and loose skin, they need to be wiped down daily and special attention needs to be paid to their feet, ears and wrinkles.

Special Notes

Basset Hounds are prone to paralysis of the legs due to their heavy body, bloat and weight gain. Please fully educate yourself about the Basset Hound prior to adding one to your family, to ensure a life long commitment to your pup. All dogs originate from wolves (Canis Lupus). Each breed of dog was originally created by mixing different breeds together in an effort to bring forth certain characteristics. Once a breeder has created acceptable “breed characteristics” within their bloodline and these “breed characteristics” have shown to be reliably reproduced in the offspring for three (3) generations, the bloodline may be upgraded from the category of “foundation stock” to “pure-bred”. The same “pure-bred” breed standards vary from different continents, countries, territories, regions, breed clubs, and canine pure-breed registries depending on the goals of their breeders. Dog DNA testing companies can have accurate results for a specific bloodline of a small colony of dogs. However, there are tens of thousands of different bloodlines in the world which have not yet been tested for marker baseline results by Dog DNA testing companies as of 2017. For this reason Dog DNA testing companies do not guarantee the 100% accuracy of their breed lineage results and will also show different marker results for the same pure-bred breed in different continents, countries, territories, regions, breed clubs, and canine pure-breed registries depending on the goals of their breeders.