Basset Hounds

Introduction to the breed:

There are 6 types of basset: Basset Hound, petit/grand Basset Griffon Vendéen, Basset Fauve de Bretagne, Basset Blue de Gascogne, Basset Artésien Normand.

Basset’s are scent hounds with a nose second only to the bloodhound, very independent and highly intelligent hounds with hearts as big as their ear span.

Keywords: Stubborn, Bassetude, Basshole, Mischief indicator (tail), Hound smell, Puppy dog eyes, Skilled thiefs, Helpful hound (not).

Traits: Lazy, when wants to be. Stubborn, when wants to be. Crazy, when wants to be. Silliest sausages, when wants to be. Highly intelligent, when wants to be. Skilled hunters (?), when wants to be.

Exercise: Active, when wants to be. Will happily sleep the remaining 23 hours of the day. Bassets benefit from scent work based activity, for Bentley this is the only activity that truly tires him out, as a hunting dog he could happily walk for miles but using his brain is what keeps him happy. Don’t expect to walk anywhere in a rush, every blade of grass must me sniffed. Every. Single. Blade. Of. Grass.

Health: Deep chested dog prone to bloat Can have joint issues Not recommended to use stairs, or to do lots of jumping on and off sofa, little legs long back, however they don’t seem to have gotten this memo.

Why you will never have another breed again: Why have a good trainable dog when you can have a basset hound?

Comparison to other breeds: e.g. cavaliers are very different to other spaniels as they don't tend to like the water… Have very strong characters and aren’t like other breeds, very independent thinkers, strong willed and absolutely will not do something they don’t want to do. ‘One does not own the basset, one is owned by the basset’

Average life expectancy: 10+ years

Average weight: Can vary hugely, can be healthy anywhere from 20-40kg but usually they are large dogs

Ups of breed: an independent companion and never a dull moment Extremely loyal Very intelligent dog (both a pro and a con)

Downs of breed: judgment looks (from the basset) and constantly being stopped in the street Not recommended for people who’ve not been around the breed before, they can be very difficult at times

Personal Stories Example: Bentley is my best thing ever. What made me choose a basset is a question I hear often. I never really know what to answer as for me there was never any alternative, having grown up in a small hunting village, I’ve always been absolutely in love with these beautiful intelligent hounds. I have many memories of visiting my mums friend and sneaking off to the kennel where their bassets were kept and playing with them. Despite these dogs being outdoor, working dogs and not pets they were just the best friends I could have asked for. So gentle and soft, just like my Bentley. Although he is very much NOT a working hound cue ground shaking hound snoring Bentley is very independent but also very affectionate and loves nothing more than being a very oversized lap dog

Written by Meg McCarthy and Bentley

🐾 BASSET WEEK 🐾

Cuddle monsters with hearts as big as their ear span….

Bassets are extremely affectionate. Hazardously affectionate.

When owning a Basset you must sacrifice any concepts of personal space you may have. The process of sitting down becomes like a sandwich, the thing you sit on, yourself, the Basset. This is not something up for debate.

Bentley will do anything, and I mean ANYTHING, for a cuddle.

-Coffee cup in the way? Stick a big nose under the cup and flip it up and out the way (spilling all the coffee in the process of course, bonus points for light coloured tops being ruined)

-Ipad or laptop for wfh? Same process, or just slam it down with a paw.

-Human not sat down but the basset wants cuddles? No problem just sit on their feet, they can’t go anywhere this way.

-Human about the get up? Not with a large basset on them they aren’t!

-Stair gate to keep him going up the stairs?No problem Bassets are expert escape artists! (Bassets shouldn’t use stairs as this can cause damage to their backs, they aren’t built to climb with those little legs, they didn’t get that memo however)

I have 0 doubt that if I were to clim a mountain and sit down at the top of it, within minutes I’d see a little head bobbing it’s way up to sit on my lap. I back this up with the image attached of Bentley sat on me in a hammock, how he and his tiny little legs got up there? Your guess is as good as mine!

Generally Bassets are notoriously friendly, Bentley loves everyone and everything (except his arch nemesis Santa who he fears deeply due to some Grotto based trauma 🤷‍♀️). Bentley is excellent with all people and animals, he has a sixth sense of how gentle to be with everyone he meets and understands when children may be unsure of him and let’s them approach at their own pace, he’s also unbelievably tolerant with children who may not understand how dogs like to be pet which I’m really proud of him for.

Bassets also double up as ‘Dogtors’ 🩺 they know when your ill and assist in ensuring you don’t move a muscle.

Personal training is also an area of expertise for the basset, they are always there to add weight to your push ups and ensure you’re always strong enough to carry them up stairs.

If you ever have a basset in your life, it is vital that you arrange your day in a way that allows you to be trapped under a hound for several hours at a time. As with anything, the hound will tell you when many hours of cuddles are done. Until then, good luck moving!

Meg and Bentley

Exercising the Basset Hound: it is possible.

Think dragging a boulder up a hill then trying to stop it rolling back down again.

Bassets can be active, if they so wish.

You could get anything from a 20 minute walk to a 2 hour adventure.

Bassets are excellent at communicating that they are done with their walks, enter the ‘flat basset’.

You cannot move the flat Basset, you must bribe it with something it considers worth getting up for. Once up, the Basset must be carried for the remainder of the walk.

The Basset will sleep the remaining 23 hours of the day.

Bassets benefit from scent work based activity, for Bentley this is the only activity that truly tires him out, as a hunting dog he could happily walk for miles but using his brain is what keeps him happy.

Don’t expect to walk anywhere in a rush, every blade of grass must me sniffed. Every. Single. Blade. Of. Grass.

🐾 BASSET WEEK 🐾

Keywords to add to your vocabulary when choosing a basset hound:

STUBBORN (in red, bold, underlined and circled)

Bassetude

Basshole

Mischief indicator (tail)

Hound smell (think, smoked yeast)

Manipulative evil genius

Skilled thiefs

Helpful hound (not)

Some examples of key phrases used by people who are owned by a Basset:

‘Bentley no’

‘Bentley why’

‘Bentley where’s my sock’

‘Bentley would you stop stealing everything’

‘Bentley give me my sock’

‘Bentley why would you do that’

‘Bentley pleeeeeaaassse give me my sock back’

‘Bentley will you swap my sock for a treat’

‘Bentley please’

‘BENTLEYYYYYY’

*other items are also at risk of theft*

Written by Meg McCarthy and Bentley