Basset Hound Dog Breed

Posted by Jeanne on November 18, 2008

Basset Hounds are the slowest of all hunting dogs but are possessed of very keen scenting powers. They are noted for their musical tongues and lack of unity on trail, each following his own line. They are generally used in packs on hare and rabbit but occasionally in hunting larger animals, such as fox and deer. With their extremely short legs, they are particularly valuable in hunting in dense cover.

• Head – The head should be large, the skull narrow and of good length, the peak being very fully developed, a very characteristic point of the head, which should be free from any appearance of, or inclination to, cheek bumps. It is most perfect when it closest resembles the head of a bloodhound, with heavy flews and fore head wrinkled to the eyes. The expression when sitting or when still should be very sad, full of reposeful dignity. The whole of the head should be covered with loose skin, so loose in fact, that when the hound brings its nose to the ground the skin over the head and cheeks should fall forward and wrinkle sensibly.
• Jaws – The nose itself should be strong and free from snipiness, while the teeth of the upper and lower jaws should meet, a pig-jawed hound, or one that is underhung, being distinctly objectionable.
• Ears – The ears are very long, and when drawn forward folding well over the nose. They are set on the head as low as is possible and hang loose in folds like drapery, the ends inward curling, in texture thin and velvety.
• Eyes – The eyes should be deeply sunken, showing a prominent haw, and in color they should be a deep brown.
  Neck and Shoulders – The neck should be powerful with heavy dewlaps set on sloping shoulders.
• Forelegs – The forelegs should be short, very powerful, very heavy in bone, close fitting to the chest with a crooked knee and wrinkled ankle, ending in a massive paw. A hound must not be “out at elbows” which is a bad fault.
  Feet – He must stand perfectly sound and true on his feet that should be thick and massive, and the weight of the forepart of the body should be borne equally by each toe of the fore feet so far as it is compatible with the crook of the legs. Unsoundness in legs or feet should absolutely disqualify a hound from taking a prize.
• Chest and Body – The chest should be deep and full. The body should be long and low and well ribbed up. Slackness of loin, flatsidedness and a roach or razor back are all bad faults.
• Hocks – A hound should not be straight on his hocks, nor should he measure more over his quarters than he does at his shoulder. Cowhocks, straight hocks, or weak hocks, are all bad faults.
• Quarters – The quarters should be full of muscle, which stands out so that when one looks at the dog from behind, it gives him a round, barrel-like effect, with quarters “round as an apple.” He should be what is known as “a good dog to follow,” and when trotting away from you, his hocks should bend well and he should move true all round.
• Stern – The stern is coarse underneath and carried “gayly” in hound fashion.
• Coat – The coat should be similar to that of the foxhound, not too fine and not too coarse, but yet of sufficient strength to be of use in bad weather. The skin loose and elastic.
• Color – No good hound is a bad color, so that any recognized foxhound color should be acceptable to the judge’s eye, and only in the very closest competition should the color of a hound have any weight with a judge’s decision.