Basset Hound / Basset

Breed history:

The Basset Hound descends from an old French breed, the Artois Hound. It was raised at first by the nobles for hunting in packs, but gained popularity among the masses after the French Revolution. Brought to England, this dog got the characteristics of the Bloodhound through crossbreeding. It was known in England during Shakespeare's time, who described it exactly in "A Midsummer Night's Dream". Also, George Washington mentioned in a letter that he had received a Basset as a gift from General La Fayette. Later they became known more as pets.

Description:

It is a medium-sized dog with short legs, strong and heavy skeleton, a long body, wide deep chest and a thick and strong neck. It has a large head, round skull, flat temples, a long muzzle with a big, black nose. The eyes are medium-sized, deeply set, dark, with the lower eyelid hanging and with a sad look. The ears are big, long, floppy and bent inward. The tail is long, thick at the base and tapering and slightly curved at the tip, usually kept high. The fur has thick, smooth, short and soft hair. It can have any color the Bloodhound has, but more commonly different combinations of brown, black and white can be seen.

Personality:

It is a sociable, calm, playful, intelligent and curious dog with a strong sense of smell and with an independent character. It is devoted to its master, playful and loving with the children, it is friendly even with strangers but if it senses danger it will bark. It gets along well with other dogs and other animals.

Grooming:

The loose hair will be removed with a rubber brush. The claws will be kept short and the ears clean. The skin folds must be kept clean to avoid infection. They tend to eat a lot and can become obese. The pups must be well fed, long walks should be avoided not to get them physically exhausted because it can influence their growth. It has a low level of activity and it's happy with short walks.

Living conditions:

It likes to live outdoors in a fenced space where it can move freely, but it can also adapt to a flat if daily exercise is done, which will make it stay calm in the flat.

Training:

The training must be done with patience and must be firm, consistent, to make it respond to the commands, because it has an independent character. It must be taught at an early age to respond to the command ,,come’’ otherwise he will start to wander off by itself.

Usefulness:

It is used in hunting rabbits, deer, foxes, pheasants, boars. It is a cheerful companion.