A hound built low on purpose
The name comes from the French word bas, meaning low, and the shape is not an accident of fashion. Basset Hounds descend from the St. Hubert Hound, the same French stock behind the Bloodhound, and generations of hunters selected for the short, heavy-boned legs that give the breed its outline. They kept that build because a hound that works at walking pace can be followed on foot by someone who does not own a horse.
The breed took its recognizable form in France and Belgium in the 1500s and was refined in England in the 1800s. Lord Galway imported a pair from France in 1866, and Sir Everett Millais began a serious breeding program in 1874, which is why he is usually called the father of the breed. The American Kennel Club recognized the Basset Hound in 1916.
Almost everything you see in the dog still points back to that job. The low centre of gravity, the deep chest, the deliberate pace, the ears that reach the floor — none of it is decoration. What ends up on your sofa is a working hound that has simply moved indoors.
What that nose does to a walk
A Basset’s scenting ability is generally rated second only to the Bloodhound’s, and the anatomy is all in service of it. The long ears sweep scent up off the ground toward the nose. The loose skin and the heavy dewlap under the throat hold it there. The dog was built to read a trail slowly, thoroughly, and in its own time.
That is worth understanding before your first walk together, because you are not really going for a walk. You are accompanying a scent investigation. A Basset on a trail is completely absorbed in it, and watching that absorption is one of the quiet pleasures of the breed. Most owners settle into a long leash or a fenced yard and let the hound work the ground properly, which is the whole point of the outing.
Twenty unhurried minutes of nose work does more for a Basset than twice as long spent marching. Give the hobby somewhere to go and you have a very easy dog: scatter a handful of kibble in the grass, hide a treat under one of three cups, take the next street over instead of the usual block. A Basset that has smelled something new comes home satisfied and sleeps like a dropped coat.
Size, coat and colour
An adult stands up to about fifteen inches at the shoulder and weighs somewhere between forty and sixty-five pounds, which surprises people who have only met the breed in cartoons. There is a great deal of dog in that outline: heavy bone, a broad chest, real muscle across the shoulders. Picking one up is a two-arm job.
The classic colours are tricolour — black, tan and white — along with red and white, and lemon and white. Markings run from a saddle across the back to broad patches, and the face usually carries some combination of a dark mask, tan points above the eyes and a white blaze. No two are marked quite alike, and the puppy in the pen rarely looks like the photograph that brought you in.
The coat itself is short, hard and weather-resistant, and it asks for very little. A rubber curry or a hound glove once a week lifts the loose hair and brings up a shine at the same time. Most owners do it in front of the television, and the dog falls asleep partway through.
The ears are the part worth building into the routine. They are long, they trail through the grass, and a wipe inside with a soft cloth once a week keeps them clean and gives you an excuse to handle them. Dry them properly after a bath. The folds around the face and neck get the same treatment: a wipe and a dry, and you are done. Nails grow quickly on a heavy dog, so trim them a little and often rather than waiting, and brush the teeth the way you would for any other breed. Ten minutes a week covers the whole job.
Temperament and family life
Bassets are calm, good-natured and thoroughly companionable. Indoors they are one of the easiest breeds to have around: slow-moving, tolerant, content to lie in a patch of sun and get up when something interesting happens. Centuries of working in packs left them easy with other dogs and patient with children, and most of them treat a busy household as a good thing rather than an interruption.
They have a voice, and it is a memorable one. The Basset bay carries a long way, and it comes out for the doorbell, the mail carrier and anything else worth reporting. You will always know when someone is at the door.
They also like company. A Basset would rather be in the room with you than anywhere else, and most of them settle into whichever chair puts them closest to the action. Short absences are worth building into the routine from the first week, with a chew to work on and no ceremony on the way out or the way back in.
Training a hound that makes up its own mind
A scent hound was bred to solve a problem on its own, which means a Basset weighs an instruction before acting on it. That is not a lack of intelligence. It is the same independence that made the breed useful in the field, and it responds beautifully to the right currency.
That currency is food. A Basset that has tuned out your voice will still work for cheese, and this is the single most useful fact about teaching the breed. Keep sessions short, cheerful and well paid. Ask for one thing at a time, mark it the moment it happens, and stop while the dog still wants more. Volume and repetition get you a hound who lies down and waits for you to finish; a pocket of diced chicken gets you a hound who follows you around asking what is next.
Because food is such a strong motivator, most owners measure meals rather than filling the bowl and count training treats against the day’s total. It keeps the rewards worth having, and it means there is always a Basset in the kitchen ready to work for the next piece of cheese.
What a day together looks like
Mornings suit a Basset. A walk in the cool part of the day, at the dog’s pace, with plenty of stopping — that is the main event, and it can take the better part of an hour if you let the nose set the schedule. In a Florida or Tennessee summer, the early and late hours are the pleasant ones for both of you, with shade and water in between.
The middle of the day is for sleeping, and Bassets are excellent at it. They will find the coolest tile in the house, arrange themselves in a shape no other breed can manage, and stay there until a bag rustles somewhere.
Evenings are social. This is a breed that wants to be underfoot while dinner is made and on the sofa afterwards, ideally with its head on someone. A five-minute training game, a food puzzle or a treat hidden behind a door rounds the day off nicely. A Basset that has used its nose, had its walk and been included in the evening is about as easy a dog as you can live with.
Come and meet one
A Basset in a photograph is a comic outline. A Basset in front of you is a surprisingly heavy, surprisingly muscular dog with a serious face and a very soft manner, and you cannot judge the weight, the coat or the temperament until one has leaned against your leg.
Our Basset Hound puppies come from our network of licensed breeders, and our team can walk you through what the weekly routine actually looks like. We have a store in Orlando and one in Nashville, and you are welcome to sit on the floor with a puppy before deciding anything. Find directions and hours, and ask about financing while you are here. Every puppy here goes home with its vet records, its vaccination history and a health warranty.