Tell me about Bassett Hounds please.

[solo]

Right, it seems that I'm going to be fostering a Bassett Hound for a while and although I'm a dog lover and have had three of my own dogs since the 80's, I've always had mongrels who are very hardy and faithful.

I don't know the owner of the dog, but she's having to move into a flat and can't take him with her but she wants to keep him. My friend who only vaguely knoows this woman asked me and I thought...dog = exersise = get fitter for myself...then I discover it's a BH and I'm not sure they're much for walking, so can anyone tell me about them please? am I mad?

The upsides are that a) the Dc's are excited b) I won't be paying for food or vets bills etc(because I can't).

I have a French Bassett Hound, so not exactly the same but we quite often meet other Bassetts when we are out and about and they seem to have a few things in common. They like walks but are more likely to be slow as they sniff everything (an extending lead helps as they do trot to catch up and then stop to sniff again). Not off the lead until you know they will come back, especially if there are scent trails. I've heard English Bassetts have trouble with stairs, which are bad for their backs, so try to avoid hill walks with steps if you can go up a gradient slope instead (don't think you'll need to go as far as carrying it up). Ours tends to lie down in this heat but as he is hairy, that might not be a Bassett thing.

We've met them at beaches, in 6 inches of snow, hills and woodland walks so they can do pretty much anything. Good luck, they are lovely!

you buy them in Wooton Basett

hth

Nose into everything. A bit slower than your average dog, will go for a reasonable walk and then come home and crash out, as opposed to a 'run all day' JRT or a 'run most of the day' Labrador.

And they bay. Not bark, well, not quite bark.

Earplugs required!

IME can be a bit stubborn.

All this is going purely on my frequent contact with a friend's BH, nothing more.

They do need exercise but at their pace. If a blade of grass has changed since the last walk they will need to investigate it for several minutes or more. Not the dog to take on a brisk walk but they do like to be out and about.

They have a great sense of humour and are generally happy dogs but will eat anything and be quite singleminded (stubborn!) at times.

Have a nose to the ground all of the time and most will be off at the tiniest scent.

You probably will not get fit but may feel more chilled for the gentle slow medative exercise!

Minumu summed it up excellently, especially the bit about the blade of grass!

One of my friends has both a Border Terrier and a Basset. Chalk and cheese! The Basset is slow and sedate, although that said, off lead on the beach can keep up with my Golden Retrievers. (providing there are no interesting smells to smell.... )

Wow! thanks ladies! they sound...interesting
As long as they smell with their noses and dont smell, I can cope with that I think. So, I wont get fit...hmmmmm. Ah well.

Are they generally known to chew? my Dc's leave shoes everywhere. What about moulting?
Any more thoughts/advice or idea's gratefully received.

Thanks again!

I have two! And everything above is absolutely true. They're not coach potatoes: the 1-yr-old hares around the place like a mad thing, if he gets wind of something, while the older one is happy to plod for ages. It's best to keep them on lead until you know what the recall's like - once they go, they GO. And they don't come back until they're good and ready.

They moult a bit, but not as badly as a Lab; you might need to hoover a bit more often. Chewing isn't really a breed issue, though my puppy will chew anything he can get his paws on, so I have to keep anything precious well above table height - they can stretch! And they do have their own 'houndy' smell, a bit like warm digestives; they like to enhance this with liberal applications of fox scent. (Another good reason to keep him on a harness and lead...)

Because they're pack dogs, they hate being left on their own for too long. I always put the radio/TV on for extra company if I'm going out, and don't leave them for more than 3 hours. Kongs help; they're totally very food orientated.

Bassets are lovely, though. They're affectionate, undemanding, warm, very gentle with kids, and have the sort of tragic eyes that persuade you to sit on the floor to give them more room on the sofa.

they need their folds of skin cleaning. otherwise can get nasty sores.

Other than that, Bassetts are one of the few breeds of dog my dog likes - probably due to their slow and gentle nature. lovely dogs.

My dh used to have a Bassett Hound called Noissette.

One day I fell asleep in the garden. When I woke up I was blind, could barely breath and had the most unbelievable pain in my head. I was crying in fear and pain and very confused.

It was such a relief to realise that I was not dying of some kind of brain problem - It was just that the Bassett Hound had of course decided to sit on my head!!!

She was daft, beautiful, stubborn and deeply special... but be warned - her feet absolutely stank!

Enjoy!!!

Greedy.

Food obsessed.

Will bury food to have later if they literally cannot stuff any more in.

Go to extraordinary lengths to locate anything foodish anywhere in the house.

(Not personal experience, but summary of stories of one particualr well-loved character. She might have been a bit of an oddity though.)

Oh yes, forgot:

Excessively dribbly.

A bolter.

A fence digger.

Dustbin scavenger.

OMG!!!!!! what have I done?!!!

Do they have/get mucky eyes? they are quite droopy eyed/eye lidded aren't they? recommendations for cleaning them?

Anyone?

Eyes shouldn't get unduly mucky. They sometimes get a little bit of 'sleep' in them, which you can clean off with a baby wipe. Similarly, you should give the inside of the ears a wipe out once a week to clean out wax, but don't start poking around in there too much, as with human ears. They're pretty low maintenance, really.

The best person to speak to for advice is the dog's breeder, who should be happy to give you any support, so ask for the details from the FOF, along with any medical records. How long do you think you'll be fostering him/her? Do you think the FOF is going to come back for the dog, once she's settled into the new flat? You won't get very fit with a Basset, but you may well find yourself falling hopelessly in love, once those big paws have got themselves under your table.

Ok, thanks for that

Lol! The owner has to find a new place where she can take the dog to live. I don't know how long for, but I certainly hope for no longer than 6 months! I may have to return to work in January and couldn't leave him for the long shifts I do. It was bad enough with my own dogs before...
I don't want it to be permanent , so she'd better come back for him! grrrrrrr!!

Just an update.

The owner managed to get the landlord to let her keep the Bassett Hound in the flat at least temporarily, but I heard today that he has a costly(£3-4k)medical problem that has come up ~ 'bleeding in tummy' was message I got, so sadly he has been put to sleep today .
I'm quite sad about it, but very glad that didn't become my problem.
Thanks for all your help anyway.