Basset Hound

The Basset Hound is a short-legged breed of dog in the hound family. The Basset is a scent hound that was originally bred for the purpose of hunting hare. Their sense of smell and ability to ground-scent is second only to the Bloodhound.

Basset Hounds are one of six recognized "basset"-type breeds in France. The name Basset is derived from the French word bas, meaning 'low', with the attenuating suffix -et—together meaning 'rather low'. Basset Hounds are usually bicolours or tricolours of standard hound coloration.

Appearance
Bassets are large, short, solid and long, with curved sabre tails held high over their long backs. An adult dog weighs between 20 and 35 kg. This breed, relative to its size, is heavier-boned than any other.

This breed, like its ancestor the Bloodhound, has a hanging skin structure, which causes the face to tend to have a sad look; this, for many people, adds to the breed's charm. The loose elastic skin around the neck is known as the dewlap.

The coat is short, generally black, white and tan tricolor or tan and white bicolor, but with many other possible colors. The EM allele produces a black mask on the face that may extend up around the eyes and onto the ears. This pattern is most easily seen on mahogany dogs, although any Basset color pattern may express the EM allele, except for "red and white" or "lemon and white" due to e/e.

Temperament
The Basset Hound is a friendly, outgoing, and playful dog, tolerant of children and other pets.

Osteochondrodysplasia
The Basset Hound's short stature is due to the genetic condition osteochondrodysplasia. Osteochondrodysplasia causes stunted growth and impacts movement. Affected dogs develop splayed hind limbs, enlarged joints, flattened rib cages, shortened and bent long bones, and deformed paws.

Life expectancy
A 2015 French study found a life expectancy of 10.3 years. A 2024 study in the UK found a life expectancy of 12.5 years compared to an average of 12.7 for purebreeds and 12 for crossbreeds.

Other health issues
Basset Hounds are prone to yeast infections.

Leading causes of death in a 2004 UK Kennel Club survey were cancer (31%), old age (13%), gastric dilatation volvulus (11%), and cardiac (8%).

Information from veterinary data found the prevalence of glaucoma to be 5.44%, second highest in the study.

The Basset Hound is predisposed to gastric dilatation volvulus. One study found the odds ratio to be 5.9.

Basset Hound hereditary thrombopathy is an autosomally inherited platelet disorder characterised by a thrombasthenia defect in primary aggregation abnormality of clot retraction. Glycoprotein IIb-IIIa is defective although detectable.

The Basset Hound is prone to several skin conditions: allergic skin disease; intertrigo; Malassezia dermatitis; and otitis, primary keratinization defects.

The Basset Hound is one of the more commonly affected breeds for primary open angle glaucoma. An autosomal recessive mutation of the ADAMTS17 gene is responsible for the condition in the breed.

St Hubert's Hound
The Basset type originated in France, and is descended from the 6th-century hounds belonging to St Hubert of Belgium, which through breeding at the Benedictine Abbey of St. Hubert eventually became what is known as the St Hubert's Hound around 1000 AD. St Hubert's original hounds are descended from the Laconian (Spartan) Hound, one of four groups of dogs discerned from Greek representations and descriptions. These scent hounds were described as large, slow, "short-legged and deep mouthed" dogs with a small head, straight nose, upright ears and long neck, and either tan with white markings or black with tan markings. Laconian Hounds were reputed to not give up the scent until they found their prey. They eventually found their way to Constantinople, and from there to Europe.

France


The first mention of a "Basset" dog appeared in La Venerie, an illustrated hunting text written by Jacques du Fouilloux in 1585. The name "Basset" has its origins in the Latin word for low, bassus, and the French diminutive -et. The dogs in Fouilloux's text were used to hunt foxes and badgers. It is believed that the Basset type originated as a mutation in the litters of Norman Staghounds, a descendant of the St Hubert's Hound. These precursors were most likely bred back to the St. Hubert's Hound, among other derivative French hounds. Until after the French Revolution around the year 1789, hunting from horseback was the preserve of kings, large aristocratic families and of the country squires, and for this reason short-legged dogs were highly valued for hunting on foot.

Basset-type hounds became popular during the reign of Emperor Napoleon III (r. 1852–1870). In 1853, Emmanuel Fremiet, "the leading sculptor of animals in his day" exhibited bronze sculptures of Emperor Napoleon III's Basset Hounds at the Paris Salon. Ten years later in 1863 at the first exhibition of dogs held in Paris, Basset Hounds attained international attention.

The controlled breeding of the short haired Basset began in France in 1870. From the existing Bassets, Count Le Couteulx of Canteleu fixed a utilitarian type with straight front legs known as the Chien d'Artois, whereas Mr. Louis Lane developed a more spectacular type, with crooked front legs, known as the Basset Normand. These were bred together to create the original Basset Artésien Normand.

England
French Basset Hounds were being imported into England at least as early as the 1870s. While some of these dogs were certainly Basset Artésien Normands, by the 1880s linebreeding had thrown back to a different heavier type. Everett Millais, who is considered to be the father of the modern Basset Hound, bred one such dog, Nicholas, to a Bloodhound bitch named Inoculation through artificial insemination in order to create a heavier Basset in England in the 1890s. The litter was delivered by caesarean section, and the surviving pups were refined with French and English Bassets. The first breed standard for what is now known as the Basset Hound was made in Great Britain at the end of 19th century. This standard was updated in 2010.

Hunting with Bassets
The Basset Hound was bred to hunt, with a keen nose and short stature suited to small-game hunting on foot. A variety of Basset Hound developed purely for hunting by Colonel Morrison was admitted to the Masters of Basset Hounds Association in 1959 via an appendix to the Stud Book. This breed differs in being straighter and longer in the leg and having shorter ears.

In popular culture

 * Basset Hounds have been featured in popular culture many times. Some artists, such as director Mamoru Oshii and webcomic artist Scott Kurtz, regularly feature their pet Bassets in their work.


 * On February 27, 1928, Time magazine featured a Basset Hound on the front cover. The accompanying story was about the 52nd annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Madison Square Garden as if observed by the Basset Hound puppy.


 * Many cartoon dogs are based on the Basset, such as Droopy, with several Bassets appearing in animated Disney films. Syndicated comic strip Fred Basset has been a regular feature in newspapers since 1963.


 * There is a Basset Hound in the Smokey and the Bandit movie series. The dog, Fred, was personally picked by lead actor Burt Reynolds because it refused to obey commands.


 * In Disney's 1986 film The Great Mouse Detective, a Basset Hound named Toby is the dog of Sherlock Holmes.


 * In the early days of television, Elvis Presley famously sang "Hound Dog" to an uninterested top hat-wearing Basset Hound named Sherlock on The Steve Allen Show on July 1, 19
 * Another television Basset in the 1950s was Morgan. He appeared often on The Garry Moore Show, The Jackie Gleason Show and many other variety shows. He played a dog from Pluto on Captain Video and appeared in a Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis movie. His last appearance was on the Hallmark Hall of Fame, playing against Tom Bosley in 1959. He had a plush toy modeled on him. and appeared in a Life magazine article. Despite the article, he was never known as J J Morgan.


 * In the television series Columbo, Lieutenant Columbo owns a Basset Hound named Dog. Originally, it was not going to appear in the show because Peter Falk believed that it "already had enough gimmicks" but once the two met, Falk stated that Dog "was exactly the type of dog that Columbo would own", so he was added to the show and made his first appearance in 1972's "Étude in Black".


 * In the young adult novel The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, the Basset Hound is the symbol of college society the Loyal Order of the Basset Hound.


 * From the third season on of the television series The Dukes of Hazzard, Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane owned a lazy basset hound named Flash. Flash hated Boss Hogg but loved the Dukes.


 * Basset Hounds are often used as advertising logos. The logo for Hush Puppies brand shoes prominently features a Basset Hound whose real name is Jason. Basset Hounds are occasionally referred to as "hush puppies" for that reason. A Basset Hound also serves as the companion to the lonely Maytag Man in Maytag appliance advertisements. Tidewater Petroleum advertised its "Flying A" gasoline using a Basset Hound named Axelrod.

Related breeds

 * Basset Artesien Normand
 * Basset Bleu de Gascogne
 * Basset Fauve de Bretagne
 * Grand Basset Griffon Vendéen
 * Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen
 * Bloodhound