Talk:Basset Hound/Archive 1

Ghost in the Shell
Was just looking at an article on the Ghost in the Shell sequel, and i noticed a bassett hound on the movie poster. Being a fan of the original, I can tell you that this breed of dog makes a cameo appearance throughout the original animated film. Dessydes
 * Bassets are actually a hallmark of the director. --moof 02:46, 6 March 2006 (UTC)Hounds could run up to 40miles per hour.

Quality of Writing
"They are super cute and they're fun to snuggle with." Are you kidding me? This is an encyclopedia, not a children's book. GregChant 21:41, 5 November 2006 (UTC)


 * Yuck, yes, that should not be there.   Anyone can edit this encyclopedia, sadly that means changes like this will appear.     if you see stuff like this feel free to take it out!   Be Bold!  - Trysha (talk) 22:56, 5 November 2006 (UTC)


 * It IS a true statement, however! :) A basset fan! However, you might want to consider changing the second picture though, the dog's chin looks like a scrotum. --164.107.92.120 00:17, 16 November 2006 (UTC)


 * Yes, it is! :) --24.154.173.243 05:10, 25 November 2006 (UTC)

Kudos
Might sound weird, but I just felt like saying that this is one of the best articles I've read on WP in a while. I like how closely it adheres to the quality standards and seems like a good piece of collaborative writing. I see so many mediocre articles, this one is a treat. Congrats. Menkatopia 23:35, 13 November 2006 (UTC)Menk


 * I also like the overall appearance of this article, but I do think that it is rather short on references and external links. Best, --24.154.173.243 05:10, 25 November 2006 (UTC)

Photos
Multiple pictures from the same angle add nothing to the article. Most of them should be deleted. Adding pictures showing the dogs from the side and/or color variations would be good. I know this is the "cutest" angle, but seriously... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.46.75.48 (talk) 22:31, 24 January 2009 (UTC)

Wikipedia for schools link above
You know, when I click on that link, the article has a picture of an airplane and a castle rather than basset hounds. What gives? Sincerely, --A NobodyMy talk 06:30, 27 January 2009 (UTC)

brush-sheep?
What is a brush-sheep? Is there such a thing? I suspect the reference is a joke. Jeffkw (talk) 00:19, 5 March 2009 (UTC)

Changed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The poor dog breed looked like a beagle in the 40's, but it have been changed. I didn't know why!!! It's soooo ugly now, and the dogs become ill. --Bad News Live 1982-87 (talk) 17:15, 14 April 2009 (UTC)

Names
The captions should not have the dog names in them. It's just fine to have the names in the image description pages - but this article is about basset hounds in general and not specifically about any one dog. The purpose of images in the article is to aide in the description of the basset hound and having the dog names does not serve this purpose. See the featured article beagle as an example - each image serves a purpose within the context of the article, as is indicated by the captions. --Jtalledo (talk) 22:40, 31 May 2009 (UTC)

Do you even own a basset hound? Are you some sort of expert for this breed? Why don't you leave editing this page to people who own these dogs. Having an name takes away nothing from this page if anything it helps because its easier to determine the sex of the basset hound in the picture. 64.150.176.78 (talk) 22:23, 1 June 2009 (UTC)
 * No I don't, but I do know a thing or two about what makes a quality encyclopedia article. Again, see the page on beagle for how a proper dog article looks. Having the names there reduces what is supposed to be an encyclopedia article to a gallery for people's dogs. --Jtalledo (talk) 00:14, 2 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Just to clarify, I completely understand that these people are proud of their dogs, but Wikipedia is not the place to show them off. The aim is to write a proper, encyclopedic article, not to showcase dogs. There are plenty of places on the internet for people to show their basset pride, but Wikipedia isn't one of them. --Jtalledo (talk) 00:24, 2 June 2009 (UTC)

I agree with Jatalledo. Photographs and captions are supposed to help the reader learn about Bassets in general, not non-notable individuals. They illustrate aspects of the breed such as coat colors, general appearance, and the breed's orignal utilitrian task (in this case, small-game hunting). As a reader, I am much more interested in learning about those aspects than about the name of a non-notable individual. The name of the dog in the photograph is not important for the article unless that individual had significant influence on the development of the breed.--Coaster1983 (talk) 05:49, 2 June 2009 (UTC)

I agree as well. Calm down, it doesn't really matter if we know the dog's name or not, but it is not encyclopedic, and does not belong on the page. We could simply ask the poster of the picture for the dog's name. We could also ask the poster for the dog's gender as well. Mokoniki (talk) 01:25, 9 August 2009 (UTC)Mokoniki

Request for comment: Dog names
Should dog names be included in the captions for pictures in the basset hound article? --Jtalledo (talk) 23:47, 17 August 2009 (UTC)


 * I don't think they should be. The names have nothing to do with Wikipedia. Mokoniki (talk) 00:07, 18 August 2009 (UTC)Mokoniki
 * Agreed. Names of individual dogs are irrelevant unless the dog itself is notable for some reason. --Cyber cobra (talk) 05:11, 25 August 2009 (UTC)
 * Indeed. The article is about the dogs in general, not individual specimins of the species.  Nutiketaiel (talk) 17:09, 25 August 2009 (UTC)
 * Names are entirely irrelevant and should be excluded. They change the tone from encyclopedic to "isn't that cute".  Where are the reliable sources that support the names?  -- Mufka (u) (t) (c) 17:13, 25 August 2009 (UTC)


 * RfC response. Images in Wikipedia are supposed to be for generic illustration only. They need to avoid inclusion of unnecessary content. Indeed images and their captions need to adhere to NPOV, etc. Names of dogs should be avoided for the same reasons that any other incidental personalizations are to be avoided. Carry on! Here.it.comes.again (talk) 08:34, 2 September 2009 (UTC)

Relocate film "Avalon" mention
Relocate "Avalon" mention to the part that deals with other Mamoru Oshii films. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bassetman4 (talk • contribs) 21:52, 21 May 2010 (UTC)

Intelligence
Who wrote that basset hounds are dumb? I have always read that they are not dumb but stubbor. The very fact that they are hounds makes it difficult to teach them tricks, because they are born to lead (to take you after the prey) and not to follow. Of course, I am not an expert, so I would like to read more about this subject in the discussion page before editing the article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mriverat (talk • contribs) 22:03, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

>I have owned Bassets and find them quite intelligent, but perhaps not in the ways that some rate intelligence. If you tend to describe intelligence as a empty-headed obedience to anything and everything dictated by a person, well, Bassets aren't going to score well. They're above the small-minded, empty-headed fetch and return tricks that many seem to equate with intelligence. Bassets are thinking dogs.....so there! Ken (talk) 20:10, 14 April 2009 (UTC)

I did a small rewrite of the Training section; it read more like a series of sentences rather than a coherent paragraph, and noted that due to their extreme interest in smell (noted elsewhere in the article) they respond well to food rewards. --24.148.38.31 (talk) 15:58, 10 December 2008 (UTC)
 * Food rewards are a preliminary stage of training and not a handling method in it's own right. Affection and a ball is the true reward. As for difficulty in teaching tricks, it just takes patience. Gmip (talk) 21:20, 14 October 2011 (UTC)

Ears & Hearing
There is an uncited line in the entry: "Listening is another skill they have due to their large ears increasing their hearing range."

I want to contest this line. The basset hound is a scent hound, and most of its characteristics were bred into it for that fact. As I understand it, the hanging-ears of a basset hound assist in sweeping (and trapping) scent-molecules into its dewlaps (which form a natural valley for the scent-molecules to travel to the nose).

I think a misunderstanding about hearing has to do with a mistaken analogy between basset hounds and animals with similarly large, drooping ears: elephants. There is a key difference here, however. Elephants can (and do) spread and extend the fleshy, drooping ears, so to speak, making their ears exceptionally adapted to catching sound. A basset hound may raise its ears slightly, but its ears will continue to hang and droop.

The link between large-appearing ears and increased capacity for listening is a non-sequitur, at least in the case of the basset hound. I think the "Listening is another skill they have due to their large ears increasing their hearing range" line should be removed; in 2 weeks from this dated-entry, I will do so barring refutation. Randomjohnson7 (talk) 16:38, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

Actually, how well a Basset hears is something I'm not too sure about, but when they are trailing, they actually block the ear canal (remember, they were bred for hunting in dense cover), which also impairs their hearing, it's like wearing ear plugs or covering your ears with yout hands. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.219.185.204 (talk) 04:11, 16 March 2008 (UTC)
 * That's valid. However, their is a common misconception that these dogs are mostly deaf. Not true - that's like saying they are blind. They do not hear particularly well, but they certainly prick their ears and listen to distant sounds, and traditionally packs are controlled with hunting horns. When I play fetch with my Basset, he often runs off in the wrong direction, and then goes straight for the ball after hearing it bounce. Gmip (talk) 21:25, 14 October 2011 (UTC)

Basset Hounds Bite?
Ah, you might consider revising the page; Bassets are among the few dog breeds that don't bite.

Don't know where you got that information from but, Bassets are harmless. Read a Basset Hound's owners manual for pete's sake! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 206.63.78.46 (talk) 11:36, 9 October 2007 (UTC)

While bassets are one of (if not the) the most non-violent breeds out there, it is still too strong to say that they 'don't bite'. Any dog, regardless of breed-history, has the capacity to strike out of fear (i.e. at least defensively). It would be more fruitful to speak of the basset hound with regard to its bite capacity in emphasizing the breed history: that basset hounds were bred as coursing hounds and as scent hounds, and as such they simply follow game and bay when they find it. The biting instinct was to be bred out of the basset hound so they wouldn't attack the game. Unlike other breeds which are bred to nip at the heels of animals (herding dogs); bred to attack non-pack animals and defend territory; or bred to chase, surround, and wear-down very large game (e.g. larger hound breeds), the basset hound (as a coursing hound, and a slow one at that) was bred specifically to not bite, and to simply pursue game. So, instead of saying that they 'don't bite', it would be more fruitful to speak to their history and establish rather that their bite has been inhibited through use and breeding. This way we basset-lovers may establish that the basset hound really is the most non-violent breed, only this way it will be through an appeal to the history of the breed (and not just making seemingly-unfounded claims). This breeding history could be compared to the breeding history of other breeds, and relatively speaking we may be able to say that (ceteris paribus) they are the breed least likely to bite.

As a former basset breeder, I would like to state that although I've never known a basset to bite a human, they are fierce fighters if another dog is usurping their territory (or if they perceive it to be), and once involved they are ferocious and almost impossible to distract. Surprisingly, I found the old "water cure", squirting them liberally with water from a hose--but you can't stop too soon or they'll be right back at it. As every other detail of training a Basset is concerned, this also requires patience. Randomjohnson7 (talk) 17:17, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

Having owned a particularly Alpha-alpha male, I can atest that their bark is worse than their bite.....sorry. Seriously, he would have bitten if given the chance, altho he never did as his bark was sufficient to cause a living person to reconsider their proximity to a 70 lb Basset reaching over a 4' fence. The one time he did draw blood was likely more a result of the "victim" reactively moving his arm and probably not an actual clamping bite. This hound was incredibly and fiercely territorial, but as docile as could be off his turf.Ken (talk) 17:43, 10 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Re: Barking, should the article mention the Basset's bark specifically? A reason that it should, is that Bassets have a very deep and loud bark, sounding as if it came from a much larger (taller?) dog. I've seen it cause some surprise in people unfamiliar with that particular breed, that when barking out of sight, a visitor can sometimes be dumbfounded when they realize the low stature and speed of the dog, once it's within view.--Nwinther (talk) 12:46, 15 February 2011 (UTC)

I've never known a Basset to bite. However, my vet Karen Hedburg has informed me that at their practice they have had "Very aggressive and touchy" Basset clients. I found this information to be astounding, and is clearly in direct contradiction to the inherent traits of Bassets. I imagine this is due to bad training and akin to yappy, bitey lap dogs. Gmip (talk) 21:30, 14 October 2011 (UTC)

Aristocratic Breed?
I removed this statement. I do not think that it has any practical meaning.--Counsel 21:53, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

RE: A statement regarding the use of the basset hound by the aristocracy is surely of practical import; it shows how the dog was used in the past. As far as I know, the breed was used for hunts where hunters (who were generally aristocracy) didn't need to use a horse, and thus required a dog they could follow on foot (as opposed to a larger coursing hound). I am not familiar with the original statement that was removed, but the fact that is was removed shows a contemporary bias to the inequalities of the historical past (i.e. that only the aristocratic could own dogs of this use). They may not be aristocratic dogs now (since I own one, and I am no blue-blood), but they surely were in the past (like most dogs kept in large packs were). The fact that the basset hound is a pack 'hunter' is almost enough to default to the fact that they were dogs of the aristocracy; the poor wouldn't be able to keep a pack. Randomjohnson7 (talk) 16:18, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Actually this dog enjoyed a massive popularity pre-French Revolution as the exact opposite of an aristocratic dog. Only the aristocracy could hunt from horseback. That, my friend, would be with Bloodhounds. Gmip (talk) 21:34, 14 October 2011 (UTC)

George Washington and Basset Hounds
Article states that "It is commonly believed that Marquis de Lafayette brought Basset Hounds to the United States as a gift to George Washington." No such fact can be found in the diaries or letters of George Washington - to which all sources that state this refer, however he did receive 7 French Hounds from Comte d'Oiliamsson, procured by Marquis de Lafayette.

From George Washingtons letters

Paris, April 16th 1785: Lafayette to Washington

"English dogs are so much in fashion Here that the King who likes to Ride fast Has no french Hounds which, says He, are Very Slow—at last I Have discoverd a tolerable good Breed of them, which young M. Adams will take with Him in the Next packet."

Paris, May 13th 1785: Lafayette to Washington

"French Hounds are not Now Very Easely got Because the king Makes use of English dogs as Being more Swift than those of Normandy—I However Have got Seven from a Normand Gentleman Called Monsieur le Comte d'Oilliamson ..."

September 1st, 1785 Washington to Lafayette

"The Hounds which you were so obliging as to send me arrived safe, and are of promising appearance; to Monsieur le Compte Doilliamson (sic)… … and in an especial manner to his fair Competesse, my thanks are due for this favor: the enclosed letter which I give you the trouble of forwarding contains my acknowledgement of their obliging attention to me on this occasion."

September 1st, 1785: Washington to d'Oilliamson

"Sir: I have just received seven very fine Hounds, for which, the Marqs. de la Fayette informs me, I am indebted to your goodness ..."

In the papers of George Washington Parke Custis (Washingtons step-grandson and adopted son) Parke Custis describes the arrival of the French hounds, and where he notes that the dogs were larger than Washington's own Virginia hounds.

"After the peace of 1783, the hunting estalishment, which had gone down during the war, was renewed by the arrival of a pack of French hounds, sent out by the Marquis de Lafayette. These chiens de chasse were of great size …"

Parke Custis adds that children liked to ride the French Hound Vulcan, which certainly implies that they were large hounds.

"Of the French hounds, there was one named Vulcan, and we bear him the better in reminiscence, from having often bestrid his ample back in the days of our juvenility."

Furthermore, the paintings and drawings of Washington that include images of his dogs, virtually always include only dogs that look much like today's American foxhounds, Washington's Virginia hounds which were a more black and tan version of a foxhound, and an occasional large dark, almost black, hound type of dog, which may be the French hounds which were his gift from Lafayette.

There seems therefore to be ample evidence that the French Hounds Washington received were not Bassets, but a larger, taller breed of hound.

--Dma1511 (talk) 01:03, 5 November 2010 (UTC)


 * Sounds like a descendant of the St Hubert's Hound. Basset's at the time were smaller than they are now. If the King did indeed use his hounds from horseback, they could not "tolerably' be bassets. Gmip (talk) 23:25, 15 October 2011 (UTC)

Inter-Wiki contradictions
I've noticed something puzzling about the country of origin of the basset hound. The English article here says France is the appropriate country, but the French article claims Great Britain. I decided to look at the other languages also, and it seems almost half and half: The Italian, Portuguese, and Polish articles all claim Great Britain as the country of origin, whereas the Spanish, German, and Norwegian articles claim France. The Dutch article seems to avoid taking a side on the issue, instead stating: De Bassethond (Engels:Basset Hound) is een laagbenige jachthond van Engels-Franse afkomst. What could the cause of this discrepancy be? - 67.87.99.122 (talk) 06:17, 27 December 2007 (UTC)
 * That's not true for the French article. It states: Ce basset serait issu de croisements entre de vieilles races françaises, notamment le basset d'Artois (race aujourd'hui disparue) et le Saint-Hubert . Dr.K. (talk) 08:08, 27 December 2007 (UTC)
 * But the introduction (lead) of the French article mentions that the International Canine Federation recognises that the Basset has its origins in England. Encyclopaedia Britannica claims it's from France. The only way to reconcile Britannica and the wiki statements would be to assume that the uncited quotation in the French article from the International Canine Federation is false and the sister foreign language wikis are wrong when they claim a UK origin. There is also the remote possibility that the International Canine Federation disagrees with Britannica on the definition of a basset hound. Dr.K. (talk) 09:25, 27 December 2007 (UTC)


 * Also bear in mind what you copied and pasted from the French article mentions only that the immediate parent breeds of the basset hound are French breeds. However if one is born in America to French parents and is raised there, one is American, not French. - 67.87.99.122 (talk) 04:22, 28 December 2007 (UTC)


 * Similarly if American dog breeders in the US create a new breed using the German Shephard and Dachshund, German breeds, the resulting dog would be an American breed, not a German one. - 67.87.99.122 (talk) 04:26, 28 December 2007 (UTC)
 * Agreed. Maybe the British bred it as well. The only problem is the Britannica reference. It calls it a French breed. Also the International Canine Federation's citation in the French article is not confirmed. I, personally, would go with Britannica. You raised some excellent points however. Maybe we should expand this interwiki comparison to other articles. Thanks. Dr.K. (talk) 06:14, 28 December 2007 (UTC)


 * Fédération Cynologique Internationale [FCI} recognises the "Basset Hound" as orignating from England. All the other basset breeds are from France. The founding stock of the Basset Hound was Fench houndsbut the breding was done in England and the most sigificant cross breading to distinquish the Basset Hound breed from the founding French breeds occured in 1892 when  Millais bred basset Nicholas to a bloodhound bitch named Inoculation. Toughynutter (talk) 20:01, 23 September 2008 (UTC)


 * The problem is one of definition. A Basset Hound with capital letters didn't really exist until the 1890s, being as the result of IVF and subsequent breeding. However, the first of the basset hounds, that is, the short-legged hound ancestors of these dogs, were developed in France 300 years sooner. About half a millennia prior to this, you reach the common ancestor for a lot of hounds in Belgium, that being the St Hubert's Hound. Gmip (talk) 23:36, 15 October 2011 (UTC)

Big changes coming
removed: globalize|article|USA tag Gmip (talk) 00:41, 10 November 2011 (UTC) see Talk:Basset_Hound/gmip to view what i have written from scratch and my notes on the article
 * --Gmip (talk) 22:55, 14 October 2011 (UTC)
 * FIRST MAJOR REWRITE OCCURED Gmip (talk) 06:13, 17 October 2011 (UTC)
 * More coming, article proved too big for me to handle all at once.
 * SECOND MAJOR REWRITE OCCURED gmip Talk  00:39, 10 November 2011‎
 * Description and Health still need to be rewritten, with sources. New section on basset types needs to be written. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Gmip (talk • contribs) 00:43, 10 November 2011 (UTC)
 * THIRD MAJOR REWRITE OCCURED gmip Talk  10:54, 13 November 2011
 * Much of this update will change when sources are found. Temperament and the new "other" sections are now the last to need a complete overhaul before the ranking will have gone from C to B. More on hunting, lots of sources, an expanded lead in and some formatting work is needed before this can be nominated for Good Article status. New section on basset types still needed to aim for anything higher - I'm sure a lot of expansion will be required.

Laziness?
I own a very fit, active Basset Hound, and I have found through my personal research that the trend of labelling Basset Hounds as lazy is a modern misconception about Hounds. No Hound book published prior to the last few decades would say this. On the contrary, these dogs were bred to handle extreme terrains (low, forward centre of gravity) and run in packs all day, they are renowned for their undying tenacity when pursuing a scent, and they have one of the purest lines back to ancient times. They enjoyed a popularity as hunting dogs in France prior to the French Revolution due to their short legs and a law that only royality hunt from horseback (in essence as hunters they are a horseless bloodhound). Bassets are not lazy - they are smart. Obviously not in the "list of smartest dogs by breed" method of quantifying intelligence - they are near the bottom. They are however, expert social manipulators. These dogs have been kennelled for thousands of years, and living in the home, ESPECIALLY as the only dog or in a no-child household, you will occasionally see a dog dominating their family 'silverback gorilla style' ie, being big and lying around not doing much of anything. There are a lot of more accurate common descriptions of basset behaviour in this regard. "stubborn", "willful", "determined" or "deaf" are a bit more accurate, and also why this naturally obedient dog is generally not used for police work. I think this is related to their scenting reputation: 9 times out of 10 when my dog 'doesn't hear me', I can see his little nostrils working away analysing a world of scent far more complex than my world of sight. It'd be like tearing yourself away from the middle of a long sentence in a good book, or a loud action sequence in a movie. Like most big working dogs, they were bred to 1. do a job 2. be placid and lethargic at home. There is a big difference between these traits that have been bred into a species and "Laziness". Gmip (talk) 22:06, 14 October 2011 (UTC)
 * I tweaked one of the mentions of this because it seemed like a big over-generalization and like it wasn't backed by anything. Leefkrust22 (talk) 06:03, 14 December 2011 (UTC)

inacccurate representation of the breed
This article appears biased towards USA Bassets. Most Basset breeding is controlled and true to type, whereas in American Basset's there is often evidence of cross breeding. On top of this, hunting basset's are listed as if they are the same breed. Despite the name, hunting Basset's are not "rather low". They are taller, faster, lighter, and with less exaggerated features. These dogs have been cross-bred. The method of hunting with these dogs is as a pack. The standard basset, however, has commonly been used as a single dog for a single hunter. Colloquially, I have heard that they get stuck in under-brush a lot. Gmip (talk) 22:00, 14 October 2011 (UTC)
 * As mentioned earlier, other Basset breeds need to be mentioned, as this dog is where they have come from. Gmip (talk) 22:08, 14 October 2011 (UTC)

The Happy Basset Hounds
I can't find any information at all on this "world famous" performing trio other than what has been written in this article. Gmip (talk) 06:03, 15 October 2011 (UTC)
 * The civic event section is now a single line. gmip Talk   00:49, 10 November 2011 (UTC)

Did Shakespeare describe basset's in a Midsummer Night's Dream? (1598)
My hounds are bred out of the Spartan kind

So flew’d, so sanded; and their heads are hung

With ears that sweep away the morning dew;

Crook-knee’d, and dew-lapp’d like Thessalian Bulls;

Slow in persuit, but match’d in mouth like bells,

Each under each. A cry more tuneable

Was never holla’d to nor cheerd with horn.

Spartan?
Both the ancient Greeks and Romans were also familiar with dwarf hunting dogs. The Spartan Hound, in particular, was described as ‘short-legged and deep mouthed’ See my posts on the talk page of Hound for an attempt to trace scent hounds back to the asian wolf. Gmip (talk) 22:03, 16 October 2011 (UTC)

first mention of basset hounds in 1585?
on commons is a file of this book dated 1560 --84.181.37.183 (talk) 10:13, 7 October 2012 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just added archive links to 3 one external links on Basset Hound. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20150413081235/http://www.caninest.com/dog-ear-types/ to http://www.caninest.com/dog-ear-types/
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20131101092318/http://www.fci.be/uploaded_files/034gb2001_en.doc to http://www.fci.be/uploaded_files/034gb2001_en.doc
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20131101091446/http://www.fci.be/uploaded_files/163g06-en.doc to http://www.fci.be/uploaded_files/163g06-en.doc

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