South of England
bassethound club
Basset Hound Breed Standard
© The Kennel Club
General Appearance
Short-legged hound of considerable substance, well balanced, full of quality. A certain amount of loose skin desirable.
Characteristics
Tenacious hound of ancient lineage which hunts by scent, possessing a pack instinct, a deep melodious voice and capable of great endurance in the field.
Temperament
Placid, never aggressive or timid. Affectionate.
Head and Skull
Domed with some stop and occipital bone prominent; of medium width at brow and tapering slightly to muzzle; general appearance of foreface lean not snipy. Top of muzzle nearly parallel with line from stop to occiput and not much longer than head from stop to occiput. There may be a moderate amount of wrinkle at brow and beside eyes. In any event skin of head loose enough as to wrinkle noticeably when drawn forward or when head is lowered. Flews of upper lip overlap lower substantially. Nose entirely black except in light-coloured hounds when it may be brown or liver. Large and well opened nostrils may protrude a little beyond lips.
Eyes
Lozenge-shaped neither prominent nor too deep-set, dark but may shade to mid-brown in light coloured hounds. Expression calm and serious. Red of lower lid appears, though not excessively. Light or yellow eye highly undesirable.
Ears
Set on low, just below line of eye. Long; reaching well beyond end of muzzle of correct length, but not excessively so. Narrow throughout their length and curling well inwards; very supple, fine and velvety in texture.
Mouth
Jaws strong, with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws.
Neck
Muscular, well arched and fairly long with pronounced but not exaggerated dewlap.
Forequarters
Shoulder blades well laid back; shoulders not heavy. Forelegs short, powerful and with great bone; elbows turning neither in nor out but fitting neatly against side. Upper forearm inclined slightly inwards, but not to such an extent as to prevent free action or to result in legs touching each other when standing or in action; forechest fitting neatly into crook when viewed from front. Knuckling-over highly undesirable. Wrinkles of skin on lower legs.
Body
Long and deep throughout length, breast bone prominent but chest neither narrow nor unduly deep; ribs well rounded and sprung, without flange, carried well back. Back rather broad; level; withers and quarters of approximately same height, though loins may arch slightly. Back from withers to inset of quarters not unduly long.
Hindquarters
Full of muscle and standing out well, giving an almost spherical effect when viewed from rear. Stifles well bent. Hocks well let down and slightly bent under but turn neither in nor out and just under body when standing naturally. Wrinkles of skin may appear between hock and foot, and at rear of joint a slight pouch resulting from looseness of skin.
Feet
Massive, well knuckled up and padded. Forefeet may point straight ahead or be turned slightly outwards but in every case hound always stands perfectly true, weight being born equally by toes with pads together so that feet would leave an imprint of a large hound and no unpadded areas in contact with ground.
Tail
(Stern) well set on, rather long, strong at base, tapering, with moderate amount of coarse hair underneath. When moving, stern carried well up and curving gently, sabre-fashion, never curling or gay.
Gait/Movement
Most important. Smooth free action with forelegs reaching well forward and hind legs showing powerful thrust, hound moving true both front and rear. Hocks and stifles never stiff in movement, nor must any toes be dragged.
Coat
Smooth, short and close without being too fine. Whole outline clean and free from feathering. Long haired, soft coat with feather highly undesirable.
Colour
Generally black, white and tan (tri-colour); lemon and white (bi-colour); but any recognised hound colour acceptable.
Size
Height: 33-38 cms (13-15 ins) at withers.
Faults
Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog.
Note
Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
Last Updated - March 1994 - Reproduced with kind permission from the Kennel Club
Living Conditions
The Basset Hound will do okay in an flat (apartment) or small house. They are very inactive indoors but outdoors they will run for hours in play if given the chance. Care should be taken to restrict where you dog can go, indoor gates are a good idea - bassets will get everywhere if you let them.
Exercise
Basset Hounds should be given plenty of exercise, but discourage it from jumping and stressing the front legs. This breed will run and play by the hour when given the chance.
Grooming
There is little grooming required for Basset Hounds. During moulting remove loose or dead hairs. They do however like to paddle through the wet and mud but they clean up easily due to their short close coat. Check the ears regularly for infection and clean them out once a week. Keep the claws short and clean the folds of the skin when necessary.
Feeding
Prospective owners must check with the breeder that the puppy's feeding has been supplemented, especially because of the large size of their litters.
Guard against overfeeding and obesity and do not feed supplements as in calcium or bone development nutrients without discussing this with your vet, as skeletal abnormalities may be the result.
Little and Often
The breed is very susceptible to bloat therefore it is advisable to feed 2 or 3 smaller meals a day rather than one large one.
Origin
Bassets originated in France in the 1500's. Basset comes from the French word 'bas', meaning 'low'.
Medieval Monks
The Basset was bred by medieval monks to hunt in heavy cover. From their physical appearance they appear to be a mix of three breeds: the head, sense of smell, and bone of a Bloodhound, the colouring of a Foxhound and the legs of a Dachshund.
Imported into Britain
However it was in the British Isles in the latter half of the 19th century that the breed fully blossomed. A pair of hounds of the Marquis de Tournon were imported to Lord Galway of England in 1866 and then a litter bred from them went to Lord Onslow who proceeded to develop an exceptional pack by crossing with further imports from the Coultreux pack from Normandy. Soon this importation was stopped and the English version of the Basset was developed in its own right.
Royal Connection
The first of these dogs appeared at the Wolverhampton Dog Show in 1875 and in 1883 The Basset Hound Club was formed. Queen Alexandra, wife of Edward V11 was a regular exhibitor and in 1909, one of her dogs won at Cruft's.
South of England Basset Hound Club is registered with the Kennel Club, ensuring that we adhere to their guidelines in dealing with dogs and people alike.
All shows are conducted in
adherence with Kennel Club rules and we endorse the good canine care practices promoted by the Kennel Club.