People who know basset hounds only through television or advertising may think they were produced in Hollywood, but bassets are, in reality, finely crafted hunters from the land of the rising baguette. Indeed, there are few creations wherein form shadows function more doggedly than it does in the basset.
Abbreviated legs discourage flights of fancy while compelling the basset to keep its nose to the groundstone, thus making the basset a most efficient tracker, second only to the bloodhound in that pursuit. A low-slung chassis, no more than 15 inches at the shoulder, enables the basset to tunnel through bramble and brush like a four-legged rototiller. A singular and soulful voice, loud enough to raise the living, helps the basset to worry the most elusive game out of any cover. Grand, sweeping ears ladle a quarry's scent toward the basset's amply appointed nose. A white-tipped tail is a beacon in deep scrub, and a long, ponderous body dictates a slow, steady pace that thoughtfully accommodates the hunter who doesn't have time to waste keeping fit.
Vive la Difference
Basset is derived from the French word bas, which means "weird-looking dogs with truncated legs that first appeared in litters of French stag hounds in the 16th century." In time that definition was shortened to "lowest comedic denominator" or simply "low." The sawed-off limbs of these downstarts gave them a leg up with some French dog fanciers, who used them to develop several types of bas-relief hounds. Two of them - the Basset Artois and the Basset Normand - were the forewalkers of the modern-day breed. Although the first mention of a "basset" dog appeared in a text on badger hunting published in 1585, the breed was used to hunt all manner of game before eventually majoring in rabbit.
If we slowforward three centuries, we find that in 1866, a pair of basset hounds arrived in England from France. They produced a litter of five for their owner, Lord Galway, the following year, but they failed to catch fire with British dog fanciers. That spark was not struck until 1880 when a large entry of basset hounds nearly raised the floor at the Wolverhampton show. Their presence was mainly attributable to Sir Everett Millais, a dachshund breeder who had imported a male basset named Model from France in 1874 after seeing him at a dog show in Paris. The basset's popularity was also given a boost by Queen Alexandra, who kept bassets in the royal kennels, and by the formation of a basset hound club in 1884. Three years later the breed was recognized by the Kennel Club of England.
The People's Choice
Basset hounds were known in the United States since Revolutionary times. George Washington is reported to have owned bassets, a gift from his comrade in arms the Marquis de Lafayette. The American Kennel Club (AKC) began registering the breed in 1885, yet as of 1950, bassets ranked a low-profile 43rd out of 107 AKC breeds. There were 459 new bassets enrolled that year. Ten years later that number was 19 times greater (8,782), and the basset ranked 12th among 106 AKC breeds. Only Elvis soared up the charts faster during that decade. The basset peaked at number 10 on the AKC hit parade, a position it attained in 1964 and again in 1966. Last year its 15,726 new enrollments placed it 21st among 146 AKC breeds.
The fear of nuclear war inspired a brisk trade in bomb shelters during the 1950s, but the basset hound's popularity was not the result of an obsession with rabbit hunting as a means of surviving in a post-nuclear world. Two television programs and a shoe, actually, sent the basset over the top. The first program was "Lassie," which debuted in 1954. Its star, the wondercollie, had a basset hound friend named Pokey, who belonged to the hapless Timmy's hefty pal, Porky Brockway.
A greater impact on the applause meter was registered by Cleo, the basset who co-starred with Jackie Cooper in "The People's Choice," which ran from 1955 to 1958. Although Cleo didn't have a speaking part in the series, her thoughts, usually droll and acerbic, were audible to television viewers.
The third charm on the basset's collar was the Hush Puppy, a casual shoe introduced in 1958 and currently enjoying a vogue. Basset hounds have been used in Hush Puppy ads every step of that long, whimsical campaign.
They Love a Parade
Basset hounds are still used to hunt rabbit, but they are more visible in parades than in pursuit of Thumper. The Doo Dah parade in Ocean City, New Jersey, attracted 200 bassets in April. Last year more than 220 basset hounds from 11 states and Canada ascended on Dwight, Illinois, for The Illinois Waddle, an annual fund-raiser for Guardian Angel Basset Rescue, which places 10 to 15 bassets a month in new homes. The Great American Basset Waddle, held in Birmingham, Michigan, was profiled inLife magazine for May 1997. Six hundred bassets had attended the waddle the year before. The list of other cities that have basset parades is almost as long as the basset itself. A giant, flowery basset, representing Glendale, California, "marches" in the Tournament of Roses parade each year.
Anyone eavesdropping at a basset waddle is bound to hear quotes like the following: "They're the clowns of the dog world." "They're speedbumps. They take up a lot of floor space." "If you have to be somewhere in a hurry, you shouldn't have a basset anyway."
Bassets are, in many regards, the ideal family dog - devoted in the extreme, affable to a fault, marvelous with children and other animals, and content with moderate exercise. For all their geniality, however, bassets are possessed of abundant will power. They generally respond to commands at the same speed with which they do everything else. Moreover they live to follow a trail. Once they pick up an interesting scent, they're inclined to stay the course, even to the point of winding up lost. Unless their own tracking skills are highly developed, basset people should always exercise their dogs on a lead.
Bassets' keenly developed sense of smell notwithstanding, they are something of an Inspector Clouseau in the field. "Bassets will never out-chase a hare," said the master of one British basset pack. "It is fascinating to get up on a rise in the countryside and watch how well the hare escapes and how well the hounds stick to the scent. We just enjoy watching the chase because the fun would be over if the pack actually caught anything."
The Real Lowdown
Like the basset hound, genes have a mind of their own. While breeders have been busy refining the basset to a low art, a few of its genes have been up to mischief. Their antics have resulted in several diseases to which a basset could fall heir.
Osteochondritis dissecans (OCD), a corruption of bone underlying the cartilage in joint areas, usually strikes puppies, five to 12 months of age. If R&R (rest and restricted activity) aren't a sufficient "cure," surgery is required to remove bony lesions or pieces of detached cartilage.
Entropion, which may not be apparent until a dog is mature, is a condition in which the eyelids turn inward, causing irritation to the eye and, if left untreated, blindness.
Ectropion, the outward rolling of the lower eyelid, can result in scarring of the cornea and/or chronic conjunctivitis.
Otitis externa, an infection of the outer ear and ear canal, is the bane of dogs with long ears that don't get much air.
Intervertebral disk disease (IDD) is an abnormality of the cartilaginous disks that normally provide cushioning between the vertebrae. Basset owners should manage their dogs' exercise and diet carefully in order to minimize the expression of IDD in case their dogs have inherited this tendency. If IDD leads to vertebral disk herniation, the sooner that medical and surgical intervention are begun, the better.
Glaucoma, which often leads to partial or total blindness, is caused by an increase of fluid pressure within the eyeball. Primary glaucoma is inherited. Secondary glaucoma is caused by an injury or other physical mishap. The early signs of glaucoma include a dilated pupil, cloudiness within the cornea and/or an increase in the size of the blood vessels in the white portion of the eye. Once the onset of glaucoma occurs, treatment should begin promptly - in a matter of days or, in some extreme cases, even hours.
Von Willebrand's disease (VWD), caused by a deficiency or abnormality of the factor that assists in normal blood clotting, can result in excessive bleeding. In a 10-year, 1,060-case study conducted in New York state, 17 percent of the basset hounds had VWD and 34 percent were in the borderline range. Prospective basset owners should ask to see the results of VWD tests on the parents of the puppies in which they are interested.
Give Us This Day Our Daily Fred
Basset hounds will follow a scent until its owner dies, showing up just in time for the viewing. This legendary stamina is reflected in the comic strip "Fred Basset." A perpetual pleaser, Fred has been "running" nonstop since he first appeared in London's Daily Mail on July 8, 1963, even though his creator, Glasgow native Alex Graham, has been dead now for almost eight years. Graham, who owned a basset hound named Freida, published 8,757 Freds before he died. In addition, he left behind an 18-month supply of his comic strip. When that expired, the Daily Mail and other newspapers around the world began rerunning the 9,000-plus Fred Bassets, which will last without interruption until 2023.
To be sure, some hare, after running through streams and foul-smelling fields to cover their trail, have been seen doubling back through the middle of the basset pack, whose members are too busy following the scent to notice.
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