Basset Hound

Overview

The Basset Hound is a scenthound in a low-rider's body. French breeders built it to keep pace with a hunter on foot, not on horseback. Every part is functional. The short powerful legs keep the nose close to the ground. Loose skin traps scent near the face. The long velvet ears sweep smells up from the earth. The deep baying voice carries across fields for the huntsman.

The everyday Basset is sweet, sociable, and deeply stubborn. Few dogs match their gift for looking mournful and getting away with things. They're affectionate, playful in short bursts, and gently insistent on their own schedule. They suit households with a sense of humor and patience for a hound that never quite grows up.

History & origin

The word basset comes from the French bas, meaning low. Dogs of that name appear in French hunting literature from at least the 1500s. The type was refined in mid-1800s France by Count Le Couteulx de Canteleu and Louis Lane. Their two strains, the Le Couteulx and the Lane, underlie the modern breed. French veterinarian Emmanuel Fournier and the Marquis de Lafayette also helped spread the breed.

The Basset arrived in England in the 1870s. Sir Everett Millais introduced a Bloodhound cross in the 1890s to broaden the type. The West Lodge Kennel of Lord Onslow produced the heavier-boned, longer-eared Basset we know today. The AKC recognized the breed in 1885. American popularity grew through the twentieth century thanks to advertising, film, the Fred Basset comic strip, and the Hush Puppies footwear mascot.

Modern Basset Hounds split into show and working lines. In France and parts of Britain, working pack Bassets still hunt hare on foot the traditional way. The show Basset, developed largely in the United States, leans toward heavier bone, longer ears, and more skin. That heavier build has sparked ongoing welfare debate inside the breed community. The FCI recognizes the breed under standard number 163.

Appearance

The AKC standard caps height at 15 inches at the withers. Weight runs 40 to 65 pounds. A Basset packs more mass on shorter legs than almost any other breed. The head is large, distinguished, and deeply lined. Pendulous lips. Well-set haws that show a little red. Long velvet ears that reach at least to the tip of the muzzle when drawn forward.

Bone is heavy. The chest is deep with a prominent prosternum and a clear tuck-up behind. The feet are large and turn slightly outward to spread weight. The tail is long, tapered, and carried up in a slight curve with a white tip. Movement is deliberate and rolling. It should look free and coordinated, not staggering. A properly built Basset in motion looks slow but has surprising endurance in the field.

Temperament

Sweet, patient, and famously stubborn. Bassets are pack hounds by history. They do best in company, whether other dogs, human family, or both. They're gentle with children, tolerant of household chaos, and affectionate on their own timeline. Obeying isn't the priority. A scent will overwrite instructions in a heartbeat.

The Basset has one of the most compelling baying voices among dogs. In the field, that's a virtue. In a suburban house, it's a lifestyle choice. Prey drive for small furry animals is real. Bassets will follow a scent trail for hours in a trance-like state.

Living with one

A Basset can live in an apartment or a house. But the build and habits shape the arrangement more than owners expect. Minimize stairs, jumping onto furniture, and any leaping to protect the long back. Homes with many stairs aren't ideal. Ramps, low beds, and a thoughtful room layout help both the dog and the humans.

Climate tolerance is moderate. Bassets do fine in cool weather but overheat quickly in hot humid conditions. The short legs put the belly close to hot pavement. In warm climates, walk during cooler hours and provide shade and cool water. Don't assume the breed regulates heat well. Bassets can also chill on cold wet days.

Puppies grow slowly and gently. Skip high-impact exercise, forced jogging, jumps from height, and stair climbing until growth plates close between fourteen and eighteen months. Free play on soft grass beats structured pounding. Adults do best on an hour of moderate daily activity split between leash walks and sniffing, plus mental engagement. Weight control is essential for life. Obesity multiplies every joint and back problem the breed already has. Seniors need shorter, gentler walks but keep their taste for scenting into old age.

Adults with a routine tolerate alone time well. Bassets are pack dogs and usually do better with company. Two hounds together can be easier than one alone. Bored Bassets sing, dig, and follow any interesting scent past the property line.

Bassets bay. They have one of the loudest voices in the small-to-medium range. Before you commit in a close-neighbored setting, be honest with yourself and your neighbors. Exercise, mental stimulation, and training to a settled place cut the noise dramatically but don't erase it.

Expect real ongoing expenses. Food for a heavy-boned medium dog, orthopedic bedding, ramps, ear cleaner by the gallon, and lifelong attention to weight, ears, and joints all add up over a ten to twelve year life.

Training & exercise

Bassets are smart but not obedient. They understand you clearly. They just weigh their options. Training must be positive, food-driven, and consistent. Keep sessions short, use clear rewards, and enforce firm household rules. Harsh corrections shut Bassets down and turn them into passive resisters. Anyone who tries to bully a Basset into cooperation will lose slowly and completely.

Early socialization matters. Between eight and sixteen weeks, introduce puppies calmly to friendly strangers, well-mannered dogs, cats you'll live with, vet handling, grooming table sessions, and household chaos. Handle feet, ears, and mouth from the first week home. It makes a lifetime of nail trims and ear cleaning much easier.

The most common training mistakes are expecting off-leash recall and letting the breed's sweetness stand in for structure. Recall stops working once a Basset locks onto a scent. Long-line management and secure fencing are the answers. Structure at home, an enforced feeding schedule, and high-value treats keep a Basset cooperative day to day. Housetraining takes longer than in some breeds and rewards patience.

Bassets shine at scent work: tracking, nose work, and traditional foot-pack hunting. Some earn rally, obedience, and even barn hunt titles, though few reach the top tiers. The Basset Hound Club of America organizes hound field trials and pack days for owners who want to give the breed real work.

Grooming & care

The short coat is easy. Brush weekly with a rubber curry or bristle brush and wipe down. Bassets rarely need bathing more than every four to six weeks. The classic doggy smell comes from skin folds and ears, not the coat.

Ears and skin folds need serious lifetime attention. Long ears trap moisture and bacteria. Clean weekly with a veterinary ear solution. Chronic ear infections are one of the most common vet complaints in the breed. Wipe skin folds around the face and neck. Keep nails short. Check eyes for buildup in the corners.

Health & lifespan

Basset Hounds usually live ten to twelve years. The health picture is dominated by structural consequences of the extreme dwarfism. There's also a set of hereditary conditions common to scenthounds and a strong tendency toward obesity that makes everything worse.

Watch for intervertebral disc disease and other back problems from the short-legged long-bodied build. Also elbow dysplasia and elbow incongruence, hip dysplasia, glaucoma, cherry eye, and eyelid abnormalities like entropion and ectropion. Chronic otitis externa (ear infections) follows the pendulous ear shape. Gastric dilatation-volvulus (bloat) is a risk given the deep chest. Also von Willebrand's disease, hypothyroidism, thrombopathia, and osteochondrosis dissecans. Chronic weight-bearing on short legs pushes most Bassets into arthritis by middle age.

Good breeders screen through OFA for hips and elbows. Expect annual eye exams registered with OFA or CAER. They DNA-test for thrombopathia and von Willebrand's disease, complete a cardiac exam, and increasingly assess spinal issues. The Basset Hound Club of America publishes a matching CHIC list.

Age brings arthritis, disc disease, chronic ear issues, and eye disease. Cancer risk climbs in the last third of life. Weight management is central. A Basset carrying a few extra pounds is under a lot more mechanical stress than a lean dog the same age. End-of-life calls often turn on mobility and pain control.

Pet insurance makes sense here. Pick a policy that covers hereditary and chronic conditions.

With kids & pets

Excellent with the family's own kids. Also generally patient with visiting children, if everyone respects that the dog needs to be lifted carefully and never allowed to jump from height. The steady good humor makes them a classic family hound.

First-time owner note

Reasonable for a first-time owner who knows the deal. This is a stubborn scent hound with real medical needs, notable noise, drool, and no interest in recall. Owners drawn to the mournful looks who want a low-maintenance small dog find the reality very different.

Fun facts

• The Basset's long ears are functional: they help stir scent up from the ground toward the nose and, together with the loose lip skin, help trap odor near the face during trailing.
• The Hush Puppies shoe brand adopted a Basset Hound named Jason as its mascot in 1958, and Bassets have remained associated with the brand ever since.
• Fred Basset, the newspaper comic strip character created by Alex Graham in 1963, has been published continuously for over sixty years.
• Elvis Presley's Basset Hound was the recipient of the song Hound Dog on the 1956 Steve Allen Show, where the King serenaded a top-hatted Basset named Sherlock on national television.

Famous & in culture

• Elvis Presley's Basset Hound Sherlock on The Steve Allen Show, 1956
• Fred Basset, comic strip character by Alex Graham, syndicated since 1963
• Jason, the original Hush Puppies mascot, adopted in 1958