Bassett Hounds...thinking about getting one...

[greenbriar]

anyone have one now? What are they like?

[astonamous]

1. Great dog breed...

especially if you have a sense of humor.

Please consider adopting one and not supporting puppy mills and over breeding. There are breed specific rescue groups all over and you could actually be saving a life.

[greenbriar]

8. I want a puppy that I can raise and train

big dogs are okay, but I want one to grow up with us

[driver8]

13. Basset Hound would be great for a family. Like we have mentioned

before, they can be stubborn!

Keep us posted.

[astonamous]

18. Rescue groups will sometimes have puppies.

It never hurts to check them out first before paying hundreds of dollars for one. If you don't find a puppy that way, of course getting one from a good quality breeder that isn't in it for the money and over breeding their dogs, is ok. That is a very important question to ask, if the dogs are registered, there should be a record of how many litters the mother has had. If she is having one litter after another, there is a problem. It is very hard on the mother and eventually she will not be healthy enough and neither will her puppies. You also want to talk to their vet. If they aren't willing to give you the information you request...again, there is a problem.

We use to have a bassett. He was so funny and yes very stubborn. Once he accidentally caught a little field mouse in the back yard. The look on his face was precious. He just held it in his mouth for a minute and then let it go. Didn't know what to do. He also liked to sing in the bathroom and in the car.

Good luck.

[hyphenate]

2. They are very, very stubborn

And the males seem less neurotic than the females. My SIL has both male and female, as does my best friend. Albert is a lot cooler than Molly in my friend's "family." Elmo is my SIL's male, and he's pretty calm, too, except that he's gotten the equivalent of senile in his old age.

[Maddy McCall]

3. My best friend when I was a child had one. His name was Elvis.

He was a fat, loveable, lazy guy. He lived forever--I think he was 17 or 19 when he died. I love the breed. Elvis was THE cool dog in the neighborhood. :D

[ET Awful]

9. LOL, my mom has a basset hound named Elvis.

I've never met him, she got him after I moved out to Mass., and I haven't been home since she got him. :(

[driver8]

4. Bassett Hounds are the best!! I keep telling my wife that there is

a Bassett Hound in our future. I had a roommate who has a Bassett Hound and I used to take him to the dog park almost every day. Every one at the dog park knew him because he is very unique looking and he is such a character.

Please check out the Bassetts at your local rescue -- there are a lot of great dogs looking for permanent homes.

A couple of things:

Someone mentioned this already but it is true. They are very stubborn.

Because they are so low to the ground, Bassetts have their own "unique" odor. Keeping their ears clean is a must!!

They are "scent hounds" -- if your Bassett gets out of your yard, he will "follow his nose". Who knows where he will end up? They are wanderers.

They are gentle, loveable and great with children. Keep us posted!!

[radwriter0555]

5. They're LARGE. And sweet, stubborn, aloof. Not the most outgoing

of critters... not exactly a lap dog. Loyal, dispassionate.

Spend some time researching the breed online via websites, google something like "bassett hound personality" and see if that's what you're looking for.

They're SO cool! And LARGE.

[driver8]

7. Some are large -- some are not.

There are Bassetts who weigh 25 pounds and there are Bassetts who weigh 75 pounds.

Please do some research before you decide to get a hound to see if their personality type suits you and your family.

[havocmom]

6. Are you home all the time? Or, are there neighbors nearby?

Hounds do have, ahem, voices. My daughter used to babysit one. The owners could not go to movies at night and leave theirs at home alone. Have heard others say their's bay too. Lovely, deep voice, but it carries well ;)

Great dogs. Intelligent, funny, and quicker than most people realize. If the dog gets away from you, you have about 15 feet to catch it, or forget it and send a posse of kids after it. Those puppies can move!

[Theres-a]

10. God yes!

Ba-ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[driver8]

12. Their barks are hilarious. I took my roommates Basset Hound

to a local Basset parade...there were about 250 Basset Hounds of all shapes and sizes. The funny thing is, the Bassets all seem to get along. I didn't hear any growling from any of them.

As I mentioned before, I used to take my roommates Basset Hound to the dog park. When the other dogs would start chasing each other, he would run behind them giving them the BA-ROOOOO bark they are famous for. The bark combined with watching him chase the dogs always brought laughter from the crowd. He was nicknamed "The Sheriff" and everyone knew him.

I will have to find a picture of him and post it -- he is such a character.

[Theres-a]

21. Was it Woofstock?

I went to that last year in Massachusetts,and it was a blast!Apparently they have them all over.Did they have costume contests?I have my pictures at yahoo,wonder if I could upload them to photobucket.

[driver8]

22. Nope -- they didn't call it Woofstock...

I can't remember what they did call it. It was pretty funny, though. They had a parade, all sorts of competitions -- longest ears, loudest bark; I think they even had Basset Hound races.

I love Bassets...

[Theres-a]

11. Had one growing up

Fred.He died in 92 and I still miss him.My good friend has one,and if you live in New England there is a wonderful organization up here called NEBHR,and Woofstock is coming up in May.Like 150 Bassets all in one place!What a riot! I can't have a dog or I would surely adopt a hound.They are soulful,endearing companions.However,they have a bellowing howl that can be heard far and wide!

[friesianrider]

14. They bark a lot...

And please consider adopting and not buying from a breeder or pet store. If you insist in a puppy, what you can do is check petfinder.com or 1-800-save-a-pet.com and type in the breed you're looking for. Even if they don't have one you like now, new dogs are added several times a day due to the countless numbers of dumped pets. There are likely even Basset rescues that may get puppies in from time to time so you can always notify them you're looking to adopt a young Basset so they can alert you right away.

Please - just don't buy one. There are far too many millions of wonderful homeless dogs who need to be adopted or they will be killed because people just keep breeding more.

[applegrove]

15. I love big dogs too. Be careful of the bark though. Might want

to get a tape somewhere and play it loud. See how the neighbours react.

Cause some of those big dogs have barks that will wake up your neighbours in 4 directions in the middle of the night and that ain't good.

[Throd]

16. Non-stop barking machines.

I am a big time dog lover, but I really really really really wanted to kill my neighbor's Bassett. One day I caught him barking at ants!

[SaveElmer]

17. They are the best...

Very gentle...excellent with kids. Bassett Puppies are the cutest. They can be a bit stubborn at first, but once housebroken they are probably the best companion pet you can have!!!

[greenbriar]

19. thanks all. I will look to rescue a puppy,

before I pay money for one

[AirmensMom]

20. My sister has 2.

Mom has one. They're GREAT! I'm glad you're considering rescuing one. Here's Belle, a 1-year-old rescue. She's an absolute doll. :loveya:

[Robeson]

23. I have a pair of Hush Puppies. Does that count?.....

...

[ghostsofgiants]

24. Now why would you want to buy something JUST to hound Angela Bassett?