Basset Hound

The Basset Hound is a low, heavy scenthound with French roots and much of its modern development in Britain. Its name comes from bas, meaning low, and the breed was shaped to follow rabbit and hare scent at a walking hunter's pace. A Basset Hound has heavy bone, a long body, very long ears, loose skin, and a deep muzzle built around a powerful nose. Common colors include tricolor, red and white, lemon and white, and other hound patterns.

Household Bassets are often sociable, comic dogs, but their easygoing look can hide a strong will once scent is involved. Training works best when rewards are used carefully, since the breed is famously food motivated and prone to gaining weight. Stairs, repeated jumping, and slick floors can be hard on a heavy, long-backed dog, especially during growth. Routine care includes cleaning ears and skin folds, trimming nails, and watching the eyes. Responsible breeders discuss sound movement, elbow and hip history, glaucoma, and inherited bleeding disorders in their lines.

Colors: Apricot, Bicolor, Black, Black and Tan, Black and White, Black Mask, Black White and Tan, Blue, Blue and Tan, Blue Merle, Blue Roan, Blue Tick, Brindle, Brown, Brown and Tan, Brown and White, Chocolate, Cream, Dapple, Domino, Fawn, Fawn and White, Gold, Gray, Harlequin, Irish Marked, Lemon and White, Liver, Liver Mask, Mantle, Mask, Merle, Mottled, Parti-Color, Piebald, Red, Red and White, Red Merle, Red Roan, Red Tick, Reverse Brindle, Roan, Sable, Saddle, Silver, Speckled, Spotted, Tan, Ticked, Tricolor, Tuxedo, White, Yellow