Basset Hounds Forum banner

Basset Hound - The Hunter

4K views 19 replies 10 participants last post by  shakerag 
#1 ·
Hello everyone!!!

I just wanted to bring a topic to the board to discuss your experiences with your Basset - the Hunter. I'll begin with mine and I'm interested to see how diverse and great the Basset breed is! I know its their natural instinct to hunt, and my boy has had some fun with his tracking lately. :lol:

Anyway, for the past month or so I've been taking Fred out on walks and to do his "business". Well, when I take him out in my yard, he goes on a sniffing spree. Well for the past couple of evenings, he'll go to this one spot and start trying to dig. I think that Fred has found a mole in my yard, because later that night I saw a hole where he was trying to dig. The mole probably moved, because he sensed that someone was trying to get him.

Well last night, I took Fred out and even in the RAIN, Fred went on a sniffing frenzy. He sniffed until he got to another spot and tried to dig. It was hard keeping him under the umbrella, because he was tracking something. I think Fred has caught the scent of a mole that's been busy in my yard. I told my mom Imma let Fred have at the mole this weekend. :p

Please share some of these same experiences. I'm just wondering if I may be right about my good ole Fred.
 
See less See more
#2 ·
Dixie has a ritual every morning. She goes straight out to the two big trees out back where there are a couple of squirrels that love to taunt her. They chatter and run up the tree and she barks and barks and barks, running around the tree to keep her eye on them.

After a long while, she patrols the perimeter of the yard and gets onto the scent of rabbits that have been in during the night and proceeds to try to eat as much bunny poop and she can! :huh:

She also makes stops along the way to dig little holes all over the yard. I just recently discovered that she is digging up worms. :eek:

She has a great nose and finds all sorts of insects to unearth, including some sort of hornet/yellow jacket nest this summer.

I just wish she would fill the holes in when she's done!
 
#3 ·
Dixie has a ritual every morning. She goes straight out to the two big trees out back where there are a couple of squirrels that love to taunt her. They chatter and run up the tree and she barks and barks and barks, running around the tree to keep her eye on them.

After a long while, she patrols the perimeter of the yard and gets onto the scent of rabbits that have been in during the night and proceeds to try to eat as much bunny poop and she can! :huh:

She also makes stops along the way to dig little holes all over the yard. I just recently discovered that she is digging up worms. :eek:

She has a great nose and finds all sorts of insects to unearth, including some sort of hornet/yellow jacket nest this summer.

I just wish she would fill the holes in when she's done![/b]

I see that your girl, Dixie is just as busy with her hunter's instinct as my boy, Fred. I wonder if he's sniffing earthworms too, because the previous owner of my house raised earthworms to keep her soil loose for her flowerbeds. :lol:
 
#4 ·
Ye ole toughynutter was never much of a hunter/sniffer tracker but he did catch and kill three mice that my sisters cat brought in to house on his catch and release program But my favorite and often told story of his hunting prowess is this one.

After day one of an agility trial in Upstate NY I took Toughy and a couple of other dogs on a walk out back of the park which was basical set-up as a hunter/jumpers course for horses. As typical, Toughy was off lead and the others were on. Atypically, however, He was out in front, way out in front Usually, he lags 100 yards or more behind. After turning down a side path he disappeared from view. I and the rest of the dogs continue down the path and are soon approaching a T in the path without a clue which way he went. Before reaching the junction a rabbit comes running down the path that would have been the top of the T and shortly thereafter turn right, away from us and into the woods. Fortunately the two I had on leash were too busy sniffing else where to even notice.
About 30 seconds later toughy comes running full speed following the path of the rabbit including the sharp right turn, but he pulls up to a stop immeadiately and starts barking into the woods. When I reach him I can see what the problem was. Where the rabbit turned there were a couple of biars. No way could any self respecting gentlemanly basset be expect to step on a briar clearly the rabbit was playing outside the rules and must be berated for his cheating. That one incident is all one needs to know about his prowess as a hunter and doing everthing you don't want in a hunting dog. tight lipped when on the trail, vocal when the trail is lost, and an unwillingness to work in hard cover.
 
#6 ·
When Sadie was alive, she was quite the mole hunter also. I think she caught 3 total. It was kinda funny - she would dig the heck out of my yard going after them, but by golly she got them! :rolleyes: Sadie also caught (& ate :huh: ) a bird once. My backyard is full of squirrels, but she never cared about them. She would lay & just watch them run past her. Spencer on the other hand, is tormented by the squirrels! He practically breaks his neck going after them - hasn't caught any yet!
 
#7 ·
Fredmom---I moved--not long ago--from just across the line from you where the lay of the land is similar and we had moles galore there so the odds are good that you do too. My first Basset would dig them up as well but he was also useful in the neighborhood to sniff out any unwanted living critters in attics or under houses that homeowners suspected of being there. I would not unleash him to fetch the critters--just to let us know if they were present or not.
If your Hound were up here in the Ozarks he would have all kinds of animals scents to keep him busy, for sure!
don
 
#8 ·
I've always wondered how much bassets rely on scent and just how good (or not) their eyesight is. Twinkie answered that this summer. We have pretty heavy perennial gardens all around the yard, and behind them, a PVC privacy fence that the soil is built up in front of so she can't get under it. I was sitting out in the yard this summer and she started sniffing and then the tail started going like a metronome, and then she started barking. I watched for a little while and noticed a rabbit hiding in the perennials. She followed his scent from where he probably entered the yard, and all the way down to where he was sitting. Although she spent a long, long time sniffing, she never saw him! He was only about three-four feet away from her and he was frozen there. Had he moved, I'm sure the chase would have been on, but he never did, and she never saw him. After a bit I distracted her and I assume he took off. She sniffed around where he was a lot that day, but I was truly astounded that she was so intent on what her nose was telling her that her eyes never saw him.

BTW, does anybody else's hound feel the need to bark and howl when they get on a scent? With Twink, I always know when she's found a scent because the tail starts wagging faster and faster and then the "chatter" starts.

ETA: Thought I'd add a pic of where the bunny was hiding...right behind the orange lillies!

 
#10 ·
Fredmom---I moved--not long ago--from just across the line from you where the lay of the land is similar and we had moles galore there so the odds are good that you do too. My first Basset would dig them up as well but he was also useful in the neighborhood to sniff out any unwanted living critters in attics or under houses that homeowners suspected of being there. I would not unleash him to fetch the critters--just to let us know if they were present or not.
If your Hound were up here in the Ozarks he would have all kinds of animals scents to keep him busy, for sure!
don[/b]
Oh I wont unleash him under ANY circumstances. I made that mistake once and honey, I'm just glad that he was obedient and came back when I told him to. I am gonna let him have some fun in my yard, on a long leash of course. :lol:
 
#12 ·
Fredmom: My first Basset had to be leashed and would take off when he could..........my 3 yr old girl that I have now is completely the opposite. I live five miles off the highway in the Mountains and I turn her out in the morning or anytime for that manner unsupervised. In the morning I sit on the front and watch her sniffing where the deer have laid overnight and when she hits a hot scent she will take off and run it and when she gets tired she comes home and drinks water and takes a Hound nap on the couch all sprawled out un-lady like! She has her run of all eternity up here and will not run away. She has never done any bad things either and is sweet as can be. I am expecting her to begin talking to me anyday now.
You can bring Fred up here and I bet he will stick with my Molly and not run away from her.
********************************************************************************************************
TwinkiesMom: Dean is exactly correct about the 'mouth' on the Hound. You do not want a mute hunting Hound. In LE circles down South when the Bloodhounds pick up the hot scent and begin to howl that is called 'the strike'. The first one that strikes will howl and stand where the scent is until the others come over to smell and also rub their ears in the scent area before they begin to run. When you have run behind the pack in pursuit long enough you can distinguish the bark and howl of each Hound in the pack and you can also tell by the mouth if they have caught the target(human or animal depending on what the hunt) or of if they are just before closing in. When Blood Hounds catch the escapee they will just gather around him and sit down and will not begin to bark and howl unless he makes another run for it but most times he is too tired to try to run from them and will just sit and wait on the arrest team.
Those pictures Dean shared were really beautiful of our beloved Hounds doing what they were bred to do!
don
 
#13 ·
Fredmom: My first Basset had to be leashed and would take off when he could..........my 3 yr old girl that I have now is completely the opposite. I live five miles off the highway in the Mountains and I turn her out in the morning or anytime for that manner unsupervised. In the morning I sit on the front and watch her sniffing where the deer have laid overnight and when she hits a hot scent she will take off and run it and when she gets tired she comes home and drinks water and takes a Hound nap on the couch all sprawled out un-lady like! She has her run of all eternity up here and will not run away. She has never done any bad things either and is sweet as can be. I am expecting her to begin talking to me anyday now.
You can bring Fred up here and I bet he will stick with my Molly and not run away from her.
********************************************************************************************************[/b]
I believe you. He keeps his nose to the ground and would enjoy the company, but let me get him neutered first. He'll be trying to make a wife and mother out of your girl... :lol:
 
#16 ·
TwinkiesMom: Dean is exactly correct about the 'mouth' on the Hound. You do not want a mute hunting Hound. In LE circles down South when the Bloodhounds pick up the hot scent and begin to howl that is called 'the strike'. The first one that strikes will howl and stand where the scent is until the others come over to smell and also rub their ears in the scent area before they begin to run. When you have run behind the pack in pursuit long enough you can distinguish the bark and howl of each Hound in the pack and you can also tell by the mouth if they have caught the target(human or animal depending on what the hunt) or of if they are just before closing in. When Blood Hounds catch the escapee they will just gather around him and sit down and will not begin to bark and howl unless he makes another run for it but most times he is too tired to try to run from them and will just sit and wait on the arrest team.

don[/b]
Shakerag:(or anyone who know the answer!) That's really interesting! Now here's a question: I've read that bassets are second only to bloodhounds in scenting ability- why aren't they used by law enforcement for tracking? Or are they?
 
#17 ·
TwinkiesMom: Dean is exactly correct about the 'mouth' on the Hound. You do not want a mute hunting Hound. In LE circles down South when the Bloodhounds pick up the hot scent and begin to howl that is called 'the strike'. The first one that strikes will howl and stand where the scent is until the others come over to smell and also rub their ears in the scent area before they begin to run. When you have run behind the pack in pursuit long enough you can distinguish the bark and howl of each Hound in the pack and you can also tell by the mouth if they have caught the target(human or animal depending on what the hunt) or of if they are just before closing in. When Blood Hounds catch the escapee they will just gather around him and sit down and will not begin to bark and howl unless he makes another run for it but most times he is too tired to try to run from them and will just sit and wait on the arrest team.
Those pictures Dean shared were really beautiful of our beloved Hounds doing what they were bred to do!
don[/b]
Dean and Shakerag....Must be something to hear and see...these dogs doing what they were meant to do.
 
#18 ·
Bassets are second in tracking ability -- based on scent receptors in the nose -- 2 reasons for not being used for rescue
1 -- short legs, the bassets would have trouble with some types of terrain

2 -- they are too cute -- everybody would want to stop and pet the funny doggy --- That is why beagles are used for checking luggage at airports, larger dogs like the labs, etc can scare some people, bassets are too cute. Beagles are small enough to not be scary, can jump over bags or onto baggage carousels, not heavy enough that people would scream if the dog walks on their bags
 
#19 ·
My dogs are clueless around squirrels--they grew up with them, and I've never seen either one even give them a glance. The only glimmer I see of hunting ability is Bella's ability to take down birds on the fly...it's happened twice--both times when she was quite the pup. haven't seen anything like that lately. Sure wish a rabbit would get in our yard, or we'd Hunt tests around here--I'd like to see what they'd do.
 
#20 ·
Our beloved Bassets are second to Bloodhounds in scent abilities and the Bloodhounds are a older breed with much longer legs for running very long distances at great speed. The Basset is no wimp by any means! They can hold their own in endurance due to the large strong chest and because they draw their linage from the Bloodhound but they were not bred for open field runs such as what the Bloodhound, Walker or Black and Tan Hounds would be suited for.
Bloodhounds are easier to train to track than the Basset since they are not as 'headstrong' as our Hounds!
Now in the area of chasing rabbits thru dense bush the Basset takes first prize every time and besides a Bloodhound is just too big and powerful to have sprawled out on the couch and they will eat you out of house and home as well.
Rabbit hunters in any state are very good folks to get to know and to go along on a hunt if you have never been on one and even if the Beagle is used anybody would really enjoy the hunt, for sure!
don
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top