sadeyes2

OK, I know most of us are aware that Bassets were bred wth specific features in order to enable them to be good hunters. The ears for picking up the scent,the wrinkles for holding it and the large nose for smelling it. Even the height and loose skin is so that they could track their prey through the undergrowth and the white tip on the tail makes them easy to spot. Their loud bays also make them easier to follow but what puzzles me is ..why do they have that big bump(occuput???) on the top of their head.

The only explanation I have ever heard for this was from a guy I met in the park recently, who said the reason for it was that bassets were also bred to track
badgers in Europe, and when they had them trapped, the basset would then lower his head and basically"head-butt" the badger in the face with his occuput (bump)thus stunning it.

Now call me cynical if you want, but I have trouble believing that, but the guy assured me he had this on 'good authority'.

I replied that he was either trying to 'rip the p...' out of me, or, this 'good authority was trying to do likewise to him!!!

Anyone have any ideas why bassets do have this bump on the top of their head? I for one would be interested to know.

LouieDog

i'd love to know the answer to this one too. My husband and I always call Louie peanut head...lol

Lukes

Our neighbor has an older wooden fence that has weaker pickets. Luke uses his bump to repeatedly ram into the fence until one of the pickets give out. So there could be some truth behind that, though if Luke ever met a badger he could not get the traction for a head butt since he would be wetting himself so much.

sadeyes2

That's interesting Lukes, I can honestly say that I have never seen Toby do anything like that. Would be interesting to know if anyone else has ever noticed their basset using their head in a similar way.

2hounds

I too would like to hear the real answer. I had heard that it was because Bassets would get so into their tracking that they wouldn't even look up. The lump on the top of their head served as a reminder to change directions when it (the lump) ran into things??

~Heather

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Dear sweet Lily (ATB ) you will never be forgotten.

Lightning&Stomps

This is funny. I'd never heard these explanations before. The bump that runs lengthwise on the top of the head is called a sagittal crest, and it's common to quite a few mammals, mostly carnivores. It's supposedly connected to the muscles that help chew, so it is more prominent on animals that rely on strong biting or chewing (which doesn't make a lot of sense to me, as male sea lions have very prominent sagittal crests, but they swallow their meals whole). I think it is usually more prominent on males than females. Then there's the occipital crest or ridge (also called the occiput), the bump formed where the parietal bones join the occipital bone, across the top, back part of the skull. As far as I know, no animals "use" either of these crests for any purpose other than chewing or keeping their brains from leaking out.

2hounds

That makes sense to me.

~Heather

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Mommy to Gibbs and kitty kitty Eva

Dear sweet Lily (ATB ) you will never be forgotten.

Elmer-n-Button

Wow--and all this time, I thought the bump was just a platform for Button's "button". LOL

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Marcia

The sagittal crest also provides an attachment point for the neck muscles that help hold up the head. Many animals that have relatively heavy heads have a prominent one - Gorillas are a good example. The hump on a Rhino's neck performs a similar function - their heads can weigh 500 pounds!

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sadeyes2

Thanks for that information L&S and Marcia. So the bump is there to support various muscles because of the bassets confirmation. Makes much more sense to me.