BrenIrishBassets

Hi
I am a new owner and member of 2 lovely bassets and have come across a book called "Basset Hound Savvy" It claims to turn your basset into and obedient , playful happy healthy etc hound. Its not expensive but would love to know if anybody here has heard of it or used it. I want these dogs to live with us and not the other way round. Any advice would be great. Trying to get the potty right at the moment a nightmare.

SophieB

I don't know the book but having had several bassets at a time all through my life and my parents before me, it takes a lot of patience to care for Bassets because they are hounds, not dogs, and are very strong willed and stubborn and ours own us not the other way round! We have had rehomes over the years because people have had them and had no idea of how stubborn they can be and have 'given up'! My breeder (a good friend too) and another breeder friend won't sell to people who have had no experience of owning Bassets and they have loads of questions for people want them (if they've never owned a Basset) and make sure they have researched the breed if they aren't familiar with them.

Mikey T

IMHO bassets are slow to gain the sphincter control necesary for housetraining much later than other breeds. make it impossible to have a reliable housetrained dog before six month of age with 1 yr being typical, This does not mean however you need to live with accident. Quite the contrary every accident make housetraining that much harder. What is does mean is you need to be very dilligent in management techniques to prevent accidents. Remember the lack of accident is not an indication of house training but rather and indication of how well or poorly you are managing the dogs.

1. schedule. put feeding, access to water, play and exercise time, and sleep/quite time on s strick schedule. When these are on schedule the dog will eliminate on a schedule theeby simplifying management termendiously

2.From my fravorite article on Housetraining Your Puppy which address the common lemeant after letting the puppy outside it cones and goes and pees in the house. ]3. put dog elimination on cue, If you want the dog to know the purpose of going out is not to walk or sniff etc then by putting elimination on cue he/she will know the purpose. How to do this is include in the article above.

4. Teach the dog a cue to use to indicate when it needs to go. Waiting for the dog to discover a cue that works is completely unreliable and often an area where housetraining breaks down. By teaching the dog a cue that you will always honor you avoid a lot of problems, There is no magic in what this cue. Ie sitting patiently in front of the door, barking at the door etc all work if you honor them consitently, trouble is these type behavior cues often go unnotice or recognises by humans so many find a more distinc cue better. What works for many is teach the dog to ring a bell
House Training: Ring My Bell!


Have not read or seen the book. However any book that claims some magical formula that works with a specific breed of dog need to be taken not with a grain but a whole trailer truck load of salt. Bassets are dogs there is no magic formula that works with bassets that does not work with other breed or vice versa.

There are some difference however between so called hard to train breeds and the easy to train breeds. An this general involves to general areas. The first is independant thinking. Breeds i.e herding and sporting dogs which were bred to in cooperation with humans will look more toward humans for direction and what to do. Sled dogs, hound bouth sight and scent were bred to work independant of human involvement so do not look toward humans for directions, The second is bidabily, the willingness to please. It is somewhat tied to the first point. But the easier to train dogs do not question why? Why should I sit when the floor is cold etc. On the rare occasion they do question an answer like "because I said so" is acceptable. For the hard to train dog if you answer with "because I said so" you will get blown off. You need to make it in the dogs percieved best interest to listen. So an answer like :because you recieve a treat if you do. works much better with less biddable dogs. Keep in mind the answer does not alway have to be food, but something the dog desires. ie dit infront of the door way before being let out.

see Hard to Train?
look at "difficult-to-train" breeds and the reality of what shapes these canine minds

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