G'day from down under

steve m · 04-27-2011, 11:12 PM

Hi Guys

I'v been following the threads on your site for a while and have just joined the forum. Quick introduction, I live near Sydney, Australia ( fly from LA to Hawai and keep going in the same direction for another 10 hours ) and am just about to adopt an 18 month old Basset called 'Woody'.

My wife and daughter are really excited about our proposed new family member, and if everything works out OK we will have him on Sunday. It's a 5 hour drive from here to Woody's current home, so I will go down there and stay a couple of hours with him before hopefully bringing him home.

We previoulsy had a lovely Saint Bernard called Hannah, but sadly she passed after 11 years of happy life with us and left a huge hole in our lives. Saints and Bassets have a lot in common in terms of personality and stubborness, so I think we have chosen well.

I will be checking Woody over and seeing how he behaves with me before making the final decision, but would welcome any advice from Basset owners to take into consideration. I have spoken to the breeders that supplied Woody to his owners, and they tell me that their line of Basset's come from a good pedigree line and are regular show winners. We won't be showing Woody, he will be joining us as part of the family and as a companion dog.

I have attached a photo of him, handsome lad isn't he ?

roscolaylamommy · 04-27-2011, 11:17 PM

He's BEAUTIFUL! Such a handsome boy. I think being a previous stubborn dog owner, you have a pretty good handle on how to deal with stubborn breeds. I hope everything with your adoption goes well. Can't wait to see more pictures of Woody when you bring him home. Welcome to the forum!

Annie714 · 04-28-2011, 12:13 AM

Woody is a VERY handsome young man! Annie is very impressed with the length of his beautiful ears and his GIGANTIC paws! Hope your meeting him goes well and we can see more pictures

MollyMcFrecklesMom · 04-28-2011, 02:32 AM

Welcome! Yes, he is a handsome guy

Stubbornness is the worst (yet still endearing) trait of a basset, from my experience. I've never met anyone who challenged by own stubbornness as much as my Molly. Winston is following in her footsteps now. Slow housebreaking is also an issue with puppies, but there's lots of advice here on the boards regarding that. Overall, I think they more than make up for it with their sweetness and silliness.

I hope it works out with him and we get to hear more about his antics...and see pictures

Boomer's Mom · 04-28-2011, 09:50 AM

He is a very handsome boy, and they way he is sitting looks like he is surveying his kingdom!

Bassets can be stubborn, for sure (Boomer says that he is NOT stubborn), but they are sweet dogs. IMHO.

I hope that he works out for you, and we would love to see more pictures and hear about him.

You'll find a wealth of info and friends here.

Kirska · 04-28-2011, 11:55 AM

He is a very handsome man indeed.

I've worked with Aussies and New Zealanders pretty frequently so I am used to your kind :P

Esther · 04-28-2011, 12:05 PM

i'm not stubborn. i'm independent. except in the food category tho... heehee

btw kewl paws there woody!
(what big paws you have)

Mikey T · 04-28-2011, 12:37 PM

Quote:

I will be checking Woody over and seeing how he behaves with me before making the final decision

in all honesty a single meeting is not an accurate way to assess a dog.

Temperament Testing in the Age of No-Kill

Quote:

Despite an article in the September/October 2003 issue of Animal Sheltering magazine, the claims of predictive validity do not stand up to scrutiny. In other words, we can’t say, with any sort of scientific rigor, that the result of a temperament test has a definite correlation to what a dog will do once he or she gets comfortable in a home. If a dog fails his temperament test because the doll that is supposed to resemble a child scares the knickers off of him, does that necessarily mean the dog will react like that with your kid? If a dog passes the test with flying colors, does that necessarily mean that he and the mailman are going to be great pals? We are not sure.

In fact, because of the training and ability of shelter personnel or, more accurately, the lack thereof, if you took two testers and had them test the same dog, you could easily get two different results. If you took the same tester and the same dog over different days, you still might get different results.

...But there are other reasons that temperament testing is so problematic.
One reason is that dogs are highly contextual, and we can’t recreate life experiences in all their complexity. We can put a doll in front of a dog, but not a cooing, arms outstretched, grinning from ear to ear, real little kid who wants to run up to the dog and throw his arms around the pooch.

...Having said all that, let me engage in what appears to be a contradiction: We should still do temperament testing. But, I advocate the use of temperament testing with the caveat that we need to be cognizant of its limitations,

Actual more important than a one time meeting is the experience of those that have owned live with the dog before. What do they say he is like?

What is the "real" reason the dog is available at 18 months. a behavioral issue the original owner could not deal with? Those are the types of question you need to be asking to make a valid evaluation and even then you are reliant on getting truthful answers which have a tendecy not to be forthcoming if it is percieved to jepordize the likelihood you will take the dog. You need to make an evaluation of the truthfulness and completeness of the information you get from others.

I am not suggest you should not do your own temperment testing and evaluation but it must be done with the realization of the limits on accuracy that occur when only see the dog once and in an evironment that is different than the one he will come to live in.

Quote:

personality and stubborness

Never met a stuborn basset only owners that did not know how to motivate them

bubbad · 04-28-2011, 01:22 PM

Why is Woody being given up? Do you feel they are being honest about the reason(s).There can't be many breeders of bassets in your country so since you have already made contact with Woody's maybe she can give you many suggestions on how to help him fit in to your lives. Good luck I hope he works out with your family.

mhvonalmen8908 · 04-28-2011, 02:52 PM

He is such a handsome fella! Love love love his long ol' ears! I think bubbad has brought up a valid point. Make sure they're not giving you the run around about why they're giving him up. And please post more pictures if you decide to get him! Good luck!

04-27-2011, 11:12 PM	#1 (permalink)
steve m Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Australia Posts: 9	G'day from down under Hi Guys I'v been following the threads on your site for a while and have just joined the forum. Quick introduction, I live near Sydney, Australia ( fly from LA to Hawai and keep going in the same direction for another 10 hours ) and am just about to adopt an 18 month old Basset called 'Woody'. My wife and daughter are really excited about our proposed new family member, and if everything works out OK we will have him on Sunday. It's a 5 hour drive from here to Woody's current home, so I will go down there and stay a couple of hours with him before hopefully bringing him home. We previoulsy had a lovely Saint Bernard called Hannah, but sadly she passed after 11 years of happy life with us and left a huge hole in our lives. Saints and Bassets have a lot in common in terms of personality and stubborness, so I think we have chosen well. I will be checking Woody over and seeing how he behaves with me before making the final decision, but would welcome any advice from Basset owners to take into consideration. I have spoken to the breeders that supplied Woody to his owners, and they tell me that their line of Basset's come from a good pedigree line and are regular show winners. We won't be showing Woody, he will be joining us as part of the family and as a companion dog. I have attached a photo of him, handsome lad isn't he ? Attached Thumbnails __________________ Living in the Land Down-under.

04-28-2011, 12:13 AM	#3 (permalink)
Annie714 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Huntington Beach, CA Posts: 1,164	Woody is a VERY handsome young man! Annie is very impressed with the length of his beautiful ears and his GIGANTIC paws! Hope your meeting him goes well and we can see more pictures __________________ Blog about the antics of Annie and I. http://thechickandthehound.blogspot.com

04-28-2011, 11:55 AM	#6 (permalink)
Kirska Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 934	He is a very handsome man indeed. I've worked with Aussies and New Zealanders pretty frequently so I am used to your kind :P __________________ Mom to Anabelle and Lila, rescued ladies and Harley, Corgi/Beagle/Basset/?? mutt "Saving just one dog won't change the world, but it surely will change the world for that one dog." - Richard C. Call

04-28-2011, 02:52 PM	#10 (permalink)
mhvonalmen8908 Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Sumter, SC Posts: 671	He is such a handsome fella! Love love love his long ol' ears! I think bubbad has brought up a valid point. Make sure they're not giving you the run around about why they're giving him up. And please post more pictures if you decide to get him! Good luck! __________________ Megan & Chris -Mom & Dad to Doppler (2 year old Basset/Redbone/Golden mix) and Virga (1 year old Basset)

04-27-2011, 11:17 PM	#2 (permalink)
roscolaylamommy Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Columbia, MO Posts: 415	He's BEAUTIFUL! Such a handsome boy. I think being a previous stubborn dog owner, you have a pretty good handle on how to deal with stubborn breeds. I hope everything with your adoption goes well. Can't wait to see more pictures of Woody when you bring him home. Welcome to the forum!

04-28-2011, 02:32 AM	#4 (permalink)
MollyMcFrecklesMom Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Southeast PA Posts: 1,182	Welcome! Yes, he is a handsome guy Stubbornness is the worst (yet still endearing) trait of a basset, from my experience. I've never met anyone who challenged by own stubbornness as much as my Molly. Winston is following in her footsteps now. Slow housebreaking is also an issue with puppies, but there's lots of advice here on the boards regarding that. Overall, I think they more than make up for it with their sweetness and silliness. I hope it works out with him and we get to hear more about his antics...and see pictures

04-28-2011, 09:50 AM	#5 (permalink)
Boomer's Mom Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Nebraska Posts: 1,736	He is a very handsome boy, and they way he is sitting looks like he is surveying his kingdom! Bassets can be stubborn, for sure (Boomer says that he is NOT stubborn), but they are sweet dogs. IMHO. I hope that he works out for you, and we would love to see more pictures and hear about him. You'll find a wealth of info and friends here.

04-28-2011, 12:05 PM	#7 (permalink)
Esther Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Memphis, TN Posts: 1,038	i'm not stubborn. i'm independent. except in the food category tho... heehee btw kewl paws there woody! (what big paws you have)

04-28-2011, 01:22 PM	#9 (permalink)
bubbad Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Boiling Springs,Pa Posts: 1,347	Why is Woody being given up? Do you feel they are being honest about the reason(s).There can't be many breeders of bassets in your country so since you have already made contact with Woody's maybe she can give you many suggestions on how to help him fit in to your lives. Good luck I hope he works out with your family.

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