peterluquer

Great to read all the responses! One criteria not entirely covered is how sweet Bassets are. While some older seasoned hounds might get a tad cantankerous, they are, on the whole, incredibly sweet dogs.

We got Lollypop from a reputable hobby kennel in NH. To date (she is 3 1/2 yrs old) she has never once chewed furniture, shoes or anything, and she has never taken to chew toys of any kind. We are lucky that way. I think a few of the reasons may be that she gets plenty of exercise and rarely spends time alone. Could be true of all breeds, but I suspect her temperament is a contributing factor.

True to all Bassets she is a bit stubborn, but rarely so if she sticks to routine. We have historically and routinely taken her on long walks in the woods off leash so she has a chance to explore, although she rarely lets us out of her sight and won't stray for more than a couple of hundred feet. We are lucky there too. Male hounds are known to roam and may be more dangerous to let off leash. That said, a female hound named Dragette, when I was a child, would roam for miles and act as an instigator always taking the golden retrievers along with her. 1/4 mile tidal inlet? No problem, Dragette would swim it in a heart beat. Lollypop on the other hand won't go past her paws in the water. Dragette would also successfully raid all my sisters and my Halloween candy, eat entire Yule logs at Christmas (before chocolate was known to be toxic) and constantly sneak around the house looking for contraband assuming, of course, she wasn't sleeping in her bean bag. While devious, daring and dastardly, she was a sweetheart to the core. Lollypop on the other hand possesses no sneaky attributes whatsoever.

So, as with all breeds, Bassets have unique personalities and no two are alike. They are incredibly funny and expressive and i'm convinced they have senses of humor. It IS true however that one does not own a hound, the hound owns you, but never has being a slave been so wonderful to such a gentle and loving master.

If you are ready for the work, you WILL be rewarded.

Good luck!

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Peter Luquer
peterluquer@gmail.com

Mikey T

rest assure that is very much and individual dog thing no one even when they were puppies every called Mariah or for that matter toughynutter sweet. Tis not in their nature though I have had plenty of snuggly type bassets as well.

contratray to all that you read about basset following their nose anywhere as long as you are engaged with them they keep checking in. This included male a female inseason or something to chase can creat a distraction that depending on the strength of your recall might not come back from. at least anytime soon

that is very uncaricteristic of a basset. Whill I have a couple that have not been sneaking that is beacuse they just as soon go for stealing something while you are watching them betting they atre fast enought to get to it and consumate before you can react and most of the tinme they were right,

shakespeare

that is very uncaricteristic of a basset. Whill I have a couple that have not been sneaking that is beacuse they just as soon go for stealing something while you are watching them betting they atre fast enought to get to it and consumate before you can react and most of the tinme they were right,

LOL that is so true! Or like Margot - super sleuth will pick something up on our walk (like a KFC napkin) and carry it well hidden with hound jowls made for hiding. I can tell though by her haughty - I've got something prance. It's usually at the end so I let her carry it home and laugh watching her spit it out when it's post walk cookie time.

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The Highbury Hounds Tallulah, Isabel and Margot

Princess Buttercup

I always laugh how Princess Buttercup can walk on our wood floors with no toenail noise whatsoever when she's being sneaky.


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