Barbie

We were hoping to get first hand info on the Bassets. We have researched the breed for hours online, plus called and spoke to vets, groomers, and the humane society, plus one person whose mom and dad own one. What we would really like to do, is hear from the actual owners first hand. We have already made up our minds that we are getting one and have one picked out from a breeder that we will be getting within the month. So we are not changing our minds at all. We are suuuuuper excited about him.

Now i just was hoping for some honest answers, so if anyone has any to these questions please reply.
Thanks.

Do they shed a whole bunch? I heard that when they do shed the fur is very hard and prickly and is alot everytime you pet them.

What is this hound smell truthfully like? Is it extremely stinky? Like when you walk into your house is it going to stink? Hahahahhah!!

Thanks guys.

__________________

Cheers!
Barb.

mgbrown66

Some good reading here:

http://www.oldefashion.com/Ownership.html


http://www.woebgonbassets.com/Purchasing_a_Puppy.html



Check out those sites and start to surf... Bassets definitely shed, and they definitely smell. People cannot tell in my house, because I vacuum all the time and always have a candle going. Small price to pay for the two coolest dogs on the face of the earth, in my opinion.

Barbie

Thanks. I have been through the first link a few times before. The second one is new to me though so thanks. I will check it out. :P

__________________

Cheers!
Barb.

Mikey T

Basset hardly shed in a typical non- molting time it takes a week for them to drop every hair on their body and replace it with a new one. In heavy molting seasonal 2 time a year for up to two week that increases to a turn over rate of about once every four hours. The hair is short. stiff and difficult to remove.


As for the hound spell in a couple of year ya won't even notice it. Everyone that comes over might gag but you will be able to go on blissfully ignorant to the odor.

heck ya even skipped over housetraining :P

Some aditional reading on the importance of early socialization for dogs

Countdown to a Crackerjack Canine Companion

Puppy Socialisation and Habituation (Part 1) - Why is it Necessary?

Puppy Socialisation and Habituation - How to go about it.

BubbaLeroy

Yes, they do shed. We had, Bubba, a very heavy shedder, and now Bogie , who sheds less. Grooming several times a week with a shedding blade (like a doubled over saw blade with leather handle) zoom groom (rubber like brush with tiny rubber like bristles), and a rub down with a simple yard/garden rubber glove which puts a beautiful shine on their coat, keeps the coat in great shape. We bathe Bogie about every two months. We were able to run the vacuum cleaner on Bubba, which was wonderful, but not on Bogie.
As to smell, we have never had a problem with either Basset. We do feed "Nutro Natural Choice Lamb Meal and Rice" dry kibble , and maybe that helps. I have heard that poor quality dry foods can help cause doggie order. Bassets do have oilier coats than some breeds, but they are hunting dogs (bred for rabbit hunting) and this helps protect them.
You do have to care for their ears. Bassets do have the long heavy ear flaps, which trap in moisture and no air flow, and are prone to ear infections. We use an ear cleaning soultion from the vet, just drop in 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of solution, massage ear, wipe out the inside with a facial cotton wipe, and you are done. We do this twice a week, and have not had any ear infections. Bad ears can also cause odors, as well as their teeth. We also brush Bogie's teeth twice a week using the rubber finger brush and canine toothpaste we also get from the vet. No doggie bad breath.

Bassets are a wonderful breed, but not for everyone. Keep reading here and you will learn a lot. Ask all the questions you want and someone will chime in and help you out.

__________________
You don't own a Basset, a Basset owns you!!
Aroooooos from Bogie !! - Trumbull's Who's Teasin Bogart CGC- Born April 21, 2005
ATB: Bubba - (Trumbull's Surley It's Stormin Norman) Sept. 8, 1998 - Dec. 20, 2005

Barbie

Thanks guys. I will check out those links and hopefully learn even more. We had a St. Bernard for 11 years. He shed as well, and for the last year or so had a yukky odor. That may have been the start of his sickness though. Not sure. Not sure how different the amount of shedding will be compared to eachother. I do rememeber sweeping and vacuuming and half way through the day i had dust bunnies in places. Oh well, shedding will come with a lot of dogs. When i talked to some groomers, they said the bassets, shed similarily to labs, rotties, and even pugs. Dalmations are super bad for shedding, and retrievers are bad as well. This is what 2 groomers said. I wonder if there is alot of truth to it........must be i suppose since they work on their coats for a living.
p.s. i must remention, that the boy we are getting is 1.5 years old.

Thanks again.

__________________

Cheers!
Barb.

Aruuuu

I have three bassets. They are constant shedders, which means they lose a little fur all the time. Edith Ann just went through a major shedding, though, and every time we ran our hands down her back, we came up with tons of hair. Couldn't keep the area rug in the family room clean either. But it only lasts about a week, which isn't bad.

As far as odor, I clean ears and arm pits once a week. I use a damp wash cloth on the ears, and I have a little bottle of Peroxide I use on armpits. Spritz it on, rub it in, wipe down. The odor isn't bad at all. In fact, we had company this weekend, people who don't have dogs, and they were amazed that my dogs had no odor. I took it as a compliment.

Good for you, taking in an 'older' dog. My Eloise came to me at ten months, and while we've had some young dog issues, it hasn't been anything like the eight-week-old puppy stuff we would have had.......

__________________
If stress were exercise, I'd be in great shape!

mikiesgirl

We have two bassets, Chuck, an adoptee (no one knows how old he is), and George (6 months young). Chuck sheds a ton!!! I brush him weekly and also runs the vacuum on him on a regular basis. He also drools, which I'm surprised that you did not mention in your post. We have to constantly wipe his mouth, and the floor after him. The wrost is when he is around food, he automatically turns on his droop machine when he sees or smells any food particles. As for George, he does not drool at all. I think he got that from his parents, they are both non-droolers. As for the hound smell, George does not smell at all. Chuck has hound smell during certain times of the day, wrost in the morning when he's fresh out of bed. We wash his bed weekly, and bath him every other week in the warm weather, and every three weeks in the winter (we live in Alabama). However, both boys have smelly feet. They smell like dirty tennis shoes. Someone told me that the houndy smell can be largely attributed by the food they eat, especially anything that contains corn. We have them on Wellness, Lamb Super5 mix. But they still have the stinkiest feet on the block.

Missjoy

I don't find my Maggie to be a big shedder. Actually, I can have alergies to some dogs and I don't think Maggie sets me off at all. She sometimes has an odor, but it is mostly after she has been for a long walk. I"m not sure if this should be attributed to her being wet (there is snow on the ground here) or that she is heated up.

Oh, and don't even bother trying to keep them off the furniture. We tried with Maggie for the first couple months and then gave up - now we are all happier and she is quite the snuggler.

Oh, I have also found our bassett (our first dog) to be very gentle. We had her around a 11 week puppy on the weekend and a 1.5 year jack russell - they were wrestling the whole time but Maggie was the only one who didn't use her teeth (although she did like to try to body slam the other dogs).

Barbie

Thanks for the advice and show of circumstances involving your hounds. I have checked out all the links that ppl sent and they were helpful....a few i had read before, but did again. Enjoyed. Im not sure how much of the puppy stuff i will be able to apply to my boy. He will be 2 in May. Does anyone think i will be able to socialize him if he needs it? Or even retrain to acertain degree? Also, i hope my guy has a long/big dewlap. I notice a lot of the dogs i have seen on here have beautiful droopy skin,eyes,ears and dewlaps. Will this happen more as they age? Also, i have noticed there are a ton of pics with their hounds loose, i thought this was a big 'no no'. I thought they would automatically run after what ever scent they picked up. Or do some of them stay in the vacinity?

Thanks

__________________

Cheers!
Barb.