"forgotten that ORIGINALLY the Basset was used by hunters, on foot, to go into heavy cover "


actual that is a myth as well. The "basset hound" as a breed Was bred from French hound which purpose was to hunt in heavy cover. As as you have seen in "heavy cover " no part of the dog is seen including tail btw. But the original purpose of the basset hound was to look pretty in the show ring. It;s hunting ability was totally secondary see Basset Hounds: Basset Hound Dog Forums - The Early History of the Basset Hound in England, 1874-1921

he story begins with a visit of Mr. Everett Millais to France in 1874. Although he was not the first Englishman to import a Basset Artésien Normand, it is he who is considered to be the father of our modern basset hound. While in France Millais decided to attend a dog show at the Jardin d'Acclimatation in order to see some French dachshunds and compare them to his own. The show was benched--as dog shows until fairly recently all were--and next to the dachshunds he noticed a few Bassets Artésien Normand who caught his attention. These dogs were much bigger than dachshunds "with black and white bodies and rich tan heads, more beautiful than Dachs, with soft, dreamy eyes," wrote Everett Millais ten years later in an article in the April 1884 Kennel Review. He immediately decided that he had to have one. The two dogs that especially impressed Everett Millais were Fino de Paris and Model, litter brothers from the kennel of Count le Couteulx de Canteleu. He chose Model and was lucky enough to be able to purchase him. Fino de Paris was later obtained by another Englishman, Mr. George Krehl, about whom we will hear more later. Both Model and Fino de Paris figure extensively in the development of our modern basset hound. Practically all bassets today are descendants of these two animals.

....Until the 1890s most of the imports were undertaken for the purpose of showing the dogs and their progeny at dog shows. However, the basset was also slowly discovered as an excellent hunting companion. By the end of the century there were three English packs that hunted on a regular basis. The most famous and influential of them was the Walhampton pack maintained by Godfrey and Geoffrey Heseltine. It was from this pack that the first American imports came in the early 1920s.

 

....

 

love this comment from a beagle hunter responding to the white Flag myth

Life With Beagle: You know your dog's a beagle if... The Tail

Clockwork WolfFebruary 9, 2017 at 12:08 AM
Late to this, but #1 seems to be a myth perpetuated by show breeders that couldn't be more wrong. I've been hunting Beagles for nearly 20 years and formerly bred dual purpose hounds - no hunter relies on the white tail to find their dogs. It's an impossibility because the tail is usually sideways, rotating like a rudder when a hound is hunting. Blueticks, redticks and black/tan hounds are also very popular with hunters, and their tails have no white whatsoever.

That white tip is *not* called for in the breed standard; it couldn't be, because so many traditional hound colors don't support it. It is very common with blanket tri colors, though, and most show breeders have eliminated every color but tri and lemon/white from the gene pool. Don't know where that myth came from, but show breeders love to spread it around to pretend their dogs actually have a hunting heritage "

 

AND all the lovely white tipped wagging sterns!!

except the black and tan usually in front.


FWIW bells can not be used in a AKC field trial, but you can use a gps tracking collar, Bells can also be used in BHCA hunt test & AHBA Hunts that is soon to be AKC

when using bells we use these
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/remington-nickel-cow-bell-with-nylon-strap-large

Cow bells are not for snow however they tend to fill up and stop working

Sleigh bell collars work better in the snow
https://www.muttropolis.com/aub/jin...BRAFEiwAppdF9HKnlbVcQqbR5N7nu96bc8zFELwdWwBj0QvAep8bmP-uX788ENcpCRoCHIAQAvD_BwE

 

Lovely to see all the 'Topsfield' hounds doing what they were meant to be doing and to hear all the sound only a Basset can make (even if some were 'babbling'!!) AND all the lovely white tipped wagging sterns!!

Interesting re the bells. I once tried to find one without success. I had a friend with two French bells which she ran her hounds wearing. I don't know what happened to them as the hounds, and my friend and husband are no longer with us.

 

here most actual rabbit hunting is done in the winter . White tipped tail does not help

 

or the situation is the opposite

basset pack in spain on Hare note one of the lead dogs is a black and tan without a white tipped tail

 

When our dogs are hunting in cover, you don't see ANY of the dog, including the tip of the tail.

 

When our dogs are hunting in cover, you don't see ANY of the dog, including the tip of the tail.

 

and to why white spotting at all in dog and most domesticated animals

The ?Domestication Syndrome? in Mammals: A Unified Explanation Based on Neural Crest Cell Behavior and Genetics | Genetics
Pigmentation changes from wild type are one of the most striking and consistent changes during domestication. All breeds of domesticated animals show areas of relative depigmentation in their fur coats, often as white spots or larger areas of the pelage, sometimes as brown patches (Darwin 1875; Belyaev 1974). Pigmentation changes represent one of the first traits to appear during the domestication of foxes, mink (Mustela vison) and rats (Rattus norvegicus) selected for tameness (Trut 1999; Trut et al. 2009). In these animals, the depigmented areas typically consist of irregular white patches found in preferred sites: just below the throat and above the eyes, the paws, and the tip of the tail. The neural crest cell connection here is expected, because such white areas usually lack melanocytes and melanocytes derive from neural crest cells. Because vertebrate pigmentation cells (chromatophores and melanocytes) derive from neural crest (Hall 1999; Gilbert 2003), these pigmentation changes are clearly generally consistent with our hypothesis. In general, areas of the body receiving delayed migration of NCCs are vulnerable to being depigmented (Jackson 1994; Yamaguchi et al. 2007; Mills and Patterson 2009)."

note white tip tail is part and parcel of domestication not a specific bred for trait after domestication.

 

"No, I WON'T be goaded into making a reply"........ I just hope you didn't waste too much time doing all that research ... etc.

 

1. the basis of Conformation is form follows function if a white tip tail is actual helpful in the field then it should be part of the standard. it is not It is the part of the standard of many dogs like Bernese mountain dogs but not in the standard of most scent hounds.


Why dogs that have white usually have this on bellies, feet, Muzzle and tip of the tail has nothing to do with selective breeding and everything to do with the constraints of genetic evolutions . specifical the movement of pigment cells in embroys. While genetic plays som role in the distribution of color a loar part of it is environment as well Indentical twin puppies can have different markings.

Identical Twinning

https://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/...g/entry/cloning-cats-rainbow-and-cc-prove-that-cloning-wont-resurrect-your-pet/

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-the-cat-got-its-coat-and-other-furry-tails/

From the Crest to the Periphery: Control of Pigment Cell Migration and Lineage Segregation - ERICKSON - 2006 - Pigment Cell Research - Wiley Online Library

 

1. the dog question is not solid color certainly white on muzzle appear to be a place on the head and at least a couple white toes

2.

the white tip (for the benefit of others here) being pretty essential when hunting with a hound in dense undergrowth.

from someone with little to know field or hunting experience,
a. If it were essential it would be part of the breed standard it is not,
b. white tip being an aid is more myth than fact.

d"No white at all is unusual, but I do see it occasionally in hunting Bassets"
Izzie and Reise attached

 

2.

the white tip (for the benefit of others here) being pretty essential when hunting with a hound in dense undergrowth.

from someone with little to know field or hunting experience,
a. If it were essential it would be part of the breed standard it is not,
b. white tip being an aid is more myth than fact.

No, I WON'T be goaded into making a reply other than to say, assuming this is directed at me, YOU don't know what experience (little to NO?) in the field/hunting experience I actually have

From Dog Time (amongst others)
"Their tails are long and stand upright with a white tip at the end, which makes it easy for hunters to see when the dogs are in tall grass. "
I am not alone in this notion. I also suggest it's not in the Breed Standard per se, because the Standard is there to be used by those more involved in construction/ the show scene, not in hunting where the emphasis is always more on hunting ability (which can/should include construction!!)

 

not uncommon in mahoganies

 

No white at all is unusual, but I do see it occasionally in hunting Bassets.

 

Solid black or red isn't rare, but what is, is not to have ANY white underneath, which it looks as if is the case with this puppy? And we've already discussed not having any white on the tail at all which for me, doesn't make for a 'recognised hound colour', the white tip (for the benefit of others here) being pretty essential when hunting with a hound in dense undergrowth.

I'm afraid I'd be very suspicious about the origins of that puppy, genetically.

 

Every other puppy in the litter has normal basset coats. Most of them are tricolors. I attached a picture of the parents.

 

note faith sitting while very open is a similar coloration as opposed to pumpkin who is much darker'

 

nothing wrong with the color. Given the nature of puppy coat color it will likely darken as it matures, Solid or nearly solid color dogs are not that rare in the breed.

 

There are tricolour bassets (litter mates) in the background so although to me, having no white, other than a tiny bit on the muzzle and from what I can see, top of the head?, is odd, I guess it's not impossible. Registration however, is taken on trust, so being registered with the official KC of the country of birth, isn't necessarily 'gospel'. And mum could have been caught by another non-basset, on the same season!! It's interesting to so often see a mix involving a Basset, meaning the offspring have long ears and a long back, with short legs!!

Add - Breed Standards call for 'any recognised hound colour'. That to me, isn't necessarily that.