[jaleely]

I'd like to see a post of some of the Healthy bassets out there. I'm beginning to think its quite a hard thing to find in this breed. I am just sorta grumpy and down today, but it seems like there is always the big C or glaucoma, or genetic issues. My own guy gets shots every other week for his legs, and constantly battles skin issues and mange. Even my beagle has a constant ear infection we've spent at least $1,000 on over the past year trying to fix.

I want to hear about a basset who lives a nice long healthy life! Tell me a tale of how healthy your dog is!

 

[BassetHoundHank]

Yes, I am also in need of hearing a healthy basset*dog* tale!

 

[vonny01]

Mine are not very old but do not have any problems

Rupert is the oldest at 6 and a half and apart from some Colitis when he was young has not seen the Vet for at least 4 years other than routine jabs.

Dudley and Patience have never been to the Vet for anything other than their booster jabs.
They are 4 and 3 and a half

 

[RustyStickers]

My Maggie Mae (ATB lived to be 15 1/2 years old. She did have some health issues in the last year but that is expected. She was healthy her whole life and spunky till the end. Rusty's diagnosis of Cancer at 6 is very sad. I think some is genetics and the environment and luck?

There are many Bassets who live to a nice old age. On the health forum most post about health issues looking for advice and or support. This breed is a wonderful one that will give you unconditional love and bring a smile to your face, guarantee!

 

[paisleysmom]

Hey Guys! I am a healthy basset! Sounds like a confession or something. But I am healthy -- knock on wood and only get to see the vet ladies for my health checkups and weight ins. Mom thinks I am so heathy because of my food (no grain). The parents last fur baby had Springer Rage Symdrome and cronic ear infections (Mom now thinks that he had food allergies which contributed to this). He was on Prosaic and daily pills for his ears. A nail trim and ear cleaning meant a trip to the vet where he would be put to sleep ( just to get his nails trimmed and ears flushed!!!) at a cost of about $400 and a lot of stress per visit at least every 3 to 4 months. They think that the rage syndrome must have been a genetic thing since Mom and Dad met a lady on the Island Place that they vist that also had a female Springer from the same small village that Sam came from that had the same things. This village was very small (pop of about 100 or so) so there must have been a connection between the two.
Mom and Dad think I am a blessing and don't hesitate to tell me everyday how lucky they are to have found me -- well they actually did'nt find me -- I came from a nice breeder but ya know what I mean.

 

[Mikey T]

Toughy livef to 12 without health issue other than the cancer that he succombed to

Mariah is 10 her only issue was a skin cancer that was easily surgical exicised no follow-up treatment necessary.




One think to keep in mind about cancer while many oncologist claim and believe a cure for all forms can be had in our lifetimes that cancer is by its very nature programed into every living cell of every creature it is a inheoirent part of the biology of the planet. To think we can change that is being nieve IMHO..


[url=http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2010/11/08/101108crbo_books_shapin?currentPage=2]Cancer World

The more science tells us about the cancer cell, the more it resembles us. It wants to grow and multiply, as we do, but it doesn’t know how to stop. “Cancer’s life is a recapitulation of the body’s life, its existence a pathological mirror of our own,” Mukherjee writes. “Down to their innate molecular core, cancer cells are hyperactive, survival-endowed, scrappy, fecund, inventive copies of ourselves.”
​

​

 

[Kirska]

Harley is part basset and has only had 2 health problems: hypothyroidism which is very cheap and very easy to maintain and has no effect on his health when he is medicated, and a few tumors, all benign. A few allergies but nothing that requires a change in our routine. He is 11 now and overall is very healthy.

Anabelle has had her share of problems but almost none are genetic. She has a bad neck but we have not had an episode of pain since the first one (knock on wood). The only other thing we deal with is bladder function failing which is due to her being bred too much and easily fixed by natural supplements. A few ear infections but that happens with any long eared dog.

Statistically mixed breed dogs are healthier than the average purebred dog so if health is a huge concern you may want to consider adopting half bassets, etc. Pet insurance for a basset sized mutt is half the price of a purebred basset.

In one landmark study, the effect of breed on longevity in the pet dog was analyzed using mortality data from 23,535 pet dogs. The data was obtained from North American veterinary teaching hospitals. The median age at death was determined for pure and mixed breed dogs of different body weights. Within each body weight category, the median age at death was lower for pure breed dogs compared with mixed breed dogs. The median age at death was "8.5 years for all mixed breed dogs, and 6.7 years for all pure breed dogs" in the study.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mixed-breed_dog#cite_note-8

 

[Soundtrack]

I've had *well-bred* Bassets since 1979 - I've lost count of how many but probably close to 30 dogs overall. Most have lived to be 12-13 years of age and had very few health problems.

All of my current dogs are healthy, and they range in age from two to thirteen years.

 

[Soundtrack]

Statistically mixed breed dogs are healthier than the average purebred dog so if health is a huge concern you may want to consider adopting half bassets, etc. Pet insurance for a basset sized mutt is half the price of a purebred basset.

The statistics often quoted are dubious at best, and do not take into account the difference between a "purebred" that is bred by ignorant pet owners or those breeding commercially with little knowledge or interest in health issues, and those produced by breeders who factor health into their selection process.

If what you want is a healthy animal, while there are no guarantees your best bet is a responsible, knowledgeable breeder of purebreds, not a random-bred mongrel.

 

[Kirska]

Hence the use of the word "average"

 

[Mikey T]

The statistics often quoted are dubious at best

Responsible Breeding Management of Genetic Disease

Jerold S Bell DVM, Department of Clinical Sciences, Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary​

Medicine, N. Grafton, MA.

Adding to the complexity of breeding is the expansion of planned cross-breedings (designer breeds) to produce offspring. Therefore, the discussion is no longer between pure-bred and crossbred, but between purposely-bred and random-bred dogs.

There is a general misconception that mixed-breed dogs are inherently free of genetic disease. This may be true for rare, breed-related disorders; but the common genetic diseases that are seen across all breeds are seen with the same frequency in mixed-breeds. A mixed-breed dog with hip arthritis has no less a case of hip dysplasia than a pure-bred dog. The only difference is that conscientious breeders test and label their dogs as dysplastic prior to the onset of clinical signs. I do not see a difference between the relative frequencies of old pure-bred dogs versus old mixedbreed
dogs with hip arthritis requiring arthritis pain medication.

Testing for inherited hypothyroidism (for thyroglobulin autoantibodies by Michigan State University) shows 10.7% of 55,053 tested mixed-breed dogs to be affected. The average percentage of affected dogs for all pure breeds is 7.5%. This does not tell us that mixed-breed dogs are more prone to autoimmune thyroiditis: More mixed-breed dogs are tested based on clinical signs. However, these results show us that this hereditary disorder is seen frequently in both pure-bred and mixed-breed dogs. To those that feel that this disorder is not genetic, we look at the historical breed predilections for the disorder. Those breeds with the highest genetic propensity for autoimmune thyroiditis remain high over the years (example: 31.4% of English
Setters tested), and those breeds with the lowest propensity remain low (example: 1.1 % of FrenchBulldogs). Selection based on thyroid testing (and in the future direct genetic tests for liability genes) should reduce the frequency of this disorder.

The most common inherited disorders for all dog breeds according to the AKC Canine Health Foundation are: cancer, eye disease, epilepsy, hip dysplasia, hypothyroidism, heart disease, autoimmune disease, allergies, patellar luxation, and renal dysplasia. With the exception of renal dysplasia, all of these genetic conditions are routinely seen in mixed-breed dogs.​

The problem is most such studies do not include the genetic diseases that are nonexistent as well in certain breeds . the nature of the bottle neck, limited foundation stock in pure bred dogs is they tend to exagerate some getent problems but at they same time eliminate other when looking a t the whole there really is not a difference between the pure bred population and the mix breed population in the occurance of genetic diseases.

I own one of soundtract's dogs and the only thing she has been treated for is a broken toe nail.​

 

[Mikey T]

The median age at death was "8.5 years for all mixed breed dogs, and 6.7 years for all pure breed dogs" in the study.

Which makes the study dubious given the low median age of death compared to the General pupulation.

 

[Kirska]

The data they used for the study was from 1980-1990 and vet care has improved significantly since then. I don't think it's unreasonable to suggest that dogs live a few years longer now than they did for dogs born in the 70's. It also includes dogs that were euthanized and those that die young for whatever reason, not just those that live long lives.

http://www4.uwsp.edu/psych/s/275/Puppies/PatronekLifespans97.pdf

The first hand experience of a single person does not hold nearly as much weight as a scientific study with a sample size of over 20,000 dogs. And several more scientific studies that show the same result.

Your own experiences may not follow the general statistical trend but you surround yourself will well bred dogs. Unfortunately most dogs don't have the luxury of being born from a good breeder, and your experience doesn't disprove the statistical facts.

Insurance companies base their premiums on the past history of claims in order to make money. Mixed breeds MUST cost less or they wouldn't have a lower premium. Quotes from Petplan with the same exact dog (born Jan 1 2011), just picking mixed medium for one and basset for the other:
Mixed bronze plan: $14.14/mo
Pure basset bronze plan: $24.62/mo

 

[CatherineM]

Mine is very healthy so far. He did have a bit of diarrhea yesterday, but it didn't slow him down any. He even stepped in it and then decided to jump into the bathtub. I guess he knew he'd need a bath.

 

[Boomer's Mom]

Mine is very healthy so far. He did have a bit of diarrhea yesterday, but it didn't slow him down any. He even stepped in it and then decided to jump into the bathtub. I guess he knew he'd need a bath.

LOL, he probably knew he may as well get it over with.

 

[Lightning&Stomps]

I don't want to jinx things, but Lightning is 13.5 years old and just got an excellent review from his vet. Everyone who meets him is amazed that he is as old as he is. (KNOCKING ON WOOD LIKE CRAZY!) That being said, he's currently at the vet's getting a biopsy of an ulcer on his nose. : (

 

[Boomer's Mom]

Oh dear, I hope Lightning comes out ok at the vet. :-9

 

[Wworm]

Yay, Paisley, glad u r so healthy! u r a blessing to ur peeples.

sorry to hear about ur last dog. that sounds really rough, if it's that hard to take care of ears & nails.

 

[Herzo]

Well I think we do need this happier and healthier thread. I didn't check this sight for a while because all I did was cry, yea I know I'm a baby, then came on today and cried.

Anyway Turtle has been happy and healthy for 3 months give or take and I'm thinking positive about it. Her ears were so bad and I know it was an allergy but has been clear so far. Other than her ears I have never had a problem with her and she is 7 or 8 not sure. A rescue but my most expensive dog so far.

I really do think what they eat is very important and so a good quality food will help allot. And all my dogs get fish oil and there hair seems to start to change soon after I get them for the better.

 

[BassetHoundHank]

Well I think we do need this happier and healthier thread. I didn't check this sight for a while because all I did was cry, yea I know I'm a baby, then came on today and cried.

Hey,
I'm sure all of us on here, at some point, have cried about a basset, if not their own basset. But even if we have all had our own issues with our dogs, they are a blessing no matter what happens and I can surely speak for myself when I say that I am blessed to have Hank no matter what has happened to him because he makes me happy and I know I can make him happy.

I'm glad yours is doing better! And it's good to see a post from you on here. Keep posting, stay positive! your pups can sense your mood and that stimulates their mood, too.