[SophieB]

As Sunnside said, early Bassets weren't like the Bassets we see nowadays as their legs were longer,
bodies shorter and their ears were shorter too and they did resemble the Springbatts!

 

[sunnside]

As Sunnside said, early Bassets weren't like the Bassets we see nowadays as their legs were longer,
bodies shorter and their ears were shorter too and they did resemble the Springbatts!

Thank You Sophie and by the way I have seen your friends felt animals, they are adorable. Mini me's they have been named in the springbatt world and I think she now has an order for a few.

 

[sunnside]

It has alway been around but got a big boost with the "labrodoodle" which was purpose bred for some time to try and create a service breed (seeing eye, etc) fthe was more hypoalergenic for patients that had allergies. There are still some working on creating an actual breed that does breed true, but this is far from the majority of breeders. The problem so far include that many of the disired traits are only showing up in crosses not subsequent breedings so these traits may be the result of heterogenus gene pairs which will never breed true, and for breeder to come to some consencious of just what the breed should look like and its purpose.

There is quite a bit of difference between cross breeding for a specific purpose as the early labradoodles and just because it creates a cute name and dog . Dogs breed evloved to suit a purpose, without that overriding goal one can not sustain a breed.




i.e norfolk and norwich terriers.




This is a common misconception that back problems with dwarf breed ie corgis dachshund and bassets are a result of their relitively long back. Well if you do an actual comarasion you will find that Basset are not longer on average than the protypical dog of the same weight. It is not their backs are longer simply that their legs are shorter. However this type of dwarfism has a profound effect on the disks of the back making them more prone to rupture. A six-1 year old dwarf breed has disc that are the equivelent of a 10 year typical dog. It is not back length but the short legs that are a problem and as such any crosses will the typical darfism characteristics will have the same problems.

Canine Intervertebral Disk Disease

A majority of back and joint problems is caused simply by the animal being far too overweight and or exercised/ fed incorrectly when growing. We all like to see healthy chubby puppies, but producing massively overweight puppies is asking for trouble.A fat overweight puppy often grows to a fat overweight adult.

 

[sunnside]

Just now saw the website ,still think these people are full of it. Maybe there was an accidental breeding at some point and they decieded to cash in on it but to have a mixed breed that doesn't have some sort of trait of what it is mixed with is still weird to me. The first generation especially should have traits of both parents, there are none. There is only one dog on that site that resembles a Springer and thats cause it is. They could be buying unregistered bassets then selling the pups for a huge amount calling them whatever they want. I still don't see the Springer anywhere in any of their puppies.

The first cross do have springer traits, though very subtle. Some have a slight wave down their coats and slightly fluffy ears and maybe taller. There are traits to be seen for someone that actually knows what they are talking about. The puppies are descendants of Show winning stock and field trial stock of a line that goes back over 65 years. NOT just any old dogs bought in and mated. Their ears are a differnet shape and not set as low as a basset. Like someone else said, a bad example of a basset may have smaller ears, but I wouldnt be able to comment on that as I have never seen one.

 

[snd]

I am the proud owner of 3 beautiful Springbatts from the breeder you have linked to. I can not speak highly enough of the breeders. They are incredibly caring and responsible breeders that offer a life time of advice or support should it be needed, unlike many other breeders who, in my experience, have no interest in what happens to their puppies once they have been paid for.

Springbatts are amazing dogs; loving, easily trained and great with other dogs and children. I started with one and once I realised what a great breed they are decided they are the only dog I wanted to share my life and home with. None of them have experienced any health problems whatsoever unlike my previous dogs, a Westie and a Shihtsu who spent a lot of time being treated for common breed problems from a very early age.

If someone wants to suggest I am a 'dingbatt' for deciding to pay for one of these dogs then that's fine. I know how much joy they bring to my life and that of my family, and we all feel they are worth every single penny.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but maybe some should make sure their opinion is informed and not based on assumption!!!

 

[snd]

In addition to my post above, last summer a friend of mine, who was looking at getting a friend for her chocolate Labrador, brought her children around to my house for the afternoon . By the end of the afternoon, she was completely smitten with my 3 Springbatts, and so impressed with their temperament that she is now also the proud owner of a Springbatt.

If that doesn't show what fantastic dogs they are, I don't know what does!!!

 

[SophieB]

I am sure Springbatts will be really nice pets because after all, both Bassets and Springers are two of the nicest breeds! My family are familiar with both breeds and I know that Springers are so trainable and want to please their owners so they are probably the ideal breed to cross with Bassets... who, in my many years of ownership, I have found to be very stubborn, have selective hearing and follow their nose... but I love them to bits!!!

 

[bubbad]

Not to seem too unfriendly, but I still don't care for mutts ,and it doesn't matter if one side is champions(what a waste of , probably, a decent dog,) a mutt is still a mixture,how good ,how bad, makes no difference to me. I imagine you don't get a big welcome on the springer website either. I still think something is not right about this whole mixed breed operation in this case. All they are doing is damaging two breeds of dogs not perfecting them. Here is a photo of a poorly bred basset.

 

[Mikey T]

We all like to see healthy chubby puppies,

a chubby puppy is a problem waiting to happen with any larger breed dog or breed because of bone mass and growth rate mimmicks large breed the standard nutrition feeding call for all pup to have a body condition on the thin side of normal chubby pup are going to have a lot more problems.

see Dog Diet do's and Don't

 

[sunnside]

Not to seem too unfriendly, but I still don't care for mutts ,and it doesn't matter if one side is champions(what a waste of , probably, a decent dog,) a mutt is still a mixture,how good ,how bad, makes no difference to me. I imagine you don't get a big welcome on the springer website either. I still think something is not right about this whole mixed breed operation in this case. All they are doing is damaging two breeds of dogs not perfecting them. Here is a photo of a poorly bred basset.

We dont expect a welcome from either, but over 70 % of pups sold go to previous basset owners or people that would like a basset but dont like the stubborness or problems, the same with a springer, people loved them but didnt want the high energy levels. This is a happy medium for all of those people. They like a dog that resembles a basset, but has more "go " in it. I dont agree at all that is is damaging 2 breeds of dogs. I think you will find the problems of so called " perfecting the breed" lie with the basset breeders who have made the basset so PERFECT that the Kennel Club breed standard has now had to be changed for the future health of the dog and to stamp out the problems caused by PERFECT show dog breeders.

 

[snd]

I would agree with Sunnside about the so-called 'perfect' breeds. Once I looked into the health issues surrounding most pedigree dogs, I decided that as a dog lover I would never again own a pedigree dog. Many breeds have now been so refined to achieve the 'perfect' specimen as set out by organisations such as the kennel club that they have serious health conditions many of which, I believe, can only been seen as cruel. The Kennel Club had to look at its expectations after the many issues were highlighted by investigations and then then BBC's decision to not televise its annual show.

My priority for a dog is that it should have been bred by a genuinely caring and responsible breeder, that has its welfare and health as a priority. I considered a so-called mutt but with this type of dog there are no guarantees about what temperament, size etc you will end up with. Extremely important considerations when you have a family. With a Springbatt, you know what temperament you are getting in the dog and its expected adult size, energy levels etc.

I appreciate that everyone has the right to their own opinion, but just because something is different it doesn't make it wrong or suspicious!

 

[vonny01]

This boy is in a UK Rescue is he a SpringBatt

 

[sunnside]

This boy is in a UK Rescue is he a SpringBatt

He looks like he is a larger type of hound cross of somesort. He looks a nice dog, shame he is in rescue.Where is he?

 

[Kirska]

My priority for a dog is that it should have been bred by a genuinely caring and responsible breeder, that has its welfare and health as a priority. I considered a so-called mutt but with this type of dog there are no guarantees about what temperament, size etc you will end up with.

I wholeheartedly disagree with you. If you adopt an adult mutt you will have a much better idea of what size, temperament, etc he is than you will with a puppy, purebred or not. Even better if the dog was in foster care as the foster family will be able to tell you every single detail about the dog. Not all traits are genetic.

Both of my dogs were adopted as adults, seniors actually, and I knew 100% what I was getting because they were right there in front of me fully grown and fully mature.

 

[sunnside]

No-one is disputing the benefits of buying an adult or puppy " Mutt" .
Yes and as adults you obviously will now what size it will be and with most cross breed pups you wont....unless you know the parentage especially if you know further back than one generation as well as previous offspring. At least in those cases you know the temperament through several generations.
Unfortunately many dogs in rescue, even if they end up being put there by owners and not as strays, dont always go in with full "truthful" details about why they are there. So you dont always know what you are getting,which is why sadly so many people dont get dogs from rescues especially if they have children because they cant be sure of the background of the dog.

 

[snd]

I am not disputing that mutts make great pets, I have a 12 yr old mutt myself. My point is that as puppies you don't necessarily know what you are likely to be getting. We rescued ours at just a few weeks old, he was a stray being used as a football by a group of teenagers. We had no idea how he would likely turn out in regard to temperament (obviously we would have some influence on that in how we treated/trained him), size, shedding, energy level etc. This would likely also be the case with other dogs that have been randomly cross bred.
Obviously if you take on an adult you have a good idea what the dog is like, assuming the previous owner is honest!

 

[vonny01]

He looks like he is a larger type of hound cross of somesort. He looks a nice dog, shame he is in rescue.Where is he?

I cannot say at the moment as he is under assessment and not actually up for rehoming yet

 

[Soundtrack]

I think you will find the problems of so called " perfecting the breed" lie with the basset breeders who have made the basset so PERFECT that the Kennel Club breed standard has now had to be changed for the future health of the dog and to stamp out the problems caused by PERFECT show dog breeders.

Changing the standard had nothing to do with "health" and everything to do with appeasing the animal rights activists. The KC has bent over and the UK dog fancy should be embarrassed by that.

I've been breeding in accordance with the standard for over 20 years, and my dogs are quite healthy, thank you. You know what? I DON'T want sickly dogs. I DON'T want huge vet bills. I DON'T want MY PETS to suffer or die young. What I'm breeding for sale, I'm also breeding for myself and I want what other pet owners want - a healthy companion.

Please do some further reserach before embarrasing yourself in this fashion again.

And just wait until I have a chance to pull up pictures of QUALITY dogs from 50 years ago, so you can see "how much" the breed has changed since then. (Hint: not much)

But yeah, it's PERFECTLY acceptable to insult the beloved pets of those of us who show and breed. I don't go around calling your mutts stupid, sickly, neurotic or deformed, but it's okay to call MY dogs those names.

 

[snd]

I don't think anyone was suggesting your dogs are stupid, sickly, neurotic or deformed.

Bassetts, just like other pure bred dogs, do 'have a genetic predisposition to a number of disorders that one should be aware of' (Bassettnet - vet info)
Everyone has a free choice on whether they choose to have a pure-breed or cross-breed or whatever. My choice was to not go down the pure-breed route, of any breed, as I wanted to minimise the risk of genetic health issues, but still wanted to have a good idea of what I was taking into my life. The Springbatt gave me that.
I appreciate that not all dogs of a particular breed will experience the conditions they may have a genetic predisposition to and will lead long , healthy lives, but that is unfortunately not always the case. I previously have had pedigree breeds, and they did experience common breed problems.

 

[Kirska]

No-one is disputing the benefits of buying an adult or puppy " Mutt" .
Yes and as adults you obviously will now what size it will be and with most cross breed pups you wont....unless you know the parentage especially if you know further back than one generation as well as previous offspring. At least in those cases you know the temperament through several generations.
Unfortunately many dogs in rescue, even if they end up being put there by owners and not as strays, dont always go in with full "truthful" details about why they are there. So you dont always know what you are getting,which is why sadly so many people dont get dogs from rescues especially if they have children because they cant be sure of the background of the dog.

And breeders don't ever lie about their puppies?

I'm sure *good* breeders tell the truth just as *good* shelters tell the truth. These are just more lies that feed into the idea we have in our culture that mutts (and purebred shelter dogs) are somehow naturally inferior.

If there is a litter where the father is unknown, yes there is little to be known about the puppies, but the majority of homeless mutts are adults, not puppies.