[spiffynikki]

Hello I just joined today and would like to introduce you to my nearly six month old girl, Sadie. She is a AKC registered, but is undersized and stunted because she was the runt of the litter and the people she lived with kept her in a basement and fed her adult Kroger brand dog food. I rescued her almost a month ago, and have managed to put about two pounds on her (we had a setback when she had to be hospitalized for food poisoning for a week, my brother let her have a rotten bone). She weighs about eleven pounds now and her ribs and hip bones aren't nearly as prominent. She had skin issues as well and was diagnosed with a wheat allergy. I have never had a Bassett before, and no one I know has either, so I am learning all I can about the breed now. I will post some pics....

 

[samadamsmom]

Sadie is precious! How lucky she is to have found you! My Sam is almost 8 months old and weighs 40 lbs now so she has a way to go! This board is full of great info on bassetts. Welcome!

 

[Yogi's Mom]

She is adorable! Hope you will post some more pictures as she grows up.

 

[murraysmom]

She's beautiful! Welcome!

 

[BubbaLeroy]

Welcome to the forum!! What a pretty girl Sadie is, and she is so lucky to have found such a caring "forever home." You will learn a lot reading the forum and if you have questions, just ask. There are a lot of knowledgable people here who will be glad to help with Basset information.

 

[Beverly Anne]

She's adorable. Welcome!

 

[shakerag]

She looks wonderful and will have you trained in no time to do what she wants you to do!
Just rub her ears and kiss her on her Hound muzzle....they like that.
don

 

[spiffynikki]

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone! She is great, so sweet and loving. We have finally begun to conquer housebreaking, no accidents in about 36 hours! We are still having issues with her howling if I leave the room when she is crated, or go out without her. I am not sure how to stop that......
I also didn't know how delicate she is right now. I was letting her get off the couch by herself and taking her for really long walks to get rid of some of that puppy energy, but then I read on a breed site that her joints aren't closed until she is a year old and that she should not get down by herself, climb, or walk more than half a mile at one time...any truth to that?

 

[ruby_doo (AUS)]

Awwww what a sweetie , poor girl sounds like she had a yuk start but bet she's glad to have found you!! My 1st ever basset was called Sadie..bless her wonderful soul

 

[Mikey T]

We are still having issues with her howling if I leave the room when she is crated, or go out without her. I am not sure how to stop that......[/b]

the following article is a good one on dealing with and preventing seperation anxiety
Seperation Anxiety

Puppies and newly adopted dogs are at higher risk to develop separation anxiety if they are smothered with constant attention their first few days home. It is much better to leave for brief periods extremely often so the dog’s early learning about departures is that they are no big deal and predict easy, tolerable lengths of absence: “whenever she leaves, she comes back.”
Give your dog both physical exercise and mental work to do. Not only does problem solving increase confidence and independence, it is mentally fatiguing and so increases the likelihood that your dog will rest quietly when he is left alone. Teach him to play hide and seek with his toys, teach him tricks, learn to “free shape” with a clicker (enroll in a SFSPCA course and find out how!), get him involved in a sport like obedience, Flyball or Agility, let him free-play with other dogs, stuff all or part of his food ration into Kong toys, teach him how to play fetch and tug. The more activities and toys are incorporated into his life, the less he will depend on human social contact as sole stimulation.
Soften the blow of your departures by providing extremely enticing stuffed toys for him to unpack. See our “Kong Toy Stuffing” handout for tips on improving your technique![/b]

Kong Stuffing Pointers

I also didn't know how delicate she is right now. I was letting her get off the couch by herself and taking her for really long walks to get rid of some of that puppy energy, but then I read on a breed site that her joints aren't closed until she is a year old and that she should not get down by herself, climb, or walk more than half a mile at one time...any truth to that?[/b]

I have a different take than many on this issue. Also keep in mind as my avatar indicates I do agility with my hound which does involve a lot of jumping. The 1 year martk is an average for all dogs but each dog is and an indivdual and rates of closure for dogs can vary greatly even between dogs of the same breed. In general also the smaller the dog the growth plate close sooner than larger dogs, Basset hounds are large dogs that happen to be dwarfs so the growth plate closure rate is more akin to other large breeds than that of small breeds. It is likely that ! year estimate is not conserative enough and for complete closure of all growth plates take even longer in a basset hound.

Growth plates don't sundly go from bieng soft to closed over night. It is a gradual process. As the dog ages the growth plate becones harder and harder and grow be come less and less. It is clear that damage to a growth plate that cause the bone from growing further is much more problematic the younger the dog is when the injury occurs. Also the growth plate ages it is more more capable of with standing injury from impact. The body is an amazing thing it reacts to the enviroment in wasy we don't often consider. In a bone or joint is uned frequent impact forces the bone will remodel it self make the surface area of the joint larger over time so It is better able to sustain asuch impacts. While this certainly does occur in adult dogs it can be even more dramatic in puppies.

Other factor include Jumping down is much more impactful than jumping up on the order of 4 or more times more. Obeisity,just plain being overweight, and growing in muscle mass too quickly are leading cause of orthopeadic problems in dogs.

The bottom line is yes there is the possibilty or traumatic joint injury to a puppy resulting in damage to an unclosed growth plate that result in an orthopeadic anonomly. At the same time being too caution results in a puppy that is over-weight and with poor muscle tone which also increases it risk of orthopeadic problems. As with anything in life moderation is general the best course of action.

My general rules of thumb. One can not get to much moderate exercise. walking even running however if possible a soft surface like dirt and grass is preferred over asphalt and concrete. Try and limit the dogs jumping to less than shoulder height on any occassion and frequent jumping to less than elbow height. Maintain the dog at idea body condition, It is far better for the dogs health to be underweight than overweight, IMHO the vast majority of basset hounds are overweight.

 

[Mikey T]

body condition links

Purina Body Condition Chart
Keep in mind Ideal is between 4-5

Corpulent Canines?

have assessed the weight on hundreds of dogs of a variety of breeds over the past year at seminars all over the country and a conservative estimate is that about 50% of the dogs that I see are overweight; approximately 25% are actually obese. These are not couch potato dogs. These are dogs whose owners expect them to jump in obedience, to run over rough ground in retrieving tests, and to perform in agility

...People don't know how to determine the correct weight for their dogs. Dogs vary in height, bone structure, and muscularity, so there is no one correct weight for a dog of any given breed. The best way to determine whether a dog is overweight is to test 3 different parts of the body: the neck, the ribs, and the hips.


To check the neck, press your thumb and index finger deep into the side of the neck just ahead of the shoulder, and pinch them together. If your fingers are more than 1/2" apart, the dog is overweight. (Note: this is where old dogs tend to carry most of their excess fat, and they may actually be thin in other locations.)

To check the ribs, stand with your dog beside you, facing his butt. Place your thumb on the middle of his spine half way down the back and spread your fingers out over his last few ribs. Then run your fingers up and down along his skin. You should be able to feel the bumps of his ribs without pressing in.

To check the hips, run your hand over your dog's croup. You should be able to feel the bumps of his two pelvic bones without pressing down.[/b]

]

Also keep in mind most people even with the follow info still then to underestimate how fat their dogs are. Studies by purina and others confirm this, It is better and far healther for the dog which actual on average live longer to be underwieght than overweight.

 

[Mikey T]

I have never had a Bassett before, and no one I know has either, so I am learning all I can about the breed now. I will post some pics....[/b]

If you have not done so read Diane Morgan's The Basset Hound Owner's Surival Guide is a good place to start. It is able to present the material in a fun way unlike most other breed guide books.

 

[Basset Momma]

Welcome! She is a lovely... and very lucky... little lady!

 

[BigBlooDawg]

What an adorable young lady! Welcome!

 

[Elvismom]

Welcome - Sadie is a beuatiful lady!

Toughy said everything I would've, so I won't repeat him.

Just give her lots of love, belly rubs & treats and you'll have a wonderful houndie.

 

[Sabian's mom]

Welcome and thank you for rescuing her. She is so sweet! Such a pretty face.

 

[spiffynikki]

Thank you all so much for all the wonderful information......