Any Bassett Hound owners here?

[Guest]

We'll today I dropped by one of my favorite mom and pop petstores. I walked in and they had a half dozen adorable little bassett hound pups. My wife's been wanting one but she wants to wait until our pomeranian, who's seventeen and very frail, passes on. We also have a seven year old papillon that's a real hoot! My wife has made it clear that if we do get a bassett it's got to be a female. So I was talking to the owner of the store, who I know pretty good, and told her about our situation. Only one of the pups was a female so she suggested that I take it home for a couple of days with no obligation to buy it just to see how she interacts with our other dogs and our four cats.She's been her a couple of hours and I'm amazed how well the other animals are around her. They really act like it's no big deal even though she's chasing the dogs and cats all around the house. We're 99% sure that we will end up keeping her, the price is right, she's had her first shots and she is just adorable...big floppy ears and those beautiful sad eyes that bassetts are known for. What do you guys think?

[TheGreyRonin]

Run while you still can. Only halfway joking. I've owned a purebreed Basset female for about six years now. Although I wouldn't trade my Rosie for the world, be warned that Bassets are VERY difficult animals to deal with. For kids, they are incredible. They are extremely even-tempered, rarely aggressive, and once they pick their person, they are practically inseperable. At the same time, Bassets are stubborn, and when upset they can be incredibly spiteful. Training a Basset to do anything it doesn't want to do is an exercise in futility, and if you push THEM too far, they enjoy getting revenge personally, usually through destruction of property. I was married for just over two years. Rosie and my ex both thought they were the queen of the castle. After they'd butt heads, Rosie would bring my ex a mangled pump, drop it at her feet, set herself square, and just DARE her to say something...) Aside from the challenging personalities, Bassets can sometimes develop hip problems as they age, especially when dealing with stairs. If you have a multistory house, keeping your Basset downstairs is a good idea. Bassets are NOT the lazy dogs you see on TV. Most that are used for movies or commercials are either old or overweight. If fed and cared for properly, they are fairly active dogs, and will give you many fun-filled hours of playtime. Mine particularly enjoys running laps in my house. *grins* I hope none of this scared you off. As I said at the beginning, I'm extremely happy with my baby. She's short, stubborn, spiteful, and annoying......just like her owner! *grins*

[Rachel]

I completely agree. If I may add a few things...from a medical point of view...Bassets tend to become overweight very easially. And those big, beautiful, floppy ears...lets just say they create this really warm, moist space that yeast and bacteria thrive in!! All in all, Bassets are AWESOME pets...but just be prepared for the strong personally and potential vet bills. BTW, I too have a Papillon...aren't they the coolest!

[Willow]

My parents' neighbors have a female Bassett. They had a male but they had to re-home him because the female was so mean to him...wouldn't stop attacking him. The hound breeds are by nature difficult, so it helps if you have prior experience with training dogs. I wouldn't recommend them as a dog for someone who has never had a dog, or who doesn't want to bother to train properly. But I guess that's true of any dog, really.