50 Fun Facts About Basset Hound

The name 'Basset' comes from the French word bas, meaning what?

The suffix -et softens it, so the whole word means 'rather low'.

The Basset Hound was bred primarily to hunt what?

It moved slowly enough that hunters could follow on foot without horses.

The Basset Hound's sense of smell and ground-scenting ability are said to be second only to which breed?

The long ears help stir scent up from the ground.

The modern Basset Hound was developed in which country, from now-extinct French strains?

French Bassets were imported into England from at least the 1870s.

How many recognised 'basset'-type breeds are there in France?

They include the Basset Artésien Normand, Basset Bleu de Gascogne and the Grand and Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen.

Relative to its size, the Basset Hound holds what distinction among all breeds?

Basset Hounds weigh 44 to 77 pounds on average, the frame of a large dog on very short legs.

How much does a Basset Hound weigh on average?

Size varies a lot between bloodlines.

What is the loose skin around a Basset Hound's neck called?

The wrinkled, loose skin gives the breed its famously sad expression.

What is the purpose of the Basset Hound's characteristically long ears?

The slightly crooked legs meanwhile support the broad chest and ribs.

Which two colour patterns are NOT permitted in Basset Hounds?

Tricolour patterns are the most popular, but red and white also occur.

How is the Basset Hound's temperament described?

It is tolerant of children and other pets, and mild but extremely devoted.

The Basset Hound's short stature is due to which genetic condition?

It causes stunted growth, splayed hind limbs, enlarged joints and bent long bones.

A 2024 UK study found what life expectancy for the Basset Hound?

A 2015 French study had put it at 10.3, and the breed's median is quoted as 10 to 12.

What was the leading cause of death for Basset Hounds in a 2004 UK Kennel Club survey?

Cancer took 31 per cent, ahead of old age at 13 and gastric dilatation volvulus at 11.

A mutation in which gene causes the primary open angle glaucoma common in Basset Hounds?

Veterinary data put glaucoma prevalence at 5.44 per cent, the second highest in the study.

One study gave the Basset Hound what odds ratio for gastric dilatation volvulus (bloat)?

Deep-chested breeds are the classic bloat candidates.

The Basset type descends from 6th-century hounds belonging to which saint of Belgium?

Breeding at the Benedictine Abbey of St. Hubert produced the St Hubert's Hound around 1000 AD.

The saint whose hounds founded the Basset line is a patron of hunters and of which other group?

He is also patron of opticians and metalworkers, and his 'key' was used to cure rabies until the 20th century.

The 6th-century hounds behind the Basset line are said to descend from which ancient Greek type of dog?

Laconian Hounds were reputed never to give up a scent until they found their prey.

The first mention of a 'Basset' dog appeared in which 1585 hunting text?

The dogs in it were used to hunt foxes and badgers.

The Basset type is believed to have originated as a mutation in litters of which French hound?

The Norman Staghound was itself descended from the abbey hound of the Ardennes.

Why were short-legged hounds so valued in France before the Revolution of 1789?

Commoners hunted on foot, and a slow dog kept pace with them.

Basset-type hounds became popular during the reign of which French emperor?

Bronze sculptures of the emperor's Bassets were exhibited at the 1853 Paris Salon.

Which leading animal sculptor showed bronzes of the emperor's Basset Hounds at the 1853 Paris Salon?

Ten years later the breed drew international attention at the first Paris dog exhibition.

Controlled breeding of the short-haired Basset began in France in which year?

Count Le Couteulx of Canteleu fixed a straight-legged type and Louis Lane a crooked-legged one; crossed, they became the Basset Artésien Normand.

Count Le Couteulx of Canteleu fixed a utilitarian straight-legged type known as what?

Louis Lane's crooked-legged type was the Normand; the two were crossed to make the Basset Artésien Normand.

Who is considered the father of the modern Basset Hound?

In the 1890s he bred a Basset named Nicholas to a much heavier scent hound to create a heavier English type.

How was the mating that produced the heavier English Basset in the 1890s achieved?

The bitch was called Inoculation, and the litter was delivered by caesarean section.

How does the Basset Artésien Normand differ from the English-developed Basset Hound?

English breeders made the Basset Hound more substantial by crossing in heavier hound blood.

The only Basset Hound to win at Crufts was also the first Best of Breed winner there from which country?

The win came in 2004.

How does Colonel Morrison's hunting Basset Hound, admitted to the MBHA in 1959, differ from the standard?

It was admitted via an appendix to the Stud Book.

A Basset Hound appeared on the cover of Time magazine on February 27, 1928, 'reporting' on what event?

The story was written as if observed by the puppy at Madison Square Garden.

Which shoe brand, founded in 1958, uses a Basset Hound named Jason as its logo?

The brand claims its crepe soles saved Keith Richards from electrocution at a 1965 concert.

The shoe brand with the Basset Hound mascot is a division of which company based in Rockford, Michigan?

The brand grew out of a pigskin-tanning method developed for military gloves.

On The Steve Allen Show in 1956, Elvis sang 'Hound Dog' to a Basset Hound named what?

Presley found it humiliating; guitarist Scotty Moore said the anger drove the aggressive studio recording the next day.

The comic strip Fred Basset was created by which Scottish cartoonist for the Daily Mail in 1963?

He based Fred on his own dog Frieda and drew over 9,000 strips.

What is Fred Basset called in Germany?

He is Lillo il Cane Saggio in Italy, Lorang in Norway and Laban in Sweden.

Tex Avery's deadpan Basset Hound Droopy first appeared, nameless, in which 1943 MGM cartoon?

His opening line was 'Hello, all you happy people... you know what? I'm the hero.'

Droopy's meek voice was modelled on Wallace Wimple from which radio comedy?

Bill Thompson, who played Wimple, was Droopy's original voice; Don Messick filled in during Thompson's Navy service.

In Smokey and the Bandit, why did Burt Reynolds personally pick Fred the Basset Hound for the role?

Fred rides with Cledus 'Snowman' Snow in the truck hauling 400 cases of Coors.

In The Dukes of Hazzard, Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane's Basset Hound Flash was introduced in which season?

Rosco called her 'Velvet Ears'; she was mostly played by a shelter rescue named Sandy who lived to 14.

In The Dukes of Hazzard, what was the stuffed dog used as Flash's stunt stand-in called?

Flash hated Boss Hogg but loved the Dukes, and usually ignored Rosco's cry of 'Go get him, Flash!'

In Columbo, what is the name of the lieutenant's Basset Hound?

Peter Falk thought the idea gimmicky until he met the dog; two Bassets played the role from 'Étude in Black' onward.

In Disney's The Aristocats, the Basset Hound Lafayette is the companion of which larger hound?

The pair cause trouble across the French countryside; Lafayette is sometimes the smarter but more timid of the two.

In The Great Mouse Detective, what is the Basset Hound Basil borrows to trail a scent called?

The dog is used to track the bat Fidget to a toyshop.

In the anime film Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, the main character's Basset Hound is called what?

Director Mamoru Oshii is a famous Basset devotee and puts the breed in many of his films.

In the Bruno, Chief of Police novels, Bruno's Basset Hound Gigi is succeeded by a dog named after which novelist?

The series is set in the Périgord, classic Basset hunting country.

Morgan, a 1950s television Basset Hound, played a dog from which planet on Captain Video?

He also appeared with Garry Moore, Jackie Gleason and Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, and had a plush toy modelled on him.

The Basset Hound's slightly curved tail is carried how?

It works as a flag for hunters following a hound working through cover.

A 2015 French study found what life expectancy for the Basset Hound?

The breed's median life span is usually put at 10 to 12 years; a later UK study in 2024 was kinder, finding 12.5 years against a purebred average of 12.7.