Bassett Packs

[ManyDogs]

OK, I am certifiable. We just got dog #6 on Sunday; a bassett puppy I named George. George was named after my late father because 1. we bought him on Father’s Day and 2. because he can nap anytime, anywhere, just like my Dad.
I have George at work today because it is an unwritten rule that any new dog/puppy must be brought in for spoiling by coworkers. He is asleep in someone else’s office and we are tip-toeing around so we DON’T WAKE THE BABY.

Not that I PLAN to do it, but I started wondering about Bassett Packs:

They hunt rabbits with the humans on foot instead of horseback? Do they hunt any other quarry?

Are there specific lines of BHs that are considered superior for hunting?

How many hounds/couple make up a pack?

Any other info/input would be welcome.

PS-he has already started baying and walking with his nose (and ears :lol: ) to the ground.

[LexInVA]

No photos!!! Talk to JSwan. She can fill you in on the local Bassetting. I’m going to go along with her group sometime soon to see it for myself. I just adore Bassett Hounds.

[JSwan]

Hey - guess where I’m going today!

To the Basset Kennel! Walking hounds! Yippee! A pack of smelly drooly happy hounds!

There are at least two packs in VA - one in the Piedmont and one in central VA - near Charlottesville. (can’t remember the name of that pack this second)

You can hunt anything with a Basset. Just… not… as… quickly…:lol:

My dear old Basset Giuseppe was bred to hunt deer. I never used him to hunt deer but the kennel owner used them - great for pushing deer out of very dense brush. The owner has a small pack of… maybe 10 hounds? (long time ago - can’t remember how many hounds he had). They hunted on foot - deer drives. (only done in the south)

The pack I hunt with has a lot of Bleu de Gascogne - we imported a few from France where they were used to hunt deer. Ours hunt rabbit and they are quite good. Very very strong hounds - few in the pack of any type look like the tubby AKC bassets.

Several different types of bassets. They’re actually pretty fast when they’re hunting fit - many a time I wished I was on a horse. Not the sharpest knives in the drawer but good Lord what noses they have.

Do you remember the Charlie Brown song? This one? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbiYFA0-8mU

I used to play it on the piano and Giuseppe would sit beside me and bay and bay and bay. He loved it. My other basset Falstaff would bay when Giuseppe bayed - but Giuseppe had a lovely voice and used it often and with great eloquence.:lol:

When he died - I had inscribed on his headstone the following epitaph - “O, The He Had One More Song to Sing”:sadsmile:

Congratulations on the new hound - hope you have good fencing!:lol:

[FatDinah]

I believe the Tennessee Valley hunt has a basset pack.

The late Henry Mitchell, Washington Post writer, had an essay on attending a bassett trial that was laugh out funny. I don’t know where to find it to post. If someone does, plese do.

[LexInVA]

Lucky you! I wish I could go as I am off today but I just had three fillings replaced less than an hour ago and can’t feel my left cheek yet. I can go this weekend though if there’s anything going on.

[JSwan]

[QUOTE=LexInVA;4183821]
Lucky you! I wish I could go as I am off today but I just had three fillings replaced less than an hour ago and can’t feel my left cheek yet. I can go this weekend though if there’s anything going on.[/QUOTE]

I’ll keep you posted. Some Sundays we do a bbq after walking hounds but I don’t know which Sundays yet.

Cubbing starts in September and we hunt Tues Thurs and Sunday afternoons.

[ManyDogs]

Thanks, Ya’ll :winkgrin:,
Being that we have about 20 quadrajillion groundhogs in the fields behind us, perhaps we could start with those. Letzsee, BH would track, Aus. Cattle Dog mix would assist (as in ADHD assist), JRT would go to ground, and the three poodle mixes would follow along with DH in the RTV with “liquid refreshments”. Two of those three are pretty tough so they might join in the hunt.

I’ll have to check out TVH’s site to see about their Bassett pack.

Oddly enough, JSwan, no drooling yet. :eek:

I can’t post pictures online so will do it some other way, along with Jackson the One Eyed Cat, who looked horrified when yet another dawg was added to the maelstrom. (My big word for the day :lol:)

[Katie-Nicole]

Actually, it’s spelled Basset - 2 ‘s’, 1 ‘t’.

I have two - Norma and Frankie. Ironically, I was contemplating buying a Basset puppy when I went with my father on Sunday to pick up his Golden Retriever puppy. It was so tempting.

I’ve always found it funny that every Basset I’ve ever met has a “human” name. I think it is just part of their personality.

[ManyDogs]

Yes, I hemmed and hawed about the s’s and t’s :lol:-the older I get the worse my spelling seems to be.
I still can’t spell brocolli/broccoli or whatever, and cannot pronounce or apparently spell the "aboninable/abondible/ OK…fergidit… Yeti…

I must be thinking of Bassett Furniture in S Central VA.

[Good_Old_Sledge]

I’ve noticed too that they tend to have human names. However, I’ve come across two in the last six months - completely unrelated - both named “Flash.”
Wouldn’t have been my first pick.

[BeverlyAStrauss]

Tewksbury Foot Bassets in NJ is a great pack- they brought in some Frenchies years ago (I believe to increase the speed and drive)- they hunt hare…

[Katie-Nicole]

[QUOTE=Good Old Sledge;4185410]
I’ve noticed too that they tend to have human names. However, I’ve come across two in the last six months - completely unrelated - both named “Flash.”
Wouldn’t have been my first pick.[/QUOTE]

How unoriginal… That was the name of the Basset in the Dukes of Hazzard.

[Katie-Nicole]

[QUOTE=3dogfarm;4184245]
Yes, I hemmed and hawed about the s’s and t’s :lol:-the older I get the worse my spelling seems to be.
I still can’t spell brocolli/broccoli or whatever, and cannot pronounce or apparently spell the "aboninable/abondible/ OK…fergidit… Yeti…

I must be thinking of Bassett Furniture in S Central VA.[/QUOTE]

hahah… My mother, a college professor e-mailed me one day and spelled it Bassett. When I corrected her by saying “Mom, it’s spelled Basset. Bassett is furniture.” She replied by saying “Well, they’re always on the couch, so it’s kind of the same thing, don’t you think?”

[ManyDogs]

OK, no more Joan Baez CDs on the way home-George howled most of the trip. :lol:

Definitely a “Bassett” hound :winkgrin:, although we lift him on and off the couch. Is it correct/true that for the first year BHs should not be going up and down steps or jumping off furniture because of their long backs? I thought I read that awhile ago.

Of course, this bit of information might be filed under the same “Yeah, right” category as our vet’s admonishment to “not let the JRT jump” after she had been spayed.

[wateryglen]

oooooooyeah!

I hunt with the Ashland Bassets of Warrenton, Va. too. JSwan is my bud!
The other Va. pack is Foxboro Foot Bassets from the Charlottesville area.
We are having our after walking out BBQ this Sunday at 5. Everyone invited! Bring food!! We do bbq’s the last sunday walkout of the month at 5.
3Dog! Where you at? Don’t recognize that Va. location but then there’s lots of Va locations I don’t know yet!

[LexInVA]

I’ll come even if there isn’t any BBQ. Hell, a box of crackers is enough to get me excited whenever I’m hungry. :lol: I really want to meet more people like you folks and I need to get the **** out of here for a day after the week I’ve had.

[LexInVA]

3Dog is down near Bristol. I have no idea what goes on down there.

[ManyDogs]

Ummm, the proper pronunciation is “Breeeeestul” :D.

There is a Basset Pack in TN connected to the Tennessee Valley Hunt. I emailed TVH so I could receive their newsletter. I will email the MBH to inquire about doing the walks. Hopefully they are not too far away.

Warrenton is a rather long ride so although I’d love to do the BBQ etc., DH will not quite understand about a 10 hour road trip. :sadsmile::sadsmile:

I’m sure little BH George would enjoy the excitement! Hope to post pics of him (i.e., link to photos) some time this weekend.
Everyone at work wants to babysit him.

[Tegan301]

Bassets

Glad a few of you chimed in about the spelling of “Basset.” As far as the naming of these funny, lovable, sloppy hounds, our girl is named “Annie!” They are one of the most delightful dog breeds ever…

[NeverTime]

About Bassets and human names. I agree, except that both of mine have bucked the trend. The first was Spanky. I dunno, my roommate named him and it seemed so quaintly inappropriate for him.
The current one, from a rescue in Utah, came with the name Copper. I’m guessing he was named after Copper in “The Fox and the Hound,” who was NOT a basset hound. But, heck, he ignores that name as well as any other.
People always comment on how slim and trim he is. I tell them he’s my “racing basset.” :lol: