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Basset hounds going from couch potatoes to hunters
By ROGER ALFORD, Associated Press Writer
12/13/2002
Anthony Schmidt adjusts the leash on his three-year-old basset hound Buster at his Falmouth, Ky., farm Tuesday Nov. 26, 2002. Schmidt is a member of the American Hunting Basset Association, a group working to restore the tenacious hunting dog instincts in the breed that was developed centuries ago in France. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke)
PIKEVILLE, Ky. -- They're the puppies that trip over their extra-long ears, the lazy hounds that would rather be pulled along in a wagon than walk, the couch potatoes of the dog world that dream their lives away on the porch.
They're the lowly basset hounds, but their lazybones image is beginning to change.
A nationwide group of basset hound lovers has been largely successful in restoring some of the wrinkle-faced canines to the tenacious hunting dogs they were when the breed was developed centuries ago in France.
They still have the same short legs and the trademark loose-fitting skin. The difference is attitude. They will chase rabbits through tangles of briars and vines for hours, then go home and play fetch with the kids.
Names like Droopy and Sleepy no longer fit. Anthony Schmidt, one of some 600 members of the American Hunting Basset Association, said Speedy and Flash are more like it.
"Some of these dogs are fast as rockets," said Schmidt, who has six bassets on his 100-acre farm in Falmouth. "They keep getting faster and faster. They're not the bassets that most people are familiar with."
For many people, perceptions of bassets as lazy hounds are based on their Hollywood image. In sitcoms such as "The Dukes of Hazzard" and "Coach," they had intermittent roles, always sitting or lying around.
Don't look for such inactivity at the Schmidt household. His bassets are athletes that participate in
competitions to determine if they can outsmart and outlast other bassets in chasing rabbits. His family often spends Saturdays taking their dogs to competitions across the Midwest.
"At some point, the same thing started happening with bassets that happened to several other breeds," said Gerald Bailey, president of the American Hunting Basset Association of New Salisbury, Ind., which sponsors the competitions. "Over the years as people got to breeding away from hunting ability and more toward various unusual physical characteristics, they started to lose their ability to hunt."
Bailey said the cocker spaniel and the French poodle, which were originally developed as hunting dogs, suffered the same fate.
Through the generations, bassets have retained their keen sense of smell and at least some desire to hunt. Bailey said their bodies simply needed fine-tuning.
"We're trying to remake the breed," he said. "We want a hound that can go all day in the field. What we're trying to do is just prevent the loss of one more breed of hunting dogs, and to keep bassets doing what they were bred to do."
Some breeders warn new owners not to overfeed their bassets because the extra weight can put too much strain on the legs or back and cause lameness or paralysis.
The American Hunting Basset Association wants to remedy those problem through selective breeding. Bailey said his group encourages the mating of hounds without the exaggerated physical traits, like the extremely long body, so that puppies will grow into healthy adults able to exert themselves without injury.
"We want an aggressive hound," Bailey said. "We're not breeding for couch potatoes. We want a lean, fast hound that can perform in the field."
John Wlodyga of Grass Lake, Mich., owner of 10 bassets, said he has seen dramatic changes in the breed in the past decade.
"These dogs are improving more and more every year," he said. "We've got amateur dogs now that are as good as our champion dogs were five or six years ago. We've seen just a huge leap since we've begun this conscious effort to improve the breed."
Pat Workman, director of Bluegrass Basset Rescue in Murray and owner of three bassets, said plenty of the more docile bassets remain in the world for those who want a sedentary pet.
"They're not going to bound around like a Labrador," she said. "Some are true couch potatoes -- they like to watch TV with you."
------
On the Net:
American Hunting Basset Association: http://www.bassetnet.com/
By ROGER ALFORD, Associated Press Writer
12/13/2002
Anthony Schmidt adjusts the leash on his three-year-old basset hound Buster at his Falmouth, Ky., farm Tuesday Nov. 26, 2002. Schmidt is a member of the American Hunting Basset Association, a group working to restore the tenacious hunting dog instincts in the breed that was developed centuries ago in France. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke)
PIKEVILLE, Ky. -- They're the puppies that trip over their extra-long ears, the lazy hounds that would rather be pulled along in a wagon than walk, the couch potatoes of the dog world that dream their lives away on the porch.
They're the lowly basset hounds, but their lazybones image is beginning to change.
A nationwide group of basset hound lovers has been largely successful in restoring some of the wrinkle-faced canines to the tenacious hunting dogs they were when the breed was developed centuries ago in France.
They still have the same short legs and the trademark loose-fitting skin. The difference is attitude. They will chase rabbits through tangles of briars and vines for hours, then go home and play fetch with the kids.
Names like Droopy and Sleepy no longer fit. Anthony Schmidt, one of some 600 members of the American Hunting Basset Association, said Speedy and Flash are more like it.
"Some of these dogs are fast as rockets," said Schmidt, who has six bassets on his 100-acre farm in Falmouth. "They keep getting faster and faster. They're not the bassets that most people are familiar with."
For many people, perceptions of bassets as lazy hounds are based on their Hollywood image. In sitcoms such as "The Dukes of Hazzard" and "Coach," they had intermittent roles, always sitting or lying around.
Don't look for such inactivity at the Schmidt household. His bassets are athletes that participate in
competitions to determine if they can outsmart and outlast other bassets in chasing rabbits. His family often spends Saturdays taking their dogs to competitions across the Midwest.
"At some point, the same thing started happening with bassets that happened to several other breeds," said Gerald Bailey, president of the American Hunting Basset Association of New Salisbury, Ind., which sponsors the competitions. "Over the years as people got to breeding away from hunting ability and more toward various unusual physical characteristics, they started to lose their ability to hunt."
Bailey said the cocker spaniel and the French poodle, which were originally developed as hunting dogs, suffered the same fate.
Through the generations, bassets have retained their keen sense of smell and at least some desire to hunt. Bailey said their bodies simply needed fine-tuning.
"We're trying to remake the breed," he said. "We want a hound that can go all day in the field. What we're trying to do is just prevent the loss of one more breed of hunting dogs, and to keep bassets doing what they were bred to do."
Some breeders warn new owners not to overfeed their bassets because the extra weight can put too much strain on the legs or back and cause lameness or paralysis.
The American Hunting Basset Association wants to remedy those problem through selective breeding. Bailey said his group encourages the mating of hounds without the exaggerated physical traits, like the extremely long body, so that puppies will grow into healthy adults able to exert themselves without injury.
"We want an aggressive hound," Bailey said. "We're not breeding for couch potatoes. We want a lean, fast hound that can perform in the field."
John Wlodyga of Grass Lake, Mich., owner of 10 bassets, said he has seen dramatic changes in the breed in the past decade.
"These dogs are improving more and more every year," he said. "We've got amateur dogs now that are as good as our champion dogs were five or six years ago. We've seen just a huge leap since we've begun this conscious effort to improve the breed."
Pat Workman, director of Bluegrass Basset Rescue in Murray and owner of three bassets, said plenty of the more docile bassets remain in the world for those who want a sedentary pet.
"They're not going to bound around like a Labrador," she said. "Some are true couch potatoes -- they like to watch TV with you."
------
On the Net:
American Hunting Basset Association: http://www.bassetnet.com/
