About Basset Hounds

A short-legged, low to the ground, heavily-bodied dog, Basset Hound is a wonderful medium dog breed that will surely capture hearts forever. According to research, the true fame of the Basset Hound began in 1863, when it was presented at the Paris Dog Show. Its popularity spread to England where a lively dispute arose between two factions of breeders. Basset's nose is almost as outstanding as the Bloodhound's. A sweet, docile and laidback dog, Basset Hound is a good and very alert companion with his good tracking skills and keen sense of smells. They are scent hounds, bred to hunt rabbits by scent. Their sense of smell for tracking is second only to that of the Bloodhound. The name Basset derives from the French word "bas" meaning "low;" "basset" (-et attenuating suffix) meaning, literally, "rather low."

The Basset Hound is sweet, gentle, devoted, peaceful and naturally well-behaved. They fit into family life well. They are mild but not timid; very affectionate with its master and friendly with children. It can be a bit stubborn with meek owners and need a firm, confident, and consistent owner who displays natural authority over the dog. The smooth, short-haired coat is easy to groom. Comb and brush with a firm bristle brush, and shampoo only when necessary. Bassets like to do tricks for food. It has a deep musical bark. With proper training, they are obedient, but when they pick up an interesting smell, it's sometimes hard to get their attention, as they like to follow their noses and may not even hear you calling them back. The Basset hound will do okay in an apartment. They are very inactive indoors but outdoors they will run for hours in play if given the chance. They will do okay without a yard, but should be given plenty of opportunities to run and play to keep it healthy and trim.

Do not overfeed these dogs because extra weight places too great a load on the legs and spine. A problem area is possible lameness and eventual paralysis because of short legs and a heavy, long body. As they are prone to bloat, it is also wise to feed them two or three small meals a day instead of one big large meal. The dog should be kept observed for several hours after eating a large meal. Bassets lifespan averaging from 10-12 years.

Deerhound Scottish Deerhound

Resembles like rough-coated greyhounds, Scottish Deerhound, or simply the Deerhound, is a breed of hound (a sighthound), bred to hunt the Red Deer by coursing. Deerhounds, however, are larger in size and bigger in bone, tall and slim sighthound with a saggy 3-4 inch long coat, beard, mustache and mane. Gentle and extremely friendly, Scottish Deerhounds are famed for being docile and eager to please, with a bearing of gentle dignity. It is however a true sighthound which has been selected for generations to pursue game, consequently most Deerhounds will be eager to chase.

The Scottish Deerhound is believed by some to have existed back to a time before recorded history. Scottish Deerhound is very similar to the Greyhound and may have been closely related to the "Highland Greyhound". The Greyhound is a centuries-old inhabitant of the British Isles. The Scottish breed's development closely jockeys its English counterpart's. In Scotland, the Greyhound developed into quite a distinctive dog and became known as the Scottish Deerhound. The environment in which it worked, the Scottish Highland moors, likely contributed to the larger, rough-coated appearance of the breed. The Deerhound was developed to hunt red deer by “coursing”, and also initially in “deer-stalking” until the the end of the 19th century with the advent of the modern rifle and smaller deer-forests, when controllable, slower tracking dogs were preferred to fast and far running Deerhounds.

Scottish Deerhounds are not recommended as indoor pets, although mature Deerhounds can do well in an apartment if they are sufficiently exercised. They are relatively inactive indoors and should have at least a large yard, but do best with acreage so it will have room to run around. The Scottish Deerhound is prone to bloat. It is wise to feed them 2 or 3 small meals a day rather then one big one. Avoid vigorous exercise right after the dog has eaten a big meal. The average life expectancy of Scottish Deerhound is under 10 years.