The Basset Hound is a short-legged breed of dog of the hound family. They are scent hounds, bred to hunting 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." They do shed, but they make great pets. They are children friendly too. They come in a varied amount of colors but mostly brown and white. Most of the time they are spotted. These dogs are around 36 to 38 cm (13 to 15 inches) in height at the withers. They usually weigh between 35-70lbs. They have smooth, short-haired coats but a rough haired hound is possible. Although any hound colour is considered acceptable by breed standards, Bassets are generally tricolor (black, tan, and white), open red and white (red spots on white fur), closed red and white (a solid red color with white feet and tails), Honey And White (honey coloured back, light brown spotty nose and legs, light brown tails with white tip) and lemon and white. Some Bassets are also classified as gray or blue; however, this colour is considered rare and undesirable. They have long, downward ears and powerful necks, with much loose skin around their heads that forms wrinkles. Their tails are long and tapering and stand upright with a curve. Some prefer that the tail be tipped in white. This is so they are easily seen when hunting/tracking through large bushes or weeds. The breed is also known for its hanging skin structure, which causes the face to occasionally look sad; this, for many people, adds to the breed's charm. The dewlap, seen as the loose, elastic skin around the neck, and the trailing ears, help trap the scent of what they are tracking. The Basset Hound is a large dog with short legs. They were originally bred to have dwarfism. Their short stature can be deceiving; Bassets are surprisingly long and can reach things on table tops that dogs of similar heights cannot. However, because Bassets are so heavy and have such short legs, they are not able to hold themselves above water for very long, and should never be made to swim. The Basset Hound was bred to hunt. Its short, compressed stature and relatively stubby legs were bred into it to for two reasons, despite the fact that many people relate the breed to the overweight couch potato seen in the old Hush Puppy Shoes ads: 1) To make it harder to get knocked over by brush-sheep, a common enemy when retrieving game fowl.[ 2) To enable hunters to follow the quarry on foot as opposed to horses with many other, faster hound breeds As hunting has declined in popularity, many Bassets have lost their age-old skills. There are a few groups that promote hunting with bassets.
