|
|
 |
|
 |
|
History of the
Breed
The first mention of the word "Basset" as applied to a breed
of dog appears to have been in an early text on hunting written
by Fouilloux in1585. This book is illustrated with what is
considered the first drawing of a Basset, a woodcut showing a
sportsman going out in his charette de chasse accompanied by his
"badger dogs" and Fouilloux gives advice on training the dogs
for the purpose of badger hunting.
|
It is thought that the friars of the French Abbey of St.
Hubert were instrumental in selective breeding from various
other strains of French hounds to produce a lowerset, hence
slower moving dog which could be followed on foot. The word
"Basset," derived from the French adjective bas, means a "low
thing" or "a dwarf." Since hunting was a classic sport in
medieval France, it is not surprising that many of the
thoroughly efficient small hounds found their way into the
kennels of the aristocracy, only to be dispersed with the
changing life style brought on by the Revolution. However, the
breed was not lost and we find them mentioned again by M. Blaze
in his sporting book Le Chasseur, written in 1850. About the
same time, in his book Chiens de Chasse, M. Robert writes: "The
Basset will hunt all animals, even boar and wolf, but he is
especially excellent for the chasse a tir (shooting with the aid
of hounds) of rabbits and hares."
|
By the mid-19th century, the two largest breeders of Bassets
in France were producing dogs of slightly different type,
especially in head and eye, the two types being identified by
the names of their respective breeders. M. Lane?s hounds
were broader of skull, shorter of ear and with a rounder and
more prominent eye. They were generally lemon and white in
marking and had a tendency to knuckling. Count Le Couteulx
produced hounds that had more narrow heads, more doming in
topskull, a softer, more sunken eye with prominent jaw and a
down-faced look that created more facial expression. The more
glamorous tricolors of Le Couteulx hounds made them preferred.
|
In 1866, Lord Galway imported a pair of French Bassets of
the Le Couteulx type to England. The following year a mating of
these two produced a litter of five pups, but as there was no
public exposure of them, no interest in the breed was stirred.
It was not until 1874, when Sir Everett Millais imported from
France the hound, "Model," that real activity with the breed
began in England. For his support of the breed and continued
drive on a breeding program within his own kennel as well as
cooperation with breeding programs established by Lord Onslow
and George Krehl, Sir Everett Millais has to be considered the
"father of the breed" in England. He first exhibited a Basset at
an English dog show in 1875, but it was not until he helped make
up a large entry for the Wolverhampton show in 1880 that a great
deal of public attention was drawn to the breed. A few years
later, further interest was created when Queen Alexandra kept
Basset Hounds in the royal kennels.
|
In the United States, it is thought that George Washington
was the owner of Basset Hounds presented to him as a gift by
Lafayette after the American Revolution. In 1883 and 1884,
English importations were made by American fanciers of the
breed. In 1884, Westminster Kennel Club held a class for the
Basset Hound and the English import, "Nemours," made his debut
before the American public. After subsequent entries At Eastern
shows, he completed his championship at Boston in 1886. The
first Basset Hounds were registered with the American Kennel
Club in 1885.
|
Gradually the breed began to find favor. By the 1920s, Gerald Livingston
was making multiple importations for his Kilsyth Kennels on Long Island.
About the same time, Erastus Tefft brought over to his kennels a number
of English Bassets, drawing heavily from the Walhampton Pack. Carl Smith
imported two French Bassets, one a French champion. Bassets were
beginning to be represented regularly at larger shows.
|
Further attention was drawn to the breed when the February
27, 1928 issue of Time magazine carried the picture of a Basset
puppy on the cover. The accompanying cover story was a write-up
of the 52nd annual dog show of the Westminster Kennel Club at
Madison Square Garden as if it were attended and observed by the
puppy.
|
In 1935, a national parent breed club was organized in the
United States, the Basset Hound Club of America. Annual
Nationals of the club are held which bring together various
fields of activity for this capable breed; conformation, field
trialing, pack hunting, obedience, and tracking.
|
| By the 1950s, the Basset Hound was synonymous with TV?s
"Cleo" for the general public, and in England the cartoonist
Graham of the Daily Mail had made "Fred Basset" almost human by
having him represent Everyman. But the dependable and
multi-purpose qualities of the breed can never be completely
obscured behind a droll façade. |
|
|
|
