One of the real pleasures of being Chairman of the Royal Kennel Club is that I get invited to all sort of “doggy” events and, for many of them, Sue is able to join me. Today, we were invited to a Breed Appreciation Day on the Basset Hound. This was run by the Welsh and South of England Breed Clubs, near Abingdon.
There were 2 speakers. The first was Tina Watkins, who is Breed Health Coordinator and recipient of the first International Canine Health Award for Breed Health Coordinator of the Year. The second was Lauren Armstrong, who also happens to be a veterinary nurse, and brought her top-winning bitch as a “model” for participants to see (final image here).
The history of the breed was discussed by Tina and it was interesting how much overlap there was with the history of our breed, Dachshunds. Tina shared images of short-legged dogs from the pyramids and from medieval times. We know that the genetic mutation that causes short legs dates back at least 10,000 years, and using these dogs for specific types of hunting and tracking certainly dates back many centuries. Man’s relationship with short-legged dogs clearly has a long history. 
(Image: La Venerie 1560)
Tina also discussed the Basset Breed Standard and there are many similarities with the Dachshund one. We have a lot of commonalities in our front construction but more of a difference in hind angulation. In Bassets, the hocks are described as slightly bent under, whereas in Dachshunds, there is no mention of the hocks but our Illustrated Breed Standard (Sayer) always shows the bone from the hock joint to the foot being perpendicular to the ground.
Bassets have also recently been recategorised in Breed Watch. They are, once again, a Category 3 breed, with multiple visible points of concern which judges and breeders should be aware of. Bassets and Dachshunds both have “Inadequate ground clearance” as a point of concern but in our Breed Standard there is specific guidance that we require clearance of not less than one quarter of the height at the withers. I was really encouraged to see the amount of time spent on Breed Watch in the presentation on the Basset Breed Standard.
Overall, it was a very interesting morning and a great opportunity to learn about the breed, even for someone with no interest in breeding or judging them.
My thanks to Kim Culyer-Dawson, Secretary of the SEBHC for inviting us.
