Talk:Basset Hound

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

WikiProject Dogs
Dogs Portal
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Dogs, an attempt to build a comprehensive and detailed guide to articles on Canines on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, you can edit the article attached to this page, or visit the project page, where you can join the project and/or contribute to the discussion.
B This article has been rated as B-Class on the Project's quality scale.
??? This article has not yet received a rating on the importance scale.

Article Grading: The following comments were left by the quality and importance raters: (edit comments - comment history - watch comments · refresh this page)

Who the wrote the temperament section????
Basset Hound is included in the 2007 Wikipedia for Schools, or is a candidate for inclusion in future versions. Please maintain high quality standards, and make an extra effort to include free images, because non-free images cannot be used on the CDs.

Contents

[edit] Ghost in the Shell

Was just looking at an article on the Ghost in the Shell sequel, and i noticed a bassett hound on the movie poster. Being a fan of the original, I can tell you that this breed of dog makes a cameo appearance throughout the original animated film. Dessydes

Bassets are actually a hallmark of the director. --moof 02:46, 6 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Quality of Writing

"They are super cute and they're fun to snuggle with." Are you kidding me? This is an encyclopedia, not a children's book. GregChant 21:41, 5 November 2006 (UTC)

Yuck, yes, that should not be there. Anyone can edit this encyclopedia, sadly that means changes like this will appear. if you see stuff like this feel free to take it out! Be Bold! - Trysha (talk) 22:56, 5 November 2006 (UTC)
It IS a true statement, however! :) A basset fan! --164.107.92.120 00:17, 16 November 2006 (UTC)
Yes, it is! :) --24.154.173.243 05:10, 25 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Kudos

Might sound weird, but I just felt like saying that this is one of the best articles I've read on WP in a while. I like how closely it adheres to the quality standards and seems like a good piece of collaborative writing. I see so many mediocre articles, this one is a treat. Congrats. Menkatopia 23:35, 13 November 2006 (UTC)Menk

I also like the overall appearance of this article, but I do think that it is rather short on references and external links. Best, --24.154.173.243 05:10, 25 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Aristocratic Breed?

I removed this statement. I do not think that it has any practical meaning.--Counsel 21:53, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

RE: A statement regarding the use of the basset hound by the aristocracy is surely of practical import; it shows how the dog was used in the past. As far as I know, the breed was used for hunts where hunters (who were generally aristocracy) didn't need to use a horse, and thus required a dog they could follow on foot (as opposed to a larger coursing hound). I am not familiar with the original statement that was removed, but the fact that is was removed shows a contemporary bias to the inequalities of the historical past (i.e. that only the aristocratic could own dogs of this use). They may not be aristocratic dogs now (since I own one, and I am no blue-blood), but they surely were in the past (like most dogs kept in large packs were). The fact that the basset hound is a pack 'hunter' is almost enough to default to the fact that they were dogs of the aristocracy; the poor wouldn't be able to keep a pack. Randomjohnson7 (talk) 16:18, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

I purchased A basset hound from mnts country basset hounds turns out the dog has a disease called wobblers disease. Which is problems with the spin that make the dog walk like he is drunk due from over breeding. Owners assume no responsibility.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!BUYER BEWARE STAY AWAY FROM HIGH RIVER ALBERTA BREEDERS!!!!!!!!!!!!1

[edit] Basset Hounds Bite?

Ah, you might consider revising the page; Bassets are among the few dog breeds that don't bite.

Don't know where you got that information from but, Bassets are harmless. Read a Basset Hound's owners manual for pete's sake! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 206.63.78.46 (talk) 11:36, 9 October 2007 (UTC)

While bassets are one of (if not the) the most non-violent breeds out there, it is still too strong to say that they 'don't bite'. Any dog, regardless of breed-history, has the capacity to strike out of fear (i.e. at least defensively). It would be more fruitful to speak of the basset hound with regard to its bite capacity in emphasizing the breed history: that basset hounds were bred as coursing hounds and as scent hounds, and as such they simply follow game and bay when they find it. The biting instinct was to be bred out of the basset hound so they wouldn't attack the game. Unlike other breeds which are bred to nip at the heels of animals (herding dogs); bred to attack non-pack animals and defend territory; or bred to chase, surround, and wear-down very large game (e.g. larger hound breeds), the basset hound (as a coursing hound, and a slow one at that) was bred specifically to not bite, and to simply pursue game. So, instead of saying that they 'don't bite', it would be more fruitful to speak to their history and establish rather that their bite has been inhibited through use and breeding. This way we basset-lovers may establish that the basset hound really is the most non-violent breed, only this way it will be through an appeal to the history of the breed (and not just making seemingly-unfounded claims). This breeding history could be compared to the breeding history of other breeds, and relatively speaking we may be able to say that (ceteris paribus) they are the breed least likely to bite.

As a former basset breeder, I would like to state that although I've never known a basset to bite a human, they are fierce fighters if another dog is usurping their territory (or if they perceive it to be), and once involved they are ferocious and almost impossible to distract. Surprisingly, I found the old "water cure", squirting them liberally with water from a hose--but you can't stop too soon or they'll be right back at it. As every other detail of training a Basset is concerned, this also requires patience. Randomjohnson7 (talk) 17:17, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Ears & Hearing

There is an uncited line in the entry: "Listening is another skill they have due to their large ears increasing their hearing range."

I want to contest this line. The basset hound is a scent hound, and most of its characteristics were bred into it for that fact. As I understand it, the hanging-ears of a basset hound assist in sweeping (and trapping) scent-molecules into its dewlaps (which form a natural valley for the scent-molecules to travel to the nose).

I think a misunderstanding about hearing has to do with a mistaken analogy between basset hounds and animals with similarly large, drooping ears: elephants. There is a key difference here, however. Elephants can (and do) spread and extend the fleshy, drooping ears, so to speak, making their ears exceptionally adapted to catching sound. A basset hound may raise its ears slightly, but its ears will continue to hang and droop.

The link between large-appearing ears and increased capacity for listening is a non-sequitur, at least in the case of the basset hound. I think the "Listening is another skill they have due to their large ears increasing their hearing range" line should be removed; in 2 weeks from this dated-entry, I will do so barring refutation. Randomjohnson7 (talk) 16:38, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

Actually, how well a Basset hears is something I'm not too sure about, but when they are trailing, they actually block the ear canal (remember, they were bred for hunting in dense cover), which also impairs their hearing, it's like wearing ear plugs or covering your ears with yout hands. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.219.185.204 (talk) 04:11, 16 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Inter-Wiki contradictions

I've noticed something puzzling about the country of origin of the basset hound. The English article here says France is the appropriate country, but the French article claims Great Britain. I decided to look at the other languages also, and it seems almost half and half: The Italian, Portuguese, and Polish articles all claim Great Britain as the country of origin, whereas the Spanish, German, and Norwegian articles claim France. The Dutch article seems to avoid taking a side on the issue, instead stating: De Bassethond (Engels:Basset Hound) is een laagbenige jachthond van Engels-Franse afkomst. What could the cause of this discrepancy be? - 67.87.99.122 (talk) 06:17, 27 December 2007 (UTC)

That's not true for the French article. It states: Ce basset serait issu de croisements entre de vieilles races françaises, notamment le basset d'Artois (race aujourd'hui disparue) et le Saint-Hubert . Dr.K. (talk) 08:08, 27 December 2007 (UTC)
But the introduction (lead) of the French article mentions that the International Canine Federation recognises that the Basset has its origins in England. Encyclopaedia Britannica claims it's from France. The only way to reconcile Britannica and the wiki statements would be to assume that the uncited quotation in the French article from the International Canine Federation is false and the sister foreign language wikis are wrong when they claim a UK origin. There is also the remote possibility that the International Canine Federation disagrees with Britannica on the definition of a basset hound. Dr.K. (talk) 09:25, 27 December 2007 (UTC)
Also bear in mind what you copied and pasted from the French article mentions only that the immediate parent breeds of the basset hound are French breeds. However if one is born in America to French parents and is raised there, one is American, not French. - 67.87.99.122 (talk) 04:22, 28 December 2007 (UTC)
Similarly if American dog breeders in the US create a new breed using the German Shephard and Dachshund, German breeds, the resulting dog would be an American breed, not a German one. - 67.87.99.122 (talk) 04:26, 28 December 2007 (UTC)
Agreed. Maybe the British bred it as well. The only problem is the Britannica reference. It calls it a French breed. Also the International Canine Federation's citation in the French article is not confirmed. I, personally, would go with Britannica. You raised some excellent points however. Maybe we should expand this interwiki comparison to other articles. Thanks. Dr.K. (talk) 06:14, 28 December 2007 (UTC)