The breeds · scenthound · scenthound
AKC Hound · UKC Scenthound · FCI standard 163
Basset Hound.
FCI 163: tenacious scent hound with a pack instinct and a deep melodious voice, bred to hunt in heavy cover; hunts hare persistently at a relatively slow pace over long distances. UKC: a working hound that hunts by scent, capable of great endurance. AKC: equipped to follow a trail over and through difficult terrain..
Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.
The body
What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.
Height at the shoulder
AKC standard 14 in is the stated ceiling with a 15 in disqualification line; UKC and FCI give a 13 to 15 in band. Both stand. Both sexes.
Weight
AKC page header only.
Coat
Heat tolerance
Derived from the standard's coat description (short, dense, hard hound coat = 4). No measured data. Heavy dewlap and loose skin are not weighed in the scale.
How long they live, and what they cost
Measured on real dogs, with the sample and the spread. Never a guess.
Median lifespan
McMillan et al. 2024 / Dogs Trust table. UK population.
The dog at home
What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.
Exercise need
RKC is a UK registry band, not a study; mapped by the library rule.
Grooming load
RKC is a UK registry band, not a study; mapped by the library rule. AKC page prints coat grooming frequency 3 (AKC band, not mapped).
The work
What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.
Role
Primary game
FCI 163 and the AKC field trial page. UKC history says the breed was made for hunting on foot in heavy cover and names no game.
Search pattern
Standards state voice and nose position; the bay-on-trail, quiet-off-trail rule is from a 1960 magazine report, not a current rule text.
Field trial standard
AKC Basset field trial page; rulebook (Chapter 7 eligibility) not read. BHCA statement is only that these events exist on its site menu.
How common the problems are
Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.
Hip dysplasia
OFA's own breed statistics (rank 14). OFA-evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock, with normal results over-represented. No OFA elbow row was found for the breed.
What the studies found
Population-level findings, shown as a spread. Breed sets the odds; the parents set the dog.
Aggression, as studied
Text placement statements only. Questionnaire study of self-selected owners; population-level, never a prediction for one dog. No bite statistics recorded.
What to ask a breeder for
The health clearances the breed’s own club and registry name. Reference only: what to ask for, never a statement about any dog’s health.
Side by side
How to read this page
Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.
Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 9 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.
- Also called
- Basset
Every breed, read the same way.
The breed index grows as entries clear the standard. Gun dogs first.
All published breedsYour basset hound, on the record.
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