STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

scarlett · Marc Jacobs

anyone have a basset hound?

luckylily · Gucci

I don't have one now, but my parent had one when I was in high school and she just recently died. She was a really sweet, mellow dog. She was fairly active as a puppy, but nothing compared to a lab. She liked to take walks with them in the evenings. They do a lot of camping/road trips, and they always took her with them and she was a great travel companion.

The only negative about her was that she always followed her nose. She could never be off leash for even a minute because once she caught a scent, she was off.

What kind of traits are you looking for in a dog?

subwolley · Kate Spade

I don't have one, but I just want to say I think they are so freakin' cute!!! I want to get one someday when I can have a dog.

Here's what I've read about basset houds

-They need a closed off yard, because they do follow there nose and tend to wander off. So make sure you have a fenced yard.

-Owners tend to over feed them because of their sad puppy dog eyes.

-They'd rather take a nap than go for a walk. They're not very active dogs. But exercise is good for them. (I always see a guy in the neighborhood walking his two basset hounds. They are too cute!)
-They do like to howl. They are hound dogs after all.

That's all I can remember right now. If you get one, please post pictures! :)

luckyclover · Dooney & Bourke

Our neighbor had one...not sure if it was pure breed or a mix. It barked way too much and they ended up giving it to someone else. Other than that it was a good dog...and very cute.

scarlett · Marc Jacobs

Thanks for the info, ladies! I will definitely post pictures whenever we do get a puppy. :)

Luckylily, our main reason for being concerned about having a lab is the energy level. One book we have says labs need two hours of exercise a day. Honestly, we're not the most active couple -- we could definitely stand to be more active, but a basset hound is probably more our speed and we're both a little worried about getting a lab and not being able to keep up after the initial puppy excitement wears off. When your parents' basset hound got on the trail of something, how did you get her off it, like if you needed to go home but she was still sniffing?

We live in a one bedroom apartment in New York City so we don't have a yard, we both work, but we both looooove dogs and want one so much. There is a dog run in our neighborhood, but it's a twenty minute walk away. If we lived closer a lab might seem more feasible. Whatever dog we get, we want to make sure it's happy with the life we can give it.

erin · Chanel

my parents used to have one before i was born and my mom said it got into the trash all the time and made huge messes, so they got rid of it

luckylily · Gucci

scarlett wrote:

Thanks for the info, ladies! I will definitely post pictures whenever we do get a puppy. :)

Luckylily, our main reason for being concerned about having a lab is the energy level. One book we have says labs need two hours of exercise a day. Honestly, we're not the most active couple -- we could definitely stand to be more active, but a basset hound is probably more our speed and we're both a little worried about getting a lab and not being able to keep up after the initial puppy excitement wears off. When your parents' basset hound got on the trail of something, how did you get her off it, like if you needed to go home but she was still sniffing?

Scarlett - The sniffing wasn't an issue for my parents dog as long as she was on the leash. If they could guide her, she'd do whatever they wanted. The issues was that if she was offleash and she picked up a scent, she would take off so quickly to follow it, you couldn't turn your back on her for a single second.

Generally, I think a Bassett Hound would be a good apt dog. My only concern would be that as Bassetts get older they can have a hard time w/ stairs (big body, little legs ain't easy on the back), so if you have a lot of stairs, that could be an issue. You could probably carry up and down the stairs tho. Also, my parents dog wasn't a howler, but I *think* Bassetts can be. You might want to look into that, I'm not really sure.

scarlett · Marc Jacobs

I was wondering about the howling. We found a breeder in Pennsylvania who has some litters coming up, so I'll ask them about that.

Luckylily, we don't have any stairs in our apartment and the building has an elevator, so the little legs shouldn't be a problem if we get a basset.

Erin, thanks for the warning about the trash. I think our kitchen trash can would be hard for a dog to get into, but it is good to hear about these things!

FashionPrincess · Hermes

We have a beagle which is very similar. She is such a good dog. Now it is true that their nose rules them, but it isn't that bad. We let Brittany outside without a leash (we don't live in the city) and she doesn't run off, just sometimes gets sidetracked especially since we have bunnies and deer that come into our yard. If we need to, we'll bribe her to come in with a treat and she generally forgets about whatever she was on the trail of

And it's true, most times they'd rather nap then go for a long walk. Let me know if I can answer any other questions. Bassetts and beagles are such cute dogs!

ETA: Oh, and yeah, they like to get into the trash. We have a lidded trash can in the kitchen, but she sometimes gets into the bathroom trash and shreds up tissue paper. And just last week she ate a package of peanut butter crackers that I had thrown away (there were two left), she ate the package and all. She was not a happy puppy the next day, as I can imagine I wouldn't be either if I was trying to pass plastic

-- Edited by FashionPrincess at 19:03, 2007-02-26

Sevilla · BCBG

scarlett wrote:

Whatever dog we get, we want to make sure it's happy with the life we can give it.

I wish more people thought this way! It's really sweet to hear that you want to make the dog equally as happy as you and your bf

ETA: My aunt lives beside a couple who has a basset hound, and from the sounds of her griping in the mornings, Elliot is quite the howler!

-- Edited by Sevilla at 19:38, 2007-02-26

scarlett · Marc Jacobs

Sevilla wrote:

scarlett wrote:

Whatever dog we get, we want to make sure it's happy with the life we can give it.

I wish more people thought this way! It's really sweet to hear that you want to make the dog equally as happy as you and your bf

ETA: My aunt lives beside a couple who has a basset hound, and from the sounds of her griping in the mornings, Elliot is quite the howler!

-- Edited by Sevilla at 19:38, 2007-02-26

Aw, thanks, Sevilla! After all the stories we've seen on rescue sites, we both really want to make sure this a good "match." Also, when I was a kid we had to give our dog away after learning my brother was allergic, and I still remember how sad we all were to say goodbye to her, so I definitely don't want to do that again!

I've heard from other people that bassets are howlers. We're having dinner next weekend with a couple who has a basset (named Monster) to hear about their experience and meet the dog. Since we live in an apartment building, a howling dog would probably make us very hated very fast!

daiz519 · Dooney & Bourke

my family has one--his name is Elvis. He is sooooo cute and so loveable!! He likes to sunbathe out on the grass or on the patio furniture. He also likes to hang out in the house with us. He's so mellow and just wants to be around us. He does howl when strangers come near the house but it isn't so bad that we wouldn't want him around. He was a cry baby when he was a puppy but has outgrown that. He's cool cuz he can be energetic and loves to go on walks AND he likes to just be lazy and hang out. get one!!