Bassets are small dogs. They have very short legs. These dogs use their noses to hunt. They are slow so you can walk with them. They come from a place called France. Do you like small dogs?
Bassets are small dogs with short legs. Their name means "low" in French. They come from the land of France.
These dogs use their noses to hunt. They hunt for rabbits and hares. They often work in a group. This group is called a pack.
They are slow and small. This helps people walk with them. Hunters do not need horses. They can keep up on foot.
Some have short hair. Others have rough hair. They look like larger hounds. They just have shorter legs.
Bassets are very smart hunters.
Bassets are a type of scenthound. These are dogs that hunt using their noses. Their name comes from the French word "bas." This word means "low." It describes their short legs.
These dogs first came from France. They were made from older hounds. Breeders used a gene to make them short. This change helped people hunt on foot. Large hounds are too fast for walking. Bassets are slower. This makes it easy to keep up.
In the 1500s, a man named Jacques du Fouilloux wrote about them. He found them in Artois and Flanders. He saw two kinds of Bassets. One kind had short hair. They hunted on the ground and below it. The other kind had rough hair. They only hunted above the ground.
Bassets often hunt in a pack. A pack is a group of dogs. They hunt rabbits and hares. They can also find gamebirds. Some breeds come from France. Others come from places like Germany and Sweden. They look like big Bloodhounds, but they are much smaller.
Bassets are a special type of scenthound. These are dogs that use their noses to find things. They are known for having very short legs. Their name comes from the French word "bas." This word means "low." It describes their small size.
Breeders made these dogs for a specific reason. They wanted hounds that people could hunt with on foot. Large hounds are often too fast for walking. Bassets are slower because of their short legs. This makes it easier for hunters to keep up.
These dogs were made through a careful way of breeding. People took older Saint Hubert-type hounds to start. They used a genetic mutation to make the legs short. This mutation helped create smaller hounds with deep scenting skills. The short legs changed how the dogs moved. This allowed hunters to walk alongside the pack. They did not have to ride on horses anymore.
We have known about Bassets for a long time. A man named Jacques du Fouilloux wrote about them. He wrote in a book called "La vénerie." This was during the 16th century. He found them in Artois and Flanders. He saw two different types of Bassets. One type had short hair and crooked legs. The other type had rough hair and straight legs.
Bassets are very popular in many different places. In France, they became more popular after the French Revolution. This happened in the late 18th century. Before this, only noble people hunted on horseback. Now, many people could hunt on foot with Bassets. There are many recognized breeds today. The Basset Hound comes from Great Britain. Other breeds like the Basset Bleu de Gascogne come from France.
Bassets work together in groups called packs. They hunt many things like rabbits and hares. They can also find gamebirds. Some Bassets hunt above the ground. Others can find things below the ground. They look a lot like Bloodhounds. However, Bassets are much smaller in stature. You might see different coats on them. They can have short, long, or wiry hair.
Bassets are a specialized sub-type of scenthound. These dogs are specifically bred to have very short legs. This physical trait is very important for their specific job. They are used for hunting where the people hunt on foot. This is different from many other hounds. Most large hounds require hunters to follow them on horseback. Bassets allow hunters to walk alongside the pack instead.
The name "basset" comes from the French word "bas." This word means "low" in English. It is a direct reference to their short stature. Scientists believe these dogs began with Saint Hubert-type hounds. Breeders utilized a specific genetic mutation to change the dogs. This mutation resulted in much shorter legs. By selecting for this trait, breeders created smaller hounds. These new dogs kept their deep scenting abilities. Their small size made them much slower than larger hounds.
We have written records of these dogs from a long time ago. In the 16th century, Jacques du Fouilloux described them. He wrote about them in a book titled "La vénerie." He noted that they lived in Artois and Flanders. Du Fouilloux identified two distinct types of bassets. The first type had short coats and crooked forelegs. These dogs could hunt game above the ground. They could also pursue game that was below the ground. The second type often had rough coats and straight forelegs. These dogs only pursued game that stayed above the ground.
The popularity of hunting on foot changed due to history. In France, this style of hunting grew rapidly after the French Revolution. This occurred in the late 18th century. Before this time, hunting with large hounds was different. It was traditionally the preserve of the nobility. Noble hunters usually stayed on horseback to follow the dogs. After the revolution, hunting on foot became much more common. This shift helped the basset become a very popular hunting companion.
Bassets function by working together in groups called packs. They use two main methods to hunt their quarry. In the first method, the hounds trail the animal. They make a lot of noise while they do this. This noise leads the quarry to waiting hunters. These hunters carry guns to shoot the game. In the second method, the hounds pursue the quarry. They continue the chase until they actually catch it. Bassets are often used to hunt hares and rabbits. They can also be used to flush gamebirds.
There are many recognized breeds of bassets today. Some come from France, such as the Basset Artésien Normand. Other French breeds include the Basset Bleu de Gascogne. You might also see the Basset Fauve de Bretagne. The Grand Basset Griffon Vendéen is another French type. The Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen is also recognized. The Basset Hound comes from Great Britain. These dogs often look like much larger hounds. They have a strong resemblance to the Bloodhound. However, bassets have a much smaller stature.
Many other breeds are considered "basset-adjacent" in different countries. In Austria, there is the Alpine Dachsbracke. Switzerland has several breeds like the Berner Niederlaufhund. They also have the Jura, Luzerner, and Schwyzer Niederlaufhund. Germany has the Westphalian Dachsbracke. Sweden has a breed called the Drever. These dogs show how the basset type spread. They share similar traits with the broader scenthound type. This includes various coat types and colors. You can find short, long, or wiry coats among them.
Where will your curiosity go next?
More to explore
✨ What else?
Related topics you might enjoy
What is Nepedia?
A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.