
FCI-Standard N° 163 / 05. 03. 1998 / GB
BASSET HOUND
ORIGIN :
Great Britain.
DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE ORIGINAL VALID STANDARD : 27.04.1989.
UTILIZATION : Scent Hound.
CLASSIFICATION F.C.I. : Group 6 Scent
hounds and related breeds.
Section 1.3 Small-sized
hounds.
With
working trial.
GENERAL APPEARANCE :
Short-legged hound of considerable substance, well balanced, full of
quality. A certain amount of loose skin
desirable.
BEHAVIOUR / TEMPERAMENT : Tenacious hound of ancient lineage which hunts by scent, possesses a
pack instinct and a deep melodious voice, and is capable of great endurance in
the field. Placid, never aggressive or
timid. Affectionate.
HEAD : Top of muzzle
nearly parallel with line from stop to occiput and not much longer than head
from stop to occiput. There may be a
moderate amount of wrinkle at brow and beside eyes. In any event skin of head loose enough to
wrinkle noticeably when drawn forward or when head is lowered.
CRANIAL
REGION :
Skull : Domed, with prominent occipital bone, of medium width at brow and
tapering slightly to muzzle.
Stop : Moderate.
FACIAL
REGION :
Nose : Entirely black except in light-coloured hounds, when it may be brown
or liver. Large and well-opened nostrils
which may protrude a little beyond lips.
Muzzle : General appearance of foreface lean, not snipy.
Lips : Flews of upper lip overlap lower substantially.
Jaws/Teeth : Jaws strong, with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e.
the upper teeth closely overlapping the lower teeth and set square to the jaws.
Eyes : Lozenge-shaped, neither prominent nor too deep-set, dark but may
shade to mid-brown in light-coloured hounds.
Expression calm and serious. Red
of lower lid appears, though not excessively.
Light or yellow eye highly undesirable.
Leathers
: Set-on low, just below line of eye. Long; reaching well beyond end of muzzle of
correct length, but not excessively so.
Narrow throughout their length and curling well inwards; very supple,
fine and velvety in texture.
NECK : Muscular, well
arched and fairly long with pronounced but not exaggerated dewlap.
BODY : Long and deep
throughout length; withers and quarters of approximately same height.
Back : Level and rather broad. From
withers to inset of quarters not unduly long.
Loins : May arch slightly.
Chest : Forechest fitting neatly into crook when viewed from front. Breast bone prominent but chest neither
narrow nor unduly deep. Ribs
well-rounded and sprung, without flange, carried well back.
TAIL : Well set-on,
rather long, strong at base, tapering, with moderate amount of coarse hair
underneath. When moving, stern carried
well up and curving gently, sabre-fashion, never curling or gay.
LIMBS
FOREQUARTERS : Forelegs short, powerful and with great bone. Wrinkles of skin on lower legs.
Shoulders : Shoulder-blades well laid back; shoulders not heavy.
Elbows : Turning neither in nor out but fitting neatly against side.
Forearm : Upper forearm inclined slightly inwards, but not to such an extent as
to prevent free action or to result in legs touching each other when standing
or in action.
Pastern : Knuckling over highly undesirable.
HINDQUARTERS : Full of muscle and standing out well, giving an almost spherical
effect when viewed from rear. Wrinkles
of skin may appear between hock and foot, and at rear of joint a slight pouch
resulting from looseness of skin.
Stifles : Well bent.
Hocks : Well let down and slightly bent under but turn neither in nor out and
just under body when standing naturally.
FEET : Massive, well knuckled up and padded.
Forefeet may point straight ahead or be turned slightly outwards but in
every case hound always stands perfectly true, weight being borne equally by
toes with pads together so that feet would leave an imprint of a large hound
and no unpadded areas in contact with ground.
GAIT/MOVEMENT :
Most important. Smooth, free action with
forelegs reaching well forward and hind legs showing powerful thrust, hound
moving true both front and rear. Hocks
and stifles never stiff in movement, nor must any toes be dragged.
COAT
HAIR : Smooth, short and close without being too fine. Whole outline clean and free from
feathering. Long-haired, soft coat with
feathering highly undesirable.
COLOUR : Generally black, white and tan (tri-colour); lemon and white
(bi-colour); but any recognized hound colour acceptable.
SIZE :
Height
: 33-38 cm (13-15 ins) at withers.
FAULTS : Any departure from the
foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which
the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and
its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog.
Any dog clearly showing
physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified.
N.B. : Male animals
should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
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