basset hound Q&A WITH JOAN GOLDSTEIN, CELESTE GONZALEZ, SYLVIE MCGEE, RICHARD NANCE, ROBERT OPEKA, HAL PYBUS, JOANE RUSH, SUE NELSON SMYTH, CLAIRE “KITTY” STEIDEL AND DOUGLAS C. TAYLOR
judges to grasp. The front legs should be under the dog and wrap around the chest. HP: I think many judges and not just new judges misunder- stand front structure and movement where the front is too far forward and the movement is stilted and choppy. Seeing so many poor and average ones can make a good one look so different that it is easy to overlook the good one. A good Basset is so much more than being showy with loose skin. JR: The fronts, many will take the time to observe the front, but will not place them with that in mind. A proper front is critical to balance of the dog and movement. SNS: Judges seem to have difficulty understanding the wrap- around front construction. The BHCA web page provides a mentor list to encourage ringside mentoring for contin- ued studies of construction and movement. This year the BHCA national is in St. Louis, Missouri at Purina Farms, the first week of October. Please consider attending for a few days to thoroughly immerse yourself in studying our breed. You will come away feeling it was well spent instructional time! CKS: I believe new judges and some veteran judges feel type is that skin, bone, movement and soundness are not important. With the Basset’s unusual proportion, soundness and a good structure is even more important. Bassets are endurance dogs that need to last in the hunt, should expend less energy traversing a rough terrain and getting from point A to B, thus need an effortless motion. Please do not judge by the pound or by the wrinkle! The BHCA has wonderful materials to help. One can order online. www.Basset-bhca.org. National is late September in St. Louis, Missouri. DCT: The speed a Basset should be gaited in the ring. 6. Is there anything else you’d like to share about the breed? JG: This is for handlers: when you hold up the tails on the stack, don’t push so hard that the dogs actually fold in the middle, destroying a level topline. CG: Thanks to many dedicated exhibitors on both coasts, the Basset is once again improving its numbers of dual champions (bench and field). Improper shoulder angu- lation (scapula and humerus) and lack of prominent sternum are the drag of the breed and we must be ever vigilant in our breeding (and exhibiting) decisions. SM: These are such scent-driven dogs! I am always thrilled, as an exhibitor, when judges tell me to let the dog move naturally, which especially at outdoor shows will mostly mean head down. I hope I remember to say that more frequently to the exhibitors in my ring! RO: The Basset Hound has been my only breed for 42 years. They are wonderful Hounds, very adaptable and very smart. It’s been my honor to have 125 champions to my credit. I hope to continue to breed and exhibit these beautiful Hounds for as long as I’m able. RN: The Basset Hound is characterized by a genetic abnor- mality known as achondroplasia (dwarfism). This can lead to structural problems in the Basset, including a mis- matched front, which is an unequal turnout of the front
“WITH THE BASSET’S UNUSUAL
hunt with its pack mates and withstand the sound of discharging shotguns. Dogs with their tails down and/or displaying signs of shyness should not be made up to champion level. Also, please do not lift skin to check for loose skin on the body or pull skin over the top of the head to see wrinkles. If you want to see adequate wrinkling, ask the exhibitor to lower the dog’s head and the correct wrinkling will fall slightly over the eyes and in front of the ears toward the cheek sides. Please do not penalize a dog that is moving with its head at the level of its back. Correct movement does not change with a lowered head. And, fast movement does not mean correct movement. Economy of motion and movement is essential. SM: I think for judges new to the breed and particularly for non-breeder judges, our correct front is the most difficult to understand. I’m seeing dogs rewarded who lack a proper wrap-around front. That whole assembly, which is quite different in achondroplastic breeds, can be hard to grasp. The other element that I think that people newer to judging the breed sometimes have trouble with is seeing past the Basset as a clown to the Basset as a real hunting dog with athletic endurance. RO: New judges to the breed are doing the best they can. I’ve mentored many new judges and I’m on the Judges Education Committee of my national club. We are getting the information out there; however, the quality isn’t in the ring. RN: The placement of the crooked front assembly, also called a wrap-around front, is difficult for many new PROPORTION, SOUNDNESS AND A GOOD STRUCTURE IS EVEN MORE IMPORTANT.”
258 • S HOW S IGHT M AGAZINE , O CTOBER 2018
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