FCI-Standard N° 163 / 05. 03. 1998
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.