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Breed guide · Dogs
Her ears reach the dinner before she does. I wipe them after every meal.
Last updated 14 October 2026
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What they brought with them.
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At home
Nose down from the moment the lift doors open, and your voice comes second.
What's going onTheir nose is their strongest sense, and they were bred to stay on a trail whatever else was going on. When it is down, they are not ignoring you, they are reading. Keep them on a lead, and give them time to read.
At home
Halfway round the block, they stop, lie down and will not move.
What's going onBassets were bred to be slow, so hunters on foot could keep up. When they have had enough, they stop, and they weigh a lot more than they look. On a hot walk it is a sensible decision. Short, slow walks in the cool suit them better than long ones in the heat.
At home
Ears that trail on the pavement and fall in the food bowl.
What's going onTheir long ears fold over the ear canal, pick up dirt, water and food, and hold in damp. Ear infections are a risk from their first months. Wipe the flaps after walks and meals, check inside once a week, and feed them from a narrow, deep bowl.
At home
A leap off the sofa, a scramble down the stairs.
What's going onThey are heavy dogs on very short legs, and the gene behind the short legs also makes the discs in the back age early. Slipped discs are a risk from puppyhood. Use a ramp to the sofa, carry them down stairs, and keep them lean.
At home
Baying at sirens, the doorbell and the pigeons on the balcony.
What's going onThey were bred to bay so the hunters could hear where they were, and in a flat that voice goes through walls. Reward them when they are quiet. If they only bay when you are out, it can be distress, so tell your vet.
At home
Feet planted on the pavement, and no interest in coming back.
What's going onThey were chosen for not giving up on a trail, and they work for food, on their own terms. Five-minute training sessions, paid with part of their dinner, get much further than repeating yourself.
The bit nobody tells you.
Their day
Built for: A whole day pushing through wet French cover.
In Dubai: A few minutes on hot pavement before they lie down.
Their company
Built for: A pack of hounds.
In Dubai: Often a flat, and often alone for part of the day.
Their nose
Built for: Nose down, baying so the hunters could follow.
In Dubai: Very little to follow.
The baying, the weight, the ears and the stubbornness mostly come from that gap.
You cannot give them a French forest. You can give their nose a job and look after the body they were bred with, and the ten things below are how.
Your plan is built around their breed: the ears, back, hips and elbows a Basset Hound is prone to, at every age.
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Ten things that make their life better.
They are slow, but once their nose is down they will follow it away from you and into traffic.
For life
Why
They are slow, but once their nose is down they will follow it away from you and into traffic.
What to do
Use a lead or a long line anywhere that is not fenced, and check the gate and fence for gaps, low ones too. Before the front door opens, make sure someone has hold of them. Microchipping is in your plan at their puppy visits. Keep the chip registered to your current phone number.
Searching tires them more than walking, and it is kind to their joints.
Every age, most of all 6 months to 2 years, and more as walks get shorter
Why
Searching tires them more than walking, and it is kind to their joints.
What to do
Let them sniff at their pace for at least half of every walk. At home, scatter part of their dinner in a snuffle mat, or hide treats and teach "find it".
Extra weight is a risk at every age, most of all from 6 months to 7 years, and every extra kilo loads their back.
Every age, less food as they slow down
Why
Extra weight is a risk at every age, most of all from 6 months to 7 years, and every extra kilo loads their back.
What to do
Weigh their daily food on kitchen scales and take treats out of that amount. Keep the bin shut and the counters clear. You should be able to feel their ribs easily. Weight management is in your plan from age two.
Intervertebral Disc Disease (IVDD, a slipped disc in the back) is a risk at every age, and hip and elbow problems from puppy to young adult.
Every age, starting the day they come home
Why
Intervertebral Disc Disease (IVDD, a slipped disc in the back) is a risk at every age, and hip and elbow problems from puppy to young adult.
What to do
Put steps or a ramp by the sofa and the bed, or keep them on the floor. Carry them down stairs, with one arm under the chest and one under the back end. Walk them on a harness, not a collar. Put rugs where they turn on marble. Spinal care (looking after their back) and hip screening are in your plan from six months to four years.
Ear infections are the first risk for a Basset as a puppy, a juvenile and a young adult.
Every age, handled daily as a puppy
Why
Ear infections are the first risk for a Basset as a puppy, a juvenile and a young adult.
What to do
Wipe their ear flaps after every walk and every meal. Once a week, look and sniff inside, and after a bath dry inside the flaps. Clean with the ear cleaner your vet recommends. Feed them from a narrow, deep bowl so their ears stay out of it. Ear cleaning is in your plan from six months to four years.
They are heavy, low to the hot ground, and built for cool French cover rather than desert heat.
Every age, shortest for puppies
Why
They are heavy, low to the hot ground, and built for cool French cover rather than desert heat.
What to do
From May to September, walk before sunrise and after dark. Put the back of your hand on the pavement for five seconds: if you cannot keep it there, they cannot walk on it. Carry water. If they lie down, let them rest in the shade.
They come from a pack, and a long day alone is where the baying at the door comes from.
Every age, most of all 6 months to 2 years
Why
They come from a pack, and a long day alone is where the baying at the door comes from.
What to do
If you are out for more than a few hours, arrange a midday visit or a walker. Leave them a stuffed chew or a search game. Keep leaving and coming home calm.
The voice was bred in. You can make it quieter, but you cannot make it go.
Every age
Why
The voice was bred in. You can make it quieter, but you cannot make it go.
What to do
Notice what sets them off and move their bed away from it. Reward the quiet. Do not shout back, because to them you have joined in. If they only bay when they are alone, or start howling at night when they are older, tell your vet.
They will work for food, in their own time.
Every age, starting the day they come home
Why
They will work for food, in their own time.
What to do
Two or three five-minute sessions a day, with part of their dinner as the reward. Teach "leave it", a sit at the door and a recall in the flat. Guide them by the harness, never the collar, to spare their back.
They are easy-going, so they will not make a fuss about a sore back or a bad ear.
Every age
Why
They are easy-going, so they will not make a fuss about a sore back or a bad ear.
What to do
Once a week, run your hands along their back and legs, feel their ribs, look in their ears, eyes and mouth, and watch how they get up. Brush their short coat at the same time, and their teeth every day. Weigh them once a month, and tell your vet about any new lump the same week you find it.
Four of these are in your plan. The rest you can do at home.
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Their health, at every age.
How old are they?
Their age
the first six months
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
6 months to 2 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
2 to 4 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
4 to 7 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
7 to 10 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
10 years and over
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Breed predispositions indicate an increased risk rather than certainty of disease. What is right for them always comes from their own history and an evaluation.
Before they come home.
The French hound and the show line
The Basset Hound began as a French hunting hound, bred low and slow so hunters on foot could keep up. Over the last century, show lines have been bred heavier, with longer ears and looser skin, and that is the Basset most families meet today.
Basset Hound colours
Basset Hounds come in black, white and tan, lemon and white, red and white, or a deep mahogany and white, with the markings falling wherever they like.
The first six months
Their full vaccination course, microchip and Dubai Municipality registration come first. Carry them down the stairs and set up a ramp to the sofa before they learn to leap. Handle their ears every day, so cleaning is never a fight.
Puppy health, 0 to 6 months
Getting the home ready
Put steps or a ramp by the sofa and the bed, and rugs where they turn on marble. Get a bin they cannot open and a narrow, deep bowl for their ears. Check the gate and fence for gaps at puppy height.
Ten things that make their life better
Before you commit
Ask the breeder how both parents' hips, elbows and backs have held up. Hip and Elbow Dysplasia and disc disease can all show up in a Basset's first months.
Before the clinics open
AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199. No payment now.
For a new puppy: First 30 days with a new puppy · Puppy vaccinations in the UAE · Heatstroke in dogs
When it is not behaviour.
Their ears will keep reaching dinner first. Keep wiping them, and if they start to smell, tell your vet.
Before they were yours.
1500s to 1800s
"Bas" is French for low. Short-legged hounds appear in French hunting books from the 1500s, bred slow enough for hunters on foot to follow them after rabbit and hare through thick cover.
What they still carryThe short legs, the heavy body, the bay and the patience.
1875
Sir Everett Millais brought French Bassets to England and showed one in 1875. In England they were still hunted in packs.
What they still carryThe French working instincts, intact.
1880 to 1885
The Kennel Club in England recognised the breed in 1880, and the American Kennel Club in 1885.
What they still carryA breed with a consistent look, and the same nose.
The 20th century
Show lines grew heavier, with longer ears and looser skin, and the mournful face became one of the best known in the world.
What they still carryEars, skin, weight and a back that all need looking after.
Today
Here the Basset Hound is rare, and most live as family dogs in a flat or a villa.
What they still carryA heavy hound built for wet French cover, with a nose that still wants a field, in a 45-degree summer.
The ones you type at midnight.
If the Basset suits you, so might these.
BeagleThe same kind of scent hound: a smaller, quicker hound bred to hunt hare in packs, with shorter ears to look after.
DachshundThe same kind of short-legged scent hound, with a back to protect, bred to follow badgers underground.
Scottish TerrierThe same independent streak, happy to work for food and on their own terms, in a small terrier who would rather dig than follow a trail.
Shar PeiA similar size and the same calm pace at home, in a short coat with skin folds that need regular checks.
