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| Height at withers : length of body = about 5 : 8Depth of chest : height at the withers = about 2 : 3Width of skull : length of head = about 1 : 2Length of muzzle : length of skull = about 10 : 10 |
The controlled breeding of the short haired French Basset began in the years 1870. From Bassets having an apparently common origin, Count Le Couteulx of Canteleu has fixed a utilitarian type with straight front legs called Artois, whereas Mr. Louis Lane has developed a more spectacular type, with crooked front legs, called Normand. Only in 1924 the name Artesien Norman Basset (Basset Artesien Normand) was finally adopted for the breed and the club Mr. Léon Verrier, who took over as chairman of the club in 1927, at the age of 77, has wanted to strengthen the Norman character of the breed and in the book of standards of huntingdogs of 1930, where the two breeds, Basset d’Artois and Basset Artesien Normand figure, we find the following reference to this breed : “The committee of the “Société de Vénerie” (Game Society) decides and notes that the Basset Artésien-Normand should not be but one stage of transition towards a Norman type, without any trace of Artois.”
Breeders of basset hounds are often asked the question: "Do you breed English or French bassets?" The answer the puppy buyer often receives is: "There is no such thing as a French basset." Of course, this is not quite true. In fact, there are many different kinds of French bassets, but they are not officially recognized by The American Kennel Club and therefore are very rare in this country. Among the many French bassets (the word basset in French simply means low-slung) there are two which concern us here most: the Basset Artesien Normand , the direct ancestor of our own basset hound, and the Basset Bleu de Gascogne, which was most likely interbred with the Basset Artesien Normand before its arrival in England in 1866.
Basset Artesien Normand In Years Basset Artesien Normand superficially looks like a basset hound. But only superficially. First of all, there is the size difference. While a basset hound's weight--depending on the sex and bloodlines is between 45 and 70 pounds, the Basset Artesien Normands is around 30-35. While the basset hound has lots of extra skin and massive bones, the Basset Artesien Normand lacks both. While the basset hound's head has a pronounced occiput, the Basset Artésien Normand's skull is quite flat. While the basset hound's earset is supposed to be low--below eye level the Basset Artesien Normand's earset, at least in comparison to our basset hound, is quite high. While our basset's eyes are supposed to be slightly sunken, showing a prominent haw, the Basset Artesien Normand's eyes are round and lack the necessary haw that gives the basset hound such a doleful appearance. While the basset's lips are pendulous and the dewlap pronounced, the Artésien Normand has a long muzzle, lacks a dewlap, and its head, as opposed to the basset hound, is quite refined.
Although the basset hound was developed from the Basset Artesien Normand, today due to inter- and selective breeding--they are two distinctive breeds. However, because of the vagaries of genetics, the ancestor's looks will crop up here and there, especially in poorly bred specimens, like pet-shop bassets, who often bear a suspicious resemblance to the Basset Basset Artesien Normand. The problem is that they are supposed to be basset hounds, a different breed.
How did the Basset Artesien Normand get into England and what happened to it in subsequent years? This is the topic of this piece. English interest in the Basset Artésien Normand began in the 1870s, when two sportsmen, Lord Onslow and Mr. Everett Millais, began importing specimens of the breed from France. At that time there were two famous kennels of Bassets Artésien Normand in France: the kennel of the Count le Couteulx de Canteleu and the kennel of M. Louis Lane of Château de Frangueville near Rouen. Although both kennels specialized in Bassets Artesien Normand, over the years each developed a distinct type of the Artesian Basset.
Basset Artesien Normand The "Lane type" hounds were in greater demand in France because they were considered to be the result of more consistent and purer breeding. The Lane dogs were predominantly lemon and white or gray and white. They were very heavy, with much bone and low to the ground. Their front legs were fully crooked ("jambes torses"). The Le Couteulx kennel, on the other hand, had at least two distinct types of hounds. One was an animal of larger build, heavier boned, low to the ground, with harsher coat that was either red and white or heavily marked tri color. The other type, which most likely had an infusion of beagle in it, was much lighter in build, with coat short and fine of less well marked colors, either tri-color or very pale red and white. Their front legs were either full torse or demi-torse, and it could easily happen that one could find both types of front within the same litter. The Lane dogs, in spite of their purer quality, did not gain acceptance in England, and although a few were imported, they were simply cross-bred with the more popular Le Couteulx types.
As for the earliest history of the basset hound in England our records are spotty. These early dogs were not registered and their owners did not keep very good records. Often the new owners were not themselves sure of the exact pedigrees of the animals they purchased. The French basset breeders had the annoying habit of naming their dogs the same name Fino de Paris (Fino for short) being the most favored. Our only sources are a handful of articles written by the breeders outlining the story of their involvement in the breed, and these descriptions often contradict each other or have critical gaps. With this in mind here is an outline of the first few years of the basset hound in England.
The story begins with a visit of Mr. Everett Millais to France in 1874. Although he was not the first Englishman to import a Basset Artésien Normand, it is he who is considered to be the father of our modern basset hound. While in France Millais decided to attend a dog show at the Jardin d'Acclimatation in order to see some French dachshunds and compare them to his own. The show was benched as dog shows until fairly recently all were and next to the dachshunds he noticed a few Bassets Artésien Normand who caught his attention. These dogs were much bigger than dachshunds "with black and white bodies and rich tan heads, more beautiful than Dachs, with soft, dreamy eyes," wrote Everett Millais ten years later in an article in the April 1884 Kennel Review.
He immediately decided that he had to have one. The two dogs that especially impressed Everett Millais were Fino de Paris and Model, litter brothers from the kennel of Count le Couteulx de Canteleu. He chose Model and was lucky enough to be able to purchase him. Fino de Paris was later obtained by another Englishman, Mr. George Krehl, about whom we will hear more later. Both Model and Fino de Paris figure extensively in the development of our modern basset hound. Practically all bassets today are descendants of these two animals.
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