The Basset Hound’s AKC breed standard uses 319 words to describe the breed’s head, and not one of them is “Bloodhound.”

This wasn’t always the case.  At the end of the 19th century, Sir Millais felt that the Basset Hound’s head should model the Bloodhound’s because both breeds had similar purposes.  William Lewis Judy’s Dog Encyclopedia published in 1925 included this sentence: “The skull should be peaked like that of the Bloodhound, with the same dignity and expression…” Far from being the opinion of just two people,  the 1929 AKC breed standard read: [the head] “is most perfect when it closest resembles the head of a Bloodhound, with heavy flews and forehead wrinkled to the eyes.”

The other thing that William Judy got right in his encyclopedia was when he wrote: “We think that he [the Basset Hound] has fallen victim to man’s vagaries in breeding.”  It is true that when British breeders grew alarmed at the level of inbreeding, they experimented by adding Basset x Beagle crosses and blends with Bloodhounds.  It seems that bringing in Bloodhound crosses fixed type in the modern Basset Hound, but references to the breed having a Bloodhound head remained until 1956 when the standard was redone and any reference to the Bloodhound was written out of the standard.

In 2021, the AKC staff wrote that “perhaps more than most breeds, the Basset Hound’s form follows function,” and cited the 1879 British standard for the breed which read, “…The head is the beginning and end of hunting ability for a Basset, for if they cannot find the game, being able to wander all day is of little use. The head, like the Bloodhound, starts with parallel planes and good width of muzzle to provide a large and direct passage of scent to neural olfactory networks. As the dog moves forward, his head low to the ground, the long, low-set ears and wrinkled, loose skin and dewlap help to trap air (and scent) around the nose.”

When viewed in profile,  the top lines of the muzzle and skull are straight and lie in parallel planes, with a moderately defined stop. The lips fall squarely in front and back, in loose hanging flews. A high set, flat ear is a serious fault  (from the Basset Hound Illustrated Standard).

)Image: Basset Hound by DJ Rogers – k9artgallery
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