The following is from Pedigree Dogs Exposed:
I have some experience here, for I grew up in “Rabbit biggle” country.
Bassets are almost never chosen to be working rabbit hounds. According to my grandfather, bassets were used occasionally. These dogs weren’t beagles, so the average rabbit hunter didn’t know how to react the working basset’s somewhat different from behavior.
Because hunters often didn’t register their dogs, cross-breeding was common. A lot of beagles in West Viurginia have a touch of foxhound or bluetick coonhound in their ancestry. And then there are the bench-legged beagles. A bench-legged beagle is a beagle and basset cross, usually 3/4 beagle and 1/4 basset. Sometimes, dachshunds are crossed in, rather than the basset.
Bassets were not thought of as working hounds in many parts of North America and Europe, and as a result, the only standard of quality for so many strains of basset was the show ring.
And it wasn’t very long before the fancy itself began producing larger dogs with far shorter legs than would ever be useful in a long ranging basset.
Case in point: the French have maintained several different breeds of working basset. They are all primarily working hunting dogs, and not a single one is as exaggerated as the dog we call the basset hound.
Right now, we are living at a time in which so many working breeds are losing their status. The only way to judge their quality isn’t to work them but to show them. And once the dogs get far removed from being selected for working behavior, it isn’t long before the dogs exist as nothing more than bench stock.
And then you can see why backwoods people keep only unregistered beagles and beagle crosses to work the cottontails. And no one I know is seriously considering a basset for the task.
Great video. I love the part where the breeder says that the loose skin is “just part of the breed”. Ugh
I think we should be breeding some of these extreme breeds back to what they looked like when they were developed. How sad that the photo from the bassetts history was looked at with such distain by someone supposedly breeding to better the breed. (isn’t that the goal of showing the results of a breeding program?)
In the book The Goodger Guide to the Pug (the only good historical book in english I could find on the breed)it shows photos of them with actual noses. They look much like the (supposedly) poorly bred example of a pug that I got from rescue. Not short and fat with the extreme flat face. A breeder friend calls her a throwback. Not only does she have a nose you can see, she uses it too. (I do tracking with her and she is really good at it!)
I recently helped my sister find a reputable bulldog breeder. It was NOT an easy task. Even those in the AKC bulldog club gave bizarre answers to my questions about health testing. Bulldogs are supposed to be able to breath and run and not collapse afterwards. (remember what they were bred for)
There are many breeds that are being screwed up by showing. Or being screwed up with the small gene pool. I think that may be the reason some people are getting the crossbreeds. They think they will be healthier but don’t realize they can get the health issues of each breed instead. You want real health not messed with by human interferance? Get a Carolina Dog pup from out of their den. (which used to be done, before breeders got involved) Natural selection at it’s best.
P.S. Did you know that cropping pugs ears used to be popular?
Yes. I’ve seen several paintings of cropped pugs: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iHXuQYoE2OY/RyFaZPcfvRI/AAAAAAAAApk/VcGNBV8j3SU/s320/PugInLandscape.jpg
And there’s always Hogarth’s “Trump”: http://www.freewebs.com/clarkclanpugs/Miscellaneous/462px-William_Hogarth_006.jpg
Pekes used to look like smaller versions of Tibetan spaniels [sic]. Today, they are called “apple heads,” and are disdained in the show ring.
I forgot to add, I ended up with a pug from rescue because I couldn’t find what I considered a reputable breeder in the breed. Heck I couldn’t even get an answer on what health testing they do in the breed! So I e-mailed people in the breed club on the website to try to find out. NO replies. They only list the problems in the breed on the website so you can avoid them. Gee that is helpful if NO ONE does any health testing to avoid them.
If you watch the whole Pedigree Dogs Exposed documentary, there is a pug featured on there that will break your heart.
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=44215931
The pug was sired by a Crufts winner, and he had heaps of problems. It turns out that British pugs are so inbred that their gene pool represents only about 50 individuals.
This particular pug had lots of health problems, but what was amazing is that the dog show judges thought that he was an excellent example of the breed standard!
And there were no rules preventing him from being shown or bred.
Marie,
What is it that drew you to the pug? Size? Facial features? Shedding?
And after learning what the disorders are that are prevalent what made you decide to go with a pug regardless?
And what history of the parents came with the rescue Pug?
I’m just trying to understand. Was it a love for the breed? What was it about the breed that made it so you just had to have one…. the history or just the look? Something else?
I know sometimes when I focus on something that appeals to me in looks first then I sort of ignore some facts. So I step back and have to force myself to analyze what I’m about to get into. I guess its called an impulse that becomes a bit obsessive. So I have to reign it in. In coming to that realization about myself I see it sometimes in my clients who for what ever reason seem driven to just have one particular dog above all else. I think that this way of thinking from the general public is fuel for the breeders to continue fad breeding which in extremes provides the world with deformities just to please the masses with what they feel is aesthetically beautiful and gives off an air of opulence to satisfy our own vanity.
Not to say your own reason were vain. But, maybe a little bit. I’m just trying to understand a bit about the thought process behind the decision to seek a pug even after all the hurdles encountered. And after discovering more about the health risks and other ailments which are prevalent. I’ve been there myself so I wonder if the reasons would be similar.
I’ve seen pictures of actual working basset hounds (I can’t find the link to their kennel atm, unfortunately). They pretty much look like that black and white photo from PDE.
Of course I found it after I posted… here is the kennel: http://www.albanybassets.co.uk/gallery/default.asp
I have met a few working strain bassets, but they are rare.
http://retrieverman.wordpress.com/2009/02/16/show-bassets-arent-good-rabbit-dogs/
Thank you for the link to the BBC documentary. It is the first time I watched it all. Very, very sad.
Sengimage,
Actually my son was the one that had his heart set on having a pug. A few years before my daughter wanted her own dog. I decided she should have something smaller than an akita and after some breed research we settled on a french bulldog as a good match for our family. When I found out how much they could cost told her she would have to help pay for the dog. I honestly thought she would give up on the idea. But within a few months time she had saved over 300$ of her own money. I knew she was serious. Not having had a small dog before I wasn’t keen on having a puppy, so we went with a retired show dog from a breeder.
A couple of years later my son also wanted his own dog. (I have great kids and they have always helped take care of our pets.) We tried persuading him to get a french bulldog but he wouldn’t back down from the pug idea. He also saved his own money. (by then he was also collecting pug photos and stuffed animal pugs) We went with rescue because of the problem I had trying to find any pug breeder that did health testing. No I do not know anything about her parents. We are her 3rd home.
Now I have to say pugs have grown on me. And to some degree other smooshed face breeds. I was a “big dog” person for so many years, I admit being surprised I now am so into small dogs as well.
Marie — it was the same thing with me as well! I was raised with Rotties, and I always loved the big dogs. But once I got a toy breed, I was converted!
The same exact things are happening with the Jack Russell Terrier. Thank you for this interesting piece.
hehe. This is very funny. basically says everything.