HomeBreeds › Basset Hound

Hound · Medium (40-65 lbs, low-slung) · 12-13 years

Basset Hound

Patient, low-key, charming; easygoing but stubborn on scent.

40–65 lb

At a glance

Kid-friendly
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First-time owners
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Energy
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Shedding
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Good with cats
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Alone time
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Apartment OK
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Trainability
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What this is

What they’re great at

✓ A natural with children - famously patient
✓ Genuinely dog-social
✓ Adapts beautifully to smaller spaces
✓ Low-key housemate - modest exercise genuinely satisfies
Why it matters

Honest challenges

Alone time is genuinely hard
Bred to work or live beside a human all day - solitude was never in the job description.

What helps: Train it like a skill: the Alone-Time guide builds tolerance in micro-doses from day one. The frozen-KONG-only-when-you-leave ritual turns departures into jackpots. Cover long days honestly: a midday walker, daycare 2-3x a week, and a camera to know (not guess) how they're doing.
The fur is a lifestyle
Heavy-shedding coat with seasonal blowouts.

What helps: The weekly rake routine in the Grooming Kit halves it. Robot vacuum on daily patrol (see Home Setup). A professional deshed blowout during coat-blow weeks saves the house.
Vocal by design
Alert heritage - announcing things IS the historic job.

What helps: Thank-and-redirect: acknowledge the alert, cue quiet, pay the quiet. Manage triggers: window film and white noise beat willpower. Exercise first - a tired alarm system fires less. Never bark collars.
Independent contractor, not employee
Bred to work without human direction - repetition drills insult them.

What helps: Short sessions, premium pay: five brilliant minutes beat thirty mediocre ones. Work WITH the instincts - scent games for noses, chase games for sprinters. Marker training makes your 'yes' crystal clear (Training School).
What you can do

Exercise & training

Exercise: Low-moderate - daily walks
Training profile — Scent hound: Independent by design - bred to trail for hours without checking in. Train with food, patience, and realistic expectations of off-leash reliability.
Sports and outlets that suit them: Tracking · Slow sniffari specialists
What you can do

Grooming & coat

Grooming: Low-moderate - weekly brushing, frequent ear cleaning and facial-fold care, drools.
Shedding: Moderate-heavy for a short coat.
Good to know

Health to know about

Ear infections, obesity, bloat, glaucoma, elbow dysplasia, thrombopathia
Breed-typical tendencies, not a diagnosis. Individual dogs vary enormously — your veterinarian screens for what matters for your dog.
How much should YOUR Basset Hound eat?

This page can only give breed ranges. The app calculates calories and portions from your dog’s actual weight and life stage, splits them across the right number of meals, and adjusts as they grow.

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Why it matters

Emergency red flags

Poisoning (chocolate, xylitol, grapes, medications, rodenticide)
Vomiting, drooling, tremors, collapse, or known ingestion
Call ASPCA Poison Control 888-426-4435 or Pet Poison Helpline 855-764-7661 immediately; do NOT induce vomiting unless instructed
Know your ER
Save your nearest 24-hour emergency vet's address and phone in your phone TODAY, not during a crisis
BLOAT / GDV - the minutes-matter emergency for this breed
Unproductive retching (trying to vomit, nothing comes), rapidly swelling/hard belly, drooling, pacing, sudden distress after eating
Drive to the ER immediately. Do not wait to see if it passes. Untreated GDV is fatal within hours
Bleeding that will not stop (clotting-disorder breed)
Prolonged bleeding from minor cuts or nail trims, gum bleeding, unexplained bruising
Apply firm pressure and go to the vet; make sure a clotting disorder note is on the medical file BEFORE any surgery
This page never carries product links in the emergency section. ASPCA Poison Control (888) 426-4435 · Pet Poison Helpline (855) 764-7661.
These need to work when the signal does not

The app keeps every Basset Hound red flag on your phone and opens them with no connection at all — which is the whole point at 2am in a car park. Add it to your home screen and it works like any other app.

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📊 The numbers

Typical ranges for planning, not promises — costs vary by region, breeder and individual dog.

GroupHound
SizeMedium (40-65 lbs, low-slung)
Lifespan12-13 years
Healthy adult weight40–65 lb
Original purposeSlow trailing of rabbits and hare for hunters on foot.
Monthly care$70-$120
Typical puppy price$600-$1,500
🐕 Similar breeds
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