Basset hounds

[Mr.Pants]

I love these dogs but are they good for anything like hunting pheasant or grouse?

Thank you.

[HikeNHunter]

good on rabbits. in my neck of the woods the old timers used to cross basset hounds with beagles. the results were varied but what they were hoping for was a short legged, small bodied dog that would run all day. i hunted over a few as a teen and had some really good times.Their big ears help with scenting game while they are tracking and the short legs and low profile help thjem get under brush that a larger dog wouldn't be able to. If you decide to train them to hunt rabbits I'm sure you will become addicted to rabbit hunting with your bassets.

[Washington Hunter]

Basset Hound + Beagle = Bagel?

I would think that they would be good for rabbits. I've heard of people using them for this. Personally mine is just a family pet.

[shpines]

we call them beagle-bassets here. I have a basset that we just breed with one of our beagles. Good rabbit dogs. I have only heard of bassets hunting rabbits, but you never know.

[Koontzy]

Bassets are excellent rabbit dogs, but they are also used for fox.....

Later

[Big Al C]

Mr.Pants, I have never heard of one being used for birds, but I guess there is an exception to every rule. They are bred to be trailing dogs, so rabbits, fox, coyote, and even deer all are possible uses for them. They dont have much treeing instinct, so they are not too good on racoons , squirrels, or possums. (If you had one of them as a trail dog and another breed to tree they would probably match up well.) However, for birds they would probably not want to hold a point. They would probably just amble right on into the bird and flush him before you get there.

[E.J.D.]

my basset was great on pheasants, ESPECIALLY the ones that like to run alot. mine came from a guy in iowa, but he dont sell em anymore. great on busting rabbits out of thick cover too. great dogs......but STINKY EARS!!!PHEW!

[TREEDOG]

Some do make nice rabbit dogs but rabbit hunting has been bred out of most of them AKC dogs. That doesnt mean an AKC dog cant make a nice rabbit hound just your chances are slimmer than getting them from a hunter. I dont have my old rabbit hunter magazine any more but there are breed rescue groups for bassets that hunt there dogs and have trials for bassets only.