Yellow Lab/Bassett Hound mix

[Grandy]

Hi everyone -

My Husband and I are looking to adopt a Lab/Bassett hound mix from our local shelter.

She is approx. 1 year old and a real sweetheart (and very interesting looking I must say!);)

We have a farily good sized yard, big house (no kids yet), and we also have a cabin in the mountains (Colorado). I'm a bit concerned that she might discover all of those mountain animal scents and take off (which we obviously wouldn't want). We would keep her on a long leash to prevent this, but would love to have her just lay around outside w/ us without being tied up. That's one of my concerns.

Does anyone have (or know anyone that has) this interesting mixed breed? I'm curious if anyone has heard of anyone who has a lab/bassett mix.

Thanks much!!!!

[Aspen and Misty]

Chewy my dog might be a mix between Australian Shepherd and we are pretty sure beagle. (not 100% sure though!) Everyone ask us why our beagle is not the troditional beagle colors. He looks like a Aussie in a beagle body. We at first thought Corgie, but his baying (howling) gave him away! hee hee. Chewy "hunts" cats, birds, bunnies, dogs, moles, chipmonks, bugs (his fav), my rats :rolleyes: , almost anything! But If you say Chewy in your high squeky voice (lol) and clap your hands he stops the chase and will come back. I don't know how most hunting dogs are and if they will come back to you but because Chewy is a mix and he is not 100% beagle he will easly give up a good chase for some loveing from his mom or aunt. :D

We want pictures, pretty pretty please! Is it such a bad thing to have to have her on a leash to enjoy her comapny and love? i think not :D . So if you think this could be "the one" then go ahead and get the little lady, I know she will love you forever for it!

[lovemymaltese]

I bet that would be such a cute dog.

[Cincy'sMom]

I have actually seen a lot of Lab/basset mixes recently. There were two at different times at our humane society and there were two that were siblings ont he pet refuge, (out of Indiana) website. They have all been very cute, from the pictures I have seen. look like labs on short legs. One that is currently at the Toledo humane Society has one foot that is bent at a weird angle. He doesn't seem to mind, but it looks painful.

Good luck with your new dog. Would love to see pics!

[Grandy]

Thanks for your responses everyone! It's much appreciated! (By the way, those of you w/ pics of your dogs, I just LOVE 'em!!!)

As an update, we went to the HS today to introduce my husband to this cutie pie (I went yesterday w/ a girl I work with at lunchtime so he wasn't there to meet her at first). Anyway, she was really afraid of him! :confused: She cowered away when he tried to pet her. She did warm up a little bit, but overall, she was skitterish w/ him and would hide behind me.

We asked about this and the people there showed us her profile. Right there in the middle of the page was the question: "Any Fears?" Answer: "Men."

I'm so bummed! My husband said he'd be willing to take her for the weekend to try it out, but then we're also concerned if she'll be too afraid to deal w/ our friends, neighbors, family members who are men.

I'm SO SO bummed! She was such a sweetie pie! :( :(

Anyway, thanks for listening and I'll just keep on w/ my search I guess.:rolleyes:

[lv4dogs]

There are 2 rott/basssett mixes at one of our local shelters now, they are adorable and lazy! As far as her disliking men you may be able to get her over that fear by training. How old is she? My rott. was terrified of men when I got her now she loves almost all of them! If you are willing to work with the problem & your heart is telling you to try it then give it a shot. Good luck!

[Grandy]

Thanks alot! :)

My husband agreed to try her for the weekend (although there are 2 friends staying w/ us this weekend at our cabin...both male).:eek: I hope she warms up; I just wouldn't feel right if I didn't try her first.

Do you think it's selfish of me to try out a dog that might not be able to love my husband? He wants the affection too. He really likes dogs, but he's only "so-so" on this one, but he's more than willing to give her a shot. I'm torn guys! Help me out please, any opinions?

Also, any tricks on how to help her warm up to him? I know having him feed her & give her treats will help, but any other help is greatly appreciated!!

Thanks (again) for listening to me whine!;)

Amy

[aly]

Congrats on the (possibility) of a new dog! It sounds like if she got a little better in the one visit, she will probably overcome her fear. But chances are it won't happen over the weekend. I've been working with shelter dogs for years and have seen many different situations with the poor doggies who are terrified of men. A lot of them are able to get over it with proper training and socialization.

Lolly, my doggie I adopted a year and a half ago, would flip on her back, scream, and pee when she saw men. I had several nice male neighbors who helped me socialize her and give her good experiences with men. Carmen, a dog at the shelter I work at, on the other hand I think will never ever get over her fear. She has major issues with men and has even tried to bite :( She can get used to certain ones but as a whole, she's really not to be trusted around them. She was adopted for 3 weeks and seemed fine with the man of the house but then there were lunging and growling incidents so she got returned :(

So, some dogs can conquer it, some can get used to only certain men, and some will never get over it. It's really just a chance that would have to be taken because it usually takes a long time for them to overcome such a huge fear. Its probably not something that could be found out this weekend :( although there IS a slight chance. Maybe being out of the shelter environment would help.

If you get her, I would say work on getting her used to your husband first, then start doing exercises with friends. Its important to not push her farther than she's ready to go. Use REALLY good treats like hot dog pieces and have him get low on the floor and talk to her in a soothing voice. I'd do it several times a day for short sessions, and gradually expand the length of time he works with her. Find her comfort zone (right before the point she gets really uncomfortable) and work on increasing that until he can be right up next to her petting her and she is fine with that. Also for a little while, you might want to have male visitors come in the door baring treats.

GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

[Grandy]

Aly,

Thanks SO MUCH for all of that useful information! I really appreciate all of the time you took to give me all of those things to think about.

I think we will take her for the next 3 nights and see how she does. She is not aggressive at all (if she ever did get aggressive, we'd have to give her up as there are young children on our street & we're a very friendly neighborhood). I think you're right, that if she got a little better w/ my husband in the 30 minutes we spent with her, there may be hope for her.

Thanks so much for the tips on trainig. I will definitely have my husband get low on the floor & try to soothe her & give her treats.

Again, thanks again so much for your insight! I love your doggie's pictures too, by the way!!:D

[lv4dogs]

Aly has great advice. That is very important not pressure her into getting along w/ your hubby. Let her go at her own pace. Yes lots of tiny treats so she won't fill up as fast and she will think she is getting more. If your husband can pet her without a problem then I reccomend doing fun things with her like a walk or game of fetch (only play fetch if she is not intimidated by him & by him throwing an object). Good luck and no it is not selfish to try out a dog, hey at least you are giving the dog a chance which it might not of ever gotten!! Talk to the dog, I,m serious, I know some might think this silly & I am wacky but I don't care, but sit down w/ the dog and pet her and calmy in a nice serious voice explain this situation to the dog I swear that some dogs can understand things and it might help. Congrats on the poss. pup to be! I wish you the best of luck!

[Grandy]

Luv4dogs,

Thank you, thank you!!! Great advice (& thanks for letting me know I'm not being selfish...that helped:))

I'm SO glad I found this site. You are all truly wonderful, helpful and caring people. I really do appreciate your help with me, the novice dog owner.

Every time I read your responses, I get more and more excited about her!

I'll let you all know how it goes for the next 3 days:)

Thanks again so much!!!

Amy

[aly]

Please do keep us updated. And if you can, pictures! :)

There's a Pointer/Bassett Hound mix at my shelter. She has the body of a Basset and the personality of a Pointer. Its so funny. Here's a couple pics of her. They aren't very good because I can NEVER get her to stay still! I take her for a walk and she is OFF like a racehorse. The cutest thing is seeing her sniffing out grasshoppers then jumping around in the grass pouncing on them.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid33/p87805bcde0e03c24fb6d0ddcbf2f2a59/fd411c0b.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid33/pcf7ae8e3426dfe90cb667f0ac83a609c/fd411c0a.jpg

And the pic from our website:

http://www.centraltexasspca.com/images/pics/dogs/freckles.jpg

[anna_66]

Everyone has given such wonderful advice. I don't really have any more, I just wanted to tell you about Huney (our rescue chow).
She was very receptive to myself & my niece, and most women in general. But when we first brought her home, she was scared to death of my husband. She would lay down & roll over on her back...EVERY TIME he would even look at her:eek: But little by little she came around. She has never even tried to bite (fear biting) and has been the most wonderful dog!
I guess I just wanted to let you know there is always a chance they might get over it. Thanks for giving her a chance!

[aly]

I was just wondering how things are going with the sweetie?

[Grandy]

Hi Aly,

Thanks for asking....so far so good. She has warmed up to my husband (except when he tells her "no" when she jumps up on the kitchen counter she still cowers). Those pictures of the basset/pointer mix are SO CUTE!!! Bailey sort of has the same look (although she's tan), but her legs are longer.

She's a jumper, but overall, she is a VERY VERY sweet dog!!

Thanks so much for asking & the great advice!!

Take care,
Amy

[aly]

Thats great!!!!!!!!! I hope you guys will be able to keep her and she will conquer her fears. Thanks for the update and thanks for ADOPTING rather than going to a breeder :D :D

[toby01]

hello my name is amanda.i have a just turned 3 year old bassett hound and lab mix.my daughter wanted to get toby for her dad on fathers and she did.i laughed when we picked him out because he came running to us with such short legs.hes so cute and everyone has to stop and ask us what breed of dog he is.the first summer we had him we went camping and he was the center of attention and everyone fell in love with him.i just have to share this story.lol....one day we had toby in the van and we stopped by my moms.anyways this man walked by and commented on what a beautiful lab he is and so we had to show him the rest and this man laughed because he didnt realize he had such short legs.he is our pride and joy!!!!!!!!!!

[WarahGirl1995]

hi! bassett/labs are sure interesting mixes and at one point i was helping my uncle find a dog and we were looking at a beautiful black lab/bassett hound but he didn't end up getting him:(

we are starting to think my dog rupert is a basset/lab/pit but we arent sure. we were thinking he had basset legs, because they are shorter than a pit's or a lab's legs. we really are not sure though.

if you think she is going to run off, maybe you should consider having an invisible or underground fence so she cannot run off. if you consider those cruel or mean, as some people do, you can try one of those chains that have a wire attached from a tree to tree and then a long chain coming down from it, so she can go further than from tree to tree, but not too far. you could also just put a pole in the ground and put a retractable leash, a 15-20 feet, and then block the top so the leash cannot come off, that's what my friend does with her husky.

good luck with your new addition and keep us updated.

EDIT: Oh! I didn't see your update, I am so glad you adopted her!

[Tollers-n-Dobes]

Just incase you guys didn't notice, this thread is almost 4 years old...:) I don't think the original poster even visits PT anymore.

[BOBS DAD]

Chewy my dog might be a mix between Australian Shepherd and we are pretty sure beagle. (not 100% sure though!) Everyone ask us why our beagle is not the troditional beagle colors. He looks like a Aussie in a beagle body. We at first thought Corgie, but his baying (howling) gave him away! hee hee. Chewy "hunts" cats, birds, bunnies, dogs, moles, chipmonks, bugs (his fav), my rats :rolleyes: , almost anything! But If you say Chewy in your high squeky voice (lol) and clap your hands he stops the chase and will come back. I don't know how most hunting dogs are and if they will come back to you but because Chewy is a mix and he is not 100% beagle he will easly give up a good chase for some loveing from his mom or aunt. :D

We want pictures, pretty pretty please! Is it such a bad thing to have to have her on a leash to enjoy her comapny and love? i think not :D . So if you think this could be "the one" then go ahead and get the little lady, I know she will love you forever for it!


HAVE WE EVER SEEN CHEWY??? HEY... I LIKE TO SEE HER TOO!!!