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Train a Basset?

Posted: Jan 19, 2013

Does ANYONE on here have a Basset? If so, are they as "dumb" as mine? I have a book, "Basset Hound Survival Guide", and so far am still barely surviving. Is it possible to train a Basset, or is it the other way around? Need I mention, I was "smart" enough to get 2 - they are sisters - lol. Talk about double trouble!! HELP!!!

;

All dogs are trainable. Even Bassets. - Housetraining or what? - n/t

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xx

Train a Basset? - mtownedbyabasset

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Housebreaking mostly - Occasionally, one will go upstairs to use the bathroom and then come back down like nothing ever happened (We don't have carpet thank goodness) - one has squatted and urinated in the house right in front of us before - WTH!!? One won't "speak" when I try and get her to - have worked and worked at it - she just looks at me. The other one will "speak" once in a while when I tell her to. So far, they have chewed up 9 pairs of my shoes - only mine! They won't mess with any others. I don't keep my shoes on the floor - I keep them on my shoe shelves. I will take my shoe away and scold them and as soon as I turn away, they go right back and get it - over and over. Same with the trash - one will go over and pull something out and I scold her and turn away and she's right back there again. I'm at my wits end. They also will go to the bathroom on my concrete porch rather than the yard sometimes. AARRGGGHH! And there's more but this is long enough already...

Use crates for housetraining. - Amateur trainer

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You don't say how old they are. Young adult dogs housetrain fairly quickly. Puppies take longer. In either case, I highly recommend the use of crates to do this. Dogs quickly get used to the crate and even like them, as they enjoy having a cozy protected spot of their own. Please post back if you'd like some links explaining how.

Basically, you will be taking away the opportunity to go potty inside the house, and always be there when they go outside, taking them to the right spot on the leash if necessary, and give praise and a treat when they do their duty. You will be forming a habit in them.

If one of them always pees inappropriately, might take that one to the vet and make sure there isn't a bladder infection.

Also keep in mind that young puppies need to go like every 2-3 hours. They cannot possibly last all day. They simply don't have the muscle control.

If they're still at the chew-everything stage, keeping them crated when they cannot be supervised might save their lives, too. A couple weeks ago, my vet treated a puppy that could not be saved - it had chewed on a live electric cord. Crating is definitely the lesser of 2 evils there.

Be sure when you are taking away what they shouldn't chew, you are giving them something they CAN chew. My dogs all like Nylabones and those knotted rope toys.

Considering that one of them seems to go out of sight to potty indoors, they sort of have the right idea - dogs don't like to mess where they live and spend a lot of time. When it seems like they are walking off to "hide" their poop and pee, they are on the right track, in a way. :-).

As for trash and shoes, some battles aren't worth fighting. Dog-proof your home as best you can. Shoes inside the closet with the door closed. Trash in a smaller can, perhaps, up on the counter where the dogs can't get it. Or inside a container that they can't get into. I'm sure you do not want them getting sick, or worse, on chicken bones or something poisonous.

If you'd like me to outline how to use a crate to housetrain, I'll be happy to do so. Please post back. I am not a professional trainer but have 40+ years' experience with multiple un-housetrained dogs, constantly, as I am involved in rescue.

Take heart! Really. It will happen, and then this will all seem like a bad dream.

Baby gates are good too. - Amateur trainer

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They don't need access to every part of the house - they should stay in the room where you are, so you can keep an eye on them.

Basset babies - padoglove

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If I can raise sibling Rottweilers together, I'm pretty sure you can raise those cuties. First of all, though, they have too much FREEDOM. If you have shoes available to them, of course they're going to chew them! LOL Are they young? You might want to gate them off and spend a few days only letting them out to go do their business.

All our female dogs have tinkled here and there when they were puppies, but they also turned out much better than the boys. LOL

I heard a noise in the night when our male rottie was about 3 months old (mind you, they grow quick!)I got up and there he was, standing at the end of our bed taking a wizz. Back to the gate and crate at night for him. It didn't happen again.

I can relate to you mainly b/c we have pugs,also,and while they are smart and stubborn, on the trainable list the are #63. Our expectations were pretty low for training them.

I can't add much to the excellent advice already given - grits

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but I can commisserate. We have two bassets, our second and third (all rescue - woo!) and they're not dumb. Don't let them play that card with you; they're very good at it. They're stubborn and independent, since those are the traits they were bred for. Field hunting dogs have to be able to work independently and trust their own judgment, so they're always going to think they know better than you do. It's at once the most annoying and the most lovable thing about them.

I preach patience and persistence, with a healthy dose of choosing one's battles and dog-proofing. You have to set them up for success. Ours used to turn over the garbage cans at night, so we secured the cans and blocked off the kitchen. After a year or so, they'd gotten the notion our of their heads and we were able to free the garbage cans and reopen the kitchen. No problems since.

You have to use ingenuity to train bhounds - they seem to be impervious to the methods that work with other breeds. We utterly gave up on trying to train tricks; Flops doesn't see the point and Buford just looks at you like you've got 3 heads. They're worth it, though.

BTW, our fellas are tricolor, as was our first, a female named Boomer. What about yours, and what are their names? I could talk bassets all day.

grits - mtownedbyabasset

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I forgot to mention in my OP that we got them when they were 12 wks old and they just turned 1 last June, so we have had them for 1-1/2 years. They are getting better on housebreaking (a little)BUT that is because we fenced in our yard for them and they are out most of the day (when it is nice, of course cause they are babies! lol). If they are in, we take them out often - but, they still will not go to the door or even bark when they want out. If they have to go to the bathroom, they will just do it, anywhere in the house, although one likes to go upstairs and do it! We had one basset (our first one) before getting these 2. Her name was Ellie Mae and she was the greatest! She didn't seem to be as stubborn as these two are. We only had her for 1 short year - very hard losing her! I had to go out and get another (but my hubby and son wanted 2, so we brought sisters home!) - These two are red and white. Their names are Bailey and Riley. We do love our bassets very much and they are very spoiled, as all dogs should be, but they sure can make you mad!! lol. Have you ever seen "a basset is an asset" on U-tube? If not, you have to see it - so cute.

No! I'll have to find it - grits

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I could watch them all day. My DH used to work at PetSmart and a customer had a pair called File' and Gumbo - such great names for Louisiana bassets :)

Boomer was an outside dog - scared to live inside - so we had no housetraining issues with her. Flops was adopted as a puppy and picked it up easily because we had an elderly dachshund to show him the ropes, which is always helpful. Flops taught himself to scratch on the door when he wants out or back in - clever lad :)

Buford has been another story. He was adopted at 3-ish and wrote the book on stubborn. We had marking issues with him because he wasn't neutered when we got him, but giving him the run of the outdoors helped a lot. He's 6 or 7 now and has *just now* figured out how to let us know when he wants to go out. He will walk to the back door and look back mournfully over his shoulder. He's about a subtle as a throat punch :D

My only advice is to know their patterns and habits, watch them, invest in a good enzyme cleaner and give up on having nice floors and carpet. They're not so old that it's hopeless, and it sounds like you're on a good track with them. *edited to ask, do you immediately rush them outside when you catch them doing the deed? That's what all the training materials suggest, and it's worked for me with other dogs, but only when I've caught them in the act.

*still squeeing over a basset named Ellie Mae*

grits - A Basset is an Asset - mtownedbyabasset

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Yes, do find it and then let me know what you think. I have watched it several times and each time I watch it I just wanna go hug my bassets :) Maybe you can post the link on here for others to see.

A Basset is an Asset link on You-Tube - mtownedbyabasset

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Here is the link -

http://youtu.be/N2wpALJHCKA

Okay, that was awesome - grits

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I had to rewind and watch 1:31 again - reminds me of when Flops was a puppy. I used to hold him on my chest and spread his ears out, and I'd think, "this won't last long." It seems like the next day I was wondering where my little puppy had gone, and who was this big dawg in his place? He still thinks he's a little lap puppy, though.

I clicked over to the sidebar to see Mr. Pickles, the singing basset hound, and Buford woke up enough to roll one round eye at me, and then bestirred himself enough to come investigate. I figured he'd join Mr. Pickles in the song of their people, but he declined.

Used to babysit a Bassett. Had long flight of stairs to - deck. When she was trudging up SM

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those stairs, if she just kept going all was well. But if she stopped anywhere on those steps, she would turn around, go back down to the bottom and start all over again.

This made me laugh - grits

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That is *so* something Buford would do.

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