Differences between
the Basset Hound and the Basset Artésien Normand

At first glance, our present-day Basset Hound resembles the Basset Artésien Normand, but of course, on close inspection, you will find several differences. For one, there’s a difference of size. Then, there’s a difference in weight. While the traditional Basset Hound weighs between 20 kg and 32 kg, depending on the sex and bloodlines, the Basset Artésien Normand usually weighs about 30 kg-35 kg.

The Basset Hound also has a lot of extra skin and massive bones, unlike the Basset Artésien Normand who lacks both. The Basset Hound’s head has a well-formed and distinct occiput, but the Basset Artésien Normand’s skull is pretty flat. The Basset Hound’s ears are set pretty low, --below eye level--, but the Basset Artésien Normand’s ears are set quite high.

His eyes are slightly sunken with a prominent haw, while the Basset Artésien Normand’s eyes are round and lack the necessary haw that gives the Basset Hound its trademark doleful appearance. The Basset Hound’s lip are droopy and hanging while its dewlap is pronounced, but the Artésien Normand has a long muzzle, lacks a dewlap, and its head, unlike the Basset Hound, is refined.

The Basset Artésien Normand goes to England

In the 1870s, the English first showed an interest in the Basset Artésien Normand when Lord On slow and Mr. Everett Millais first imported specimens of this breed from France. When Millais visited France in 1874, he attended a dog show at the Jardin d’Acclimatation where he would get an opportunity to see some French dachshunds and be able to compare them with his.

Since the show was benched, the dachshunds were seated next to a few Basset Artésien Normands, who Millais fancied. Right then, he knew he must have one Basset Hound. It so happened that the two dogs he liked were from the kennel of Count le Couteulx de Canteleu and were named Fino de Paris and Model. He took home Model. Today, these two dogs are remembered fondly because they stand at a very crucial juncture in the history of this breed, since all Basset Hounds are said to be their descendants. At the time, there were two famous kennels of Basset Hound Artésien Normand in France: the kennel of the Count le Couteulx de Canteleu and that of M. Louis Lane of Château de Frangueville near Rouen. Although both kennels specialized in rearing Basset Hound Artésien Normand, in time, each of them developed a distinct type of the Artesian Basset.

The Basset Hounds that were thought to be the offspring of more consistent and purer breeding were the “Lane type” of hounds. so, it’s no wonder that they were in very popular in France. These Lane dogs were largely seen in coat combinations of lemon and white or gray and white. They were very heavy and had a lot of bone to them, and were low to the ground. Their front legs, being fully crooked were referred to as jambes torses. Despite the fact that they were purer than the second variety, the Lane dogs were not easily accepted in England. Though a few were imported, they were crossbred with the Le Couteulx types.On the other hand, the Le Couteulx kennel reared two distinct types of hounds. Of them, one was a larger animal with heavier bone structure and low to the ground, with coarse coat that was either red and white or heavily marked tri-color. The second type was partly beagle too, and was lighter in build with short, fine haired coat, with less well marked colors. These could either be tri-color or very pale red and white. Its legs were sometimes full torse or demi-torse, and it was common to find both types in one litter. Of the two, Model was “rather flat in skull and having badly hung ears, but otherwise as perfect a specimen as I ever hope to see.” The fact that he was knuckled over was as much a disqualifier as his long muzzle. Though Millais wasn’t really interested in dog shows, he decided to show Model to the general public and did this at the Wolverhampton Dog Show in 1875. Among Model’s admirers was Lord Onslow, also credited for having developed the Basset Hound of today with Millais. Though he wasn’t new to this breed, the idea of seriously breeding it came only now to him. In 1877 Onslow imported three Basset Hounds from the kennel of Count le Couteulx de Canteleu: Fino, Finette and Nestor. Finette and Model were bred and the litter bore Proctor and Garenne, who in turn produced Isabel, Model II, and Vesta. Isabel was a red and white, as was Vesta, while Model II was tri-colored. In bringing the breed this forward, there was a lot of inbreeding and brother-sister breeding. The result of this breeding was Ulfius, Bratias, Niniche, Kathleen and Marie. In 1880, Millais’ first breeding career came to a close. Being unwell, he left for Australia at around the same time that Lord Onslow decided to break up his pack. Their dogs were distributed among several breed fanciers. These new breeders purchased new stock from France, thereby continuing its breeding in England on a larger scale.

Early Basset Hounds in England did not conform to the Standard. But this wasn’t surprising, as Count le Couteulx had been experimenting with developing a new strain. Despite this, the numbers of Basset Hounds were very small and the inbreeding due to this began to take its toll with the stock beginning to reduce in size and bone, besides also being infertile. New blood was obviously needed. George Krehl, another noted breeder, imported two bitches from France from the kennel of Louis Lane. These two Basset Hounds, when crossed with the Lane type of this breed gave the “perfect touch” to the establishment of the breed and perfected the work of early breeders.In 1884, when Millais returned from Australia, English breeders felt confident enough to establish the Basset Hound Club. The charter members were Count le Couteulx de Canteleu, the one man instrumental in preserving the breed in France, Lords Onslow and Galway, two early importers and breeders of Basset Hound in England, Everett Millais, and George Krehl. Soon H.R.H. Princess Alexandra and Mrs. Ellis of Brettenham Park, Billesden joined them. Princess Alexandra was a great fan of this breed and maintained a large kennel of both the smooth- and rough-coated variety. Her kennel was named Sandringham.

A couple of years later, England reported 120 Basset Hounds entering the Dachshund and Basset Show held at the Aquarium in London. The judge was Everett Millais. This large a number of entries to one show only prove the success of this breed in England. The inbreeding within this breed also began to show up with some Basset Hounds showing a loss of bone, having difficult whelpings and infertility. To counter this problem, Millais decided to cross his B asset hound, Nicholas with a Bloodhound in 1892. The mating was achieved by artificial insemination, due to the physical differences between the Bloodhound and the Basset Hound. The couple had a dozen pups, of whom a few died. In the 1890s, many French Basset Hounds were already in England, and by the turn of the century, it was common knowledge that by injecting new blood from France and the Bloodhound, the Basset Hound breed benefited. Until this time, these pets were imported only as show quality dogs, but soon, the Basset’s virtues as a hunting companion were also discovered. By the end of the century there were three English packs that hunted on a regular basis—the Walhampton pack maintained by Godfrey and Geoffrey Heseltine; one maintained by T. Cannon, Jr. of Dansbury; and Prince Henry of Pless’ pack in Germany. In the early 1920s, the Walhampton pack was streets ahead of the others in the show ring and in the field. It also formed the foundation stock for early American Basset Hound breeders. For instance, Gerald Livingston of Long Island, US, began purchasing Walhampton dogs to import to the United States. And this began the story of the Basset Hound taking root in another part of the world—the United States.

The History of the Basset Hound
Info from the book intitled "The Basset Hound Book"
by Sharda Baker