Saying Goodbye to The Cinnamon Bear.

The Cinnamon Bear at three months.

 The Cinnamon Bear came to us from LaPine, Oregon on a cold rainy morning in 2014. She was so little then. Her breeders might have mis-counted the weeks, she seemed about six weeks old. The Bear was the second Basset female we brought home with us, the other being CarmelCorn SanDiego.

As a puppy Cinnamon walked on her ears in a way that reminded me of a bear, and since I had named Carmen after a sweet candy I named this new baby girl The Cinnamon Bear. Themes are a thing I do. 

She was called many things over the years: The Bear, Cinna-mini, and Bear-bear were just a few of the nice things, but there were others. The Bear could be a real bitch where she wanted. After our Henry Hudson passed she became our Alpha and ruled with an iron fist. She was our alpha for three years prior to Laffee Taffee whelping her first litter, less so after that. 

Carmen and Cinnamon

Cinnamon had two litters; both of eleven pups each. She was a good mother. Our plan is always to breed one of our girls three times before finding a good retirement for them. We made these plans early on in our Farm dream, thinking that this would be the best thing for the female while keeping our kennel numbers reasonable. Since she was the second female we waited for her to birth a third litter, but she really didn't have much interest after the second litter. Eventually we decided to retire her at eight years old. After her spay we began seriously looking for a new place for her. 

Cinnamon's first litter

Letting go of one of our puppies is hard. We spend so much time with them, love them, discipline them, wash their dirty ears, everything one does with human children we do with the puppies we take in.

Our original plan was always to let the girls  retire once they were no longer suited to the breeding business. But this has not been nearly as easily done as we would wish. Rational decisions are usually best, but not always easier to do when the time arrives to let one of our girls go. We are careful in choosing a place for them to go and this is the best we can do. 

Cinnamon was picky with people. We interviewed five families who were interested in taking her but she really only clicked with three of them. Eventually we found a nice person with an Emu farm and last weekend we took The Cinnamon Bear for a long car ride to her new home. 

Unfortunately for all of us, Bear-bear found a hole in the new family's fence and made it onto the highway where she died instantly. We are heart broken twice this week. Letting her go, then losing her again a few days later. But this is life and the thread holding any one of us to life is very thinly made. There is no blame for anyone in this. Cinnamon was always good at finding the hole in the fence. 

Cinnamon was a very good Basset. Long ears and stubborn. She loved her family and was loved every day of her life. We all might hope for better, but must accept what comes. She will be missed. She will be in our thoughts. Today she is in our prayers. 

The End of the Hard Candies

 I forgot to post this a week ago, but the Hard Candy Litter finished when we delivered d'Artaneon to his new home. The Candies were a nice little five pup litter; four males and one female. They came into the world easy and spent the little time we had together happily. None of them had health issues, all were well developed. Only time will tell how they will turn out but we're thinking that ClarkeBar's great genetics seem to shine the most in these puppies. 

Bit O'Honey came through the litter as expected. We weened the pups on time and her body snapped back into a slim and athletic form. She matured quite a bit and has begun challenging the older girls for dominance. We found a good re-home spot for our alpha, The Cinnamon Bear, so the alpha spot is slightly open today. Laffee Taffee is the natural leader, but 'Honey seems to wish to take charge. Things will work themselves out in time. 

Our next breeding season begins in March 2022. We hope to find a new female puppy to take Cinnamon's spot but will likely wait until after the next litter. We are hoping to find a trade, but cash seems to work too. Our next scheduled pairing will be Abba Zabba's first litter. 

Six Week Evaluation for Red Hot

 

Rocketdog Bassets has  provided many litters of puppies over the years. So were good, some better, and a few have been exceptional. In all of these each puppy from each litter has been evaluated as a single puppy, separate from the litter, but all by the same criteria and at the same level of development. The criteria for our pseudo-objective evaluations can be found here and you might want to review this information prior to moving forward through each evaluation. 

When RedHot arrived he a solid (11.1 ounces) red and white (lemon) boy. Since this is Bit O'Honey's first litter we did not know what to expect. But RedHot has developed into a very good little pet quality  Basset Hound.  His head shape is wonderfully domed with good, though not great, ear length at six weeks. His jaw set and ear position are very much up to the Standard and hiser body shape is strong with no flanged ribs or other negative aspects. Foreleg bone density is not bad, but also not as heavy as some. He lacks the appearance of a field dog, but is lovely in appearance none-the-less.

The way a dog stands at rest is called Stance. In Basset Hounds, this is often associated with long term hip health. RedHot haas very good stance but lacks the heavy bones which usually make the dog look aggressive, even when at rest. I don't see anything in him to indicate that he will develop bone health problems and his hip setting is very strong.

All indications are that RedHot will develop into an adult more of his mother's form than fathers, with few of the more desirable heavier European traits coming from ClarkeBar Griswold. Expect him to eventually weigh in under fifty pounds as an adult providing sufficient care is taken in feeding and exercise. 

RedHot has has many strong points: a wonderful coloring, and a really sweet personality.  He is a clown when playing. Quick and agile, he is not a puppy you can attack. RedHot is a team player, joining in whatever fun comes. His fur is wonderfully equally red and white, I expect he will eventually become more white than red as time goes by. 

Overall I must give him four and one half points of the five AKC Standard points and a half point for aesthetics, making him a solid 5 of 6 points. This is what we expect in a pet quality Basset. I take  half a point from his for foreleg density and paw size, half a point for ear length. Otherwise he is a fine Basset Hound puppy. He might be bred, providing that care is taken to introduce more European genetic traits. 

Six Week Evaluation for LemonHead

  Rocketdog Bassets has  provided many litters of puppies over the years. So were good, some better, and a few have been exceptional. In all of these each puppy from each litter has been evaluated as a single puppy, separate from the litter, but all by the same criteria and at the same level of development. The criteria for our pseudo-objective evaluations can be found here and you might want to review this information prior to moving forward through each evaluation. 

When LemonHead arrived he a stout (11.8 ounces) red and white baby boy with a wonderful blase on his forehead . Since this is Bit O'Honey's first litter we did not know what to expect. But LemonHead has developed into a wonderful pet quality Basset Hound. His head shape is broad with good, though not great, ear length.  His jaw set and ear position (appearing to hang from the back of the skull) are very much up to the Standard and his body shape is very strong with no flanged ribs or other negative aspects. Foreleg bone density is quite good, owing to his father's European lineage. 

The way a dog stands at rest is called Stance. In Basset Hounds, this is often associated with long term hip health. LemonHead has very good stance and appears aggressive whenever he stands. He appears as a field dog in every way. A robustly built Basset Hound

All indications are that LemonHead will develop into an adult more of his father's form than mothers, with many of the more desirable heavier European traits coming from ClarkeBar Griswold. Expect him to eventually weigh in around fifty pounds as an adult providing sufficient care is taken in feeding and exercise. 

LemonHead has been "all about the nose" from early on. He spend most of his time playing alone and seems more happy to play by himself than with the others. He is never growly or snappish, but takes no guff from siblings.  He is sedate and stoic in his approach. But also quite happy to be cuddled occasionally. Having seen so few red and white Bassets in our litters it is hard to tell how he might turn out, but I expect his fur will become a deeper red as time goes on and his white bits will stand out quite well. 

Overall I must give him five points of the five AKC Standard points, because he meets the Standard in every way, and a half point for aesthetics, making him a solid 5.5 of 6 points. This is what we expect in a very good pet quality Basset. I take half a point from him for his mothers form and nothing else (less than optimal ear length). Had he the champions ear length he might have become a show contender. As it is he is nearly everything I like to see in a Basset puppy. He would be a good candidate from breeding so long as he pairs with another Basset at least of his quality.

Six Week Evaluation for GobStopper

   Rocketdog Bassets has  provided many litters of puppies over the years. So were good, some better, and a few have been exceptional. In all of these each puppy from each litter has been evaluated as a single puppy, separate from the litter, but all by the same criteria and at the same level of development. The criteria for our pseudo-objective evaluations can be found here and you might want to review this information prior to moving forward through each evaluation. 

When GobStopper arrived he a massive 13.7 ounce tri-colored boy that made his mother yelp out loud.  Since then he has developed into a snarly beast of a puppy. Always spoiling for a fight he often challenges anyone moving inside of what he perceives as his domain. He is the rarest of Bassets, the Guard  Dog Basset. GobStopper has developed into a really strong pet quality Basset Hound. His head shape is broad with good skin folding, his ear length is not optimal, but overall he is well formed.  His jaw set and ear position (appearing to hang from the back of the skull) are very much up to the Standard and his body shape is very strong with no flanged ribs or other negative aspects. Foreleg bone density is quite good, owing to his father's European lineage, but not optimally heavy in bone. 

The way a dog stands at rest is called Stance. In Basset Hounds, this is often associated with long term hip health. GobStopper has excellent stance and appears aggressive whenever he stands. He is an aggressive puppy in nearly every way. He does not have the appearance of a field dog but is a robustly built Basset Hound puppy. 

All indications are that GobStopper will develop into an adult more of his father's form than mothers, with many of the more desirable heavier European traits coming from ClarkeBar Griswold. Expect him to eventually weigh in around sixty pounds as an adult and care should be taken in feeding to avoid longer termed health problems stemming from a weight. 

GobStopper has been very snarly since early on and we suggest that you keep your hands out of his mouth at all times. He spends all of his time playing very, very, hard with his siblings and this might make him a fine family dog with older children. He is always growly and occasionally snappish. He loves people and the comfort  of being cuddled, but not by everyone. His coloring is heavily black as of this evaluation, but I expect he will completely change as time goes on. His head is already mostly brown and it's likely his family will find him to magically grow brown pants to match. 

Overall I must give him five points of the five AKC Standard points, because he meets the Standard in every way, and a half point for aesthetics, making him a solid 5.5 of 6 points. This is what we expect in a very good pet quality Basset. I take half a point from him for his mothers form and nothing else (less than optimal ear length). As it is he is nearly everything I like to see in a pet Basset puppy. He would perhaps be a good candidate from breeding so long as he pairs with another Basset at least of his quality. 

Six Week Evaluation for CoffeeNip

  Rocketdog Bassets has  provided many litters of puppies over the years. So were good, some better, and a few have been exceptional. In all of these each puppy from each litter has been evaluated as a single puppy, separate from the litter, but all by the same criteria and at the same level of development. The criteria for our pseudo-objective evaluations can be found here and you might want to review this information prior to moving forward through each evaluation. 

When CoffeeNip arrived he a strong (10.5 ounces) tri-colored boy. He was an instant hit with Ann, who still says he is her favorite. CoffeeNip has developed into a wonderful pet quality Basset Hound. His head shape is broad with good skin folding, his ear length is not optimal, but overall he is well formed.  His jaw set and ear position (appearing to hang from the back of the skull) are very much up to the Standard and his body shape is very strong with no flanged ribs or other negative aspects. Foreleg bone density is quite good, owing to his father's European lineage. 

The way a dog stands at rest is called Stance. In Basset Hounds, this is often associated with long term hip health. Coffee Nip has excellent stance and appears aggressive whenever he stands. He appears as a field dog in every way and is a robustly built Basset Hound puppy. 

All indications are that CoffeeNip will develop into an adult more of his father's form than mothers, with many of the more desirable heavier European traits coming from ClarkeBar Griswold. Expect him to eventually weigh in around fifty pounds as an adult providing sufficient care is taken in feeding and exercise. 

CoffeeNip has been very rangy since early on and we suggest that you keep the gate locked at all times. He spends most of his time playing hard with his siblings and this might make him a fine family dog with small children. He is occasionally growly but seldom snappish .  He is very active and plays all his waking hours. He loves people and the comfort they bring. His coloring is heavily black as of this evaluation, but I expect he will completely change as time goes on. His head is already mostly brown and it's likely his family will find him to magically grow brown pants to match. 

Overall I must give him five points of the five AKC Standard points, because he meets the Standard in every way, and a half point for aesthetics, making him a solid 5.5 of 6 points. This is what we expect in a very good pet quality Basset. I take half a point from him for his mothers form and nothing else (less than optimal ear length). As it is he is nearly everything I like to see in a pet Basset puppy. He would perhaps be a good candidate from breeding so long as he pairs with another Basset at least of his quality.

Six Week Evaluation for TikTac

Rocketdog Bassets has  provided many litters of puppies over the years. So were good, some better, and a few have been exceptional. In all of these each puppy from each litter has been evaluated as a single puppy, separate from the litter, but all by the same criteria and at the same level of development. The criteria for our pseudo-objective evaluations can be found here and you might want to review this information prior to moving forward through each evaluation. 

When TikTac arrived she a very small (6.7 ounces) tri-colored and noisy girl. Since this is Bit O'Honey's first litter we did not know what to expect. But TikTac has developed into a very good little pet quality  Basset Hound. Her head shape is wonderfully domed with good, though not great, ear length at six weeks. Her jaw set and ear position are very much up to the Standard and her body shape is strong with no flanged ribs or other negative aspects. Foreleg bone density is not bad, but also not as heavy as some. 

The way a dog stands at rest is called Stance. In Basset Hounds, this is often associated with long term hip health. TicTac has very good stance but lacks the heavy bones which usually make the dog look aggressive, even when at rest. I don't see anything in her to say she will develop bone health problems and her hip setting is very good, but dwarfism in Bassets can lead to all sorts of things which heavy bones tend to keep away and she is a bit light in bone weight.

All indications are that TicTak will develop into an adult more of her mother's form than fathers, with few of the more desirable heavier European traits coming from ClarkeBar Griswold. Expect her to eventually weigh in under fifty pounds as an adult providing sufficient care is taken in feeding and exercise. 

TikTac has two very strong points: a wonderful coloring, and a really wonderful personality. . .  Having four Basset brothers is tough for a little girl, but TikTac handles the challenge with grace and ferocity. She is ever playful, always engaged, and never lets a challenge go unaccepted. She is fierce. But she is also funny. I find her staring directly at me every once in a while as she practices something like a Jedi mind trick to get herself picked up. Her nearly complete black and white coloring is well spotted and this ought to evolve into something resembling ermine as she ages. As of this evaluation she is showing no signs of emergent brown in her coat, but time may change things. Her facial fur is symmetrical in coloring and she can often be found staring at whatever she most wants. Had she a bit heavier bone structure she might be an adequate show contender. She is a lovely little Basset.

Overall I must give her four and one half points of the five AKC Standard points and a half point for aesthetics, making her a solid 5 of 6 points. This is what we expect in a pet quality Basset. I take  half a point from her for foreleg density and paw size, half a point for ear length. Otherwise she is a fine Basset Hound puppy. She might be bred, providing that care is taken to introduce more European genetic traits. 

Bit O'Honey's Hard Candy Litter is Here!

 For those interested in taking one of these babies home there is a Wait List widget to the left of this. Just let me know who you are and I'll get in touch. 

Honey's litter arrived quickly. Some girls take days (or weeks) to produce their puppies. Bit O'Honey did the job in just a few hours. She went into labor yesterday afternoon and the first pup arrived quite suddenly at 11:46 p.m. 

It was a very small (6.7 ounces), tri-colored, girl. We gave her TicTac as her puppy name. She's a noisy little girl.

It took about an hour for Honey to produce the next, but it was boys all the way until the end.

At 12:30 a.m. a nice  red and white, 11.8 ounce, boy, named Lemon Head came into the world suddenly.

Then they started showing up a bit quicker.

At 1:20 a.m.  a heavy (13.7 ounce) tri-colored boy named Gobstopper made his mother yelp out loud.

Then at 1:45 a.m. Coffee Nip showed up (quickly). He weighed 10.5 ounces and immediately began feeding to catch up.

At 2:05 a.m. Red Hot, a red and white boy weighing 11.1 ounces became the last to arrive.

All in all the arrival of the Hard Candy Litter was quick and a bit light. We expected eight. But they pups are all well fed at the tie of this writing and all seem healthy and well formed.

August 14, 2021 Puppies are on the way!

  About a month ago we found our boy ClarkeBar Grizwold (AKC) and Beatrix O'Honey (AKC) doing the puppy dance. It took a few weeks for thing to begin showing up, but we are certain there will be puppies very soon. We expect to have a litter on or near September 11th with delivery to new homes around November 13th.  

If you are ready to become a Basset Baby family you might want to join our Wait List. (An email widget is just to the left of this notice.)

The List is only used to notify people of news as it happens. There is no commitment or cost to join and joining the List is effectively the only way to secure a Reservation for choosing a puppy. We do things a bit differently to reduce the competition stress we found when buying puppies ourselves.

How this all happens is simple enough. We notify people on the Wait List once the puppies arrive and those interested in adopting a puppy will be given an equal opportunity to reserve a place in line for choosing a puppy on a first come, first to choose basis. The first person who makes a reservation, by answering the notice first and placing a $500.00 deposit (through Square.com), will choose their puppy first. The second person follows along, etcetera, until all the Reserved spots are all filled. There are usually many more people interested than we have puppies available, so time is of the essence. We maintain a list of alternates should one of the people fails to take some vital step in the process. Once the puppies are six weeks old and Six Week Evaluations are posted on-line, the first Reservation will choose, followed by the second, etcetera, until all of the puppies have been chosen.

There will be much more information given before Reservations are taken. And anyone interested in more information have time to ask questions. Join our Facebook Rocketdog group and ask anyone of our previous Basset parents anything you like. All people on the Wait List are invited to visit the Farm, the Parents, and the Puppies, prior to deciding anything at all. 

ClarkeBar Grizwold (shown here just after a bath) is a seven year old male which conforms very well to the AKC standard. He has sired seven litters and will likely retire at ten litters and nine years. 

Beatrix O'Honey (Bit O'Honey) is a wonderful two year old Basset which conforms well to the AKC Standard. She is an energetic little girl and this will be her first litter. So far she is showing us that she will do well as a mother and she was very involved in caring for Laffee Taffee's last litter. 

July 10, 2021 More Good News.

 This afternoon we found our boy ClarkeBar Grizwold (AKC) and one of our two year old girls, Beatrix O'Honey (AKC) doing the puppy dance. We could only be happier if it had been The Cinnamon Bear doing the deed herself. We ought to have a litter on or near September 11th with delivery to new homes around November 13th.  . 

If you are ready to become a Basset Baby family you might want to join our Wait List. (An email widget is just to the left of this notice.)

The List is only used to notify people of news as it happens. There is no commitment or cost to join and joining the List is effectively the only way to secure a Reservation for choosing a puppy. We do things a bit differently to reduce the competition stress we found when buying puppies ourselves.

How this all happens is simple enough. We notify people on the Wait List once the puppies arrive and those interested in adopting a puppy will be given an equal opportunity to reserve a place in line for choosing a puppy on a first come, first to choose basis. The first person who makes a reservation, by answering the notice first and placing a $500.00 deposit (through Square.com), will choose their puppy first. The second person follows along, etcetera, until all the Reserved spots are all filled. There are usually many more people interested than we have puppies available, so time is of the essence. We maintain a list of alternates should one of the people fails to take some vital step in the process. Once the puppies are six weeks old and Six Week Evaluations are posted on-line, the first Reservation will choose, followed by the second, etcetera, until all of the puppies have been chosen.

There will be much more information given before Reservations are taken. And anyone interested in more information have time to ask questions. Join our Facebook Rocketdog group and ask anyone of our previous Basset parents anything you like. All people on the Wait List are invited to visit the Farm, the Parents, and the Puppies, prior to deciding anything at all. 

More to follow . . .

Fritter Six Week Evaluation

 We woke this morning to people choosing their puppies. Then came Becky Perron  trying to keep us honest by insisting we not forget one, which we had. Fritter got lost in the six hours marathon of writing I did yesterday. Sorry to those who were waiting.

Our little Rocketdog Kennel has had some very good litters. The one currently living in our tiny home one of the best we have had. Grizelda Laffee Taffee (AKC) and ClarkeBar Grizwold (AKC) have produced two litters. (Since we only breed a female three times it gives us pause knowing that Taffee is still so young.)  The first litter was a complete surprise in every respect. They were very special in every respect as well. The quality of those pups was very good and those we have contact with today have proven themselves to possess every trait we hoped for. The current litter promised the same. With three notable exceptions (Eclair, Sprinkles, and our own Rocky Rhoades) there were no flaws we could find. 

Fritter, a male now weighing 8.2 pounds, is one of the exceptional pups in this litter. When whelped, the first breath he took in came out unexpectedly as a cry. He has since shown us that he is paying close attention to everything, and every one, coming into what he has decided is his world. At two weeks old he heard me sneaking through the puppy room and I heard a small furry beast growl, then bark loudly. I turned to find Fritter sitting at attention in the middle of his siblings, protecting them from the unknown. Fritter (the fretter) is a watch dog Basset Hound. 

We use a Six Point System for Evaluating our puppies, and it is a good idea to have read this as I go about looking Fritter over for flaws and strengths. In this evaluation we are combining the American Kennel Club Standards, parsed down to only five general areas, with our own feelings about how pretty the puppy is. Fritter is one very pretty puppy. 

Fritter' head is spectacular. From his highly domed head hangs the best ears of all the puppies. In most Bassets we can see a change in color coming in the ears, most go brown or red over time. Occasionally we don't see the change and with Fritter is seem possible that he will keep his black as night ears. These extraordinary ears are extreme in length and setting. They sit a the back of his skull and hang to his knees at six weeks old. His mother has such great ears and Fritter might just have been so lucky as she. Fritter also has a great snout. Perfectly formed for his age and from which hang beautiful fews which will give his face more character as he grows to maturity. His jaw set is perfect as well. This puppy is perfect in respect to his head shape, which is covered in very symmetrical silky soft fur which has a red glow to it. A lovely little boy.

His body shape is quite good. His foreleg bones are perfectly sized, his paws give a hint of a slightly smaller dog, his foreleg stance is absolutely perfect too. He stands like a champion when viewed from the front and from the front his body tapers smoothly to his wonderfully formed rear end. Fritter has stance, the ability to display aggression and strength while simply standing still. Stance might be a good indicator of properly set hop joints. Since Basset Hounds are genetic dwarves, bone health is always an issue. Fritter' stance is extraordinarily good, as is the entire puppy. Fritter gets all five of the points for form.

Fritter is special, just ask him and he'll tell you so.  His perfect little frame is covered mostly in large patches of black and white and from looking at him in the sunshine we see no brown fur emerging as he grows. These color changes are common in Bassets and no changes in color are uncommon. We cannot guarantee that he will not change as he grows, but think of the possibilities. His mother had this sort of coat and she is beautiful. (All Bassets are beautiful, but some stand out.) The pictures don't lie. Whether he is shown or not, there may be a grand champion in Fritter.

Dunkin Six Week Evaluations

 There have been two litters produced by Grizelda Laffee Taffee (AKC) and ClarkeBar Grizwold (AKC), there will only be three. We hope to make them wait a few years before proceeding to the third, but these two are sneaky and sly. These two litters were surprises, but both were also the best we've seen. This litter is no exception, all of their puppies are exceptional.

Dunkin was the first born of this letter, and perhaps the best of the males. At 7.9 pounds he is not the biggest. But even at that weight he is by far the stoutest of the lot. Perhaps the best looking too. Dunkin's got personality, but not too much. He's a solid boy, not given to being pushed around by bigger puppies, not given to pushing puppies around. He's much, but not too much in his muchness. And he is beautiful.

We use a six point system for evaluating our puppies. You can read about the whole thing by clicking here. This is a quazi-objective system which combines all of the Standards of the American Kennel Club, with one point for aesthetics. 

Dunkin's head shape is flawless. His well domed head carries a broad snout, great ears and ear setting, and a solid jaw set covered by good sized fews. His body tapers from extra heavy foreleg bones atop huge paws, smoothly back to a wasp waist and on to heavily muscled hips. His stance is naturally great, but hard to photograph. Stance is one good indicator of future hip problems, Dunkin doesn't seem to have that problem. There is simply nothing wrong about this puppy. A joy to hold onto and not too much chance of hurting him at play. 

Aesthetically he is well formed and covered in symmetrical fur of mostly black and white. At the time of this writing he is not showing much tendency towards color change, but this still might happen. Those areas of Dunkin which show brown today show a golden brown. DUnkin might develop into a dog that does well at the show, but training will be necessary to bring this out for the win.

I don't often say this: Dunkin should be bred. He is too good. His parents were great and their parents were very good. Anything he sires will carry at least half of him and there isn't enough of him in the world.

Sugar Six Week Evaluation

 ClarkeBar Grizwold (AKC) and Grizelda Laffee Taffe (AKC) conspired to give us one of our best litters to date. Three of the eight pups were of the smaller form that we are pursuing as we try to find a stable thirteen inch Basset Hound. Sugar is a medium size for this litter at 7.4 pounds, everyone whose met her has fallen for her instantly. She is already taken by the Anderson Family as their forever puppy and her new name will be Lelu.

Our Six Point Evaluation combines the American Kennel Clubs Standards (reduced to just five points) and one point given for beauty. Beauty is subjecting, so to keep things even we consider form, line, and symmetry, above all else. Click Here to read the page about our Evaluations.

Sugar has a lot going for her. She is fearless, a fighter, and somehow sweet as sweet potatoes. If there is a scrap in the kennel room, Sugar is likely as not to be in there somewhere. She is a pile of furry fun and loves to be loved too. Personality is a big thing when picking a pet. But we must talk about form for a paragraph or two. 

Sugar is a wonderful example of the American Basset Hound. Her lineage gives her solid European looks and traits, her smaller size will likely lead to a healthier life. We expect she will eventually become a forty pound Basset Hound, about half the size of her European Cousins. 

Her head shape and fur are flawless. Her skull is well domed and those ears are absolutely fantastic;. large, well shaped, and perfectly set at the back of her skull. Her snout is wide and tapered to the front, her jaw set is excellent, but will be covered by the fews of glory. Skin folding on Sugar' head is really the best I've seen and the coloring is very symmetrically laid out. Today she might look a bit angry, in time this will turn to a look of deep sadness. But Sugar will never be sad unless treated pooly. Not likely to happen . . . This will be a great Basset Hound.

Sugar's foreleg bones are massive considering her smaller weight, and they top paws a bit too large for such a small dog. She has a wide sternum which will probably become a very deep chest what smoothly tapers back to her waist. Her hips are mighty and her rear leg stance is very good.

Stance, the way a dog stands when only standing, is important in Basset Hounds. A good stance maintains the balance of stress on the dwarf bones which often wear unevenly. Stance is perhaps the best indicator for long termed hip health. Sugar has great stance.

Aesthetically there is nothing wrong about her. She is a lovely looking girl with a great personality. She will fit into her new family very well and we wish her the best. 

Sugar might be bred, hopefully to a good male, but she is os the sort not likely to be too picky about the male's genetics, she brings the good all of her own accord. Six of Six points, a perfect Basset Hound puppy. With training she might go far. Without training, lock the gate or she may go too far.

Sprinkles Six Week Evaluation

 The litter than Grizelda Laffee Taffe (AKC and ClarkeBar Grizwold (AKC) gave us was wonderfully diverse and of the highest quality generally. We are trying to breed a smaller Basset Hound by pairing smaller Basset Hounds together in our breeding program. But finding a stable smaller Basset Hound takes time. In this litter we received three smaller formed Basset babies and five of the more standard size (a bit smaller).

It must be said that Sprinkles, nearly the smallest of the lot, has by far the largest personality. She is constantly on the go, uses her eyes better than any of the rest and will likely become a great hunter of small things, and is a joy for everyone who she meets. Before moving on to the evaluation you might want to read the page describing our Six Point Evaluation System. We use the American Kennel Club's criteria, scaled down into five basic points, and then add a point purely on beauty. Sprinkles has all of the beauty point going into this.

Her head shape is wonderful, if a little smaller in the snout than most of the others. When you get a smaller Basset, one must expect some features to be a bit smaller. Her form is very good with a well domed head, wonderful ears and ear setting, a good jaw set, and good coloring over all. She will eventually become a redheaded beauty.

She is much smaller than the other pups in many respects. But her foreleg bone thickness is good, if a bit scaled down. She does have a flanged rib bone, which is a fault, which keeps her from feeling smooth in form from front to back. This is a minor fault which will likely work itself out as she grows, but a fault none the less which might be a negative in what might otherwise a show quality dog. Sprinkles has a wonderful, but hard to photograph, rear quarters stance. 

Stance is perhaps a good indicator for long termed bone health in Bassets. The rear legs set behind the hips tends to keep the forelegs under weight which leads the dog into better physical condition. Sprinkles' stance is the source of her extraordinary speed and power. Lock the gate. She will be hard to catch.

Aesthetically, Sprinkles is absolutely beautiful. Her soft fur looks to be the sort which changes very little, so she might keep her wonderful coloring. She might just have what it takes to show up well against the pure Europeans what typically do better than the American Bassets. Train her well and she might be a best of contender.

The flanged rid reduces an otherwise perfect score by one half. Whether this flaw persists is for time to tell, but I am betting the thing will clear itself with time. Anyone who gets Sprinkles is going to have a ball whatever they decide to do with her.

Sprinkles might be bred, but care ought to be used to find a suitable male. Both of her parents come from the same kennel, but neither are closely related.

Éclair Six Week Evaluation

 With just a few exceptions, every puppy in the litter that Grizeld Laffee Taffee (AKC) and ClarkeBar Grizwold (AKC) gave us is perfect. This litter also gave us three of the smaller formed Basset Hounds we are looking for to begin breeding a stable smaller formed Basset Hound. The Standard Basset is fifteen inches at the shoulder, we hope some day to produce a thirteen inch variant which retains all the charm of the European styled Basset Hound. 

Eclair is  quite small when compared to the large Bassets in this litter. She weighs in at a healthy 7.7 pounds at six weeks, about a pound heavier than the two smallest pups, but two pound lighter than the largest of the group. And we think she is just about right. She has a lovely personality. She simply loves being heldm hugged, and talk to in a quiet voice. Eclair is a snuggler of the first order. 

Before moving on from here, you might want to familiarize yourself with the criteria we use in evaluating our puppies. Click Here for the Six Point Evaluation page. The American Kennel Club goves us our Standards for form, then we add one point for looks. With a puppy like Éclair, it is all about the looks. But first we look at form.

If it were not for the asymmetrical coloring in Eclair' face, she would have perfect features. Her soft domed head, extraordinary ears, funny nose and exaggerated fews all show us what the form ought to be. He facial structure is perfect in all but coloring, and it would be hard to dislike the coloring that is. Her soft eyes and huggable nature they contain will surely make someone fall in love.

For her smaller size, her foreleg bones are a nice thickness and her paws are nicely larger than her size requires. Her middle area is where the only formal flaw is found. Éclair has a flanged rib which currently keeps her from flowing smoothly from front to back. This is a serious flaw in the AKC Standard, but since she is still so young the whole thing might work itself out in the coming year ahead. Her hind quarters are perfect and she will doubtless have a wasp waist and athletics chest. At present, she is not of show quality.

Not one for picture taking, Éclair was difficult to get a good side view image. Her stance is marginal, but good. She must be exercised to maintain good hip health. Her smaller size might hold back the bone and hip problems many Bassets have in old age, but only good exercise will keep the weight off which is the primary cause of these troubles.

Not all of Taffee' pups were perfect, but the truth is that this puppy will doubtless become a constant companion and the love of someone's life. She might be bred providing a suitable male is found whose bone characteristics are heavier than her own (do not breed down in this important trait). Care ought to be used in deciding a male because both of her parents come from the same kennel, while sharing no direct lineage. For form Éclair loses one half point for flanged ribs, but she gets all of the beauty point, so five and a half points of the six. We have whole litters with no one pup of the lot this good. Not all of them need to be show dogs.

Long John Six Week Evaluation

 ClarkeBar Grizwold (AKC) and Grizelda Laffee Taffee have produced a wonderful litter of puppies. Three of these are of the smaller size our kennel is hoping to stabilize into a 13 inch breed of the Standard 15 inch Basset Hound. Long John is a very good example of the bigger puppy and a wonderfully kind and calm puppy.

Long John is by far the largest of this litter, weighing nine and a half pounds. Truth be told, he is big every place you want to look. It is a good idea to become familiar with our Six Point Evaluation to see what we are talking about in this evaluation. The American Kennel Club Standards are many, but we have boiled them down to just five points. We have added one point to bring some measure of aesthetic beauty into the evaluation. In this litter every puppy will receive this single beauty point and most will earn all five points for form, but this is not true in many of our other litters. With this litter any of the pups might eventually grow up into a show quality dog. But it is form we are discussing here.

When we look at Long John' head we see perfection that will probably grow into perfection. His highly domed head  is heavy in every area. His large snout supports enormous fews, covering a string jaw which is perfectly formed. The comically large ears hang perfectly at the back of his skull, appearing to hang from the neck. And his facial coloring, though changing for the red, is symmetrical and well defined. This will be a medium sized American Basset Hound with fully European head features.

Everything about this boy is big. Big feet, big bones, long back, and hefty hind quarters. His stance, perhaps the best measure for long termed bone health, is perfect and he stands wonderfully without coaxing. Long John easily earns all five points for form.

Looking at the image to the left you will see the perfect stance. Long John' weight is distributed optimally for carrying a large dog so close to the ground. He has not decided to use that enormous nose, but likely will turn scent hound without much work. 

Looks are important and Long John has the right stuff when it comes to a pretty puppy. His fur is nicely colored and, though much of his now black fur will likely turn red, we are betting the red fur we don't see will be very good and the margins well defined. Long John gets the pretty point too.

Six out of six is the way of Taffee' babies, rarely does she thrown anything less than perfect.

Jelly Six Week Evaluation

 Grizelda Laffee Taffee (AKC) and ClarkeBar Grizwold (AKC) have given us another fine litter of eight pups, three of which are of the smaller form our kennel wishes to stabilize. Having seen a few of their first litter grown up, this litter promises some wonderfully beautiful American styled Basset Hounds. 

Jelly has been a fun puppy since her ears opened a few weeks ago. Always on the go she loves to play, and play hard, but not all play is simply for fun. She is a healthy little girl, accent on the word little, at 6.10 pounds. This is a full three pounds behind her heaviest litter mates, she is the smallest of the litter but does not appear the smallest. Jelly may have potential to become a field dog since her nose is always to the ground and her choices of targets for play are not simply the nearest puppy. Jelly is not the dainty type. She is awfully fun to watch.

It is a good idea to become familiar with our Six Point Evaluation to see why we are asserting judgments about these puppies so early in life. We believe the traits of the parents, when added to the traits we find in the offspring, might give us a good idea of what lay ahead as these pups grow. 

As anyone with eyes can see quality in these pictures.  Jelly has the well domed head which features a very well formed snout and exceptional ears. Her perfect jaw set is well hidden by enormous hanging fews. The ears are close to perfect for length and situated so that they appear on the neck, rather than the head itself.  Were she to have a slightly better facial coloring she could be a champion at the higher levels of showing dogs. As she appears, she has a deep connection to the European bloodlines people love, while weighing eventually about half of what a good European Basset weighs.

Jelly has a very robust bone structure considering her smaller size. her foreleg bones appear to be thicker than she needs and fit nicely her larger than necessary feet. Her ribs flow from front to back perfectly and her rear leg stance is very good. Stance, the way a dog stands when simply standing still, is very strong and her weight sits slightly forward of her forelegs with her rear legs posed well back of her hips. Her stance foretells of a good healthy bone structure. Her walking gait is perfect, but Sugar seldom walks anywhere.

The American Kennel Club gives very little guidance on the more aesthetic qualities of Basset Hounds. This is likely because beauty is subjective, but not all aspects of beauty are strictly subjective. Symmetry, line, and form are all quasi objective areas to look for more value. When An AKC judge looks at a lineup of Bassets it would be hard discount "pretty. Jelly is very pretty indeed. Her coat is nearly perfect, the face could have more color to it and might still since Bassets change colors quite a bit as they grow. Jelly just might become a show stopper and gains the one point for aesthetics.

Six of six points is not uncommon for this pair or puppy parents. Jelly has all the right stuff and perhaps ought to be bred for her smaller size with a smaller than average male. Care should be exercised when choosing a male since both parents come from the same kennel, while not being of a close bloodline.