Accidents Happening

 We have been fighting our tangle of hounds' animal urges for about a week, though it seemed longer somehow. Lilly went into season almost immediately following the delivery of the last puppy from the Snack Cakes Litter to her family and our boys have been impossible ever since then.

Figuring out what was happening right away is one of the things we really work at. There's a schedule and a plan in place to make things seemingly easier. So as soon as we spotted Lilly "spotting" we sequestered our boys to keep nature from taking its course. We have three spaces for dogs to be, other than running free around the Farm.

We have the big Dog House, this features a ten by three foot heated bed, smart squirrel T.V., and its own small yard. There's the House and Farm, the dog's preferred place. And there is a large enclosure tied to the west end of the house which is fenced and has a small heated dog house. All of the spaces are heated and comfortable, but we are still working toward building more permanent solutions because things are not as tightly controlled as they have always seemed. 

Rocky is a strong boy. He was able to push through the double locked gate where he found Lilly, who wasn't opposed to anything Rocky wanted to do. The bottom line is that we will be having puppies in February. Nobody is happy about his because of the timing and closness of two litters. But one doesn't look gift horses in their mouths or question God's planning. We always look forward to puppies no matter what or when. But we have our preferences. . .

More news as we find it.
There is good early information on our Reservations Page  (https://rocketdogbassets.blogspot.com/p/reservations-for-future-litters.html), but you can call Ann for any questions. 

The Wait List for this litter is open. Just send me a message using the email widget on the left side of this page (phones won't see the widget so use CreeksideFarmOregon@gmail.com to contact us). We will keep you informed. 

The Snackies are all with their new families.

Breeding puppies is a labor of love. But this doesn't change the apparent fact that it is also simply a lot of labor too. This past five months gave us two wonderful batches of Basset pups to love, the proceeds enough to pay the bills too. But having finished we are in for a long Winter's nap. 

There will be another litter in Spring. god willing. Please feel free to join in our Wait List should you wish to be kept up on the changes. But for now we will spend the week putting our house right and returning things to normalcy. We have eight Bassets here, there's plenty to do.

Six Week Evaluation for the Snack Cakes Litter : Chocodile (available)

Chocodile at Six Weeks

 Abagail (Abba) Zabba and Rocketdog Rockford (Rocky) Rhoades got together to produce a wonderful litter of pet quality puppies. This was the third and final litter for Abba Zabba (who will be spayed and retired to our farm). This is the fifth litter for Rocky and his first as our only breeding male. This litter presented some challenges which I will note in this introduction, but the outcome today is that we have six wonderful and healthy puppies to evaluate.

We have been writing litter evaluations since 2015 using a Six Point Evaluation which takes into account the five key points of the American Kennel Club descriptive criteria for the breed, and one point which we assign subjectively and is based solely on looks and personality. It's a good idea to look at Our Six Point Evaluation page to familiarize yourself with how we determine what is important in each evaluation. There were some health issues in this litter which should be discussed prior to evaluating the individuals: 

• One little girl had heart murmurs and an inoperable double hernia, among other things, which eventually led us to make the hard choice to relieve her suffering. This was our only "Sad Puppy".
• The second major problem came in the first puppy of the litter, a little male named HoHo, who displayed a condition commonly known as "Failure to Thrive". Happily for us all, we caught this lack of eating skills defect early on and were able to hand feed him back to health and he is now a healthy and scrappy little boy.
• The third problem we encountered as the happy problem of puppies overeating and having weight become an issue in early development. Two of our pups need special training to get them up and running on their feet. We caught the condition in the first weeks and were able to train the pups with lazy backsides to use their legs as they should.

Since Abba Zabba is retiring, were are not worried about passing bad traits on to future offspring.  We haven't had health issues here since we retired Bit O'Honey early and since Bit O'Honey and Abba  Zabba are littermate sisters from the same kennel we suppose these problems were genetic in some ways, but none of this should be a problem for the breed going forward. Certain of the pups will not have the option for purchase of breeding rights and we do this for the good of the breed more than any warning of future health concerns. We expect no further health troubles in the litter and have not experienced any health problems in the past four weeks. 

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At the time of this writing Chocodile has yet to find a forever family. It you are interested there is an email widget to the left of this article if you are interested.

Chocodile is a lovely little girl. At birth she was inky black in color with little white or brown fur; hard to see in low light conditions. She favors her mother in color, though does have a bit more white fur, and also favors her mother in body cues. She is in it for the fun. Loves playing unless she is asleep and is hard to keep on your lap since the world is so very interesting to her. We expect she will develop into a carbon copy of her mother for shape. 

She was one of the two puppies requiring a bit of additional training to get her up and running around as other puppies do. We point at excessive eating as the cause of her slight "Swimmer's Syndrome". But one she got to her feet she began running as one would expect out of a Basset Puppy. Today she shows little of her earlier proclivity toward lounging around, but she needs exercise to be truly happy.  Chocodile has adequate bone size and the body shape of an eel, tapering smoothly from shoulder to tail. She has a weak stance, so again, make exercise a big part of your puppy's life. Her head shape, ear and jaw wetting, are all very good. But show quality dogs take on much more European shapes (much more blocky and loose) , so Chocodile will become a fine pet with very little show quality to her. 

Chocodile is colored as is her Dame. Mostly black fur with a small white underside. And she will continue as she is until some brown fur shows up later in life. She is a lovey puppy, but difficult to see int he dark. She will likely be very clever and you will need to lock the gate and check the fence for holes. She will become an excellent companion and will likely not be given to a lot of barky behavior.

Of the five AKC derived points Chocodile received 4.5 because of the general state of this litter. She gains the full point for pretty though. So she is 5.5 point of the six. She might be bred providing the rights are purchased, but we are not recommending breeding in any of this litter unless you are a professional breeder and know what you are looking for. 

Six Week Evaluation for the Snack Cakes Litter : Moon Pie

MoonPie at Six Weeks

 Abagail (Abba) Zabba and Rocketdog Rockford (Rocky) Rhoades got together to produce a wonderful litter of pet quality puppies. This was the third and final litter for Abba Zabba (who will be spayed and retired to our farm). This is the fifth litter for Rocky and his first as our only breeding male. This litter presented some challenges which I will note in this introduction, but the outcome today is that we have six wonderful and healthy puppies to evaluate.

We have been writing litter evaluations since 2015 using a Six Point Evaluation which takes into account the five key points of the American Kennel Club descriptive criteria for the breed, and one point which we assign subjectively and is based solely on looks and personality. It's a good idea to look at Our Six Point Evaluation page to familiarize yourself with how we determine what is important in each evaluation. There were some health issues in this litter which should be discussed prior to evaluating the individuals: 

• One little girl had heart murmurs and an inoperable double hernia, among other things, which eventually led us to make the hard choice to relieve her suffering. This was our only "Sad Puppy".
• The second major problem came in the first puppy of the litter, a little male named HoHo, who displayed a condition commonly known as "Failure to Thrive". Happily for us all, we caught this lack of eating skills defect early on and were able to hand feed him back to health and he is now a healthy and scrappy little boy.
• The third problem we encountered as the happy problem of puppies overeating and having weight become an issue in early development. Two of our pups need special training to get them up and running on their feet. We caught the condition in the first weeks and were able to train the pups with lazy backsides to use their legs as they should.

Since Abba Zabba is retiring, were are not worried about passing bad traits on to future offspring.  We haven't had health issues here since we retired Bit O'Honey early and since Bit O'Honey and Abba  Zabba are littermate sisters from the same kennel we suppose these problems were genetic in some ways, but none of this should be a problem for the breed going forward. Certain of the pups will not have the option for purchase of breeding rights and we do this for the good of the breed more than any warning of future health concerns. We expect no further health troubles in the litter and have not experienced any health problems in the past four weeks. 

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Moon Pie is a moose. The largest of the litter at 9.8 pounds. Though a well built puppy, she was one of those two which needed some help in dealing with her relatively large size when it came time to start walking. We caught this "swimmer syndrome" early and began training to get her using her back feet. Today she is a strong walker and good runner, but doesn't like standing on her rear feet unless there is a food bride near the top. Moon Pie is among the huggers. She will definetly stay on your lap and allow herself to be loved for as long as someone wants her to.

MoonPie is large, robust, and generally favors her father for skin folding and blocky structural cues. She has strong European traits: a very blocky head shape with long ears hanging from the back of an adequately domed head. A strong jaw setting without any defect. And very large foreleg bones. she is a bit weak in stance and should be given regular exercise to assure fewer hip bone problems later in life. Don't let this one become lazy or overweight and her life will be better for it.

Moon Pie is particularly well marked. He extra soft and loose fur coat is pure white at the shoulders, but her head and ears are a wonderfully distressed brown. She is a lovely little girl, but not in a show quality fashion. Of the six points available, Moon Pie receives 4 points for her AKC derived structural evaluation and one full point for being very pretty. We don't think it a good idea to breed her, but would have no objection to it since her only flaw is in eating a bit too well. 

Six Week Evaluation for the Snack Cakes Litter : Little Debbie

Little Debbie (Pickles) at Six Weeks

Abagail (Abba) Zabba and Rocketdog Rockford (Rocky) Rhoades got together to produce a wonderful litter of pet quality puppies. This was the third and final litter for Abba Zabba (who will be spayed and retired to our farm). This is the fifth litter for Rocky and his first as our only breeding male. This litter presented some challenges which I will note in this introduction, but the outcome today is that we have six wonderful and healthy puppies to evaluate.

We have been writing litter evaluations since 2015 using a Six Point Evaluation which takes into account the five key points of the American Kennel Club descriptive criteria for the breed, and one point which we assign subjectively and is based solely on looks and personality. It's a good idea to look at Our Six Point Evaluation page to familiarize yourself with how we determine what is important in each evaluation. There were some health issues in this litter which should be discussed prior to evaluating the individuals: 

• One little girl had heart murmurs and an inoperable double hernia, among other things, which eventually led us to make the hard choice to relieve her suffering. This was our only "Sad Puppy".
• The second major problem came in the first puppy of the litter, a little male named HoHo, who displayed a condition commonly known as "Failure to Thrive". Happily for us all, we caught this lack of eating skills defect early on and were able to hand feed him back to health and he is now a healthy and scrappy little boy.
• The third problem we encountered as the happy problem of puppies overeating and having weight become an issue in early development. Two of our pups need special training to get them up and running on their feet. We caught the condition in the first weeks and were able to train the pups with lazy backsides to use their legs as they should.

Since Abba Zabba is retiring, were are not worried about passing bad traits on to future offspring.  We haven't had health issues here since we retired Bit O'Honey early and since Bit O'Honey and Abba  Zabba are littermate sisters from the same kennel we suppose these problems were genetic in some ways, but none of this should be a problem for the breed going forward. Certain of the pups will not have the option for purchase of breeding rights and we do this for the good of the breed more than any warning of future health concerns. We expect no further health troubles in the litter and have not experienced any health problems in the past four weeks. 

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 Of the six pups, Little Debbie (family named Pickles) has been the easiest of them all. She is a wonderful, beautiful little girl with all that one wants to see in a Basset hound puppy. Funny, inquisitive, and cuddly; also chompy and loves hard play too. Pickles is our Beauty Queen. She loves to cuddle, loves her food, and loves nice play with her litter mates, but she is often found playing alone with a toy too.

She favors her father for looks and style, but has a slightly tighter coat owing to her mother's Normand Basset genes. She is of normal weight, at 8.6 pounds, but carries the weight very well on stout forelegs and chunky hips. Her stance is not strong, but otherwise is normal and healthy. Pickles is a well built puppy with long ears which droop from their attachment at the extreme back of her well domed skull. She does have a slight overbite in her jaw setting, but this is very minor and will likely correct itself as her adult teeth come in. She is not a European Basset for size or weight, but is relatively close to it in most other ways. She is dynamite and the only candidate for show quality marks in this litter.  But she is not of show quality.

Pickles is lovely to look at. Her sleek body is covered well in soft, shiny, mostly black, fur. But she is definetly a tri-colored hound with symmetrically marked coat and facial fur.  The entire puppy, when taken as a whole and without knowing her history, would appear as would a much larger type of Basset hound. She will become a fifty pound Basset with one-hundred pound good looks.

She receives 4.5 points for AKC Standards and one point for pretty. The best of the litter at 5.5 of six possible points. Breeding is not a good idea with Pickles and rights are not being offered to anyone not a professional breeder of Basset Hounds due to the special nature of her few structural flaws. 

Six Week Evaluation for the Snack Cakes Litter : Cupcake (Celia)

Celia (Cupcake) at Six Weeks

 Abagail (Abba) Zabba and Rocketdog Rockford (Rocky) Rhoades got together to produce a wonderful litter of pet quality puppies. This was the third and final litter for Abba Zabba (who will be spayed and retired to our farm). This is the fifth litter for Rocky and his first as our only breeding male. This litter presented some challenges which I will note in this introduction, but the outcome today is that we have six wonderful and healthy puppies to evaluate.

We have been writing litter evaluations since 2015 using a Six Point Evaluation which takes into account the five key points of the American Kennel Club descriptive criteria for the breed, and one point which we assign subjectively and is based solely on looks and personality. It's a good idea to look at Our Six Point Evaluation page to familiarize yourself with how we determine what is important in each evaluation. There were some health issues in this litter which should be discussed prior to evaluating the individuals: 

• One little girl had heart murmurs and an inoperable double hernia, among other things, which eventually led us to make the hard choice to relieve her suffering. This was our only "Sad Puppy".
• The second major problem came in the first puppy of the litter, a little male named HoHo, who displayed a condition commonly known as "Failure to Thrive". Happily for us all, we caught this lack of eating skills defect early on and were able to hand feed him back to health and he is now a healthy and scrappy little boy.
• The third problem we encountered as the happy problem of puppies overeating and having weight become an issue in early development. Two of our pups need special training to get them up and running on their feet. We caught the condition in the first weeks and were able to train the pups with lazy backsides to use their legs as they should.

Since Abba Zabba is retiring, were are not worried about passing bad traits on to future offspring.  We haven't had health issues here since we retired Bit O'Honey early and since Bit O'Honey and Abba  Zabba are littermate sisters from the same kennel we suppose these problems were genetic in some ways, but none of this should be a problem for the breed going forward. Certain of the pups will not have the option for purchase of breeding rights and we do this for the good of the breed more than any warning of future health concerns. We expect no further health troubles in the litter and have not experienced any health problems in the past four weeks. 

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Cupcake (now Celia) favors her mother's Normand styling and color, but will likely favor her father's strong European traits as she grow into adulthood. She has great 

Celia has more than adequate foreleg bone thickness, favoring her Sire, and a narrow shoulder width, favoring her mother. She has two unique structural flaws, a slight kink in her tail, which she was born with but would be hard to spot if you did not know what to look for, and a slight overbite flaw in her jaw setting which will  likely clear itself when her adult teeth arrive. She is adventurous, but likes most laying around with her sisters. Celia is a bit lazy and should receive extra exercise to avoid problems later in life.  She is happy to snuggle, so long as she is allowed to nap. An easy puppy to hold.

Cupcake (now Celia) is a fair example of the Basset breed, though she is styled somewhere between two distinct types of American Basset. She is a bit narrower in her face than her more blocky European siblings, and she is a bit narrower in her shoulders as well. Both of these traits are indicative of the Normand Styling coming through the much stronger Basset features of her father. He head is not highly domed but her ears are set perfectly and add quite a wonderful appearance. He bone structure is a bit lighter than the heavier of the litter and her foreleg bones are sufficiently heavy. But her stance is weak, lacking the strength of her heavier sisters. 

Cupcake (now Celia)  is darkly colored, and it appears she will eventually turn brown in the ears and perhaps a few spot on her body. Though her head coloring is symmetrical now, this will go away as her head becomes entirely brown in color. Expect a quick, sleek, and clever Basset. 

Celia gains three and one half points against the AKC Standard since she has three minor flaw in bone structure areas. We will not be offering breeding rights for her for this reason alone. She gains the entire point for being aesthetically pleasing. In total Celia received four and one half points of the six available.

Six Week Evaluation for the Snack Cakes Litter : Zinger (Waylon)

Waylon (Zinger) at Six Weeks

 Abagail (Abba) Zabba and Rocketdog Rockford (Rocky) Rhoades got together to produce a wonderful litter of pet quality puppies. This was the third and final litter for Abba Zabba (who will be spayed and retired to our farm). This is the fifth litter for Rocky and his first as our only breeding male. This litter presented some challenges which I will note in this introduction, but the outcome today is that we have six wonderful and healthy puppies to evaluate.

We have been writing litter evaluations since 2015 using a Six Point Evaluation which takes into account the five key points of the American Kennel Club descriptive criteria for the breed, and one point which we assign subjectively and is based solely on looks and personality. It's a good idea to look at Our Six Point Evaluation page to familiarize yourself with how we determine what is important in each evaluation. There were some health issues in this litter which should be discussed prior to evaluating the individuals: 

• One little girl (DingDong) had heart murmurs and an inoperable double hernia, among other things, which eventually led us to make the hard choice to relieve her suffering. This was our only "Sad Puppy".
• The second major problem came in the first puppy of the litter, a little male named HoHo, who displayed a condition commonly known as "Failure to Thrive". Happily for us all, we caught this lack of eating skills defect early on and were able to hand feed him back to health and he is now a healthy and scrappy little boy.
• The third problem we encountered as the happy problem of puppies overeating and having weight become an issue in early development. Two of our pups need special training to get them up and running on their feet. We caught the condition in the first weeks and were able to train the pups with lazy backsides to use their legs as they should.

Since Abba Zabba is retiring, were are not worried about passing bad traits on to future offspring.  We haven't had health issues here since we retired Bit O'Honey early and since Bit O'Honey and Abba  Zabba are littermate sisters from the same kennel we suppose these problems were genetic in some ways, but none of this should be a problem for the breed going forward. Certain of the pups will not have the option for purchase of breeding rights and we do this for the good of the breed more than any warning of future health concerns. We expect no further health troubles in the litter and have not experienced any health problems in the past four weeks. 

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Zinger (his kennel name), now Waylon, will be living his life with his sibling brother Willie (kennel named HoHo). His new family knows, as do most Basset families, that the breed does much better in groups. We always tell people that two Bassets is half the work of one and offer a large discount for families who take two of the same sex.  Willie, at 5.3 pounds, is quite small in comparison to Waylon, who weighs in at a healthy 9.3 pounds. But Waylon is not at all large in comparison to other Basset Hounds since we are attempting to breed the Basset a bit smaller. Waylon is a wonderful little boy and everything one expects to see in a Basset puppy. He should grow into a full sized dog in the American Basset mold and weigh about sixty pounds as an adult providing he is kept well exercised and not over-fed. Since he is quite a bit larger than his brother, care ought to be taken at meal times to keep Waylon from stealing extra meals. He is aggressive, clownish, playful, scrappy, and waggy tailed. He is a wonderful puppy to watch and to cuddle with, though he is not particularly cuddle minded for the most part. He is adventurous, quick, and loves to patrol the puppy pen while the others sleep. 

Waylon is built sturdy, with large foreleg bones and narrow hips. He didn't need training to get on his feet and begin a life of running, as some other had, but will still need lots of exercise to keep him from bone health problems later in life. He is sleek and tapers from shoulder to waist smoothly. His hips are chunky and strong and he is often found standing on his hind legs to look at things in the larger world outside of his pen. Waylon has a nicely shaped head with long ears well set. He does have an overbite flaw in his jaw setting, but this flaw will likely be outgrown as his adult teeth come in. Waylon has poor stance, a possible indicator of good future hip bone health, so he will need running exercise to stay healthy throughout his life. 

Zinger (Waylon) is a tri-colored male with quite a bit of new brow fur showing up among the darker coat he was born with. His brown bits put one in mind of a well worn leather jacket; the coloring is not smooth, but the texture is fantastic. He will definitely have a brown head and ears to match, while his body might retain much of the black coat. He is developing ermine spots on his white collar and should be a great looking Basset as he grows into adulthood. His fur is wonderfully soft to the touch and he has ample kin folding at his shoulders. 

Despite the problems of some of his siblings, of the five AKC derived points Waylon loses only half of one point for the troubles in this litter and the genetic trait which causes occasional overbite in every Abba Zabba and Bit O'Honey litters. He does gain half of one point for aesthetic appeal, making his evaluations five of the six points. Waylon might be bred to a high quality female if rights are obtained. But breeding for this litter, in general, is not being encouraged (or at least ought to be done with extra care looking at possible litter problems of his paired mate).  

Six Week Evaluation for the Snack Cakes Litter : HoHo (Willie)

Willie (HoHo) at Six Weeks

Abagail (Abba) Zabba and Rocketdog Rockford (Rocky) Rhoades got together to produce a wonderful litter of pet quality puppies. This was the third and final litter for Abba Zabba (who will be spayed and retired to our farm). This is the fifth litter for Rocky and his first as our only breeding male. This litter presented some challenges which I will note in this introduction, but the outcome today is that we have six wonderful and healthy puppies to evaluate.

We have been writing litter evaluations since 2015 using a Six Point Evaluation which takes into account the five key points of the American Kennel Club descriptive criteria for the breed, and one point which we assign subjectively and is based solely on looks and personality. It's a good idea to look at Our Six Point Evaluation page to familiarize yourself with how we determine what is important in each evaluation. There were some health issues in this litter which should be discussed prior to evaluating the individuals: 

• One little girl had heart murmurs and an inoperable double hernia, among other things, which eventually led us to make the hard choice to relieve her suffering. This was our only "Sad Puppy".
• The second major problem came in the first puppy of the litter, a little male named HoHo, who displayed a condition commonly known as "Failure to Thrive". Happily for us all, we caught this lack of eating skills defect early on and were able to hand feed him back to health and he is now a healthy and scrappy little boy.
• The third problem we encountered as the happy problem of puppies overeating and having weight become an issue in early development. Two of our pups need special training to get them up and running on their feet. We caught the condition in the first weeks and were able to train the pups with lazy backsides to use their legs as they should.

Since Abba Zabba is retiring, were are not worried about passing bad traits on to future offspring.  We haven't had health issues here since we retired Bit O'Honey early and since Bit O'Honey and Abba  Zabba are littermate sisters from the same kennel we suppose these problems were genetic in some ways, but none of this should be a problem for the breed going forward. Certain of the pups will not have the option for purchase of breeding rights and we do this for the good of the breed more than any warning of future health concerns. We expect no further health troubles in the litter and have not experienced any health problems in the past four weeks. 

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HoHo, the name we used when he was whelped, is now called Wille. He will be a lifetime companion our other male puppy, now named Waylon. Willie was one of our major health scares early on. He had trouble focusing his attention of eating. We pay close attention, in the first days of a new litter, to the weight of each pup and HoHo (Willie) was losing weight even though he seemed to be feeding. While not all pups are "good eaters", in some this can develop into a condition known as Failure to Thrive and this is often fatal since it occurs during the most important part of puppy development. We caught the condition as it developed and put HoHo on bottle feeding and a lot of extra care. Eventually his weight began to rise and he made a full recovery. In our experience our pups nearly double in weight every week, HoHo reached this first week milestone after three weeks of extra care so we were concerned he would suffer permanent development deficiency issues. Today he weighs in at just over half the size of his siblings and is eating solid food with the litter. We have been trying to breed some of the size out of the Basset Hound and in Willie it seems likely he will be a small Basset adult. But this is not to say that he doesn't meet the Standard. Nor does this say we have bred a genetically stable smaller Basset.

Willie is a good example of the breed at this point in his life. His foreleg bones are stout and sufficient for his diminutive size, his body is shaped well and his hip stance, perhaps a good indicator of future bone health, is aggressive and quite strong. Willie tapers well from shoulder to waist and has fairly well developed hip width consistent with his smaller frame. Head shape, ear size and setting (with his ears being set well back on his well domed head), jaw setting, and tail, are all quite good. His feet are sized well and we expect that he will continue to catch up in size to his litter mates, while not reaching what might be considered completely full size. 

Wille had quite a lot of extra attention in the early going, so he has quite a bit of lap sitter in his personality. He is accustomed to being slightly abused by his large litter mates and has learned to snap back and defend himself, while often looking to others for protection. He loves to snuggle up closely and spend time with humans. He is a serious boy, not given to joviality, but he does love to play chase games, at least until the game turns to rough and tumble play. He likes to spend time alone with a toy occasionally. Being small Willie likes special treatment, but is otherwise a normal happy puppy. 

Willie is a tri-colored buy, with little brown fur showing today. But we expect he will eventually develop quite a bit more brown in his coat and have a red head and ears as an adult. His fur coloring is very symmetrical in the face. The texture of his fur is soft, but not especially luxurious. While Willie is a lovely puppy, he is not of show quality. But he will make a particularly lovely pet.

Though a bit unexpected, Willie receives full marks for structural development and loses one point for his early  days of not eating since the outcome of this is not known.  Willie may become something of an oddity for his size, but only time to grow will tell us how large he may become. He is a good looking little guy and gets half a point for aesthetic appeal (and almost got the full point for pretty). Four and a half points on our six point scale is a good set of marks considering how he started off.  

Welcoming Pricilla Pixesticks (Pixie Stix)

 Thinking long term in the breeding business is difficult. There must be a number of females to give us puppies, while at the same time there is an upper limit to how many dogs we have here. Our girls are limited, though not strictly, to three litters spaced two years apart and starting at two years old. So if things go as planned (and they rarely do)  our last litter is at eight years old and then the girl retires. We once thought it a good idea to rehome our girls when they retire, but this only worked once out of the two attempts so we gave up on the idea. We have her spayed and she will stay with us as an aunt to the other girls. Right now we have Laffee Taffee and Bit o'Honey retired with Abba Zabba with her third litter today. But this proposes a scheduling problem if we are to be both a good home for our dogs and a thriving business as well. As of yesterday morning our upcoming litters would be  from Dulce DeLeche (Lilly, who had her first this year) and Lemonhead Lucy (who is one and a half years old). 

But we found a third girl to bring to the Farm and she arrived yesterday. Welcome Pricilla Pixisticks (Pixie Stix) to our Rocketdog Kennel. She comes from a breeder in Port Angeles, Washington who took her back from a family which, for whatever reason, did not wish to deal with a minor health issue. The Brothers gave her to us and requested only a transfer fee and transportation in return. This was both a good business move and also a good humanitarian act, worthy of praise. They found a good home for her. we found a good girl to bring into our tangle of hounds. 

The health issue spoken of earlier is something called "Cherry Eye", which is a problem with the interior eyelid. It becomes swollen and protrudes from under the outer eyelid and becomes red in color. It looks much worse than it is, and is a problem of structural significance with health outcomes, but mostly is cosmetic if left uncorrected. We took her with the agreement that we would have it taken care of and she will see the vet this week. But this post is about showing her off.

I deliberately took her profile so as not to show the Cherry Eye.

This is the problem side, but it doesn't get in the way.

She took only a short while to raise her tail and wag it a bit.
But this morning she was running with the dogs.
She was also wondering how it is that they sing together.

Issues

 We are in the middle of what we call a "bad" litter. Not that the puppies are "bad", but usually they are a whole bunch easier. And as easy and wonderful our last litter was, eight wonderfully healthy and bouncy Basset babies who received full marks on their evaluations, it is entirely possible that none of this litter will do so well. But this doesn't mane these are "bad" puppies, or that they will not make "good" pets for families. We have a responsibility to keep our puppy parents, and potential puppy parents informed honestly.  So here I am saying the same thing I tell all of our potential new puppy parents the same thing, but with proof that they ought to listen to our advice. Wait to choose your new baby if you can. Here's an analogy . . .  

Few people having children would rush out to have them if they knew the baby would become colicky. A word to the wise. None of the parents of a colicky baby loved the experience, except after the baby returned to health and the family to a better life. A colicky baby is nothing but work and nothing about the work is pleasant. By contrast, a normal healthy happy fat little baby is nothing but nice smelling in our memories.  So before choosing a puppy from this litter, know what is happening, believe us when we say if a puppy is perfect, and read when I say the puppy needs something to stay perfect.

In this litter, Abba Zabba's last, we have two with serious troubles. Ho Ho was failing to thrive and Ding Dong has developed something that may become more serious. 

Ho Ho began wasting a few days after birth. Failure to Thrive is when a puppy fails to become a successful eater. We always weigh the babies at birth and then again a few days later. We weigh them every few weeks to make sure they are growing properly, until we can see the progress and the puppies feeding themselves. Ho Ho never got the hang of eating. He would mess around and not find a nipple. Then, if one of the bigger pups wanted that nipple, Ho Ho would easily get pushed off. Some might call him the "Runt", a term more suited to pigs which usually come out one or two more than there are nipples on the mother. In dogs and Basset Hounds, this is a rare condition and we expect all will have a place at the breakfast table. Ho Ho simply couldn't get the food he needed and so in Failure to Thrive fashion had begun to give up trying. We have seen this before and it usually leads into a sad puppy situation. But weighing and watching in those first few critical weeks give us the opportunity to help out. We arrange feedings, train the puppy to find the food and vigilantly check to make sure things are moving forward as they should. We caught this problem and did some work, the puppy began feeding and things were looking good. But the bottom fell out of the endeavor once more and we had to move the puppy onto the bottle and feed him ourselves. Today he is gaining about a half an ounce a day and is overly energetic when it comes to eating. Only time will tell if he makes it, and how he develops having lost a few critical weeks of progress, but he is easily a third the size of the bulk of the litter (and I mean bulk) . For now he is doing well, but a bit behind the curve.

Ding Dong developed a problem with eating and sleeping a few days ago. It is possible that she was stepped on, or that something natural occurred in the development of her throat. We thought it might be an allergy to mother's milk so we began moving her onto the bottle with her smaller brother. But she cannot swallow well, has no suction, and the process causes her great discomfort. Feeding is a problem, but she is still healthy in other ways with a good body weight to carry her through some short termed troubles. She will go to the Vet today and be checked out. We are staying up with her twenty-four hours a day, working in shifts, to try to get food into her and to keep her comfortable.  This morning is an improvement on last night, that's all we can say with certainty. 

The balance of the litter is having another issue, but one which is much more manageable and even normal in its own way.  They are all quite large. They are being overfed and under worked. We see this every once in a while and have begun training them to walk and to stand properly. In every litter we tell people about "stance". The way a dog stands has quite a bit of meaning in how the puppy will grow and perform through life. Hip and back structures can degrade or fail to develop, so we often say that a dog will need a lot of exercise throughout life to stay healthy in their bones if they have a sub-optimal natural "stance". So, with every litter, at about two weeks, we really become active in checking to see how they are learning to walk and stand. This litter is lazy and so we are beginning to work with each puppy a few times a day to make sure their posture is correct as this is the critical point at which hips and legs are developing.  We are not worried about these five large babies, they will be fine, but the time it takes to do the work is being spent on our two troubled babies, so it is lucky for us there is no sleep in our lives these days. 

We have been extraordinarily lucky to have had one full marks litter recently, but they are usually a bit rare and this litter is why we do the evaluations every time. And, if it were not always true that we breed a female three times and then retire her, Abba Zabba would never be bred again for the problems of this litter even though her other two litters were easy. We are responsible breeders and care about the breed, the health of the puppy, and the life of every dog we bring into the world. 

This litter will likely develop into fine pets and require no special care, but there have been better experiences with the early stages of litters at Creekside Farm.  When our puppies feel pain, we feel it too. When we sell a puppy we make sure it is healthy and as happy as we can make it. We don't mean to tell people there are real problems and they ought not look longingly at this litter at all. We only wish to keep everyone informed as to what is really happening as honestly as we can so that they can make an informed decision.   

Two Little Indians Remain

 We have had three families making their important decision this past few days. One of the lucky decided on two boys, HoHo and Zinger. One family decided Cupcake was the winner. The third found Little Debbie irresistible.  This means there are only three little beauties remaining. 

She is progressing nicely and looking very good.
Pretty happy around people, she figured it out.

She is so darkly colored she can get lost in the pile in low light conditions.

This one loves her food. She is quite a bit larger than most.

This one does not like being taken away from her siblings.
She is quite infatic about being put back in the pile.

The Snack Cakes Litter has Arrived!

 Friday Night was a long one, but Abba Zabba (Abagail Zabba AKC) made a quick and easy job of birthing seven wonderful Baby Bassets. There's a story that comes with this and I'll get it out of the way first.

We just had a litter a few months back with Lilly (Dulce DeLeche AKC) and the last of the pups left for her new home just a few weeks ago. Believe it or not, we really talk things over with our dogs. They are often like four year old children in the way they approach life's challenges and achievements so patience and persistence is what passes for training in a breed that refuses to comply with training. One thing we have learned is that Basset girls become much more clever when pregnant and it really shows once the time for whelping comes closer. In this case the lack of an available whelping space, had Abby worried. She expressed this every time she was in the house and looked at the place where we host our puppy's arrival. She was concerned that there were puppies in there for a time. Then she worried that the space hadn't been properly cleaned up as we dragged our feet for a while getting it ready. And then things really got concerning for her when we tore the old pen down entirely last Friday to prepare for the possibility of an accidental second litter from Lucy (who had begun expressing milk mysteriously on Wednesday last). Abby was talking all the time and getting louder every day. But we figured there was still time as we redesigned the whelping bed and got it built last Friday. At about six on Friday evening we brought everyone in for supper and showed Abby around the new whelping beds. She decided they were pretty good and walked into her choice of the two open spaces and birthed a puppy named HoHo right then and there.  (We were expecting the litter on the eighth so this was quite a surprize.) Six hours later we had seven pups sharing their first breakfast together.  For Abby this was all quite easy; no signs of labor, other than the usual extra demands for cuddle time, and the incessant worry that we would not have our act together before the babies came. She came into the whelping bed and went to work. Not a peep out of her.  She is a professional, after all is said and done. She had a job to do and she did it. So endeth the story. So back to business.

We always pick a theme for each litter. Something which helps people, especially us, keep track of each puppy as they grow and give them all a little help in developing their personalities. Each litter is named for some sweet treat, this is the central theming device for all of our pups. For this litter we decided to re-use a theme and named each puppy for a snack cake. The sort of treat that comes individually wrapped for lunch boxes and keeps you from wanting to eat the whole box in one sitting. 

Click on any picture for a larger view. Please click here for information about take one of these puppies into your family. Click here to see the Contract that will be signed when you pick your puppy up.

HoHo has been chosen.	HoHo will live with his brother Zinger.
HoHo came into the world as something of a surprize at exactly 6:00 P.M.and was quite small, weighing 9.5 ounces. He has since had a bit of trouble competing for food with his bigger siblings and we worried about his failure to thrive. So we have begun helping him get the food he needs to bulk up. HoHo is not afraid to tell us when he wants something and is the principle noise maker in the group. Certainly a tri-colored Basset, like his Sire, even if much of his fur is black and white.
Zinger will go to Canby	Zinger and HoHo will stay brothers for life.
Zinger arrived soon after his brother at 6:10 as we were trying to get the necessary stuff together to both assist Abby in birth and do the pictures, weights, and documentation we find useful in keeping everything straightened out and easy later on. He weighed in at a healthy 14.1 ounces.His black coloring already shows a bit of red throughout and so he is likely to be a black and red tri-color.
CupCake has been Chosen.	Cupcake is not available.
Cupcake is an inky black little girl who arrives at 8:40 P.M. She was very wriggly and awfully strong, at 11.4 ounces, when she came into the world. She was also quite hungry and ready to get going on the food. Cupcake seems destined to become a black and tan tri-color Basset, having a stripe of white between right down the center of her belly. The break between the second and third Snack Cake gave us time to get everything set up and working.
At exactly 9:00 P.M. a wonderfully pretty, 10.6 ounce female, named Ding Dong arrived and headed straight for the cafeteria. It became apparent that this was going to be a highly mobile litter of pups, since they all seems to have good noses and a strong desire to get moving right away.
Little Debbie will live in LaPine.	Little Debbie has a furever family.
Little Debbie arrived at 9:25 P.M.. hot on the heels of her prettier sister. Not to be outdone, Little Debbie came prepared in her very fashionable black coat, white elbow length gloves, white Beatle boots, and matching color and tail tip. Debbie is a fashion queen and will eventually be a true tri-colored Basset. As of this writing she is almost completely symmetrical in color. She is BEAUTIFUL!
Moon Pie is a chunk. She came at 10.50 and at a hearty 14.3 ounces of fast moving Basset Hound and was robustly pushing everyone out of the way on her way to breakfast. She is wonderfully colored and reminds us of so many of Rocky's offspring. Healthy, happy, and strong.
There is always one puppy in each litter who simply cannot wait to get going. Chocodile literally walked out at birth, ears all akimbo, and ran in for breakfast in her robe and slippers weighing a stout 14.6 ounces. She has little time for staying still or getting her pictures taken. Not a fashion Hound at all. She has very little white fur, but will definetly be one among seve tri-colored pups.  We're guessing there is the possibility of a good Field Hound in here, but time will tell.

AbbaZabba's babies arriving today.

 I haven't much time to put up a good post. Abby is whelping her litter today, which is just a few days earlier than we expected. So far five beautiful tri colored babies. Some much darker in color than others. We think maybe there will be eight this time, but one cannot count until they stop appearing.  Abby is doing very well. It is us that will be tired out for the next few weeks as we stand vigil over them until their eyes open. 

If you want to see pictures, go to our Facebook Group. If you want to know more about having one of these beautiful baby Bassets then click here.  We begin taking reservations once the last puppy has paws on the ground. But there really is no need to hurry. You might want to come visit and see our hounds for yourself, though we don't allow handling of puppies until four week vaccines are in.

Be careful of scammers. They seem to be everywhere.

More to come.

Winter is Coming

 

The recently cooler weather has us thinking about pull out our Hound's Winter coats and making sure they are ready. So we figured maybe other people might be doing the same.

We make a nice coat that fits the needs of a Basset Hound very well(maybe even some of the lesser breeds). The coat is machine washable, warm enough for most Winter's days (above twenty and below forty degrees), easy on and easy off, and pretty tough in the right places. Our's take a real beating and usually last a few years. There's no velcro to clog and they are without snaps to fiddle with.

We offer both ready to wear and sew-it-yourself kits to fit nearly any dog or under the tree. Click here for more information. Ready to Wear coats are in standard sizes and cost $49.00 plus $6.00 for USPS ground mail. Sew-it Yourself  Kit versions are only $29.00, plus $6.00 for shipping. The kits takes an hour or two to complete on your first time through and everything is included but the sewing machine. (All of the instructions are here.)

You can order directly from our Square.com page. Or get in touch (mail link) if you have questions. CreeksideFarmOregon@gmail.com

Dreamsickle is No Longer Available

All of Lilly's pups have been spoken for and Dreamsickle now has a family to call his own.  We have a litter due un October for delivery to families in December. If you are interested then click here.

Dreamsickle at six weeks.

One of our prospective new puppy parents suffered a slight setback in their plans and had to abandon the idea of taking a Basset baby home for a while. This is rarely a fun thing, but in our many years of business it happens once in a while. His choice of puppy was Otterpup, my personal favorite. We put the word out about Otter's re-availability and one of our other puppy parents, the family with loads of children and who had chosen two puppies, wanted to swap Dreamsickle for OtterPup. This left Dreamsickle still needing a family. Our experience is that these things resolve themselves pretty quickly. Dreamsickle is a lovely little puppy and will find a home quickly, But for today he is still available. 

The pups turned eight weeks last Saturday, meaning that for many it is time to go to their forever homes and forever families. Three left us Saturday, one Sunday. A few will stay on a few weeks longer, giving them time to learn Basseting with our big dogs and gain some experience. One is scheduled to leave on Thursday. And since the pups are all ready for their new homes Dreamsickle is as well.

If you are interested in finding a wonderful little boy, get in touch. There's an email box to the left of this article (if you are seeing this using your phone you'll need to switch to the full web page version of this blog to see it). Or you can call Ann at 503-three-five-1-0212 and make arrangements to come meet our hounds and puppies. 

We have another litter due, Abba Zabba's, and they will be available in December. Use the same email widget to get on the wait list and we'll send updates as they happen. 

Dreamsickle at Six Weeks

 As is our way. When a litter reaches six week of age we feel that we can evaluate the pups knowing most of what we are looking at. For this we use a pseudo objective six point set of criteria which takes into account the American Kennel Club description of the breed (five points of physicality). And we assign one point which is purely subjective and takes into account beauty of coloring, form, and personality. This six point evaluation has served us well since we started using it nearly twenty years ago. At the time we began using the system those people interested in reserving a puppy would receive the information prior to choosing, but now this is much more of a formality since pups are usually chosen prior to six weeks. This is certainly true of this litter.

This litter of eight pups is the first for our Lilly (Dulce DeLeche AKC) and the third for our younger male Rocky (Rocketdog Rockford Rhoades AKC). The first litter for a female is difficult to predict any outcomes but, at six weeks old, there's ample reason to believe this will be a great litter. Rocky is a great male in the American Basset Hound style. We are trying to breed a smaller form of Basset and, though he carries the genes of a smaller dame (under fifty pounds and quite small), he is nearly sixty pounds at three years old and so is not a small Basset. Lilly is a small form female of thirty-five pounds and so some of her offspring should be smaller in size as adults. Only time will tell. Both parents are great examples of the breed and so we expect this litter will carry these great traits as they grow. Both have exceptionally long ears, we formed heads with thick necks and bodies which taper perfectly to their strong hips. Neither appear to be destined to hip troubles. Both have heavy foreleg bones and deep chests. This litter carries the right stuff and none of the pups will receive less than the full five AKC derived points for form. There is simple nothing wrong with any of them.

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Dreamsickle is another of our smaller form Bassets. He is rambunctious and eager to explore his world; the type needing a back yard and a playmate. He is a bit barky when playing and not overy patient with being held. This is an independent personality which can, at times, keeps to himself happily. Every puppy of this litter are quite good when compared to the AKC standard and Dreamsickle is no different. His foreleg bones are adequately heavy, his paws tell us he will likely be slightly smaller than the standard size in the American Basset style. He will likely grow into a robust fifty pound male, but this depends on exercise and restricting his diet somewhat is a good idea, especially after he is neutered.  Dreamsickle might be bred to a high quality female if rights are secured. 

Dreamsickle is quite the family dog in attitude and he will make a fine addition to any family lucky enough to have him, but the patience or personality to win at show doesn't seem to be his forte.  He will do well with children. 

Bon Bon at Six Weeks

 As is our way. When a litter reaches six week of age we feel that we can evaluate the pups knowing most of what we are looking at. For this we use a pseudo objective six point set of criteria which takes into account the American Kennel Club description of the breed (five points of physicality). And we assign one point which is purely subjective and takes into account beauty of coloring, form, and personality. This six point evaluation has served us well since we started using it nearly twenty years ago. At the time we began using the system those people interested in reserving a puppy would receive the information prior to choosing, but now this is much more of a formality since pups are usually chosen prior to six weeks. This is certainly true of this litter.

This litter of eight pups is the first for our Lilly (Dulce DeLeche AKC) and the third for our younger male Rocky (Rocketdog Rockford Rhoades AKC). The first litter for a female is difficult to predict any outcomes but, at six weeks old, there's ample reason to believe this will be a great litter. Rocky is a great male in the American Basset Hound style. We are trying to breed a smaller form of Basset and, though he carries the genes of a smaller dame (under fifty pounds and quite small), he is nearly sixty pounds at three years old and so is not a small Basset. Lilly is a small form female of thirty-five pounds and so some of her offspring should be smaller in size as adults. Only time will tell. Both parents are great examples of the breed and so we expect this litter will carry these great traits as they grow. Both have exceptionally long ears, we formed heads with thick necks and bodies which taper perfectly to their strong hips. Neither appear to be destined to hip troubles. Both have heavy foreleg bones and deep chests. This litter carries the right stuff and none of the pups will receive less than the full five AKC derived points for form. There is simple nothing wrong with any of them.

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Bon Bon is a wonderful example of the smaller form of the Basset breed we are trying to bring into the world. She is also one of those puppies it is difficult to take a bad picture of. The camera loves her. Though a bit smaller that others, her personality plays a bit larger. She is more than able to stand her ground at play and the food dish, but is also the first to come for cuddles when she feels overwhelmed. She is very patient and loves lap sitting. 

If her smaller form continues she will likely weigh under forty pounds at three years old and will not reach fifty pounds unless over-fed. Bon Bon is, as are all of her siblings, a very good example of the Basset Hound breed. Her foreleg bones are quite heavy, for her size. Her body shape is quite athletic and runs smoothly from her shoulders to her hips. Her jaw is set perfectly and I would expect pronounces facial fews that will give her snout the right amount of "boxiness". BonBon's ears are wonderfully draped and set well back on her well domed head. Her hips are wide and her stance (how she appears when simply standing up) is aggressive and strong.  The combination of smaller frame and good stance indicates she is not likely to have bone issues later in life, but a lot depends on exercise. Structurally, this girl might win a regional show if trained to it. 

As with all Basset Hounds it would be best keep her active throughout her life to avoid becoming sedentary and overweight. Monthly ear and nail care, and a seasonal bath, would be all that is needed to maintain this lovely "lemon" girl.  Bon Bon might be bred to another high quality Basset if rights are secured.  All of this litter are six points in their evaluations, there simply is nothing wrong with any of them and all of them are quite beautiful, but even at a beauty pageant there are stand-outs, Bon Bon is a standout for appearance and attitude. One of the best of this already very good litter. 

Dreamsickle at Six Weeks

 As is our way. When a litter reaches six week of age we feel that we can evaluate the pups knowing most of what we are looking at. For this we use a pseudo objective six point set of criteria which takes into account the American Kennel Club description of the breed (five points of physicality). And we assign one point which is purely subjective and takes into account beauty of coloring, form, and personality. This six point evaluation has served us well since we started using it nearly twenty years ago. At the time we began using the system those people interested in reserving a puppy would receive the information prior to choosing, but now this is much more of a formality since pups are usually chosen prior to six weeks. This is certainly true of this litter.

This litter of eight pups is the first for our Lilly (Dulce DeLeche AKC) and the third for our younger male Rocky (Rocketdog Rockford Rhoades AKC). The first litter for a female is difficult to predict any outcomes but, at six weeks old, there's ample reason to believe this will be a great litter. Rocky is a great male in the American Basset Hound style. We are trying to breed a smaller form of Basset and, though he carries the genes of a smaller dame (under fifty pounds and quite small), he is nearly sixty pounds at three years old and so is not a small Basset. Lilly is a small form female of thirty-five pounds and so some of her offspring should be smaller in size as adults. Only time will tell. Both parents are great examples of the breed and so we expect this litter will carry these great traits as they grow. Both have exceptionally long ears, we formed heads with thick necks and bodies which taper perfectly to their strong hips. Neither appear to be destined to hip troubles. Both have heavy foreleg bones and deep chests. This litter carries the right stuff and none of the pups will receive less than the full five AKC derived points for form. There is simple nothing wrong with any of them.

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Dreamsickle is, by chance alone, at the time of this writing, the last of the litter still looking for a permanent home. This involved a cancellation which we will not go into in detail, but whoever is able to pick him up will surely have a great puppy to raise. 

This is a very playful puppy. He runs wherever he goes, when outdoors, and he can often be found exploring his world alone, though not far from his siblings. In true Basset Hound fashion he loves being with his family and is patient with transgressors. He is not especially aggressive at play, but when challenged will stand up for himself. He is not fearless, but more measured in his approach to life in the pack.  Dreamsickle is not especially cuddly, nor is he very patient with much lapsitting. But when a bit tired he will come and ask to be picked up.

Dreamsickle is a bit smaller than the average puppy in this litter but we expect he will grow into a standard sized male of around fifty pounds at three years. We are trying to breed a smaller form of Basset Hound and he carries the genes for remaining a bit smaller than the average Basset. His foreleg bone size and hip setting are nearly perfect, but there is a slightly flanged rib on his left side which will keep him from winning at the regional level of dog shows.  (The flanged rib is a very minor point of interest and it is likely he will not continue to show this rib as an adult.)  His head shape, jaw set, and ears are as good as it gets with ears wrapping all the way around his snout which is already displaying more than adequate facial fews. His Dame and Sire both have strongly Basset facial features and appearance. This will be a wonderful "lemon" Basset Hound and there certainly is nothing which shows trouble on the near, or far, horizon (providing he is kept active and is not over fed as an adult). 

This will be a wonderful family hound and breeding is certainly not out of the question.  Since all the pups in this litter are perfectly in accordance with the AKC standard, and there are none with any serious flaws in appearance, all will receive six of six points when compared to our evaluation criteria. But there are subtle differences 

Dexter at Six Weeks

 As is our way. When a litter reaches six week of age we feel that we can evaluate the pups knowing most of what we are looking at. For this we use a pseudo objective six point set of criteria which takes into account the American Kennel Club description of the breed (five points of physicality). And we assign one point which is purely subjective and takes into account beauty of coloring, form, and personality. This six point evaluation has served us well since we started using it nearly twenty years ago. At the time we began using the system those people interested in reserving a puppy would receive the information prior to choosing, but now this is much more of a formality since pups are usually chosen prior to six weeks. This is certainly true of this litter.

This litter of eight pups is the first for our Lilly (Dulce DeLeche AKC) and the third for our younger male Rocky (Rocketdog Rockford Rhoades AKC). The first litter for a female is difficult to predict any outcomes but, at six weeks old, there's ample reason to believe this will be a great litter. Rocky is a great male in the American Basset Hound style. We are trying to breed a smaller form of Basset and, though he carries the genes of a smaller dame (under fifty pounds and quite small), he is nearly sixty pounds at three years old and so is not a small Basset. Lilly is a small form female of thirty-five pounds and so some of her offspring should be smaller in size as adults. Only time will tell. Both parents are great examples of the breed and so we expect this litter will carry these great traits as they grow. Both have exceptionally long ears, we formed heads with thick necks and bodies which taper perfectly to their strong hips. Neither appear to be destined to hip troubles. Both have heavy foreleg bones and deep chests. This litter carries the right stuff and none of the pups will receive less than the full five AKC derived points for form. There is simple nothing wrong with any of them.

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Dexter was given the name "Klondike Bark" at birth,
but her family has chosen to call him Dexter. 

Dexter is a wonderful example of the Basset Hound breed. He is sharp eyed and happily aggressive in his approach to life. He loves his food and enjoys rough play with his siblings. And he can be something of a bully at times as well. This is a puppy that might grow into being a handful of trouble is he is not supervised sufficiently. 

This little boy is very good structurally with a wonderful head shape and well placed ears but, at the time of writing this, he is said to have a slight overbite which will likely resolve itself when his adult teeth arrive in a few months time. This overbite is not considered a  serious flaw, but should be called out when considering breeding him later in life so as not to pass this genetic trait on. (Minor flaws are sufficient reason not to breed a Basset Hound since they are already bred into genetic dwarfism.) Otherwise Dexter is a perfect little puppy at six weeks, as are this entire litter. It is hard to find anything to write about which is not about attitude.

It is easy to see, in the picture above, that Dexter carries his American Basset style to an extreme. His snout appears boxey from already ample facial fews, his ears nearly drag the ground today. Both of these desirable traits will give him the exaggerated appearance prized in this breed. And while some might consider him more European in his heavy Basset Hound puppy appearance, these very ample skin folds are not likely to continue into adulthood. He will likely remain quite athletic in appearance until four or five years old. His coloring will likely remain red and white in equal amounts. Keeping this boy active will never be a problem. Calming him might be. 

Dexter is going to be a beautiful dog, but not a show dog. One might consider breeding him, while we would not. He has the temperament and attitude to become a good field dog. But he may also become a good companion for those interested in having a  slightly independant doggy partner. All of the puppies in this litter received six of six points using our evaluation criteria. There simply is nothing wrong with any of them.