Webmaster's NOTE:

This page is meant solely for educational purposes. It is hoped that they will help tho visit our website to understand the various hound breeds that are similar to one another. Education is an important part of our club's purpose.

For more information on Basset Hounds check out the website of the French club, Société Centrale Caninne Association. This website is in French. Perhaps the best source of information in English can be found

on Hunting Bassets. Please understand that, as this author states, "As for the earliest history of the basset hound in England our records are spotty." The author of this article chose sections of that spotty history and interprets them to favor the Basset Artesian Normond. One rumor this author does dispell is the existance of a "French Basset."

The best authority in the Basset Artesian Normond is the Masters of Basset Hounds Association in the United Kingdom. They are the registry of basset hound packs for the U.K. Their website has finally reappeared on the Internet but much of it is behind password protection.

LINK: http://WWW.thehuntingoffice.org.uk/Home/MBHA

This has perhaps resulted from the the Hunting Act 2004 passed by Parliament of the United Kingdom which bans the hunting of wild mammals (notably foxes, deer, hares and mink) with dogs in England and Wales; the Act does not cover the use of dogs in the process of flushing out an unidentified wild mammal, nor does it affect drag hunting, where hounds are trained to follow an artificial scent. This is an area for further research.

PLEASE NOTE: The home page introduction on the MBHA website is just one version of what happened in England and does not necessarily include all the facts. It does point out, however, that what we call basset hounds today are separate breeds from many of those used in hunting packs. The hunting bassets  unsed by the members of the MBHA do not adhere to the AKC or FCI Standards for Basset Hounds. They have their own standards that are maintained by the MBHA.