Would a Basset Hound be good for my family?
Would a Basset Hound be good for my family? Dog Breed Discussions
I'm a mom of two children; a very responsible 14 year old daughter and a slightly immature 12 year old son. We have a 2 year old Labrador x Boxer who was trained very well by myself and my daughter. My daughter recently started asking for a Basset Hound puppy of her own. I don't really like their stumpy feet but my daughter loves the hound look. I was wondering if a Basset Hound would fit my family/schedule.1. I work shift work so I haven't got much time to spend with the dogs but my children and husband make up for that.2. We are getting a steady income to financially support two dogs.3. My daughter is very committed to raising a puppy, with a little bit of help from her parents.4. My children take Freddy for 2 walks nearly everyday. Once after school for an hour and then after dinner for 40 minutes.5. The dog will be without human companionship for a VERY MAXIMUM of 3 hours but will always have cats and another dog to play with.6. I have a large, fenced backyard.7. We are very happy to work with a stubborn breed like a Basset Hound to train him properly.I'm just a bit conserned about their health. Does anybody know if there are any known genetic health problems with Bassets? We adopted Freddy when he was 4 months old but we would like to get our new pup from a good breeder. We just want to know what type of health screening is usually done so that we can ask the breeder if they test for those problems. We want to make sure we have a healthy and happy family pet.