Product Description

The Basset Hound Owner's Survival Guide will delight every Basset Hound aficionado with its light-hearted look at this quirky breed of dog. Filled with charming stories, photos and drawings of Bassets, this book also provides the reader with Basset care essentials and a history of the breed. A must-have for every lover of the inscrutable Basset.
A Howell Dog Book of Distinction

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #555052 in Books
• Published on: 1998-03-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 248 pages

From the Back Cover
The Basset Hound Owner's Survival Guide will delight every Basset Hound aficionado with its light-hearted look at this quirky breed of dog. Filled with charming stories, photos and drawings of Bassets, this book also provides the reader with Basset care essentials and a history of the breed. A must-have for every lover of the inscrutable Basset.
A Howell Dog Book of Distinction

About the Author
Diane Morgan lives in Western Maryland where she shares 5 acres with four Bassets, two Setters, two cats,a pond of goldfish and two human beings, John and Web. Diane and her friends serve as foster parents for homeless Bassets. When not working with animal rescue, she teaches philosophy and literature at Wilson College in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Diane is the author of Understanding Your Horse's Lameness, and several magazine articles about dogs, horses, pigs and Tennessee Williams. She has also won prizes for a number of her poems, none of which were about Basset Hounds. About the Artist Pam Posey-Tanzey has been an illustrator for 13 years. In 1997 she received five nominations for Best Illustration by the Dog Writers Association of America and won two Maxwell Awards. Pam lives in Oceanside, California with her husband Tim and their two Bassets, Gracie and Duncan. Seven year old Gracie has her own comic strip, a Companion Dog title and is a therapy dog. One year old Duncan has taken obedience classes since he was a baby. Now studying to be a handsome dog, he is always happy and enjoys tearing up paper.

Customer Reviews

Fun but not frivilous, a wealth of Basset Hound information.
This book is a delightful look inside the intimate relationships that many people develop with their Basset Hounds. At first glance it seems light in content but a thorough reading will yield a wealth of information about these great drooling clowns.

As a Basset Hound owner myself, it is difficult to judge the attraction of this book to those poor souls who do not share their lives with a Hound. Everyone with a Basset should read it. It captures the magic, the messes and the mysteries of life with a Basset Hound. Everyone considering adding a Basset to their lives should read it. It is this group that stands to benefit most.

As a first time Basset Hound (and dog) owner several years ago, it was learn as you go. Sure there were Basset books out there, many with valuable information. They explained in detail how things were supposed to go (by the book). Diane's book adds reality through the use of short stories and anecdotes by Basset Hound owners who participate in a couple of on-line forums.

Typical is the accurate comment by Amanda Sherwin under the heading, "Do Bassets Make Good Watch Dogs?" She says, "Bassets are fine watch dogs. You can tell the time by them. Especially meal time." Almost every page has a similar paragraph that illustrates and illuminates breed peculiarities. Under the heading, "Do Bassets Enjoy Sex?," MS Morgan sums up life with bassets perfectly by saying, "Not if they have to get off the couch to participate."

If you are owned by a Basset Hound you must have this book. It will explain to your longsuffering friends why you find joy in your Hound. If you are considering a Basset as a pet, reading The Basset Hound Owner's Survival Guide should be mandatory. As a volunteer with Basset Hound Rescue of Southern California, I believe that ignorance of the breed is the primary reason they show up abandoned in animal shelters. Read this book before you adopt a Basset. Involve the whole family as it is funny and very suitable for reading aloud to children.

The Basset Hound Owner's Survival Guide will tickle your fancy while stealthily teaching you all about Basset Hounds that you need to know. It had to be a labor of love because the love shines through the whole book.

The Basset Hound Owner's Survival Guide
For the soon to be basset owner, this book is pointless. I have experience with bassets and was able to enjoy the anecdotes, but the anecdotes are the problem. The book is overflowing with little vignettes and not much else. There are other owner guides to the basset hound that address in detail important issues like feeding, health and grooming without the endless accompanying tales. I was extremely disappointed and wouldn't recommend it for a novice basset owner. it just doesn't cover the hard facts it needs to.

Amusing and helpful, not unlike the basset hound itself
For anyone who has ever loved a basset hound, and especially for anyone considering being owned by a basset hound, this is an essential read.

For all it's humour, it is also a book that cautions people that although basset hounds are cute and funny, they are also difficult and complex dogs - not your average well-behaved lab, in other words. Not a dog for the easily grossed-out (think drool flings), for the impatient (think laying down in the middle of a walk) or for those who demand obedience (what are you kidding?)

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.