Hi my friend has pondered the idea of putting her male Basset out to stud for some time now.He is an excellent example of the breed,has a very good pedigree and his temprement is second to none,although a little stubborn at times,lol.If and its a big if at the moment,she does decide to try this then what health screening test's are required for Basset's?Any info much apprieciated,thanks.

The only eye condition on the list for Basset's is Glaucoma. Surprisingly they do not appear to hip score! I cannot believe their hips are that good??

Best wishes, John

As John has said they are only eye tested but if you look here you will see a list of problems that have been found in the breed. Don't be alarmed this is world wide and not many will be in the UK. The other thing I would say is that I believe the mating of the breed requires some what intimate assistants sometimes and is your friend ready for that sort of involvement in the mating process. They should also be aware that the character of the hound may change in that he will be far more into scenting and leaving home.

Thanks to both of you for the replies.I too am surprised that they are not hip scored and i did say to my friend that i would think they are.They are such heavily built dogs,especially Butler he is huge and would of thought it would go without saying that they should be hip scored.I will tell her about the eye condition and she can then make enquiries about getting him tested if she decides to go ahead.As for the behaviour changes,i think they were hoping it may calm him a bit with regard to "mounting" things as although he is well behaved in general,he will grab your leg at any oppotunity,lol,and they thought he would of grown out of this by now,he will be 4 in october.I think they are hoping that it will give him some "relief" if he is able to mate a bitch,i said i think  it can sometimes but can also make matters worse??

Almost bound to make matters worse

Mating is not a cure for mounting!

Certainly doesn't apply to humans ;)

Daisy

Hmmmm thats what i thought,but she has just rang me as i told her to check the paper work for endorsements and things and he is actually endorsed.I explained about the fact that the breeder should of made her aware of the fact but she cant remember if she signed anything or not and certainly doesnt have a copy of any paper work relating to it so is going to ring the KC tomorrow.However she is only thinking about the possibility of studding him at the moment but she wants to go about it the right way if and when she does,thanks for all the advice :0)

I wonder if achondroplasia presents problems for scoring, John, do you know of any achondroplasic breeds that do score?

I would not have thought this would have caused a problem Isabel. I cannot see any reason why the dog could not be arranged for the x-rays in the same manner as any other dog. Many years ago an old friend of mine used to breed and show them but of course in those days hip scoring was unheard of.

There are so many breeds which are not scored although most of these are smaller breeds. A relatively heavy breed such as a Basset would, I would have thought, need scoring. I was surprised to find that they did not have a BMS!

Best wishes, John

I was thinking more along that the distorted leg bones might also mean distorted joints in some way (achondroplasia in humans can cause them to walk with a rolling gait) rather than not being able to manipulate the dog into the correct position, but now you mention it :)

Bassetts should have a slight incline inwards in the upper arm, no joints should be involved and the hindquarters should be straight.

Ah I see Jackie, I was thinking about the feel of my Dandie joints , the ones you could feel anyway, which of course do not include the hip :) and these feel very much more "knuckley" say than on my Cockers. I have never felt a Bassets joints but I must admit they look pretty much similar. Whilst one would expect the joints to work effectively, particularly in a working breed such as the Basset and Dandie I wonder if their actual construction differs sufficiently to the norm as to make the usual scoring system inapplicable.

Brainless, I think in theory it is true to say we should test for everything but the trouble with hip scoring is it is not without some risk, particularly in a brachycephalic breeds like the Dandie if the need seems low then can the risk be justified?  I don't really know about Bassets but I have never heard of a Dandie with hip problems so unless advised differently by the Breed Club I don't think I would consider hip scoring one.

Does anyone know of any achondroplasic breeds that hip score?

Well a breed that has very few scored is Beagles.  I have seen in some recent BRS some not very good scores for some that are scoring.  Also some of the smaller breeds that rearely score have scores nothing to be complacent about.  In my view all breeding stock should be hip scored, whatever the breed !

Hear hear Barbara, one of the things that always surprises me is the "I don't score we don't have a problem in this breed". And then when a few do you find a BMS or over 20 and some animals as high as 80+. The only reason they don't have a problem is they don't look.

That could be because in breeds that do not normally score the only individuals tested are those that are suspected of having a problem. 

Would have thought the opposite was the truth, but we will never know till everyone does score, even those who are told don't bother by the vet. We are allways being told of people who do not score because the vet has said the hips are bad.