How to Train Your Basset Hound Dog to Listen
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Introduction
Basset Hounds are sweet, lovable, vocal and yes, stubborn. At least they appear to be stubborn-- actually, they are easy going and easily distracted by their powerful sense of smell, which can lead to perceptions they are stubborn. Understanding your Basset's natural inclinations and having the patience to find ways to work with your Basset will contribute to success getting him to listen to you.
These dogs are rarely aggressive or ill-tempered; if your Basset Hound is not listening to you it is more likely a product of lack of motivation to attend to you, greater interest in something else that has caught your dog's attention, or his natural inclination to vocalize. Bassets are prone to howling, part of their hunting dog heritage. You will need to ensure that you are more important than anything distracting your dog, such as howling or scenting, so that he is highly motivated to listen to you. How do you achieve this? Practice, and establishing that good things happen to those who listen!
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Defining Tasks
The independent Basset Hound has a reputation for being harder to train than some more eager to please breeds. Training your Basset means understanding his motivation to use his nose and his need for establishing behaviors through repetition and strong leadership. Avoid punishment as a means of correction, as your sensitive Basset as he may not respond well to this form of correction. Instead, focus on direction when getting your Basset to listen to you by establishing a way to get his attention with leadership, signals, and commands. Ideally, you will start working with your Basset when he is a young puppy, to establish that your dog needs to attend and listen to you, older dogs can take longer to train. Having patience and using repetition works well with Basset Hounds, and success will come to those who persevere.
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Getting Started
Time and patience are the most important things you will need to get your Basset to listen to you. You will need to establish a strong leadership relationship and use consistency with your loving, but sometimes obstinate Basset! Using treats to reward your food-motivated hound for positive listening behavior is usually a good choice. Also, be prepared to spend time exercising, establishing obedience, and giving your nosey Basset plenty of sniffing time to meet his scenting needs, in order to get your dog to listen more effectively to your direction.
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The Look at Me Method
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Use distraction-free zone
Find a quiet location free from distractions.
Command 'look at me'
Hold a treat and command “look at me”. Wait patiently, this may take a while.
Capture 'look at me'
When your Basset turns to look at you, use a clicker or say "good" to capture the behavior and reward him with the treat.
Practice
Continue to practice, increase the length of time you need your Basset to look at you before rewarding him. When he is turning to look at you immediately when commanded, in anticipation of his treat, you can move to areas of more distraction.
Add commands
Take your Basset outside, or to an area with distractions and practice the 'look at me' command. Eventually start replacing treats with praise and affection once your dog is consistently looking at you when commanded. Follow up 'look at me' with other commands so your dog learns to listen to you when you command “look at me”.
The Signals Method
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Effective
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Determine signals
Dogs don't speak human language and your Basset, especially, may not be particularly geared to respond to verbal commands. Establish some hand signals and body language you can use to get his attention.
Avoid verbal commands
Do not repeat verbal commands without getting a response, as this just teaches your Basset to ignore you. Also, avoid yelling or punishing your dog, which will just cause your Basset to withdraw and avoid you.
Practice
Practice hand signals in distraction-free environments and then start using them in environments with distractions.
Use your body to get attention
Get your Basset's attention. Tap him on the side firmly but gently, or place your body between him and the object that is distracting him from listening to you For example if he is sniffing a tree, insert yourself between your Basset and the tree.
Use hand signals
Once you have got your Basset's attention, give a hand signal to communicate, such as 'sit' or 'come'. Your Basset may respond better to hand signals you develop than to verbal commands that he may have learned to tune out.
The Be the Pack Leader Method
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Provide food
Establish that you are the provider of food and all good things. Make your Basset Hound wait for you while you prepare his food, and then stand or sit next to him while you provide food. You can even hand feed your dog so he knows you are where his meals come from.
Provide time
Socialize your dog; spend lots of time with your Basset, take him on adventures, introduce him to new people and things. Exercise and take him on walks regularly. Play with your Basset lots to establish relationship through shared experience.
Teach obedience
Teach your Basset Hound obedience commands in a quiet location. 'Sit', 'stay', and 'come' are all necessary commands.
Teach tricks
Teach your Basset Hound tricks he can do to earn rewards, like 'roll over' or 'speak'--your vocal Basset may really take to this one and it uses his natural abilities.
Provide "nose" time
Provide lots of nose time Your Basset Hound loves to scent. Make a game out of finding scents and following trails to meet his needs and establish your leadership. A Basset that sees you as his leader is more likely to listen to you.
Written by Laurie Haggart
Veterinary reviewed by:
Published: 01/04/2018, edited: 01/08/2021
Training Questions and Answers
Muffin
Basset Hound
Eleven Weeks
Question
0 found this helpful
0 found this helpful
Our basset hound has mostly understood potty training. We live in the city and have a balcony we let her go potty in (for now while we train her to do her business outside), and we have some pee mats in one corner of our apartment. My main concern is every time she poops we have to hurry to pick it up or else she will try eating it in a split second! She is so fast. We do what we can to distract her but a few times she has gotten away with it, she is so fast. How can we get her to stop trying to eat her poop??
Jan. 17, 2024
Muffin's Owner
Hazel
Basset Hound
Six Months
Question
0 found this helpful
0 found this helpful
There are very few resources on how to begin training a dog to follow a scent trail, and then work that into hunting work such as following a blood trail of a wounded deer. Hazel is super smart and has figured out everything we are working with her on like sit, stay, etc. Are there any resources on working into the hunting dog training or am I just on my own?
Nov. 26, 2023
Hazel's Owner
Caitlin Crittenden - Dog Trainer
1133 Dog owners recommended
Hello, One less known resource for guidance in working job training is forums online. I would google "hunting dog tracking forum". You will see that half a dozen pop up. Click a few and see which community you like the best, then join those and read what others have had success with and ask your questions there. Be aware that not all advice you get on there will be solid training advice. You can also use resources like this "ask a trainer forum" to ask questions about the advice you get there when your are unsure whether the advice is solid, but you will find a lot of useful advice from others who are actually training their dogs in what you want to do, how they are trouble shooting challenges, and different perspectives on how to train something - some of which work better for certain dogs and others for different dogs, to see which options might work best for you. I would also look into old DVD video series and online video courses. Tracking has been around for a long time, and even though information online isn't abundant in it, places like gun dog magazine and old sports hunting groups do have a wealth of knowledge. You may find it's in less popular locations - like an old video series, rather than internet search. I would also ask for video training recommendations on those forums I mentioned. People on there are more likely to know who has been around for decades that others trust for this type of training. I personally do not teach deer tracking, but when I need something obscure answered for livestock guarding, herding, or duck hunting, I find those are good places to look. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden
Nov. 30, 2023