Coat, Ears & Tail

AKC Hound Group · No. 34 in 2025

How to identify a Basset Hound

The Basset Hound is a heavy-boned scent hound under 14 inches tall, ranked No. 34 by the AKC in 2025. The ears are extremely long and fold over the end of the nose. Loose skin wrinkles over the brow, and the eyes show a drooping lower lid.

Photo of a Basset Hound
Photo: Cali1008 · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Field marks

These four marks are the ones the game gives you as clues. They paraphrase or briefly quote the AKC Basset Hound standard.

  1. “Extremely long,” velvety ears that “fold well over the end of the nose”
  2. Loose skin “falling in distinct wrinkles over the brow”; eyes show “a prominent haw”
  3. Short, heavy-boned legs, with height under 14 in
  4. Hard, smooth, short coat in any hound color

Tell them apart

Basset Hound or Beagle?

Check the legs and the ears. A Basset stands on short, heavy legs, has loose skin that wrinkles over the brow, and has ears that fold past the end of the nose. A Beagle is a compact miniature Foxhound on straight legs, with ears that reach nearly to the nose but not past it.

Basset Hound

Basset Hound

  1. “Extremely long,” velvety ears that “fold well over the end of the nose”
  2. Loose skin “falling in distinct wrinkles over the brow”; eyes show “a prominent haw”
  3. Short, heavy-boned legs, with height under 14 in
  4. Hard, smooth, short coat in any hound color
Beagle

Beagle

  1. Two varieties: up to 13 in, and over 13 to 15 in
  2. Long ears that reach “nearly, if not quite, to the end of the nose”
  3. Short tail with brush, “carried gaily, but not turned forward over the back”
  4. “A miniature Foxhound, solid and big for his inches”

Basset Hound or Dachshund?

Both are long and low. The Basset is a heavier hound with brow wrinkles, drooping eyes and very long ears that fold over the nose. A Dachshund has tighter skin, a prominent breastbone and much shorter ears. A wire or long coat rules out the Basset, whose coat is always short and smooth.

Basset Hound

Basset Hound

  1. “Extremely long,” velvety ears that “fold well over the end of the nose”
  2. Loose skin “falling in distinct wrinkles over the brow”; eyes show “a prominent haw”
  3. Short, heavy-boned legs, with height under 14 in
  4. Hard, smooth, short coat in any hound color
Dachshund

Dachshund

  1. “Low to ground, long in body and short of leg”
  2. Breastbone “strongly prominent in front,” with a dimple on either side
  3. Three coats: smooth, wirehaired (with beard and eyebrows), longhaired
  4. Patterns include dapple (merle), brindle, piebald, and sable

Basset Hound or Bloodhound?

Check the legs. Both have long, low-hanging ears and loose, wrinkled skin, but a Basset stands under 14 inches on short, heavy legs. A Bloodhound is a tall hound at 23 to 27 inches, with even deeper folds on the face, and it’s black and tan, liver and tan, or red.

Basset Hound

Basset Hound

  1. “Extremely long,” velvety ears that “fold well over the end of the nose”
  2. Loose skin “falling in distinct wrinkles over the brow”; eyes show “a prominent haw”
  3. Short, heavy-boned legs, with height under 14 in
  4. Hard, smooth, short coat in any hound color
Bloodhound

Bloodhound

  1. Loose skin that falls “into loose, pendulous ridges and folds” over the forehead and face
  2. Ears “extremely long, set very low,” falling “in graceful folds”
  3. Black and tan, liver and tan, or red
  4. Long, tapering stern carried high; a big hound at 23 to 27 inches

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