tait's bassets Only AKC Registered Basset Hound PuppiesSince 1960

Health:
Unless there is some special need for ear care, I suggest starting out trimming his nails and cleaning his ears at the same time about every 2 ½ weeks. Gradually lengthen that to once a month as an adult. (If you walk your puppy often on hard surfaces, the nails will wear down some on their own and will not need cut as often.)

Clean the puppy’s ears every 2-4 weeks with an ear cleansing solution (such as Bio-Groom Ear Care). It is very important to warm the ear cleaner first. Just place the bottle, with the cap loosened, in the micro-wave for anywhere from 15 to 45 seconds depending on how much is in the bottle. You want it to be warm, just a little warmer than body temperature, not hot. After microwaving, shake well and test it on your arm like a baby bottle for temperature.
Fill the ear canal with cleaner, generous amount.

1. Massage the ear
2. Use a paper towel wrapped over your index finger and clean gently, but thoroughly all the way to the bottom of the ear canal to remove any wax. Use your index finger to get all the way down. You will not hurt the puppy’s ear.
3. Make sure you have the ear dry and clean when you are finished.

If your puppy scratches at his/her ears a lot, have your vet check for ear mites. If found, they can be treated easily with medication.

Scratching: 
Look for fleas deep in the hair on shoulder and the rump. If you routinely take your dog to areas where there are other dog, you will probably need some type of flea treatment. If there are no fleas, look for raw irritated skin areas. If found, consult your vet.
There are many different types of flea treatments on the market, however we have had great success with Frontline-Plus flea treatment. We recommend speaking to your vet about what you should use. 

Internal parasites (worms): Common in puppies, however if left untreated they can become a very serious health problem.  Make sure on your first visit to the vet after leaving the kennel, you take a stool sample to have it checked for any parasites. You should also do this on your yearly routine visit to the vet, or any time that you think your dog may have been exposed to parasites. Disgusting as it is, dogs most often pick up worms from eating other dogs poop (containing worm eggs). Parks and highway rest stops are common places for infection. Any time that your dog has pale gums, her coat gets rough, suspect worms. Your vet will prescribe the right amount of medication.

We worm all of our puppies at least four times in the eight weeks that we have them in our kennel. However, we still suggest that you have the stool checked on your first visit out of the kennel. Parasites are very hard to control in the kennel environment, so we worm while they are here, but they continue to be re-infected while they are here, so it is best to make sure they are treated after being removed from our kennel, if necessary.

Basset hounds short legs provide little shock absorption, therefore you must be careful not to let the puppy jump off chairs or come downstairs until large enough to do it safely. We generally suggest that you carry your puppy up and down the stairs until they are too big for you to carry. (Generally 4-5 months old) If you are going to allow the puppy/dog on the bed, or furniture we suggest buying the steps made for the bed. This will allow the puppy/dog to use the steps instead of jumping off and injuring themselves.

If you have any questions during the life of your dog, please do not hesitate to contact us. We enjoy and want to be helpful if you would like our advice.

John Tait
2018

TAIT'S BASSETS GUARANTEE:
We guarantee that our puppies leave the kennel in good health. We require that you to take your new puppy to your vet within five days after it leaves our kennel for a complete physical. We want you and your vet to be confident that the puppy is healthy. If your vet finds any problem, please contact us. If it is something minor, we will want you to get it treated and we will pay for the treatment. If it is something major, you must call us so that we can have a conversation about how to proceed. The puppy can come back for a full refund or a new puppy, or we will pay for the cost of treatment up to the cost of the puppy.

Our guarantee does not include reimbursement for the cost of the initial visit to your vet, however, we will reimburse you for any medications dispensed during the initial visit to your vet for any minor health issues that may be present. For example, ear infection or urinary tract infection.

We use a very good "wormers" to rid the puppies and the adults of intestinal parasites. Generally, they have had at least four "treatments" and usually leave here parasite free. However, to make sure, take about a golf ball size stool sample (poop) to your vet on your initial visit to the vet. We do not reimburse for anti-parasitic medication, if needed.

We have a long history of standing behind the health of our puppies and do everything we can to insure you are purchasing a healthy puppy, however we do not have any control over things that happen after the puppy leaves our kennel. Therefore, we will not reimburse for illness of your puppy that would be considered a normal health issue in dogs.

If your puppy is diagnosed with a genetic health issue in the first year, we want you to contact us before proceeding with treatment. We will gather information from you and your vet and consult with our vet to decide what would be our fair responsibility for reimbursement. In any case, the limit of reimbursement will be the cost of the puppy.

REGISTRATION:
This puppy is being sold with the AKC Limited Registration (this is the pet registration and means that the dog can he registered, but cannot be shown for points and any puppies produced by a parent with this registration cannot be registered.) Therefore, we fully expect your puppy to be spayed or neutered at six months of age.

RE-PLACEMENT HELP:
With the breeding and raising of our puppies and the training of our customers, we try to assure that they have a long successful life together. However, if during the life of this dog, you find that you can no longer keep it and you need help in finding a new placement, we want you to contact us. We want none of our dogs to have the risks of going to a shelter.