-set. Basset Hound really means Low-set Hound" (1). The "low-slung French rabbit dog" (Stahlkuppe, 6) was bred in up to a dozen different varieties for its ability to work in thick cover and heavy woods in slow-moving packs. The hound's slow speed was actually an advantage, as it allowed accompanying hunters, who were originally armed primarily with spears, nets, and clubs, to keep up with the pack.
Modern breeders developed, standardized, and improved on these characteristics. Many scholars believe that the "bench-legged beagles" (Stahlkuppe, 8) presented by the Marquis de Lafayette to George Washington were, in fact, basset hounds. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the strain that had developed into the modern basset hound became popular in Great Britain. Sir Everett Millais was one of the basset's most important English champions during this period. A basset hound was shown at the Wolverhampton Dog Show in 1875, and the British Basset Hound Club was formed in 1883.
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