Rebec Story


	*(as originally submitted for publication in the* Bugler April 1998) SPOTLIGHTING Rebec Bassets THE BEGINNING We got our first basset in 1972, the year we got married. All my life I had always wanted a dog but my parents said "no". Then my sister called to say she and her military husband were being transferred to Turkey and they needed a home for their new puppy - would I want her? I immediately said "YES!" and then had to ask "What's a Basset Hound?". Samantha was the dog that got us started. An unregistered, mostly black and tan bitch, "the Schmoo" hooked us irrevocably on the breed. She dragged us down the street on walks so we took her to obedience classes offered by the local kennel club. That's where we discovered DOG SHOWS. We started taking Samantha and our second basset (you can't have just one!) to matches, competing in obedience. Beulah, we thought at the time, was an improvement on Samantha. We bought her from a pet store and she was AKC registered. Actually, she was one of the worst specimens of the breed I have ever seen - long legs, flat topskull, and the topline and tuck-up of a whippet. But we loved her dearly. At fun matches we discovered conformation competition and I just had to have a show quality basset. We bought "Rosie" from Pat Brumm, who is no longer breeding but who produced some fine hounds by breeding her Am/Can Ch. Musicland's Morning Glory ROM to Ch. Musicland's Casey Jones ROM. We bred "Rosie" to Am/Can Ch. Musicland's Pool Shark ROM but got no puppies so we purchased a puppy out of Rosie's sister Ch. Bowler's Old Fashioned ROM who had also been bred to "Sharkey". "Sally" became our foundation bitch and our first ROM. "Sally" was bred to three different Musicland dogs. The breeding to Ch. Musicland's Lucifer produced our foundation sire "Levi" who also earned his ROM. All Rebec Bassets are descended from these two hounds. We have obtained two other bassets from other sources. "Sonny"" has a story worth repeating. He was bred by a conscientious show breeder and sold as a pet to people who did not live up to their promises. He was kept largely in a basement and ill-treated. Eventually they tired of him and sold him to another family who spent over a year getting him back into good health and good shape. Their daughter showed him in Junior Showmanship and did get a few points on him. When she got a little older, she preferred boys to dogs, and Mom, who wasn't particularly fond of dogs opted to get rid of him. Off he went to yet another home, a couple who showed and had their own breeding program and not really enough room for him. They looked for another home for him. They found one with us, and with us he stayed. Despite all the moving around, the neglect, the mistreatment, Sonny was a wonderful and loving hound. He showed no ill effects from his early years, except a distinct disliking for the basement door. The first time we showed Sonny he took Winners Dog (our very first point ever), Best of Breed (how exciting) and a group placement (Reed handled him. I stood outside the ring jumping up and down crying). He finished his championship easily and took many Bests of Breed when we specialed him at the age of seven - long after most bassets are retired. Sonny never sired a litter, but he deserves to be remembered. "Charlotte" came to us from Nancy Klenke. She is a Levi granddaughter, a beautifully moving bitch and I wanted her for my breeding program. She was Best of Winners at the Twin Cities BHC Specialty, has produced a total of three puppies (Sarah and Lazar, both champions, and Carolina who is currently being shown) from two breedings to her grandsire but her primary claim to fame is never having seen anything she wouldn't eat. She has eaten all the metal flashing which was put in the kennel to prevent the dogs from eating the wood, and several floors. BREEDING Our breeding program is small, limited by both time and space. At first, when we lived in town and raised our puppies in the kitchen (the only way to put up a puppy pen was to put the refrigerator inside the pen. At the time we had a 36" tall pen with no gate. I had to climb over the pen every time I wanted something from the refrigerator - I could have marketed the idea to weight watchers!) we had a litter every couple of years. Now, with more space we have one or two litters a year. We have discovered that having two litters more or less at once works well. We get all of the work out of the way at once and the mom's have each other for company in the whelping room. Over the years we have linebred almost exclusively, using a variety of our own dogs and Musicland dogs. Twice we have done outcrosses, both of which have been worthwhile. Our first outcross resulted in the first litter sired by Ch. Brasstax Robin of Locksley ROM, from which we kept "Ellen". Our second outcross was a breeding of Ellen's granddaughter "Deuce" to Ch. Ambrican Lipizzan ROM, which produced "Louie" who finished at 13 months with multiple Breeds over specials and a group placement from the classes, and "Kissey" who is a lovely bitch who hates the show ring. "Kissey" will be bred back into dad's side of the family. Louie will be bred to one or more of our bitches. Hopefully these two will cement the blend of type and movement we have been looking for. Our bitches are rarely bred more than twice, never more than three times. FACILITIES We started out in a small house with a small yard in the middle of LaCrosse, WI. We had successfully assisted in lobbying for the establishment of the Multiple Pet Permit which allowed LaCrosse residents more than the previously allowed two dogs. However after several years the permit was amended to allow only a maximum of four dogs and cats total. At the time we had six bassets, two otterhounds, and two cats - 2-1/2 times the legal limit. While I was at the 1988 Nationals, Reed received a letter from the city giving us 30 days to get rid of the animals. Instead we bought a house out in the country at the end of a nasty dead-end road where our nearest neighbors are cows. We converted the tuck-under garage into a kennel with four large indoor/outdoor runs, and a spacious grooming/work/storage area. The outdoor runs are 30 feet long and surfaced with concrete. The indoor runs are approximately 14 feet long, allowing plenty of space for the dogs to romp and play even in bad weather. They have raised insulated floors, the surface of which changes from year to year as we attempt to find something they can't eat!. Access to outside is through flap doors protected from wind and snow by wooden "igloos". The kennel entryway has since become a fifth run which is accessible from the downstairs whelping room so our moms can let themselves in and out too. The nearby laundry room has a raised bathtub for bathing. The elderly and infirm (along with one boy we ran out of room for in the kennel) live in the house with us with their own flap door leading to a ramp down to the fenced patio. Our next addition will be the fencing of about 3/4 acre of back yard to increase the exercise options. I've given up on ever having time to do it ourselves - this year I'm hiring a handyman! THE DOGS Over the years our numbers have grown. We currently have 17 adult bassets, 2 adult otterhounds, plus a litter of basset puppies. Many are retired hounds. We have 4 stud dogs (about three more than any sane person would have), 5 bitches who may yet be bred, a couple of young show hopefuls. Currently in residence are: Ch. Rebec's Ellen A Dale** - "Ellen"* Ch. Rebec's Five O One Blues - "Blues" Ch. Rebec's ‘Ell On Wheels - "Biker"* Ch. Rebec's ‘Ell Hath No Fury - "Little Girl"* Ch. Rebec's Fruma Sarah - "Sarah" Ch. Rebec's Lazar Wolf - "Lazar" Ch. Rebec's Eggnog** - "Nugie" * Rebec's ‘Ell's Bells - "Belle"* Rebec's Egg McMuffin - "Muffin" Ch. Rebec's Fuzzy Navel - "Fuzzy" Ch. Rebec's Cocktails For Two - "Sipper" Ch. Rabbit Run Charlotte - "Charlotte" Ch. Rebec's Loose Lips - "Louie" Ch. Rebec's Lip Lock - "Kissey" Ch. Rebec's Little Deuce Coupe - "Deuce" Ch. Rebec's Moody Blues - "Moody" Rebec's Carolina - "Carolina" Ch. Ottertail Some Like It Hoot (otterhound) - "Sugar" Aberdeen's Fiddle Dee Dee (otterhound) - "Scarlett" Gone but never to be forgotten are: Samantha CD - "The Schmoo" Ms. Beulah Funnybutt CD - "Beulah" Ch. Samuel de les Yeux Triste CD - "Sonny" Ch. Bowler's Rosalind Russell CD - Rosie" Ch. Olde Fashion LaSalle CD ROM - "Sally" Ch. Rebec's Douglas Fairbanks - "Dougie" Ch. Rebec's Leviathan ROM - "Levi" Ch. Rebec's Astarte - "Star" Ch. Rebec's Plain Pockets - "Pockie" Ch. Rebec's Wanton Wench - "Monkey" Ch. Chaucer's Rapscallion (otterhound) - "Rascal"** (Since this article was published, all the dogs mentioned have gone to the Rainbow Bridge. Many others have joined our family and will continue to do so.) THE HUMANS There are just the two of us. Reed is an Independent Living Specialist working with persons with disabilities. Becky is a Social Worker in a nursing home. Becky is the one who plans the breedings, and does 99% of the showing. Reed is very supportive and takes care of a lot of the dog chores, the show grooming, and all the teeth cleaning, and complains about having too many dogs. He is also an excellent whelping assistant and it is he who sleeps with the puppies. We are very active in our local all-breed kennel club, having held, between the two of us, every office, and teaching obedience and handling classes, and Becky has been Show Chairperson more often than she likes to think about. We are also members of the Greater Minneapolis St. Paul Basset Hound Club, the Basset Hound Club of America, and the Otterhound Club of America. We have been very active in the County 4-H Dog project for over 20 years, teaching obedience and showmanship classes, training Dog Bowl teams, and judging at fairs in Wisconsin and Minnesota. DOG ACTIVITIES At one time we vowed to put obedience titles on every dog we ever had. It was a noble thought, but one we had to put aside when reality reared its ugly head. There simply aren't enough hours in the day. We do firmly believe in obedience training, however, and continue to offer rebates when puppies we sell earn obedience titles. Before reality hit, we did manage to get CD's on 5 bassets. We tried them young - Sally got her first leg at 8 months of age - and we tried them old - Samantha got her CD at the age of 10, qualifying in 6 straight shows. We had reasonably good workers - Samantha scored in the 190's - and we had consistent workers - Beulah got her title in 3 straight shows with a HIGH score of 171-1/2. We also provided a lot of comic relief. We have done some tracking. Our first otterhound "Rascal" is featured in the AKC Otterhound Video demonstrating her abilities with her nose. "Belle" loves nothing more than to see her tracking harness taken from its hook. We never have gotten around to entering a test. Maybe someday..... I'd love to try field trialing. I know these guys still have their noses and their desire. Unfortunately no one around here trials so there's no one to work with. I'm sure the bunnies who come feed under the birdfeeders in the winter could use some exercise. We did enter an otterhound in a weight pull once - even took second place in our class. But that's another story. Conformation continues to be our primary focus. Becky attends shows most weekends in the summer plus a few over the winter to keep from going into dog show withdrawal. It really is an addiction!


	UP

		This site is best viewed with monitor set at 800X600.