About the Book

The 2004 book, the first of its kind in the UK, was the brainchild of an enthusiastic Gavin Robertson. He first sowed the seeds of his ideas in Linda Skerritt's brain in 2002. Despite the subject being mentioned several times over the next year, germination took a long time. It was only over a glass (or two) or red wine at Gunnar Nymann and Holger Busk's home in Denmark in October 2003 that the subject arose again and, with further encouragement from both Gavin and the Chouan clan, Linda finally agreed to embark on this new venture. The book proved to be so successful that a further one was soon being planned.

The second edition contains more exciting photographs and copies of documents never before seen. These complement captivating information on the five breeds: -

"By 1897, Walter Beilby, a noted journalist, described Bassets in his book 'The Dog in Australasia', the first Australian All Breeds book. He wrote "This is the breed that has unfortunately failed to find much favour with Australians".

“For the French, the notion of separating the two breeds presented no problem, as for them type was the most important factor. But in other countries, especially Holland , much emphasis was on height. They considered this to be the most important difference.”

“A wealth of literature preceded Sir John’s valuable writings on French hounds, not least information in the late 19th century French journal La Chasse Illustrée, which contained many scenes of the ancient pastime of hunting.”

“The Blue Gascony Basset (Basset Bleu de Gascogne), a variety whose origin is debatable. Some believe the breed was the result of a mutation in the Great Blue Gascony, others that it came from crossing the Saintongeois Basset with the Blue Gascony .”