[Dailydrool] Long-haired bassets & "pajamas"

[dpmcquade at juno.com]

Our Abner has longer hair than most bassets, especially around his neck, where he has a real ruff, unlike any of our other bassets. His hind legs also have extra fur that sort of stands out. Other than that, he's pretty much a flat-coated basset.

I've always figured there was a long-haired basset in his family tree, and he just got a bit of it. Is that possible genetically? I've also been told that the rather "woolly" texture of his ruff could be related to his hypothyroid, but I wonder if that would affect the hair's length.

I know the British kennel club is decrying lots of wrinkles. None of our particularly wrinkly bassets have had a real health problem because of that. Alexis had plenty of "pajamas" (as Suzanne Fitch once called them) on her legs and never had so much as an itchy spot. Abner has plenty of loose skin around his neck, though he lost a lot of pajamas when he lost his extra weight. He's never had a problem either. Are wrinkles really a problem? As I understood it, they were supposed to allow the breed to get easily through heavy undergrowth.
Pam, with Drew, food slave to the Dashing Bassets

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