[Dailydrool] Unplayful bassets

[Pam McQuade]

<<By playfulness, they mean things like a willingness to chase balls or 
Frisbees and to engage in games like hide-and-seek." Of course, Basset 
hounds ranked at the bottom, >>

Oh, no, not another silly human opinion about what a dog should do! No 
matter what the average dog owner thinks a dog should do, bassets don't do 
it. Maybe that's because most dogs think humans own the world, but bassets 
know they do!

Those of us who know bassets also know that they make up their own rules for 
playfulness. Though she's twelve, our Jane still adores playing in the snow. 
Unfortunately, she's also our only hound who loves to do so. She will dash 
out into the snow and do a play bow at Belvedere, who, totally uninterested 
in running about in the cold, wet stuff, ignores her. Then she dashes around 
like a very young pupster, turning our white, flawless lawn into a canvas 
for basset tracks.

Jane has never invited a human to do this kind of play. I don't think 
bassets need humans to have a good time, and they certainly don't associate 
any kind of obedience with play. Two bassets, especially puppies, might play 
together, and puppies will invite oldsters to play, but humans aren't 
necessary to the equation. This is not to say that bassets don't adore their 
humans, it's just that they recognize that humans are not play toys.
Pam, who is never a play toy to the Dashing Bassets