The Albany and West Lodge Bassets is a working basset pack.
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History
The Albany and West Lodge Bassets was formed with the amalgimation of the Albany Bassets and the West Lodge Harehounds.
The Albany Bassets
In 1955 members of the Basset Hound Club formed a working branch to "foster the hunting instinct inherent in every Basset Hound", initially all members of the club were encouraged to enter their pet Basset and see if it could work with a nucleus of kenneled hounds.
In 1973 this pack was renamed the Albany Bassets and was registered with the Masters of Basset Hounds Association. The Albany remained a part of the Basset Hound Club until 2002 when they withdrew their support and the Albany became a subscription pack.
In 2002 the hunt outcrossed their Kennel Club registered hounds with working stock to produce a greater working ability, as they felt the Kennel Club standard hounds were becoming too heavy and cumbersome. The aim of the hunt's outcrossing was to produce lighter more agile hounds that could work for longer over rough ground.
The West Lodge Harehounds
The West Lodge Harehounds was initially formed in 1928 by Sir Douglas Ritchie as a private beagle pack with subscriptions being taken from 1934. The pack was disbanded in 1941, but was reformed with basset hounds in 1950. At the time of their amalgamation, the West Lodge Harehounds comprised a pack of three-quarter Bassets, one-quarter Harriers, along with some Grand Basset Griffon Vendéens in the pack.
The Albany and West Lodge Bassets
In 2006 the two packs amalgamated. Today the hunt seeks to breed working Bassets with chests at least 5 in (130 mm) from the ground, that can hunt for four hours twice a week.
Hunt country
The Albany's original country extends from Stamford in the south, Bourne in the north, Melton Mowbray in the west and Spalding in the east, and lies within the boundaries of the Cottesmore Hunt.
The West Lodge's country runs from the northern outskirts of London to Biggleswade and Longstowe in the north, bounded by Harlow and Royston in the east, and Hatfield and Stevenage in the west. Its country lies within the boundaries of the Cambridgeshire with Enfield Chase and the Puckeridge Hunt.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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