Physical activity is a must when a southerly wind blows through Wellington.  To stand still is to risk freezing your extremities.  Today we’ve been experiencing such weather so the bassets got moving in their favourite way.

To wrestle.  You could put them in a ring with ropes around with a blue corner and a red corner, coach and bucket of water and you’d be set for a few minutes entertainment.

Photography basset wrestling is never easy but I’ve picked a few shots from the zillions I snapped watching the dogs do their thing.  It’s nice how an otherwise “failed” shot can be quite artistic (if slightly blurry).

Here’s one where a swift reversing movement of a basset can lead to a body missing!

Here he is before he dashed off to play again – look at that panting!

Don’t be fooled by that cutesy look, this basset is a fighting machine!

That’s when little basset hasn’t done when one of his quick side step manoeuvres out of the way leaving big basset a fighter without an opponent.

Mason is taking no chances and whips around Fortnum – what a leap for such a little basset.

It’s a tough game being a wrestling basset.

I don’t think biting is allowed in real wrestling – I’m not sure the bassets have mastered the finer points of the rules.  Anyway, it’s not really biting only grabbing your brother with your mouth.

Just watch those ears fly!

But there are never hard feelings in basset land – a few seconds later peace and tranquility is restored!

You’d never have guessed these dogs could be mean fighting machines.  Still, it warmed them up for a few minutes whilst the southerly made my fingers very cold.  The things I do to capture the perfect basset shot!