As he opens his mouth to yelp, release the ear and slide the dowel into your dogs mouth. Even if you nails are closely clipped, it will be enough to make your point. Often, once the dog understands the correction, taking a hold of the ear will make him cooperate. Release pressure on the ear as soon as your dog opens his mouth. Find your dog's soft spot.
Bassets tend to be very stoic.
One could pinch most parts of your dog's ear without a rise out of him. There is often only one or two spots that tend to get his attention, and they seem never to be in the same place from one hound to another. Once you find this spot, you can be assured of getting your dog's attention. An alternate method of compliance would be a collar twist high on your dog's neck. I don't like this method as well as I believe the dog is to concerned about breathing to make a connection with opening his mouth to take a object.