Meet Dash

[rebeljt]

I'm new to the Bealge World forums. I'm glad I found them. I've done some interesting reading here. I'd like you to meet Dash. Dash is a 11 week old Male Beagle puppy. I've had him for almost three weeks. He's a great puppy and my kids love him. (Sometimes too much)

I have to admit I didn't do a lot of research before I decided to get a Beagle Puppy. Dash has a few behavior issues I want to get resolved and I'm not sure how to do it. Dash likes to mouth and gnaw and chew. I know thats normal for a puppy. He also has spurts of hyperness usually starting around 6PM. He bites and mouths constantly during that hyper time. We've been giving him chew toys and ice cubes. Sometimes this does help him. Lately, and mostly with me, he has become quite aggressive. He will latch on to my shoes or my pants and shake his head violently. He also growls very loudly when this is going on. I try to redirect his attention to toys or I tell him no. It seems like when I do this he becomes even more vicious and more aggressive. It kind of worries me about what kind of adult dog Dash is going to turn into.

I've been reading things about using noise Shakers, Spray Bottles, and also putting your thumb in his mouth under his tongue and holding his mouth for 10 seconds. The last options kind of worries me. It seems somewhat inhumane. I've got to get a grip on this and get his behavior under control. I feel like I'm a person without a plan. I've never had a puppy before so this is all new to me. I guess I didn't come into it with a good plan.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what the best way for me to get this under control is? I appreciate all feed back and I apologize if this isn't the right place for the post.

Thanks,

Justin

[Cassie]

My Beag is now 10 months but I have been where you are now. Go to "Search" and look up aggression, nipping and biting for past posts on this topic as there has been a lot of discussion. Also read up on as much material as you can either in books or on the internet on nipping and biting and how to be the alpha dog.
Here are a few tips in the meantime:
1. Give your beag frequent naps in a crate-I found that my dog nipped more when tired.
2. Don't play tug of war games yet.
3.Don't sit on the floor and play with the dog as that brings you down to his level and he will think of you as an equal instead of the alpha dog.
4. Give lots of chew toys.
5. When he nips say "Ah,ah,ah!!" loudly.
6. Ignore the dog when he is nippy as they don't like to be left alone.
7. Say Gooood Boooy when he stops and give a little treat.
8. Put your hands in his food while he is eating so he knows you control the food. Teach the dog to sit before putting down the bowl. I also hand fed my dog (a little messy) again so my dog knew I controlled the food and she eat gently-its a good bonding time.
9. Watch children with the dog at this time so children do not get injured.
10. BE CONSISTENT.

If you consistently do the above it will get better. The dog will learn "bite inhibition" which is something like pretending to gnaw on your hand but not biting.

If the dog was still in the litter the other pups would bite back...lol

[Mollys Mom]

Welcome to Beagle World - Dash is adorable.

Its been sooo long since I have had a puppy, my dogs for the past 15 years have been rescues at older ages. I do remember those puppy days though.

This site might be a good read for you for behavior issues:

ASPCA | Puppy Mouthing

[Clairebear]

I have a 14 year old beagle and I can remember her doing this when she was a puppy. I did the same thing you did & she eventually stopped. I also took her to puppy kindergarten to socialize with other pups & long walks everyday to burn energy. I found after the age of 2 years she calmed down a lot. Now she doesn't do much except sleep. Hope this helps & good luck!


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[rebeljt]

I had been waiting to take Dash to puppy school before I started doing any basic training stuff. After I read all these great suggestions I got thinking to myself. Why am I waiting? Why couldn't I do some basic stuff on my own at home. I watched some videos on YouTube about basic commands and training. Its helped a lot. I have taught Dash how to sit and how lay down. When he starts getting hyper and out of control all I have to do is command sit and it usually puts and end to it. He sits and then I tell him good boy and pet him. Hopefully that's not making a bad cycle?

If it doesn't put an end to the hyperness and aggression it means Dash is needing a nap. Sometimes I have to put him in his kennel for a few minutes in those cases and when I come back to check on him a few minutes later he's asleep. So to me that means he was needing sleep. Maybe the wrong way to do it but its worked.

The biting/mouthing has taken a significant decline as well in the three days we've been doing this. I work with Dash on commands 3 times a day for about 5 minutes each. When we do it I can tell he really wants to make me proud of him.

My Mother in law also has a dog. Couple years old. I've started bringing Dash over to socialize with him. They play pretty hard and they are both really tired after they are done playing. I'm not sure its helping with anything other than letting him be around/socialize with older dogs.

Thank you for all your suggestions. If you have anything to add to what I'm doing now I'd like to hear it.

Thanks again,

JT

[Cassie]

definitely get started on basic comand teaching like sit, stay, shake, fetch, come... my dog could do all those by 4 months and before going to obedience class.