[gazdob]

HELP! I am new, I have a 5 month old beagle, and she is lovely, there is just one problem, when she settles on your lap or the childrens lap and you try and remove her she gets very aggresive and growls and snarls and tries to bite. She has also done this this evening when i have tried to dry her from coming in from outside in the rain.

 

[RosCole]

We are trying to break Cole (6 months) of this very same thing. If he doesn't want to move or be touched he gets mean! I never experienced this before because our older beagle, Roscoe, NEVER showed aggression for any reason.

Basically we have been giving a firm No! and teaching him Nice. When he is being aggressive I don't back down but put him down, say No

and put my hand in front of him and say Do Nice. My husband started this and believe it or not it has been working, when we say Nice or Do Nice he changes his tone and licks our hand! We praise him for this and treats help too!
I am far from a trainer but I just thought I would share what is working for us! It is important to nip this behavior in the bud so it does not carry over or get worse! Good luck!

 

[gazdob]

Thank you.
How do you post pics of your dog?

 

[Murphys Dad]

To learn how to post pictures go to the <span style="color: #3333FF">Information and Help</span> forums and click on the <span style="color: #000099">Posting Help</span> area. You'll find detailed instructions there.

 

[Smeagle]

Originally Posted By: garydHELP! I am new, I have a 5 month old beagle, and she is lovely, there is just one problem, when she settles on your lap or the childrens lap and you try and remove her she gets very aggresive and growls and snarls and tries to bite. She has also done this this evening when i have tried to dry her from coming in from outside in the rain.

Although a proper diagnosis of the problem can never be given via the net, I would suggest this is likely to be symptomatic of a lack of leadership from your behalf.

What sort of training are you doing with her? This kind of behaviour is often the dog testing you and testing her boundaries. She is telling you to back off when she doesn't want to be moved.

Firstly I would stop her sitting on the children's laps completely. Do not let the kids play with her unsupervised - this kind of behaviour can definitely escalate if the dog thinks it is gaining success. You have to be very careful when it comes to correcting her - I would actually be inclined to say do not yell at her or 'confront' her when she exhibits this behaviour, because she could take you up on the challenge. She has already warned you, and there is no telling how badly the behaviour will escalate if you challenge her directly.

I had a similar issue when Daisy was around the same age - she would growl and snap if I tried to remove her from the couch. I noticed the behavior got worse if I grabbed her to remove her or yelled NO because she saw it as me challenging her. Instead, I used a treat to teach her the 'off' command. When I saw her on the lounge, I'd tell her to off and give her lots of treats and praise as soon as she complied. This meant I avoided confrontation but the training helped enforced my position as alpha (as she learnt to comply to my command).

I also started crate training her so she had her own place to go to, when I wanted her off the lounge I was able to give her an alternative place to sit by saying in your crate.

I would also look at implementing the NILIF principle (nothing in life is free) and also a program like the triangle of temptation. both can be found here:

http://www.k9force.net/index.html?row2col2=nilif.html

http://www.k9force.net/index.html?row2col2=tot.html

 

[Tucker]

Tucker used to growl when I took him off the bed. Smeagle is right that it may relate to leadership and being the pack leader. We just showed no emotion, no fear, and took him off the bed. Now he doesn't do it but just gives us a pleading look to let him stay. This is also important if you ever have to take something out of his mouth (food). When he knows your the top dog, he should submit to your wishes. He may not like it, but you are the boss. Now we can put our hands in his mouth without any problems and he won't bite. He does still challenge us from time to time if we look weak, but he will submit if we show good energy.

 

[angelaH]

Yes, its essential to make the dog realise you are pack leader. Stop letting her sit on your laps until she has dropped the habit of growling etc. A good start to training is always make sure that you go out of or into a room before your dog. Might sound strange but as pack leader you must go first. Classes will also help.She is at the right age to learn.