[theregalbeagle]

Regal is just about 10 months. We've taken him to two sessions of obedience and he did very well! And I apologize in advance that this is long.

We have a couple of behavioral issues with him that I'm not sure how to correct. He constantly steals the hand towel off of the rack. We try to keep the doors closed but sometimes we forget. Once he has it becomes a battle - even though he knows drop it, he won't always drop it. And he'll growl a little and sometimes become aggressive - no biting but I'd consider it aggressive.

And speaking of aggression - he showed us his teeth a few times this weekend. Once after we took the above mentioned towel from him, and at least one other time but I can't recall the exact scenario. We had friends over on Friday and Saturday and we're still teaching him how to act - but there was some jumping on people and a little nipping and he was verbally corrected. I'll also put him in our baby gated kitchen when he needs some time out - and he showed me his teeth from behind the gate. How do we correct this?

I feel like we've been using a lot of no's but I know we really need to be telling him what to do instead.

 

[cheezyridr]

if your dog is showing you his teeth, he is telling you that you are not the boss. do not allow him to intimidate you.

 

[Murphys Dad]

That's not good.
Showing Regal who the alpha is has to be done comprehensively. You (and everyone else in the house) should dictate how things are done and when. When you give him his food, make sure he sits down and waits until you tell him he can go eat, make sure he walks beside you or a little behind you on walks, step over the threshold before him (both ways). He has to realize that everything he wants or is given, he gets only after he does something for you first.
You should be able to take food away from him, touch him all over, and play with him without him showing aggression towards you.
Correct him with a firm NO and put in time out or ignore for a while/stop any playful act. He has to know that when he is behaving badly, he loses.

About the towel stealing, can't give you any advice, apart from keeping it high up/out of his reach. He'll probably grow out of it.

 

[BeagleWeegle]

I agree with the above posted. I also know that Regal think the towel thing is a game, and seeing how far He can push.

Try a few little things I tried with My Charlie on some issues When you see Regal with the towel slap his snout gentle with the towel say NO, taking the towel in your hand and walk away, don't look back at Regal, and ignore, do this a few times this should work. Ignore is the key and not looking back for having a stare down with him!, you are the pack leader not him.

As for Jumping on people when people comes over, Charlie did this too, teach the word down, if Regal already knows the word, perhaps it has to do with the company not saying Hi to him, We found Charlie does this cause it's his home, and soon as company says Hi Charlie little pet He stops, but if they Don't He barks, jumps nips like he wants to bite but it's not, it's more of HEY YOU PAY ATTENTION and give me a hello, so knowing this about Him I tell people to say hello to him, and they do and all is fine. I know sounds odd, but I find beagles are loving and crave a lot of attention, I know my Charlie does.

Always always correction bahavour should be stern not yelled, and also the ignore thing, I found this to work with Charlie and is getting better all the time, he just turned 2.


pet for Regal

 

[Smeagle]

I agree with others, being the alpha is about how you work with your dog in every interaction, every day.

Some dogs are told the rules once and accept them, some dogs wake up every day asking if the rules are still the same.

I would work on incorporating the NILIF principle (nothing in life is free) into your household. The basic idea is that for anything the dog wants, he must pay you for it. He gets nothing for free, that is, he gets nothing without complying with your command first.

Toys, treats, meals, play time, attention - any resource the dog values he must pay for. If he wants a pat, make him sit first. If he wants to play with his toy, take it out on your terms only - don't let him initiate play. Make him sit and stay for his dinner and make sure he isn't looking at his food when he is in the stay, but looking at you as this shows the dog looks to you for permission to eat.

NILIF is about teaching the dog that YOU control the resources, and that everything the dog enjoys comes through you.

 

[Brisen]

Great advice, the only thing I can add is patience and consistency!

 

[theregalbeagle]

Thanks for everyone's advice - you are always so helpful. I'm hoping he is just in one of those testing phases because we've been implementing NILIF since the day we brought him home.

I guess we just need to step it up a bit!

 

[Smeagle]

Originally Posted By: theregalbeagleThanks for everyone's advice - you are always so helpful. I'm hoping he is just in one of those testing phases because we've been implementing NILIF since the day we brought him home.

I guess we just need to step it up a bit!

I found this to be a great article on NILIF, it helped when I found I needed to 'step it up' too!

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

 

[BellaLou]

I would try feeding him by hand one meal a day. We learned this in dog class and it teaches dogs to respect their owners. It goes with that saying don't bite the hand that feeds you. Then I would place some Bitter Apple on that towel. Show him you are doing it and say no then leave the door open and see if he goes for it. This is how we taught our little one!

 

[theregalbeagle]

We've tried bitter apple on other items - I've actually seen him lick it off - I think he likes it!

We do many of the NILIF things - when he hears the food hit the bowl, he runs to his crate, to sit and I have him leave it. He does look to us to tell him when it's okay to eat. I can easily put my hand in his bowl with no issue. He doesn't jump on the couch or the bed, he knows he has to ask (by sitting) and then we'll pick him up.

He's got so many good behaviors down pat but really likes to challenge us when he steals things...I'm really working on the ignore thing like walking to another room and also putting him in the baby gated area when he's being fresh.

 

[Smeagle]

Originally Posted By: theregalbeagle
We do many of the NILIF things - when he hears the food hit the bowl, he runs to his crate, to sit and I have him leave it. He does look to us to tell him when it's okay to eat. I can easily put my hand in his bowl with no issue. He doesn't jump on the couch or the bed, he knows he has to ask (by sitting) and then we'll pick him up.

Just make sure that you do things on your terms. I don't often let the dogs initiate things, do you let him on the couch every time he comes over?

For example - sometimes Dasiy goes over to our dog box which has the leads and collars in it. She sits at the box and looks at me, waiting for me to put her leash and collar on. But just because she is asking, does not mean I'm going to take her for a walk then and there... if that makes sense?

 

[Pack Leader]

How much exercise does Regal get? It sounds like you have a good grasp of what it takes to be the dominant one, but if Regal seems to enjoy challenging you he may be a bit bored. A tired dog is a calm-submissive one.

 

[nmartin32]

Originally Posted By: Henry's MomHow much exercise does Regal get? It sounds like you have a good grasp of what it takes to be the dominant one, but if Regal seems to enjoy challenging you he may be a bit bored. A tired dog is a calm-submissive one.

Unless he is like mine that always gets the bad case of the zoomies after 1 hour walks and running

 

[Sephly]

Mine steals kitchen towels, well not really steals just pulls them to the floor, its weird kinda compulsive if its there he'll do it stare at it on the floor and walk away. so weird. i just got used to picking them up lol. He'll back away if i catch him and say no, other wise...*shrug* i just pick them up.

 

[Jacks Mom]

Regal is doing the same thing my 6 month old Jack is doing - bathroom towels. He's been shredding things just in the last couple of days; his crate pillow, bath towel and blanket. I like the bitter apple spray idea. I'm going to get some today and give it a try.

 

[Clint52]

We tried the Pet Block sold at PetSmart on Luke. We sprayed on things we didn’t want him messing with, like cords and furniture. At first, he was curious and licked and sniffed. We thought “well that ain’t gonna work”. However, since his original curiosity, he has pretty much left those items alone. Therefore, I suppose it must have worked.

 

[Cassie]

They will do that behavior for awhile.. its going to need a combination of restricting where your dog is able to go and being creative in blocking from getting to cords and other contraband. Use baby gates and fencing in the house to accomplish that. Try running cords through pvc piping to prevent chewing... my dog is 8.10 yrs old and she's no longer interested in destruction.