[LJ Beagle]

Hi, I'm new here and also relatively new to being owned by a beagle. My family adopted a beagle from a rescue group in July 2020. The rescue group acquired her from a puppy mill operation where she was used as a breeder for an unknown number of litters. She is generally very sweet but is fearful of men. Shortly after we adopted her we installed a new backyard fence. She barked at a fellow installing a new fence in our backyard. She will also bark at my husband if she sees him carrying anything Just in the last couple of days, Libby June has started growling at my husband when both are inside the house. Yesterday she was across the room and started growling and running toward him but stopped when she got close enough to see who it was. This morning she growled intensely at him when he walked by our bed. She sleeps next to our bed in a crate close to my side of the bed. I'm concerned that this behavior is escalating.

I'd be grateful for any advice. Hoping to utilize some training/conditioning to get LJ into a better frame of mind around my husband (who has always been kind to her).

Does this qualify as resource guarding? Has anyone used any particular training techniques or anti-anxiety medication to help with situations like this?

 

[Nebuchadnezzar]

It sounds like fear to me.

I would suggest seeing a trainer, but in the meantime - can you do stuff like have your husband feed her, even by hand? Can he keep treats on hand, have her do some tricks/commands for yummy food to break the cycle of her seeing him as scary?

 

[Alice26]

It sounds like fear to me.

I would suggest seeing a trainer, but in the meantime - can you do stuff like have your husband feed her, even by hand? Can he keep treats on hand, have her do some tricks/commands for yummy food to break the cycle of her seeing him as scary?

Hi dear friend,
Welcome to the forum
I got a 4 months young baby beagle pedigree 5 generation beagle from a breeder.
Just to say that if you got her from the rescue normally dogs are coming out of there being scared of almost everyone.
There are a lot of reasons for that.
1) previous owner treated him/her bad, by wrapping their legs with rope or anything else
2) previous owner might of used to hit a dog
3) previous owner might used aggressive body language or verbal language
Etc
I would advice to get a professional trainer, not a fake pretending trainer
They are more expensive
If you don't want to put that money into your puppy then try and socialize her more with your puppy.
Let him try to play with her to start a game
Or feeding her may be interact with him/her more and if there dog comes near her congratulate her and give him/her treats

Overall beagles are kind natured dogs and aren't very offensive dogs and don't keep being angry at you for long, as long as your mindful and kind and can prove your puppy that there is nothing to be scared of he/she must be fine

Last thing, some puppies do not like and even hate their crate so that can be one of the contributing factors
Try to learn your dogs language for to be able to understand it well and that can help to strengthen your bond with your dog !!!

 

[Cassie]

Has your dog been to the vet recently for a check up? Just to eliminate any health issue.
Nebs advice about hand feeding is a great idea. It helps to bond..and re-enforces the saying.."dont bite the hand that feeds you". Have your husband talk to the dog a lot.. dogs like the sound of a higher pitched female sound..sort of like baby talk. So if hubby can imitate that give it a try.
Definitely get your dog in to an obedience training class.
See if your local police or sheriff have a k9 training class they offer. My dog went to such a class and it was great. In the meantime..do a lot of your own commands and everyone use the same words. Get a clicker at the petstore..its a great cheap training tool..watch YouTube videos on how to use one.
Keep us posted on how its going..
Cassie says Hi

 

[LJ Beagle]

I too think having my husband feed her/give her treats to associate him with something positive is a great idea. Thanks for the suggestion. We really think she experienced something (whether physical or verbal) that has given her almost a Post Traumatic Stress Disorder -type situation.

I will also look into training once the pandemic situation gets better. We live in a state that is under stay-at-home orders so are pretty limited in what we can do and what businesses are operating right now.

We took Libby to the vet twice last month with a pain problem. After X-rays and blood tests (including looking at her pancreatic enzyme levels), we didn't get any real answers. Everything looked normal. Our veterinarian did suggest looking into something called "Beagle Pain Syndrome" which she learned about years ago in vet school but would require a veterinary neurologist to diagnose. For now, we ave carprofen and tramadol to give her if she seems painful and that seems to help.

So I think LJ's situation may have components of nearly everything that's been suggested. . . I sure appreciate all of the advice!

 

[Cassie]

Holy Smokes your vet thought it was beagle pain syndrome?!! Probably giving pain meds? My dog had it a couple of years ago and 2 different vets did NOT know about it. I did my own research. My dog acted like it had difficulty moving, was stiff.. the vets thought it was a pinched berve and wanted to do an MRI for $2500 .. which is a diagnostic tool and does nothing to treat the problem. After a few weeks of pain meds I told the vet that was useless. I wanted my dog to get a steroid..Prednisone... the vet very reluctantly prescribed it. After 2 doses my dog was back to normal..she finished the 10 day regimen and was great.
Is your dog showing some signs of pain or movement priblems? Essentially its Meningitis...if thats what it is your dog has.

 

[Nebuchadnezzar]

Cassie's point about pain was a good one. And if your dog has been struggling with pain...well, that might be feeding into it. I don't know much about beagle pain syndrome, so can't offer advice that way. But if you can get a steroid like Cassie did, fingers crossed.

 

[LJ Beagle]

Yes, I really think Libby June has been struggling, off and on, with pain. Different spots in her body seem to bother her some days and other days she seems completely fine with no aches or pains. One night I had to rush her to an emergency clinic because she was having labored breathing (due to pain) and was also very painful. We've been trying to treat whatever it is just with the pain med/NSAID. It is incredibly helpful to know how well your dog responded to prednisone, Cassie. Of course, we don't know for sure if Libby has beagle pain syndrome, but I'm so glad it was presented as a possibility early as opposed to after all you went through. I'm wondering whether this veterinarian would entertain the idea of a course of prednisone for Libby, rather than referring us to a very $$$$ specialist.

 

[Cassie]

Before going to a Neurologist or having further expensive tests..i would ask the vet for a round of Prednisone...but first your dog should get off the pain med before starting the steroid. Vets are reluctant about prescribing Prednisone but if the pain meds not working then say you want a round to try before seeing any specialist or other tests. Besides it's usually for only about 10 days.
Prednisone does cause the dog to pee a lot so keeping the dog in a restricted area is best while on this medication.
At the time I did agree to very expensive blood tests for lyme disease which all turned out negative.. keep in mind just because vets are treating animals it doesn't mean the tests are cheaper than for humans.

Finally I wiill share that I have a medical background.

 

[pike]

My adopted Beagle have been with us close to 2 years now, and he is doing great.

Our beagle is said to be 7 years old at the time we brought him home, but after doing some research and meeting other beagle owner in our neighborhood, he's definitely way much younger then 7. Anyway.

My teenage son got bitten by our beagle maybe 3 to 4 time within the first year. In the first year we have him. He is very docile, always chilling at his place, and likes to be patted, but he will sprang awake and snap when anyone pat him while he is sleeping.. He will also growl when we uses a broom near him sweeping the floor, and will snap and bite when we try to take something from him. Otherwise, when he's chilling and awake, he is super adorable, and listen well to basic command like go to sleep (Asking him to go to his place), stay, stop, wait, but never listen to drop it command, and when he's out for walks etc, he's friendly with anything and everyone, except for some bigger dog breed.

At first. We thought he might have what is described as possessive aggression, and food aggression? but he shares and allow us to play with his toys.. Food aggression maybe..

Following suggestion in various forums, and blogs. We have never once shouted at our beagle, and start approaching and patting him only when he's awake.. and when my wife uses the broom, she started talking to the dog while keeping a good distance, and over time, the broom can get close enough to even sweep his belly.

As for food and possessive aggression, we had a good head start as since he listen to the wait command.. we started feeding him putting down his bowl and telling him to wait then give the go ahead, with this routine, over time, we started stroking his head the moment he starts eating, and now, we can even shift his bowl, take or add food or tell him to wait and take the bowl away in between his meal. But having said, we're still being careful when we give him raw meaty lamp bone, and will offer other treats in exchange if we want to take the bone from him.. after all, he's only been with us for close to 2 years.

Snapping and biting when we touch him during his sleep now goes away over time, and now he no longer spring awake when touches while he is sleeping..

I have this feeling that the poor fella could have been abused before. But lot's of patience and loving care, and very important, lot's of walks and interaction with other dogs and people, a lot of negative threats can be reversed.