[momtwo3dogs2]

we rescued hershey,a beagle/basset mixed? when he was 5 wks old.he is now 4 months and we love him dearly.but latley we have seen several agressive tendencies that have us worried..first off even as a young baby he hated to be restrained in any way,like if we were giving him a bath or triing to clip his nails he would snap at me.but a wk ago i was clipping his nails and he was wriggling so my daughter held him and he bit her on the arm while she was holding his face to keep him from bitting the clippers.he doesnt like to be held even to just get love,although he is like our shadow and doesnt like to be alone..he also has issues with food and will snap if you go near his dish,although hes getting better since we are working with him..we have several other dogs and our poodle(toto)is about 6 yrs old and around 5 pounds.hershey constantly grabs her legs everytime she moves wanting to play.she is snappy with him ,as she was with our other dogs but they learned to leave her alone.she used to snap at hershey and he would leave her alone for a few minutes until he got brave again.but latley when toto snaps at hershey he comes right at her with teeth bared ready to fight.he also does this with our 8 yr old cat,who has made him bleed on more than one occassion because he pounces on her tail.but hershey is fighting back now and im really worried about this.he seems like hes getting too agressive to early on.ive never had to deal with a dog like this before.does anyone have any ideas? he is young but very hard headed,although hes very smart and obedient at the moment.

hershey



toto



him bitting at my daughter because shes holding him



his lovable side

[Dogstar]

This pup was separated from his litter REALLY early, and it sounds like, among his other problems, he's not good at inhibiting his bite- which is something he would have learned from other dogs.

You need to find a GOOD, POSITIVE trainer in your area ASAP. This isn't a set of problems that you're going to be able to fix with some advice off the internet. You need help in person, and NOW.

[momtwo3dogs2]

I rescued him from a lady that claimed she took the whole litter at 2 wks to keep them from being pts by animal control. she claimed to have taken care of them for 5 wks but later found out by contacting animal control they were 4 wks when she took them and she only had them 3 days before she started selling them. hershey had severe worms and mange and we paid over 600.00because my other dogs caught the mange too.so money is kinda short,i just quit my job,long story and havnt found another yet,but the pups were kept in terrible shape..

[melgrj7]

I agree you need to bring him to a trainer. Since it sounds like you can't do this now, start doing nothing in life is free with him, control all resources (food, water, attention, toys, the ability to move from room to room, to go through doors). Its a non confrontational way to say to the dog, hey I'm the leader here. Also, try to work on bite inhibition, when he nips or bites you, yell OUCH! and leave the room. It sounds like he really enjoys being near you, so leaving him will be a good way to get the point across. You may find baby gates useful.

[momtwo3dogs2]

thata a good idea but kinda hard since we have a doggie door he uses to go outside and use the bathroom,also he perfers to spend lots of time outdoors

[Twinney]

You could try taking him inside and crating him when he bites you, or if he's outside have 'time out' area. Thats what we used to do with our dogs when they were puppies when the would fight, and it worked.
A biting dog isn't something tolerated by me. If one of my dogs bit me, purposly, after there 1st time, they would realize pretty quick that isn't supposed to happen. (I've been bit once by each dog, and never punished them for it, but none of them never bit me again.) I don't believe that if the dog is biting you, and your daughter, that he see's you as the pack alpha, he disrespects you. If he bites you, thats one thing, what if he tried biting somebody walking down the street?
My boss has this theory that when a dog is a puppy you get it snapping mad, and the second it bites you you grab on to it's ears (don't twist them unless the dog bites you agian) and tell it NO! And his dogs have never bitten someone.

[melgrj7]

Well, you should block the doggie door and take him out yourself, after he earns the right to go out (by doing commands). Once he is being better about respecting you, he earns the right to have free access to the outdoors via the doggy door.

Originally Posted by momtwo3dogs2

thata a good idea but kinda hard since we have a doggie door he uses to go outside and use the bathroom,also he perfers to spend lots of time outdoors

[poodleholic]

]he also has issues with food and will snap if you go near his dish,although hes getting better since we are working with him..
we have several other dogs and our poodle(toto)is about 6 yrs old and around 5 pounds.hershey constantly grabs her legs everytime she moves wanting to play.she is snappy with him ,as she was with our other dogs but they learned to leave her alone.she used to snap at hershey and he would leave her alone for a few minutes until he got brave again.but latley when toto snaps at hershey he comes right at her with teeth bared ready to fight.

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like you're really not working much with this dog in terms of teaching manners and boundaries and obedience. With his history of being taken from his dam and littermates, he requires a lot more than the average puppy (which is considerable!).

Hershey has resource guarding issues, which needs to be dealt with.

Your 5-lb. Poodle does not deserve and should not be subjected to being constantly harrassed by Hershey. It's your job to separate him from her unless you can be right there to supervise and intervene. Use baby gates to contain him in one room when you cannot supervise him.

he also does this with our 8 yr old cat,who has made him bleed on more than one occassion because he pounces on her tail.but hershey is fighting back now and im really worried about this.he seems like hes getting too agressive to early on.ive never had to deal with a dog like this before.does anyone have any ideas? he is young but very hard headed,although hes very smart and obedient at the moment.

The behavior is normal for an untrained puppy without boundaries, especially a puppy who didn't learn how to even be a dog from his dam and littermates! He doesn't know any better, and he's not being taught what is and is not ok. It's your job to see that the cat has a safe place to go to where Hershey cannot get to her.

You need professional help from a behaviorist or a trainer who can work with both you and Hershey, preferably using OC +R, as aversives would likely escalate this poor little dog into worse behavior.

I would also encourage you to be super dilligent where your child is concerned. No more holding a struggling dog for you - the next time his bite may do a lot of damage. Each time Hershey snaps and bites someone, that behavior is being reinforced, so will be harder to stop/change.

Implement NILIF immediately, and establish a daily routine with structure for that puppy, including several brief (3-min - 5-min.) training sessions throughout the day. Even if it's no more than sit and down at first.

Ensure that Hershey gets adequate exercise to burn off all that pent-up puppy energy. (A tired puppy is a good puppy! )

[momtwo3dogs2]

i have had puppies before and i know they like to chew or play bite on everything including humans or shoes ,socks ect...which is why i havnt really worried before now...he has been fairly respectful of the other animals until about 3 wks ago.well i guess not really,the masstiff and great dane i have seen let hershey pull toys right out of their mouth and there fine with it.toto and angel are older and dont want to tolerate hersheys playfulness..i mean he would chase them,bite on their legs or tails ect but my other animals can reach the sofa,hershey cant..as far as working with him,he can walk very well on leash, hes completely housetrained,he sits,come when called no matter what hes doing(which is really good because we live way out in the country,tons of things to smell) and were working on stay.at the moment he is obedient.i have started carring a spray bottle with me because he still will get you in your socks or grab a pant leg and hold on for dear life,i have dragged him down a few stairs and he still doesnt let go,so he learns very quick and after about 4 times he rarley goes for socks or pants insted will bark and bark,which i have started putting him outside when he does that. and since he really bit her i do not have my child hold him anymore..i wrap him in a towel and have been holding him several times a day for like 30 seconds triing to get him used to it,im triing to show him bitting is not going to let him get his way and get down,only after he calms down do i let him go...but i dont know how to fix the agression with the dog and cat.my animals all get along very well and i was hoping once hershey was past his wanting to play every waking moment stage he would get along fine with the older animals,because usually its him and the poodle who sleep together so i know they like each other.he gets lots of exercise ,we have a half acre fenced back yard and 4 other acres with a pond which him and the other dogs love to roam when i go walking.