My four month old beagle is probably getting aggressive. Please help

[Ophelia Trelawney]

Hi Adrienne,

My 4 month old beagle seems to be getting a bit aggressive. We are afraid if it's something we've done that is causing this or if he's getting anxious. The following were problems/signs that we encountered:
1) Biting us sometimes if we touch his face/ears/back
2) Biting us if we put a on leash him. 
3) Excessive barking, growling and howling and pulling when put on a leash. 
4) Random biting.
5) Excessively scratching on the door and screaming.
6) Disobedience
7) Peeing on and biting furniture.
😎8 ) Eats all the time. If there's no food around, he finds ways to climb up surfaces and swallow inedible items like wooden frames and plastic flowers. 

A little background about how we care for him and his schedule:

Morning: 
7:30am-a short run and some basic training
8:00: Breakfast and a walk until 9am
10:00-12:00: sleep
12:00-2:00- brain training and obedience training and he roams about. 
2:00- lunch (mostly home cooked food) 
Sleeps until 4:30
Roams about in the house for a while (mostly till 6:30)
Sleeps for a while
8:00pm dinner 
Plays until 9
Bed time

He is not crate trained. He is stubborn but extremely smart. He has mastered several tricks within a day's time. One mistake we are aware of is that we gave him way too much freedom right from when he was little and still continue to do so because if we don't, he throws tantrums. (Barks, growls, etc)

Could you also advice me about  how many hours of sleep he essentially requires?

We're very worried. Thanks Adrienne.span widget

[Adrienne]

2 hours ago, Ophelia Trelawney said:

Hi Ophelia,

Please see my replies in bold:

1) Biting us sometimes if we touch his face/ears/back

This can be aggressive looking play biting or it can be due to fear/not being comfortable of being handled. Your puppy is fortunately young, so you can work on this issue, but need to start as soon as possible. What is needed here is behavior modification using a combination or d desensitization and counterconditioning. so to change a dog's emotional response. 

Here's a read on desensitization:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/desensitization/

And here's one on counterconditioning:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/counterconditioning/

So in the case of his reluctance to being touched, you may want to start with very brief touches in an area your dog seems to tolerate more with one hand, as you hand feed a tasty treat from your other hand. Being beside the dog rather than in front of him can feel less threatening to a dog, some dogs do better if we are sitting rather than standing. So it would go like this: Touch-treat, touch-treat, touch-treat. This would be repeated several times until a positive conditioned emotional response (+CER) is noticed. In other words, the dog starts looking forward to the touch because it has started to become associated with the treat.

Afterward, touch may become gradually more pronounced as the the exercise continues, touch-treat, touch -treat, touch treat. Again, repeated several times in hopes of getting again a positive CER.

Afterward, duration may be added by touching for longer periods of time (instead than just a touch, a little stroke). Same exercise, stroke/treat, stroke, treat, stroke treat.

Next, one can progress and work on more sensitive areas. Same exercise as usual, with the goal of reaching a positive CER.

The whole process should go slowly and at the dog's pace, it is far better to go slow than fast. Slow and steady wins the race in behavior modification. The process can take anywhere from a few days to weeks.

Now if the biting is particularly aggressive or if he has little bite inhibition and risks damaging the skin, it would be important working with a professional so that he or she can tell you when you should progress or take a step or two back in the process because your dog risks going over threshold.  Here's a read on dog threshold levels https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/ 

This is for safety and to ensure the process progresses smoothly. The more a dog rehearses aggressive behaviors, the more they roots, the more the dog rehearses calm behaviors, the more these establish.

Severe cases of touch aversion may require the use of a fake hand (like the Assess-a-hand) to start with for an extra layer of safety.

Moving forward....

2) Biting us if we put a on leash him. 

This is often related to the touch aversion. In other words, he doesn't like hands near him. The procedure would be similar, splitting the action in several small steps and creating positive associations. 

Perhaps start by getting the leash, and giving a treat when your dog comes to sniff it. Once he's done eating, hide the leash again behind your back. Then, present it again. Give a treat, and once he's done eating, hide the leash behind your back. Basically, you are clarifying that the presence of the leash leads to great things and once again looking for that positive CER..

Next, present the leash and let it make a clipping sound as when you clip it on the collar, and feed a treat. Clip, treat, clip, treat, clip, treat.  Repeat several times, unti he looks at you for a treat the moment he hears the clipping sound. (CER).

Next, present the leash, and as you feed him a treat with one hand (or have a helper handfeed it), attach the leash to his collar. Let him finish the treat, then unclip the leash and feed him a treat. Rinse and repeat several times until your puppy looks forward to have the leash clipped on, clipped off because it means getting treats. 

Once again, the whole process should go slowly and at the dog's pace, it is far better to go slow than fast. Slow and steady wins the race in behavior modification. The process can take anywhere from a few days to weeks.

3) Excessive barking, growling and howling and pulling when put on a leash. 

I would need more information on this. When does the barking, growling and howling occur? When he sees people? Other dogs? 

4) Random biting.

This can be normal puppy nipping behavior, although it can appear rough. Let me know what seems to trigger it. Does he guard food, toys or sleeping areas? 

5) Excessively scratching on the door and screaming.

Does he do this when he's left alone and trying to be re-united with you? Or is he asking to be taken outside?

6) Disobedience

Although beagles are adorable pups, they have been selectively bred for using their nose. You see, in beagles there's this phenomenon known as "one track mind."  In a past time, when beagles were mostly bred for hunting down rabbits, they were said to be on a "hot trail' when they were really focused on tracking smells. The "one track mind" refers to their predisposition for staying so focused on scent, so much so, that they find it difficult to concentrate on other things rather than the scent. Many times, beagles are therefore accused for being stubborn when in reality they are just too focused on tracking scent, especially on walks and outdoors. 

On top of this, a beagle's past required them to be quite independent thinkers, moving ahead of the hunters and just focusing on doing what they were bred for without much human directions. While the "one track mind" and independent thinking were premium qualities of this breed's past, they can put a dent in our modern lives where we desire our dogs to focus on us and please us. Fact is, to put it bluntly, certain breeds of dogs may care less about certain things such listening to us, unless we can motivate them and prove them that listening to us can be potentially very rewarding. 

It sounds like your beagle (as most beagles) has a good appetite and is eager to eat food. I would save a portion of his lunch served at 2 for putting his nose to work, training and brain games rather than just serving it freely in his bowl (I hope you're not feeding him at the table!)

 7) Peeing on and biting furniture.

Normal puppy behaviors.

For peeing, I assume this happens inside the house? Make sure to take him outside often (as often as every half hour) when he's active and playing. Once out, make sure to praise and reward for going potty outside. Clean up all accidents with an enzyme-based cleaner. 

Puppies like to chew on a lot of things. They are teething and like to explore the world with their mouth. We need to always supervise them and when we cannot, they should be placed in an area where they can't chew things or we should provide them things to chew that are long-lasting and safe and that keeps them busy (stuffed Kongs, Kong Wobbler filled with kibble). Also, aim to train him the leave it command.https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/take-leave-it/

Here's a general read on chewing;

 https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/behavior-training/chewing/

8 ) Eats all the time. If there's no food around, he finds ways to climb up surfaces and swallow inedible items like wooden frames and plastic flowers. 

This can be rather normal behavior, although risky as he can end up with a bowel obstruction. It would help to consult with your vet on this to make sure there are no nutritional issues (Pica) or nausea or some other GI issue.  I suggest puppy proofing your home just as you would do with a young toddler. Remove all knick-knacks he may get into and aim to train a good response to leave its and drop its.  

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/drop-it/

I wouldn't give the full run of the house. Provide access to a room where you can supervise and there is clear view of him with no access to things he may chew/swallow. Make sure he has legit to things he can play with and chew safely. 

 

 

 

[Adrienne]

Could you also advice me about  how many hours of sleep he essentially requires?

This is rather subjective as it varies based on breed, age, temperament, activity levels, surroundings. Puppies in general should take frequent naps. It's sort of on and off, on and off throughout the day. One minute they are playing, the next the batteries discharge and off they are to dreamland. Puppies need lots of sleep because they are growing and have a lot to learn. So on average we can say a puppy should sleep anywhere between 16 and 18 hours a day (spread out in several small naps) while an adult dog may sleep 12-16 hours a day. Of course, this is just a rough estimate as they are many factors to consider. 

[Ophelia Trelawney]

Thanks Adrienne, this really really helped! ❤️ Ollie hates being put on a leash. He is probably too used to being free so when we put it on him, he pulls on it and starts growling like crazy (sometimes). We keep him in a room because he absolutely does not sleep around us. He scratches on the door when he wants to reunite with us and sometimes when he wants to be set free again. He hates being contained. Our little boy has learnt that peeing in his crate means he's out if it so he pees every time he put him in. How do we contain him? He always finds a way to break out of it but are aware that it's normal and actually quite fascinated about how he outsmarts us. Should we keep him around us more often?

He has absolutely mastered the stay command. No matter what he's doing at home, when we ask him to stay, he calms down completely. However, today he pulled off his leash and went running towards the road and almost got hit by a car. We were absolutely terrified. Literally scared to the core. I know about the recall command but is there anything else we could do to avoid this happening again? 

Here's him. 🙂

[Adrienne]

6 hours ago, Ophelia Trelawney said:

Thanks Adrienne, this really really helped! ❤️ Ollie hates being put on a leash. He is probably too used to being free so when we put it on him, he pulls on it and starts growling like crazy (sometimes).

I see.. it sounds like frustration, perhaps as well mixed in with not feeling comfortable when he feels pressure from the leash. We can take baby steps for this as well. So once he seems comfortable having the leash clipped on, we can move on to teaching him to give in to leash pressure rather than resisting it. 

You can try this exercise:

Sit on the couch while he is wearing her collar and leash. Gently tug a bit on the leash and at the same time show her a treat from your hand. The moment she gives in to the leash pressure moving in direction of the kibble, praise and give her the treat. Rinse and repeat several times, until she gives signs of knowing that she should give in to the pressure rather than oppose to it. 

Then, try this same exercise standing up. Walk a bit  away from her and gently tug a bit on the leash and show her the kibble from your hand. The moment he gives in to the leash pressure moving in direction of the kibble, praise and give her the kibble. 

Next raise criteria, and start showing the kibble in heel position next to your knee. Follow the instructions in this guide: 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/heeling-attention-heeling/

-If at any time during these exercises your pup appears uncomfortable, split the exercise into smaller steps or go back a step to find his comfort zone and restart from there. Feel free to post here if your pup seems to be struggling with any of these steps and we can split things further for her comfort. 

Should we keep him around us more often?

If you can dedicate time to supervise him, watch him for signs when he needs to go potty and take him out as often as every half hour (or as much as needed) do so. I have raised my last batch of puppies to sleep in the crate mostly at night and during the day they were out with me in a small room nearby the door with an unobstructed view (so I could see clearly if they needed to go potty). You can try keeping the crate still around but with the door open and place some toys, treats in it so that he investigates it every now and then. He may come to trust it more this way and you may even find him sleeping in it if you make it super comfy and inviting. 

If he sleeps in it with the door open during the day, you may find it helpful to place some pee pads right out of it, do in case he wakes up and needs to potty, he can use that pee pad right away rather than peeing in the crate. 

Today he pulled off his leash and went running towards the road and almost got hit by a car. We were absolutely terrified. Literally scared to the core. I know about the recall command but is there anything else we could do to avoid this happening again? 

That must have been scary!  Did his leash slip from your hand? How did he get it off?  Did he back out of the collar?

 

 

 

[Ophelia Trelawney]

He was far away from the road and inside our home so he was on the leash but we weren't holding it. He suddenly decided to bolt all the way out through a small space and right on the road. 

Also, he barely sleeps when we're around. We built a little space for him but he absolutely does not wanna stay in it and finds ways to come out. It's getting tough for us because he's too used to being free. How do we get rid of that habit? 

Thanks Adrienne, we really appreciate it! :)

[Adrienne]

 

9 hours ago, Ophelia Trelawney said:

He was far away from the road and inside our home so he was on the leash but we weren't holding it. He suddenly decided to bolt all the way out through a small space and right on the road. 

Also, he barely sleeps when we're around. We built a little space for him but he absolutely does not wanna stay in it and finds ways to come out. It's getting tough for us because he's too used to being free. How do we get rid of that habit? 

Thanks Adrienne, we really appreciate it! 🙂

Beagles are often referred to as "noses on four legs"  because of their tendencies to want to sniff and explore and often that also entails wandering and escaping. So always keep tight on that leash and make sure to repair any gaps or small spaces if you have any in your fencing.  Training a strong response to a recall is important. Here are some basics:https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/recall/

A puppy who barely sleeps can be anxious or too overstimulated. With pups like this, you will need to instill a sense of calm and set the stage for sleep. Here are a few tips : 

-Ensure your puppy's needs are met. Make sure your puppy has gone potty and has eaten, and drank. Make sure you have met his needs for exercise, play, mental stimulation and socialization.

-Provide a routine. Routines make puppies feel safe and secure. Make sure your puppy is set on a feeding, playing, training and a napping routine and stick to it every day (including weekends). Your pup will look forward to nap time and his body may start getting used to it, making it easier to fall asleep. 

-Prevent overstimulation. Nap time is a good time to remove all the toys that overstimulate your puppy such as squeaky toys, tug toys and flirt poles. Replace them with a chew toy such as a stuffed Kong which encourages a calm activity. 

-Also, try to keep quiet. When it's your pup's naptime, sit down and read a book or check your e-mail. Turn on the fan and/or radio to add some white noise to cover up any sounds/ 

-Provide an alternative to a crate. Some puppies may particularly struggle with being crated. In such cases, you can set up an exercise pen with on one side his crate with the door open, toys and food and water bowl, and on the opposite side his potty area. Make sure it's a covered pen or a pen with vertical bars so that your pup can't climb out of it. Make it a habit to give something super yummy to work on when you need to leave him confided alone for a few minutes. When he's done eating, return.

Beagles were selectively bred to work in groups, they have a strong "pack drive" which means they don't like to be isolated from the rest of the family. So if possible, work very gradually on leaving him alone. You can find some tips here:: 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/following-owners-around-house/

Hope this helps!

Have a good rest of the week-end, 

Adrienne