QuestionI have a 5 year old Basset Hound and 4 other dogs. My Basset Hound is very Aggressive and Domineering towards the other dogs. At night time, whenever the other dogs go to jump up in bed, my Basset will growl and attack them and also growls at me when I make him sleep on the floor. We love all of our dogs and would hate to have to put him down(extremely last resort). We do not crate any of the dogs but we do use a muzzle when he is bad. The other dogs that we have are Yellow Lab and 3 Beagles. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
AnswerHello Frank,
Sorry to hear this, Bassets are normally pretty laid back.
Can you tell me when the aggression started? Can you think back to the first instance and think if something changed for him? (The addition of a new pack member, a move to a new house, owner's new job, etc.)
How long has this pack been together? Was he the first dog or did you add him after you had the others?
Have you had him since he was a puppy? If not, where did you acquire him?
Is the only time you see aggression at night and with the bed or are there other instances/things that set him off?
What actions, other than the muzzle, have you taken to try and correct the behavior? What type of training have you done with the dogs? How much exercise (not counting running in the yard) does he get?
Beyond growling, which is unacceptable, has he shown aggression towards people?
Seems like a lot of questions, I know, but aggression comes in many different forms and if you can answer them truthfully and carefully, it will be easier to help you.
