Question
Romeo
Hello, My husband and I just got a new beagle puppy, Romeo. We have had him for a week and he is 8 weeks old. So far he has been a normal loving playful puppy. We have been working on potty training and feeding him, and rewarding him with treats. He does like to mouth, and wants to chew on our hand or nip at us when we play, but it has just seemed like normal playful puppy behavior. WE firmly say no, and redirect him with a toy. However, yesterday we took him to the vet, and she gave him a flavored raw hide chewy to play with while she was talking with us and when she went to remove it to examine him he growled, showed his teeth, and bit her hand. To the point where he drew blood and she was bleeding for a good 5 minutes. She quickly grabbed him by the neck and told him no, while he growled, howled, and snarled. She then told us that our playful little puppy was dominant and showing aggression. And that we needed to work on it. Well we took him home, and again tried to give him the chewy, and when my husband went to take it away he did the same thing! So my husband did as the vet did, as she instructed us to, and Romeo seemed more submissive. However, one we did it again and waited for a good 5 minutes, he would do it again with the growling and snapping. I am a little fearful now of taking things out of his mouth, because I am unsure of what to do. We haven't had any problems up until yesterday's vet visit. Please help!!!
AnswerHI, so sorry to hear about your problemswith Romeo, he is so adorable. I know this must make you feel like you aren't sure if you made the right decision or not. I have to say that this amount of aggression im an 8 week old puppy is unusual but it is fixable with a lot of work. You didnt say if Romeo was with his mom still when you got him or not. The unfortunate thing that happens is that pups are taken away way to early from mom and litters! Sounds like you got him at 7 weeks, is that right?, The very minimum that they should be removed is 8 which is commonly done and people usually have some lkind of behavior problem wot deal with thereater. In in all honesty to get a well balanced pup it should be 12 weeks. Believe it or not a week or 3 or 4 can make a HUGE difference. Puppies learn many things in their litter and from Mom one of which is bite inhibition and how to gracefully be the Alpha of the litter if that is their correct rank.
All that being said you are still left with a biting and aggressive pup to deal with. My suggestions are as follows;
It is tantamount that you establish yourselves IMMEDIATELY as the ALPHA's with this pup so this does not progress. There should be NO rough housing and NO mouthing allowed at any time. Until this is resolved I wouldn't give him things like chewies which seem to trigger his aggression. Grabbing him by the scruff of the neck is how Mom would deal with him so this is OK but do not yell at him or be aggressive back, aggression breeds aggression.
You can also do some things like pinning him. This means that you will roll him over (which is a submissive posture) and hold him down and stand or lean over him. He needs to submit to this and until he does you continue to hold him in place. Do not let him jump up or he has won. He can only get up when you decide it is enough. This is not done in a cruel way, it is just about power and showing him who is boss.
This pup needs to learn to work for his food, this is another way of showing him who is boss. When you feed him he needs to stay back until you tell him it is ok to eat. In other words put down his food and when he rushes to it hold him back and say "wait", keep doing this until he learns that you decide whe he can eat andyou relase him by saying "ok eat".. AT some point he will need to be put in a sit before eating but at 8 weeks wont get that yet, this doesnt mean you cant start to try and teach him it. This is also adog who may ALWAYS need to do the sit (obey) before eating to keep him from becoming food aggressive which it sounds like he is starting with already.(Out of my 4 dogs I have one who always has to sit before I give him his food eat as he tries to dominate with food but isnt the real alpha. This is how I show him that I am the boss not him or even the true alpha in the 4 canine pack)
Another thing is that you must never let him go out a door or space before you, he must follow only. This is another way of reinforcing alpha status. Think about this in every thing you do with him,who is the boss, you or him?
I have some info that I use with people for nipping etc but it too long to put into this space, as well have some other good things for pups so if you will send me an email direct I will send my info back to you. Email me at have4paws@verizon.net.
Hope this is all helpful, with persistence you can get this under control but make no mistake this can escalate into a dog you wont want to have around if his aggression is allowed to breed.
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