Angry Food Beagle

Question
Hi there,

First off, I want to say that I thank you for taking the time to read and answer my question.  

I have a 4 year old male beagle whom I adopted from a lady who's husband is deployed to Iraq right now.  The dog has major separation anxiety, especially towards males.  He loves me to death, and I love him.  After having him for a few weeks, I noticed that he goes around the house trying to look for food, even after he's been fed.  He'll scour the house and sometimes find food still in rappers, or he'll grab food that's been left out (I have talked to my family about this and they are going to stop doing it).  I will hear him eating the food, see the wrapper or garbage he found, and tell him "NO TRAPPER! STOP!" and he'll begin to growl and show his teeth.  I slowly tried to take the food away from him and BAM, he bit me.  This has happened two other times, and when it does, I verbally reprimand him and put him outside.  They are NOT play bites either...these bites draw blood and leave marks.  He's bitten my fiancee' once as well, but only in the food situation.  Other than that, he's such a joy to have around.  If he bites her again, I'm afraid I will have to put him down and I don't want to do that.  I will mention that he has NOT been neutered but will be soon, and I'm assuming that has something to do with his aggression as well.

How can I stop his aggression?

Thank you for your time and I will greatly appreciate your response!

Answer
Hello Dan!
You are more than welcome, I am glad to answer any question you have. You are experiencing a number of different things. The primary things indeed would be anxiety, not being neutered, no obedience training, and the beagle way. Beagles often tend to look for food, and are usually successful. A beagle's sense of smell is 50 times stronger than any other dog. When he finds that food and you tell him NO that is when the not being neutered and anxiety come in. He is probably saying "you are not my owner, why are you telling me what I can and can't have" and then he strikes. That would be a dominance thing. The best way to obtain some of that is by being neutered, so when you get that done some of that is probably going to go away. Anxiety, is him missing his original owner and it is probably taking a toll on him. After being with his original owner for four years I would expect. It would have been easier if he was 2 or three. There isn't to much we can do about anxiety, unless you want to take him to his veterinarian and he can be medicated for it (which I'm sure you would rather do that then out him down). The two medicines they would use is clomipramine and amitriptyline. He can also give you and your dog a exercise regiment to help the separation anxiety. I would also suggest using a kennel as punishment instead of letting him go outside. By letting him go outside you are allowing him to run and play and forget what he did was wrong, but with a kennel it confides him to one area and he can think about what he did to get there. Here is a link of one of the best places to get a kennel : http://pet-supplies.drsfostersmith.com/search?p=Q&lbc=drsfostersmith&uid=5325854...

I suggest the remington wire kennel it is a great buy. I have it for my beagle. Also try keeping food in a stainless steel canister and things like that so it will cut down on him finding or smelling things. When you get him neutered and possibly medicated for anxiety I really think that will cut down. The reason I say you may want him medicated is because anytime a pet owner say I may have to get him put to sleep its best to see if he can be medicated. If he was biting for no apparent reason and breaking the skin bad then maybe yes he should be put to sleep, but a lot of people don't know that you can get them medicated for anxiety and it works. If you need anymore help please don't hesitate to ask me I would be more than happy to answer. Good luck and I hope for the best you,your family, and your beagle!