possible vicious begle puppy

Question
QUESTION: Hi..we did a search on the web and found your email address at allexperts.com.  I hope you can help us because we are about to give up our beagle pup because she seems too vicious.  She is 7 months old..we got her at about 11-12 weeks old...she eats dry puppy food, and is not yet spayed...she's most often a great little girl, but we noticed that when she takes shoes or other items to chew on we have a problem getting them away from her and she growls and snaps at us.  She does not do this with her chew toys though, only with stuff that she knows we do not approve of.  She also sometimes does this when she is resting on her pillow and does not want to be bothered.  She has seriously bitten me on three occasions when she is in these "moods."  She gets very still, tail between legs, ears flat and back, growls, and sometimes shakes as if she is frightened.  You really can't touch her when she is like this...if you do then there is a confrontation.  If we cannot get her to stop then we may have no choice but to give her up.  What are we supposed to do when she growls?  I do not back off because I want her to learn that this is not good...but maybe this only insights her..We do not want to get rid of her as our three daughters love her but we are becoming frightened of her...please help!!!


ANSWER: Joe, I would recommend that you consider having her spayed sooner rather than later. Has she gone through a heat cycle yet? If not, she's awfully close, and that could be contributing to her problem. Female dogs, just like human females, go through hormone and mood swings whenever they are nearing coming into heat. You can have your vet do a simple hormone test to determine whether or not your girl is close to coming into heat or not. If she >>is<<, then I would recommend that you wait until after she's gone back out of heat again (which is about 4 weeks after she begins to bleed), as long as you are responsible enough to never allow her off leash (or alone) outside, and keep her confined in the house (in a crate) when you are not at home during that period of time. The reason why is because of the fact that she is showing these possessive aggression tendencies. If you spay her now, the problem could actually get worse; if you wait until her hormone levels drop again, though, it will be less likely that the aggression will escalate.


In addition to thinking about having her spayed, I would strongly suggest that you enroll with her in an obedience course. She does not respect you if she is growling and snapping at you. Teaching her some basic obedience will help you to gain her respect as the leader of the pack. It will also allow you to begin the "Nothing in Life is Free (NILIF)" program with her. You can find lots of information about NILIF if you do a search for it at http://www.yahoo.com. Basically, it requires that she obey a command for everything, from petting, to being fed, to being taken outside, to being allowed up on the furniture, etc. She must 'earn' everything. Once she understands commands, you should have your three daughters practice giving her commands. If she does not obey them, at first you should correct her, and then later on, if your daughters are old enough, you can show them how to correct her for ignoring a command she knows.


I would recommend that whenever she is out of her crate and you are at home, that you let her drag a 6ft leash so that if she goes for something (like a shoe) that she is not supposed to have, you can use the leash to correct her if she growls or tries to snap at you, and you can also use the leash to get her away from that item. I would also recommend that, in addition to the basic obedience course, that you consult with a trainer who has experience in dealing with dogs who are showing aggression towards people. You need to nip this in the bud now, while she is still young.


She may also have some sort of medical condition (similar to siezures) that is causing her to fly into a rage, based on the 'symptoms' you described - She gets very still, tail between legs, ears flat and back, growls, and sometimes shakes as if she is frightened.  You really can't touch her when she is like this...if you do then there is a confrontation.


If you cannot get her aggression under control, I would recommend against trying to re-home her, because you would also be re-homing her aggression. You don't want to cause someone else to be injured by her, so if you cannot get her under control, the best thing to do is probably have her euthanized. It would be a huge liability if you gave her to someone else.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks Kristen,

She did have her first cycle about 2.5 months ago...we are thinking about training school at Petco...your thoughts?  Also, for now, when she growls and shows teeth should we do something or nothing...I don't want her to think she can get away with it. I know you should not hit a dog. I don't think she's defective, just dominant...we are upset that she gets like this. Could this be normal bad dog behavior and can it really be corrected with training?  I think the shaking is fear...it's like she doesn't want the confrontation either...I got angry and really yelled at her...she urinated a little on the floor and was quite upset, but did not back down. I wacked her in the nose with a towel...I know I shouldn't have...this just made her snap more...what else can we do when she growls though???, Sorry for all the questions but we really need some expert reassurance.

Answer
If she is 2.5 months out of heat, then it's fine to go ahead and make a spay appointment now if you want.

Like I said before, keep her on a leash so that you can correct her when she growls or whatever. I would recommend that you get her a martingale collar (like this one: http://www.cetaceacorp.com/index.php?target=products&product_id=721 ) for this (take it off when you crate her). I like the kind with the chain, and prefer the type that snaps around the neck vs. the type that you slip on over the dog's head. If she does not respond to >>it<<, then I'd recommend a size small prong collar, but beagles tend to be pretty sensitive to corrections, so a martingale should be effective.

When I say 'correct her,' I mean tell her "NO" in a firm tone of voice and immediately give the leash a quick jerk. The jerk should not yank her across the floor, but it should be strong enough to get her attention and stop the bad behavior. If she continues to growl or whatever, you know you did not jerk quite hard enough, and you should do it again, slightly harder this time. Repeat until she stops, and then PRAISE her!!!!! Remember how hard you had to jerk, so that you don't have to go through the repetitions next time.

Personally, I would NOT recommend pet store classes. There is too much going on in a pet store to distract you and your dog, and often, pet store trainers have very little knowledge or experience, especially when it comes to anything outside of basic obedience training. Instead, look up dog trainers in your local phone book, and start calling. Explain the problem you are having, and ask if they have any experience dealing with aggression like this. If not, then thank them for their time and call the next trainer. Write down the ones that have experience and who you like speaking with over the phone, and after you've called them all, go back through and call those back to see if they will let you come out and observe one of their group classes (if they offer group classes). If they tell you that you may not observe them, ask them why. The only reason I can think of for a trainer to decline to allow someone to come out and watch is if they are using abusive or overly harsh methods.

A group class is okay for learning how to teach heralso  the basics, but you need a trainer that can come to your house and work with you and the dog one-on-one, since your home is where the problem is occurring. You may decide to skip the group class for now and simply work with the trainer one-on-one at your house to teach your dog basic obedience >>and<< take care of her possessive aggression towards you.