minature dachsund behavior problems

Question
My one year old male dachsund, that is neutered, goes through periods of aggressive behavior.  Every couple of months or when I happen to wash his bed (or replace it) he seems to get angry.  He continuosly pees in his bed, growls at my four year old when she comes near him when he is eating or playing with toys, mean with my friends dog, eats everything, and when I correct him he growls,snarls, and has bit me.  I correct him with a newspaper when I do so.  He is never like this, only every couple of months but it lasts for a couple weeks, then he is the sweet never in trouble dog again. His aggression gets so bad that I am considering giving him away because of my four year old.  He becomes so mean that I completely ignore him for days and most of the time he is in his crate.  Please help?

Answer
Hi Alexiss;
The first problem is that newspaper. Lose it !
I don't know who ever started the theory that hitting a dog with a newspaper was a good correction.
Probably the idiot that said to rub their nose in their feces to housebreak them.
The dog is so frightened by the popping noise of the newspaper that it doesn't focus on what it did wrong.
It literally scares the bejeebers out of them.
A sharp "NO!" can be accompanied by "BAD DOGQQ, BAD PUPPY, or Shame on you.
Dogs, just like children have to be taught what is acceptable and what is not.
Rather than a family situation, with obedient children, where they dog is concerned, you have created a battle.
Dogs can have nervous conditions, just likt people can.
This may be a case of a nervous thing that builds up.
The whacking with a newspaper has certainy contributed to it, if it is not the direct cause.
I don't fault people who make mistakes because of bad advice, but i would like to throttle the ones passing out such old buggaboos, that simply are not true and are WRONG!
Teach them jusyt like you teach a child.
You show them what is right and what they can and cannot do, and don't tollerate bad behavior.
I use time out.
I say "NO, I DON'T allow that". You have to go to time out".
Then I put them in the hall bathroom, because that is the smallest room in the house. No toys, just boredom for about 30 minutes. Hard to make a dog sit in a corner.
they can hear what is going on they are missing out on.
I start out when they are little puppies, and more gently telling them, "no no, be a sweet puppy".
Talking gently to them, so as not the scare them. If the bad behavior persists, I let my voice get more stern.
when they have been told, don't bite, for instance, several times, progressively sharper, till it gets to be a very sharp "NO!"
I don't allow biting, or snapping and being threatening.
I didn't allow my children to hit.
As with a small child starting to walk and get into mischief, you have to school them to the rules of behavior.
YOU have to be the alpha.
This dog doesn't know who is the alpha, and it has been a battle for that position.
Mine know they are loved, will get praised and played with, and taken good care of, but they know if they do what mommy does not allow, she is going to chew them out, and if need be, put their little behinds in time out.
After a few times in time out, it is usually sufficient to say "Do you want to go to time out?" for them to straighten up and act right.
To fix your problem, I would suggest two things.
First, get a video ordered that I am going to recommend to you.
I have used the Tellington-Touch method of animal massage to cure aggression, excessive barking, fears of thunderstorms etc, anxiety, and it is wonderful for pain relief when they get older and develope Arthritis etc, with fewer medications.
Go to this web address and read about the method and order a video to teach you the proper way to do the massages, for them to work.
  www.lindatellington-jones.com

Second, get inriolled in an obedience training class as soon as possible.
Petsmart and Petco stores have these classes on weekends.
A qualified trainer will teach you the proper way to correct and to give commands, and the handle the dog to get the desired results.
There is a nominal fee, but once you go through a set of the classes, yopu will always know how to train any other dogs you get.
After a few weeks of classes, you will be surprised what a well behaved dog you have, and how well it minds.
The massages will help a lot with the eggression, and the unfriendliness toward other dogs.
Right now, this dog is insecure and frightened, and he has to establish that he will not be picked on.
He is unsure of the place he belongs.
This is not as much aggression as defense.
There is also a little of, "I will be the alpha and boss everything", but this has been caused by the improper training.
You will need to start from scratch and learn the ptoper way to correct him, and how NOT to be dictated to by him, which is what he is trying to do. Establish himself as alphs, so he feels more protected.
It isn't a lost cause. It is just that you have been given a lot of wrong ideas about how to raise a dog. You need to learn from scratch, and then you will see how easy it is.
If you give this dog away and get another one, you will just make the same mistakes with another one.
You need to turn it around now, so you an enjoy having a pet, and your child can grow up with the many advantages og having pets.
Children learn more from having pets than they do in school or from their parents.
You can teach them kindness and patience, but they learn it first hand from dealing with pets, if they are taught in the proper way.
People sometimes think of animals as being so different from humans, and the truth is, they are more like us, or we are more like them, that we realoize.
Your pets start out wanting just one thing.
To belong to a family ( their "pack") be loved and cared for and feel safe, and to have a role in the family ( pack) that is theirs.
They want to please and be a part of a happy, safe family unit.
Dogs are pack animals and do not do well all alone. they will actually die of lonliness, just loike people will.
People are pack animals too, only we call our pack, "family".
Check into those pet stores, or the Humane society chapter chapter in your area, they have obedience classes too.
If you can;'t find classes in your area, write me and tell me where you live, and I will help you find a facility near you, or a source fopr the classes, but please get the video NOW and learn to do the massages. They are easy to learn, and most of them are 5 to 15 minute massages to accomplish quite  lot.
Charlotte

PS. I would lose the crate too.
I DON'T use crates.
If you put the dog in there for punishment, you create mental problems.
Learn to think more of the dog as a family member, and expect it to take it;s rightful place, but YOU set down the rules, just like you do with the children.
C