1 year old beagle training trouble.

Question
I have a 1 year old beagle mix (mostly beagle). She was a rescue dog. She came to the rescue from a high kill shelter. I got her at 2 months. She was socialized with the immediate family then friends and relatives. I have a few issues with her and I would like to know if she can be trained and how she can be trained. Actually any advice for solving these problems would be greatly appreciated.
   They go as followed
1.She pulls when on a walk. Choking herself and making walks hard and unpleasurable.

2. She tends to bite when playing. She has not broken skin though. I believe it is mouthing but I am not positive. If it is mouthing I do not want it to become biting and I don't want her to break skin. She also bites when angry and/or does not get her way. We put her in her crate when biting/mouthing and when she comes out she is calm. Unfortunatley when she becomes angry/ doesn't get her way again the cycle starts all over. The cycle also restarts when she takes playing to far.

3. She tends to go crazy when someone walks in the door. She is rarely left alone for my father is home most of the day. She jumps even before the person gets in the door. It usually takes her about 10-20 minutes after the person comes in to calm down. This can come to be a problem during family parties and holiday. It is actually a problem when ever there is company.

4. I have a fenced in yard but she tends to dig her way out. She has gotten out several times before but fortunately we have found her. It is especially dangerous because I live on a mainroad and right by a highway. My puppy is kept on a long chain in the backyard and we try to waste her energy in the house and on walks. I have a strong door but she runs out of it when it is opened, so when the door needs to be held open for even just a minute or two we have to hold her back.

5. She chews everything in sight. I am not sure how to break this habit. She has ruined several pairs of shoes, 1 tv remote, a few books, tons of pencils and MANY other things. Occasionally when she has something she drops it but most of the time she runs around the house with it. (We do eventually get it back. Usually too late.)

6.One more thing. It is "impossible" to eat around her. She jumps and barks and steals food. She rarely leaves you alone.



Please any training advice would be greatly appreciated. I do love her despite these problems. I really would like to help her and not have to give her up. I am willing to do anything to help her and willing to spend as much time as needed doing it.

6.One more thing. It is "impossible" to eat around her. She jumps and barks and steals food.  

(I do know and understand that you may not be a professional. I do understand if you cannot help with my problems.)
I do have to say that lately she has gotten better with these problems but I would still like advice.

Thanks So Much,
 Devon

Answer
Hello, Devon. The dog you are describing sounds like a typical dog that's never been given boundaries and limitations. It's not all your fault, but there are several things you need to start doing. The first thing is Nothing in Life is Free (NILIF). If you go to http://www.yahoo.com or http://www.google.com and type NILIF or Nothing in Life is Free in the search box, you will get tons of information, so I won't go into it all here. Basically, it means that your dog 'earns' everything she gets, from attention to food and playtime.

The next thing I would suggest is enrolling in an obedience course with her. This will help >>you<<< as much as it will help her. Avoid classes that take place in pet stores, because that is a much too distracting environment and the instructors are usually inexperienced.

Exercise is crucial. It sounds as if she is not getting very much, from what you have described to me here. If she pulls and chokes herself on a walk, then you need to teach her not to. You can do this with the use of a training collar (in her case, I would suggest a small sized prong because it will not allow her to choke herself - see http://www.leerburg.com/fit-prong.htm to learn how to properly fit a prong collar) and a regular 6ft leash. There are many methods you can use to teach a dog to walk nicely on a leash without pulling. You should learn how to do this in your training class. The prong collar will prevent her from injuring herself, and jerking you around, if she does try to pull.


I cannot be certain what is going on in regards to her biting, without seeing it in person. Again, this is something your trainer can help you with. If she's being aggressive, it will need to be handled one way, but if she's simply playing, an entirely different approach can be used. You definitely need professional help for the retaliation biting that she is doing, before she escalates any further.


There are a couple of things you can do to stop her frantic behavior whenever someone comes over. If it's just one or two people, you might consider putting her on a leash and correcting her jumping and unruly behavior (your guests should not look at her, talk to her, or try to pet her during this time). Or, you can put her away in another room or in her crate until everyone has arrived and she's settled down. This is definitely what I would recommend for parties and large get-togethers, as well as during mealtime. When I bring a new dog into the house, it learns very quickly that begging and/or trying to steal food is not a behavior that is going to be tolerated. With some dogs, a firm NO is all that is needed, and they go away and lay down. With others, leash corrections may be required.


Will she play fetch? If so, that's an excellent game to tire her out with every day. If you have problems with her not giving the ball up when she brings it back to you, you can play 'two-ball,' which is where you start out with two balls, throw one, and when she gets back to you, show her the other ball and throw it when she drops the first one. Then you pick that one up and when she brings back the other one, show it to her and throw IT again when she drops the other ball. You can throw them both in the same direction, or you can throw one one direction and the other in the opposite direction to really get her running. She should get to the point where she will drop the first ball as she reaches you and keep right on going past you to get the 2nd ball, if you throw them in opposite directions. When you're done, let her carry the last ball you threw back inside, and offer her a treat or another toy in exchange for the ball once you get in the house.


The absolute best way that I have found to keep a dog from digging out or climbing out of a fenced yard is to use an invisible fence system (or a strand or two of 'hot wire' that is specifically made for dogs) in conjunction with your existing fence.

If you use an invisible fence system, simply run the wire around the bottom of your existing fence, about 6in from the ground, instead of burying it. Adjust the boundary so that the dog receives the warning beeps and/or vibration when she gets 3ft from the fence. Put the training flags up and teach her how to respond to the warning just as if you did not already have a physical fence there. This will allow her to understand that the area next to the fence is off limits, instead of being confused as she meanders about the yard and gets corrected if she gets too close to the fence. If that happens, she might believe that that part of the yard is 'hot,' and refuse to even go over there.

If you use hot wire, you will want to place it as close to the ground as possible, and at least 4-6in out from the fence, so that she will touch it if she starts to dig. I believe the invisible fence system is a much more effective method. Plus, you don't have to worry about unsightly wires and insulators.


In regards to her chewing, you need to supervise her at all times when you're home, and confine her in some way when you aren't, so that you can prevent her from chewing on inappropriate items. If she goes for a shoe, for example, you should verbally correct her and offer her something that she IS allowed to chew on, such as a Nylabone. Praise her when she takes it and chews on it. If she runs from you when you verbally scold her, let her drag a leash so you can grab ahold of it and are not chasing her round and round the house (dogs LOVE that game!). Try to keep things picked up and out of her reach.