Beagle puppy aggression…Help!
My female beagle puppy (8 weeks) is starting to show signs of aggression. Sometimes It’ll get dark outside before she wants to come in an, We’ll head towards the steps to the door and then she’ll start snarling and growling, then she’ll attempt to bit me. And I’ll quickly pull my hand away and tell her “no!”, firmly. Then she gets more excited and keeps trying to nip me.
I’ll give her 5 minute sessions of playing about every ten minutes, I’m home or she’s not sleeping. That just turns into a opportunity for her to bite. I’ve tryed everything from rubbing her nose from gently but firmly pressing her against my chest.
I got her when she was 6 weeks old. At the time I thought and was informed that 6 weeks was a decent time. But now I know that 8 to 10 weeks is the correct timing. Is there anyway I can teach her that I am the dominant one and I’m taking it, without turning myself into a litter of puppies?
gosh, you guys all have such excellent answers.
Puppies do bite. Since you got her when she was so young she doesn’t have a play mate to play with all the time. Puppies have to learn bite inhibition so that when they do play they know that when they bite, to not bite hard (this is mainly for when they play with other pups). When she bites you harder than normal, say “ow” or “ouch” in a yelping type of way. Normally puppies will teach this themselves with their litter and other dogs. When she learns that when you make that noise that she has hurt you, she should lick or pull away from the spot where she bit. When she knows that noise, gradually start making the noise every time that she does it. Eventually she’ll learn that people are not to be bitten.
I have a Beagle as well, though I got her at 2 and a half months. If you correct this early, it will help later in her life.
The Dog Whisperer says dogs view humans as positive or negative energies. The puppy may be misunderstanding your play time activities.
When she bites you, you should get up and walk away (ignoring her) and eventually she’ll figure out if she wants you around, she can’t bite. Also, try watching “Dog Whisperer” (it’s a tv show on Animal Planet) – lol – and that might help. She could be bored, or maybe she’s trying to play with you.
There are some good answers below but there is one thing missing. You need to replace the negative action with a positive one so she learns the difference between right and wrong. it’s not that you want to teach her not to bite, it’s that you want to teach her not to bite you.
What I do is keep a toy in my pocket (something small and fuzzy seems to do the trick) and when my puppy goes to nip I grab their schnout and hold it closed while saying no very loudly. Then I immediately put the toy in their mouth and say good girl in that high pitched, excited voice that dogs love. This way the dog knows biting is OK, but not biting humans.
it takes a while but it is important you teach them what’s OK to bite and what’s not. You want them to defend themselves against other dogs if attacked but I’m sure you don’t want to get nipped every time you go out to play!