please help us with guarding beagle behaviour!!!!

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Hello everyone.

So we have a beautiful 7 year old Beagle who we love very very much. He is well behaved with other dogs and children and is basically the perfect pet. Except for one thing, he is extremely possessive over food and has recently become aggressive for no reason.

So with the food, whenever we give him something that he cant eat immediately (for example a rawhide bone or dentastix etc) he will take it on or under the sofa to eat it. That would be fine except he often forgets to eat it and will sit there growling at anyone who comes near him with his paws on his bone/stick whatever. This is mainly a problem because the sofa he likes to sit on is in the middle of our living room and the family have to walk past it to get anywhere. When we walk past and he is in this mood he obviously feels very threatened and will often growl and snap at us as we walk past even if we ignore him and just try and get through. This has been happening for a quite a while. Sometimes this lasts for hours when we know he needs to go out for a wee or have his dinner so we’ve tried to coax him away from his treat with other food or his favourite toys but he isn’t all interested (Even in our steak dinners) when he is in one of these moods and we often get into a situation where he feels threatened by our attention and therefore gets more aggressive. Obviously it sounds like we should just leave him alone but sometimes this lasts for hours and it has in the past happened overnight where he just wont eat the treat so will still be guarding it into the morning when he definitely needs to go out for a wee.

More recently however, he has started to growl seemingly for no reason. He is a very happy and sociable dog most of the time who loves to sit with us and cuddle us so its been a bit shocking recently when he's growled at us when we sit near him and the same as above basically happens. Any attempt to stroke gets a loud growl and obviously we don't try to push him by actually stroking him because we understand a growl is a warning sign. We just can’t understand why he is being like this.

Sorry this is so long we just love him and we want him to be happy and not feel threatened or scared. We are also a bit worried about having children over in case he gets like this and they don't heed his warning and someone ends up being bitten. Any advice would be so greatly appreciated we are quite desperate. Thanks !!!xx

 

[JoanneF]

First maybe a vet check to rule out any underlying pain or discomfort that might trigger the growl. You are right to see it as a warning and not push things. It's when we unobservant humans fail to notice what the dog sees as a clear signal to leave him alone that the behaviours escalate to a nip or bite.

For resource guarding, in the meantime I would be tempted to either not give rawhide etc or restrict him to eating it in the garden or away from the sofa. He may even be guarding the sofa itself. There is a lot you can do o help resource guarding, such as when you pass drop an extra tasty piece of food by his bowl and never ever remove it as that reinforces his need to guard. Has he always been guardy with food? If so and it is a deeply ingrained behaviour you might need professional help. If you do choose to do that please look for a behaviourist (as opposed to a trainer) who is registered with COAPE or the APBC. This is important because dog behaviour is an unregulated industry and these organisations do make sure their members adhere to standards. Your insurance may cover the cost.

 

[gypsysmum2]

Yes, definitely a vet check first to rule out any discomfort.

Then any treats should be given outside so that he can be left completely alone.

Around the sofa issue, you might like to attach a house line to him ( a long light rope that he can drag behind him) so that you can pick it up and guide him away from the relevant area that he is guarding. Put him somewhere safe and reward him for going there.

Does he have a "safe" area that he can go to, away from foot traffic etc. An out of the way corner or a comfy crate, made into a den, perhaps. Reward him for retreating to it when he feels threatened by people approaching something he regards as "his". Some guarding behaviour can spread from furniture to whole rooms so you may need, as advised above, professional help with him.

Never expose him to children. It is impossible to guess what he might be guarding next. It might be a sunny spot in the garden or a cool spot in the house. A cosy den would be ideal for him to retreat to when children visit. Always make his compliance with these new rules rewarding for him.

 

[leashedForLife]

I'd also suggest a crate, as a safe hidey-hole that will serve as a den where he can gnaw away undisturbed on any long-lasting items. // Just be SURE he leaves them behind when he exits - it's easy to do this, wait him out till he stands ready to exit with his mouth empty, & meanwhile, teach him 'drop' outside of the crate with a valueless object by swapping the dull thing in his mouth for a yummy treat.

 Ex, offer him a double-ended rubber tug toy [plenty of length between hand & mouth, for safety] that's been washed before using - the powders used to keep them from sticking together taste horrible, don't ask how i know, LOL - 
wipe it with a tiny invisible bit of butter for scent, not taste, & As Soon As he opens his mouth to grasp it BEFORE he clamps on, praise him warmly while dropping a high-protein / low fat treat to the floor at his feet - such as freeze-dried lamb-lung, freeze-dried salmon, etc. // Say 'drop' as he doesn't grasp the object. Work with other items he'll mouth but won't defend / guard, to connect the label to the action of letting go with his teeth; finally, once the label is strongly attached to the act, it will become a CUE, & can be given ahead of the action, as a request instead of a label ['this is what we're doing' = label;  'Sit' AS THE DOG DOES IT is attaching a label for the dog's education;  'sit' = cue only when the dog grasps what it asks for].

By the way, altho that's only a head-shot, i get the impression the dog is quite chubby - joint issues are vastly worse when the painful joints are overloaded, & losing weight can make a grumpy older dog much less cranky & MUCH more comfortable.   Plain canned pumpkin is a terrific tool for K9 weight loss; it's simple, measure all the dog's meals To The Same Volume as Before, except that 1/4th to 1/3rd of that volume is replaced by pumpkin puree.
Ex, for the sake of simplicity, the dog eats 1 cup of food at every meal; doesn't matter if it's dry kibble, home-cooked, canned, raw, BARF, some combo, anything. For the fat-loss diet, the dog now eats 3/4 cup of the same food as before WITH 1/4 cup of pumpkin --- or, for faster wt-loss, the dog eats 2/3 cup of his usual food + 1/3 cup of pumpkin.
It's precisely the same amount, so the dog is not deprived / starving, won't be rummaging in the trash [or at least no more than before], desperately snarfing up garbage along the bike-path, etc - s/he isn't starving, just eating fewer calories & more fiber in the same amount of food as before.

However, just reducing intake won't peel off the pounds; dogs' bodies are amazing at efficiently maintaining what they think is 'normal' weight, so U must INCREASE output - as in, work, meaning activity. Physical exercise has to go up, to get flab off a dog - it doesn't mean aerobics, & for old dogs with big bellies & fat-blankets over their backs, Olympic-level exercise is either impossible or injurious. // Just take longer walks [add 1/3 to the time, so 30-mins becomes 40-mins, & move briskly point to point, not at a snail's pace while reading texts or chatting on the phone - while U are out with Ur dog, make it quality time & focus ON THE DOG & the moment - the weather, the birds, breeze, passerby, the feel of the path underfoot,... be present, not absent.

Let us know, please, how he gets on, & if the vet finds any painful issues - chronic or short-term?  - Thanks.
cheers,
 - terry

Terry Pride, member Truly Dog-Friendly
'dogs R dogs, wolves R wolves, & primates R us.'  - (™ 2007]

 

[leashedForLife]

added note:
for older dogs with joint pain, or younger dogs with injuries / painful conditions, WADING is a wonderful low-impact aerobic exercise.  :cheers:

Get the dog into water at least hock-deep, & just walk steadily - U can be dry-shod & the dog in the water, along the beach, the river or stream bank, the sloping edge of an in-ground pool, etc.  Wading = 3X the work of running on dry land, since we are essentially "pushing" the water with our limbs; 10-mins wading = 30-minutes running on terra firma, without the impact, joint aggravation, or  demand on the heart, lungs, & allover effort.  

Hydrotherapy tubs are also great for this, with built-in treadmills - they can be used year-round for maintaining muscle & keeping dogs fit, or to recover from surgery [ACL repair, knee stabilization, dysplastic hip correction, _____ ].  Some hydro-tubs have treadmills that adjust for slope, to slowly increase the workout intensity while the water still supports the dog's body - these are especially effective.  
 - terry