My dog has a couple behavioral problems?

Question

First of all, my dog's name is Zeus and he's a beagle and heeler mix. For some reason, he will not play fetch. I will throw a ball, he'll chase it down and bring it back, but will hold on and play tug of war basically. He has done this since he was a pup, and now he's almost two years old (human years). Also, he has a problem with biting and nibbling on people. His bites don't hurt, it's almost like a playful bite, but when he does it constantly it gets quite annoying. Any help for either of my two problems is greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

hehehehehe.... he's a heeler. trust me it will never get any better with the nibbling. i thought mine would grow out of it when she wasn't teething anymore, but that didn't work. and she hurt!!! my boyfriend's mom and dad just got a heeler st. bernard mix.... cutest little snot... but he's biting and doing that tug of war thing too.

I don't think that they are horrible problems, but i can see where they would get kind of annoying. my doxi/min pin mix does the tug of war thing too. the vet told me that if i want her to let go of whatever she has, that i should try to take it and if she pulls, let go. once i've let go, i say 'Eh!', or 'At!' real loud. she should drop it, but we haven't gotten that far yet. LOL good luck, hope that helps, and if u figure it out, let me know, we have work to get done too!!! lol

have a good one!!!

Answer 2

As far as the fetching goes,as a pup you probably played tug-o-war with him to get his toy, and that has been imprinted to him. You will need to stop playing tug-o-war with him and like the other person said, teach him a command like "drop it" and when he does, give him a treat, but don't pick up the toy until he drops it.
As far as the nipping, my dog did that and there are a couple of different things that you can do. One, scream like it hurt (no matter if it does or not) and then say no. The other I learned from a vet, he would gag the dog if it bit him and then say no. This would teach him that if it bites then he will get gaged. I have also just held my dogs mouth closed for a second and said (in a stern voice) no. It has worked until someone comes over and lets her bite them (playfully) then I have to start over again. My dog isn't that old yet. I hope this helps.

Answer 3

My Heeler used to bite me for the first 6 months I had him, I couldn't even pet him it was all bite bite bite. He's not big on fetch and does like tug o war. I found he needs to have a friend or he drives me nuts. After we put our old dog down he was alone for 5 months. I didn't have the energy to entertain him so I got him a friend and now he herds adn bites her and leaves me alone. He's a great obedience dog and listens very well also seems to understand alot of things without specific training. Try teaching the drop it command and maybe you will need to use treats at first. As for biting you can try to train him not to and make him go lie down then call him over and pet him and if he bites separate from him again. Make sure to use a command like no bite. Good Luck!

Answer 4

Well, sounds like he likes to make a game of playing tug of war with it. So have some treats and when he brings it back, show him the treat and say "drop it". And praise him a bunch. Work with him on it, it's not gonna fix it overnight.
As far as the nibbling, he may do that to get attention, so ignore him or(better yet) walk away from him(if you can) while ignoring him and make sure you give him attention when he's not nibbling.

Answer 5

I dont know what to do about the fetch thing, but I also have a beagle and it bites the hell outta people (playfully).. I bought that bitter apple stuff from the pet store, now all I have to do is pick it up and he stops biting.

Answer 6

initially except you actual seize them contained in the act the purely difficulty to finish by utilising punishing them is to doubtlessly reason extra issues. because the sensible party the following this is major that you prevent the topic matters from occurring. the way in which to maintain the canine from transferring into issues contained in the kitchen at nighttime is to maintain them out of the kitchen. both one in all of your canine are contained in the rebellious teenage section so your astounding wager is to crate them at nighttime or odds are they're going to locate something to entertain themself in although new room you positioned them in. ensure you supply them bones or toys of their crates to grant them sometihng to do and to lead them to opt to be of their crate. as far because the lab no longer desirous to pass outdoors the purely answer is goign to be to regain his trust so he knows he gained't be locked out. this is going to take a at the same time as. probably how you may do it will be that you'll be able to pass outdoors with him till he has triumph over his fears. also effortless obedience instructions would help rebuild his trust in you. BTW there is not any such difficulty as a Belgian Shepherd... that's only a commonplace time period used to search for suggestion from with all 4 of the Belgians yet each and every has a tendency to have a fairly diverse habit progression and those will very searching on the lines.

Answer 7

Try to teach the dog "drop it" when you are playing fetch and when he does drop it give him a treat. For the nibbling tech him 'no", 'go lay'. or 'leave it' and again if he listens give him a treat.

Answer 8

Well, for the biting, i would advise you to GENTLY nip him on the ear or muzzle every time he does it.........then scold him....ive used that techinque with all my problem biters and puppies, and they get the hint to quit it pretty quicky.