Can yuo tell me about my dog's past?

Question

My husband and I adopted a little beagle/dauschand mix in Feb. The shelter could only tell us that he had kennel cough, toy aggression and they found him on a major highway in Ft Worth Texas. We have had him for about 7mon now and he is the best dog! Anyway he has “possession aggression”. Anything that is his (his bed, food, toys, kennel) He gets mad if you move, touch or wash it. If you try to move his bed he growls and tries to bite. This isn’t the big problem. He is really protective. Sometimes he snaps at my husband when my husband and I are goofing off and hitting each other. Also if he does something bad (and don’t think that I am an animal abuser) he doesn’t liked to be spanked for it. For example today I caught him trying to eat food off of a plate and I spanked him for it (not hard) and he snapped and bite me. I love my dog and he is the best thing that has happened (besides my husband of course) But can anyone tell me why he would do this? (he's also very protective of kids)

forget it poeple. I was jsut trying to figure out if maybe soemone had the same exp. I didn't ask for his past name or anything. I fyou are going to be rude, go somewhere else.

the dog is not aggressive with children. He loves them so much that if (for instance) my husbadn were to use a tone of voice he associates with being punished the dog growls and barks at my husband.

Answer 1

He was probably in an abusive household. Sounds like the family did a lot of fighting between each other, and probably hit him as well. He probably remembers that when you spank him, even though you don't do it hard. To punish him, don't make any physical contact. If a loud firm NO doesn't do it, you can get a soda can and put some pennies in it, tape the opening, and shake it when he goes to do something bad. The noise should distract him.
Try an obedience class. The trainer will teach you how to work with your dog, and can work on individual problems that you have.

Answer 2

My mother-in-law has a chihuahua that acts much the same as you describe and it has absolutely nothing to do with his past. He's just a grouchy young dog. I agree that you should consult a trainer or behaviorist for your dog, especially if you have children in your home. The dog's behavior will probably worsen over time. My mother-in-law's dog has bitten my children on several occasions and they were just trying to play, but he thought they were stealing his toy. I make her keep the dog locked up away from my children when they are in her home now. Kudos to you for adopting from a shelter!

Answer 3

Being protective of his toys probably means that he had another dog in his life (or some sort of animal) and it was bigger or something and always took his things or food.... Like if he was a stray his whole life, when he found food something else took it from him... and no dogs like to be spanked.... if you catch him doing something wrong from now on, i would put him in a cage for about 10 minutes to show him that he did something wrong... and so that you dont get snapped at anymore

Answer 4

There can be 3 reasons. 1. He was abused 2. He was neglected or 3. combination of the two.

For an abusive dog - spanking him will only cause him to act out. In order to properly train him you want to start w/ positive reinforcement. However things like eating off the plate, barking at people passing while in the yard, jumping at the door may require a remote collar. I'm going to get a lot of grief for this - but I use them on my dogs. Its greatly effective when you aren't in sight to give them a verbal command. I used it to train them to stay off the couch, not jump at the door, not bark at the fence, and not to beg. Talk to a trainer before getting and using one.

As for the possession aggression - this is easily curable. One...establish a safe, secure home MEANING you, your husband and you kids should be the alpha in the pack. Snap a leash on your dog while he's in the house to better control him and his actions.

Teach him basic commands: sit, stay, down, come, leave it, etc. (Basic obediance classes or a personal trainer can assist with this). EVERYTHING you do w/ this dog is a training session, everything should be a command. Make sure to follow through also.

Command him to eat, to go outside, to come inside, for affection, to lie down, to get up etc. As a lower member of the pack he will comply. He may be fighting for dominance. Lower members don't snap at alpha for food, toys or sleeping spaces. What is in YOUR house is yours not his!

What I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend is first talking and possibly hiring a personal trainer to come to your home and addressing these issues. They will help greatly in basic training and speciality commands. They will address the aggression issue, etc.

Good Luck

Answer 5

Your dog has been abused and he is protective of his possessions.

It appears that he is becoming protective of you and/or your husband and children. When you are playfully hitting one another, he senses a danger to one of you.
Taking the plate from him is taking his food. Animals are protective of that,
It will take time, but he will adapt.

The guy needs lots of love.

Answer 6

You need more help than you can get here. Have your vet recommend a behaviorist or trainer and consult with them. Your dog is badly in need of training. His past doesn't matter, the present and future do.

Answer 7

Let me smoke a bowl first then I'll tell you all kinds of crap about your dog, and the world and life in general

Answer 8

sure i just need 10 rings one for each finger and need a turban Maybe then i can tell his past

Answer 9

Just wait, I'll go get my crystal ball.