First I must put forth that my husband and I are long long long time dog lovers and are highly knowledgeable. But we're in a situation that we can't seem to find the best way to cope with.
Our sweet new beagle puppy, Daisy is a nibbler. Sometimes biter. Let me give you some back story. Daisy was a stray. We picked her out when she was 7 months old, so we have no idea how long she had been on the streets, or if she had been with a family or what. She is sweet and cuddly 80% of the time. But the other 20% she is a maniac. Nibbling, biting, bearing her teeth, etc. Our kids have learned to leave her alone during these times, but my husband and I are not sure how to handle it. She seems to be very stubborn and willful. Let me tell you some of the techniques we've used and her responses.
- Holding her down to assert dominance, ala Ceasar Milan -- Makes Daisy more aggitated and angry and begins to get into a crazy mode
- Shoving our fingers gag-reflex style to make her let go of chomping down on our hands -- She doesn't seem to have a gag reflex and hangs on tighter
- Popping her into her crate and closing the door (which she has no fear of, she willingly sleeps there with the door open) -- She whines and growls and tries to bite the metal mesh almost to hurting herself
- Bait and switch we call it, trying to direct her to a toy of hers -- works for a small moment and then she's jumping on us again and biting.
- Water bottle squirt to the snout -- It's like crazy fun time as she's biting the water spurt
- Yelling "No!" makes her agitated. Yelping like another dog makes her bite more.
I've been working on her commands - she's highly food motivated - and the standard 'sit' 'stay' 'come' and 'down' are coming along, although she bears her teeth through the whole process. We work on it twice a day for about 15 minutes. We walk her at least twice a day, usually three times and my husband is also out every night throwing the tennis balls in the yard with her as well, so she's getting plenty of excersize.
The latest thing we've tried is coins in an aluminum can to shake loudly and jar her from latching onto our hands. It works for a while, then we have to get up and leave the room.
Please believe me, we are commited to this dog and the majority of her waking time she is lovely and sweet and snuggly and the best dog in the world. I am just out of ideas. I don't want to start smacking her on the nose or with a newspaper, as I am positive it will only get her angry.
Sorry so long, thank you so much for any advice you can give me
Most often, she is in Puppy Biting Mode when my husband comes home from work. He gets the majority of the biting. So it could be the excitement of seeing him, the time of day - she may be tired. But it could happen in the middle of the day too. I am not noticing a trigger
What is inspiring these rages? Is there a trigger, or does it come out of no where? I'll add more when I know more about it!
I would be speaking with a professional - i.e. experienced dog trainer or behaviorist. I would NOT be employing any harsh "confrontational" methods that involve trying to dominate the dog and being the "alpha". Unless you know more about her background or start to understand why she is doing this, some of these methods will only make things worse (as you have already seen) and will potentially put you at risk for being injured. She needs to learn to inhibit the bite, especially if it's more puppyish play biting. She also needs to learn to accept people looking and handling her around her mouth (i.e. the vet) so she doesn't think fingers around her mouth are something to bite, or are about to be shoved down her throat. Sometimes bad behavior needs to be corrected by immediately replacing it with a more acceptable behavior (i.e. sit, lay down, etc.) and then rewarding that good behavior. If she gets worked up when hubby gets home, it might help for him to just totally ignore her for a good 10 to 15 minutes after coming home, and then pay attention to her once she is acting calm. That's part of the behavior modification program for dogs with separation anxiety, when they go out of their minds when a certain someone, or everyone, is gone from the house and they are left alone. It just basically makes the coming home a lot less of a "big deal."
Check out Dr. Sophia Yin on-line (you can Google her) - she is a veterinarian who is a behavior specialist and we employ a lot of her techniques when working with dogs in our practice.
I do not like Ceasar Milan. I think that there are better ways to train a dog. I'm more a Victoria Stillwell person.
Here is info based on her show about dealing with a biting puppy: http://www.squidoo.com/puppy-training-problems
If she is excited when he comes home, he should turn his back to her and ignore her til she calms down. You can also give her a mat by the door and teach her to stay til he is ready to greet her. If you yelp or otherwise indicate no, do you also stop the play? It's no fun when the toy gets up and leaves. When you play, what kinds of toys do you use? Does anyone (even the kids) ever mess with their hands near her face and bait her, even in play?
You can also invest in one on one training or a basic obedience class.
I hate to say it but this dog may have to be put down. Some dogs are a product of inbreeding and sometimes they just have a screw loose in their head and they attack without provacation.
I am dealing with one like that right now. I know I have to put her down and I hate this.
If this dog attacks another dog or a person. Gets out -- breaks her leash and goes after someone walking down your sidewalk -- you are liable. if you re-home her and she attacks -- you are liable, even if you warn the new owners.
This happened with in 10 miles of my home:
http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20120816/APC0101/3081...
You should talk to a trainer. If you notice that she is more aggressive when your husband first comes home, place her in her crate before he walks in. Leave her in there until the aggression passes.
If yelling no makes her mad, then don't say no. Grunt instead.
It could be that it's her way of trying to play and it gets her attention, so she keeps doing it. Have you tried a dog whistle? One that you use when she becomes aggressive?
ETA: I Think DVMOM has the best plan!
Wow! I think you need the help of a good trainer/behavior professional. It sounds like she missed some socialization and who knows what else happened in the first 7 months of her life. The "bearing teeth" thing worries me. The only thing I could think of is a muzzle. put it on her when she starts the biting. Not sure how easy that is though as I've only had to use a muzzle once and it seems getting it on an agitated dog may not work well.
Is there a way you could set up a crate that is seperate from the crate she sleeps in and is much less desirable. Smaller, completely dark far away from the action (think banishment penalty box, not to be used for more than 10-15 minutes at a time)
Glad you have some experience in this area and understand you need to work on this right away! Also, you are right, the smacking on the nose isn't going to help but will make it worse.
Congrats on the new pup.
If she was a stray there is no telling what happened to her early in life... she may have been separated from mom and littermates too early and never learned bite inhibition.
I would tackle the problem threefold: get a deterrent like bitter apple spray (or make your own) and teach her bite inhibition. You say she gets most exited when DH comes home... try to prevent the excitement: crate before he comes inside and until she is calm. If she bites anyone at any time all play and attention must stop immediately: turn your backs and leave her alone in a confined space (we keep our little beagle in the kitchen) so she cannot follow you. Stay away for a few minutes, then return and start playing again. Repeat with every bite.
It is harder to teach an older dog bite inhibition, but it is not impossible. I don't subscribe to "asserting alpha" or smacking her nose... Beagles generally do not respond well to punishment based training. You will be better off teaching her behaviors you want her to do (sit down when being petted, sit when being approached, sit when dad comes home etc) with food rewards while punishing her with lack of attention for any unwanted behaviors.
Also start taking her to obedience classes and socialize her with other dogs (they will help her learn bite inhibition as they will bite back when she gets too rough).
Good luck!
going thru this same phase with our pup. & like you, while I know how to handle puppy training, this one is breaking all of the rules!
Sooo, here's the method which seems to be working best & I got it from a local trainer: with one hand, grab the collar & push/aid the dog into a sitting position. Simultaneously,with the other hand, put your thumb under the mouth & the 1st 2 fingers spread apart over the top of the muzzle/firmly holding down (one on each side)....as you say "no".
This may seem invasive, but it's not! & the whole point of grabbing the collar 1st is so that you are actively moving the dog away from you....as you teach "no bite". Putting your 2nd hand in that triangular position really helps control the dog. In our pup's case, if we can't get him to respond positively...then it's into the crate until he calms down. This method is working great....to the point that we're about 1/2 over the biting/nipping stage.
& as you've mentioned, excitement does factor into it! We go thru this when the 3 men in the house come home....aaargh. & unfortunately, both of my sons lay down on the floor & let the pup rule.....an absolute NoNo when it comes to pup training. Drives me nuts, which is why my younger son is now in charge of the pup during Puppy Class. He also needs to learn how to behave!
Good luck & I hope this helps!
I think this dog may have been abused by the previous owners and may need to do some calm down meds to get her past this first stage getting used to your family.
My MIL was sitting at the pound/animal rescue place in Eureka Springs one day waiting for them to open. This lady comes up with this lovely Dachshund and doesn't even want to stay until they open in a few minutes. She drops the dog off with my MIL and gives her the papers and leaves.
My MIL kept the dog and also saw a couple more that she liked for some friends. So she came back to Oklahoma with a car load of barking buddies.
This little Dachshund did submissive peeing as soon as anyone came in the house. If everyone ignored her and did not even look at her she would tend to not do it after a while. Then as time went on and she realized she was safe she stopped all together.
This little doggy may have been through hell. People have no idea how long it takes a dog to starve or get run over and die a long death in the ditch. People who dump animals should get to experience that once in their lifetime.
Try getting Rescue Remedy for pets. It worked to calm both of my cats and it's safe for dogs. A few drops in her drinking water will help calm her down. I would suggest giving it to her before your husband gets home. You can also put drops directly on her paws or on her nose.
You can use Bitter Apple. A friend of mine had a nipper and she'd squirt some on her hands. It tastes really bitter! Her dog nipped her hands only a few times (and got Bitter Apple in her mouth) and she stopped biting almost right away. You can find it at pet stores.
Put her in her crate before your husband walks in while you're training her. And take her to a professional obedience school.
Good luck!
Have you tried giving her a firm "No biting!" and then hiding your hands (sit on them if you have to) and ignoring her when she starts biting? It worked wonderfully on our dog. We just adopted him in January. He was a stray and our vet thinks he was probably 1-2 years old.
Also, since she seems to get really worked up and excited when your husband gets home does he give her a lot of attention when he comes in the house? If so, he should try ignoring her for a little while - until she calms down some.
Good luck! I think it's wonderful that you are so committed to your dog. Hopefully she will come around and mellow out as she gets a little bit older. I know, from experience, that it's hard when you don't have any background information on your dog.
