My dog is growling at family members

[Jody Hayes]

My 7 month old Beagle, Ace, has started growling at my 6yr old daughter and my fiancee when they touch him. He has never done it before the past week and never does it to me. We also have an 8 month old Lab, Cliff, that has never done this. Any advice on making the Beagle stop?[/img]

[Renee]

Jody-

Could you elaborate on your situation. How does your daughter and your fiancee interact with your pup? Also - what kind of training have you done?

[Jody Hayes]

The beagle has not had professional obedience training. He knows sit, crate, outside, car, walk, treat, downstairs, those simple kind of words. We have all been with him since he was old enough to leave his mother. I am the main caretaker of him. I walk, brush, feed, water, give treats and mainly play w/ him. That is not to say my daughter and fiancee don't. THey do but not as much. He does sleep in our bed. During the day is in the crate while we are working, for at the most 6 hours and most days my fiancee comes home after 3 hours and lets the dogs outside and plays w/ them. Do you need any other info? I would be happy to provide it.

[Renee]

Specifically, how does your finacee and child play with the dog? Is it rough and tumble play? What kind of games do they play? Could you describe the interaction. Do you use postivive methods to train your dog? How have you handled training in the past? Is your dog on a Nothing In Life is Free type of program? Are your fiancee and daughter pulling objects out of your pups mouth? Are they doing anything even mildly negative to the dog?

Sorry for all the questions...but it is important to know the circumstances surrounding the growling.

[Jody Hayes]

I would say my daughter can be rough and tumble. She trys to hug and kiss him at the wrong times...he is eating rawhide, napping, playing w/ his toys. She doesnt' seem to get the hint to get away from him on the first growl and after about 4 or 5 growls gets snipped. Travis (fian) is somewhat rough, his method of discipline is different than mine. he is louder, more physical and I am more of a hugger, treat giver, forgiver. If the dog is on my lap sleeping I opt to leave him there instead of getting up...Travis has no problem moving him away. Travis is not much of a treat giver, and I feel that is about the only way to get Ace to do something. He believes the dog should just do it. emily is also a big treat giver...

[Renee Premaza]

Hi Jody,

First, I would put your dog on the Nothing in Life is Free Program. You can now access that article right here on this forum.

Your daughter is old enough to begin taking part in his training, as long as she's being supervised. Some suggestions might be (1) have her ask the dog to sit when she's holding his dinner bowl in her hands. If he sits for her, she can then place the bowl down on the floor and tell him, "okay, go eat!" (2) she periodically ask the dog for a sit, and then she can reward him by giving him a treat if he does sit for her. This may help the dog learn that your daughter is also responsible for his well-being.

I fear that if she doesn't begin listening to you about when is the right time and wrong time for hugging your dog, that your dog may someday do worse than "snip" her. I worked with a client whose child and dog had a similar relationship, and the dog wound up sending the daughter to the hospital with bite wounds on her belly! Everytime your dog feels that he has to snip at your daughter, he's practicing a behavior that may get them both into trouble. This then becomes a firmly entrenched habitual behavior on both of their parts. Take your leadership role seriously with both your child and your dog to avoid serious problems in the future.

If your fiance is physically punishing or correcting your dog, then your dog may someday decide he has to seriously defend himself. Always remember that a dog is a dog! Dogs have no morals. They don't know right from wrong (on a human level), and to them, everything they do is perfect -- it's just dog behavior.

Get everyone in the family on the same page and respond to your dog in the same manner. Implement the NILIF program as soon as possible, and begin training your dog in manners and self-control. I'm hoping that I'll be able to re-post some training articles to this forum when I find out how to do that.

Good luck!




I would say my daughter can be rough and tumble. She trys to hug and kiss him at the wrong times...he is eating rawhide, napping, playing w/ his toys. She doesnt' seem to get the hint to get away from him on the first growl and after about 4 or 5 growls gets snipped. Travis (fian) is somewhat rough, his method of discipline is different than mine. he is louder, more physical and I am more of a hugger, treat giver, forgiver. If the dog is on my lap sleeping I opt to leave him there instead of getting up...Travis has no problem moving him away. Travis is not much of a treat giver, and I feel that is about the only way to get Ace to do something. He believes the dog should just do it. emily is also a big treat giver...