My flatmate and I adopted a 7 month old beagle 3 weeks ago. From what we can gather he's been with two families already. We don't know much about the first family but think that the second one had only had him for around a month. They said that they were looking to re-home him because he jumps up a lot and they have a baby on the way so didn't want to risk anything happening. He's very good around children (although what I've written below now makes me think otherwise!) and doesn't bark outside of the house. He does have a problem with people coming to the house but one problem at a time!
At first he seemed really quiet but still playful and loving. He did jump up a lot but only playfully so we didn't think much of this and put it down to him being a puppy. He is suffering with separation anxiety as I think he was left in a crate all day for hours on end and was never taught to cope. We're making quick progress on this and he can now be left in the other room without whining at all but is still suffering when we completely leave the house.
We can cope with all of this and it's only been a very short time so we've got a long way to go but what I can't cope with is his nipping at us, our clothes and random doorstops and blanket around the house. I don't think he was taught that his biting and pulling hurts and he sees it as a game. He came with a few tug toys and whilst he clearly enjoys this he doesn't know when to stop so we've stopped this and moved to other types of play, which is working.
However, he will start humping cushions and blankets whilst biting them and if you try to stop him by making a noise, leaving a room or removing him from the situation he turns and will go to bite. His tails wags and he doesn't bare his teeth so I feel that it's playful but I don't know how to stop the situation. He's bitten me and my flatmate and goes to pull on jumpers. If we turn to ignore him he doesn't pick up on this and will continue to nip at us.
Today he just wouldn't leave our doorstop alone. I said stop and he ignored this and continued. I then got hold of it and he started jumping at me until it was out of sight and I was able to distract him with another toy.
Sorry this is such a lengthy post! Does anyone have any tips on what we can do to help the situation?
Beagle Puppy Nipping at us
Moderators: emmabeth, BoardHost
Re: Beagle Puppy Nipping at us
I'm not an expert, but...
He's an adolescent and behaving like one, so it will improve. Don't tell him off, but do your utmost to distract him and/or redirect him to his own toys. Work on 'drop' so you can use this in games of tug - though you'll need to ask him to drop before he gets too worked up. It's also fine if he 'wins' tug every time - it's just a fun game, it won't make him think that he's in charge of the household.
Timeouts should help with the nipping, though I know it's difficult to remove yourself when he's hanging on to your clothes or limbs. There's a thread on timeouts here: viewtopic.php?f=20&t=13934
Impulse control training is also helpful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipT5k1gaXhc It will give him the ability to control his response when frustrated, rather than having the equivalent of a tantrum.
If he likes to hump, give him a 'humpy toy' such as a cushion (my dog had a large octopus: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Octopus-Dog-Cr ... B007SNV5LA ) and redirect him to that when he humps on something else.
The more fun he can have and the more mental exercise he can get without using his teeth on inappropriate items (such as you!) the better - check out this thread on exercising your dog's mind: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1135
He's an adolescent and behaving like one, so it will improve. Don't tell him off, but do your utmost to distract him and/or redirect him to his own toys. Work on 'drop' so you can use this in games of tug - though you'll need to ask him to drop before he gets too worked up. It's also fine if he 'wins' tug every time - it's just a fun game, it won't make him think that he's in charge of the household.
Timeouts should help with the nipping, though I know it's difficult to remove yourself when he's hanging on to your clothes or limbs. There's a thread on timeouts here: viewtopic.php?f=20&t=13934
Impulse control training is also helpful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipT5k1gaXhc It will give him the ability to control his response when frustrated, rather than having the equivalent of a tantrum.
If he likes to hump, give him a 'humpy toy' such as a cushion (my dog had a large octopus: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Octopus-Dog-Cr ... B007SNV5LA ) and redirect him to that when he humps on something else.
The more fun he can have and the more mental exercise he can get without using his teeth on inappropriate items (such as you!) the better - check out this thread on exercising your dog's mind: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1135
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
Re: Beagle Puppy Nipping at us
Thank you for your post, really really helpful!
I've been trying the time out method today and it seems to already be showing results!
I've been trying the time out method today and it seems to already be showing results!
