Puppy running riot

[equestriansports]

I'm losing the will to live. Bought a Beagle puppy about six weeks ago and it's been hell ever since. Hes stubborn, he bites, he still doesn't understand toilet training. I've tried absolutely everything but unless food is involved then nothing works. I'm taking him to puppy training classes which starts soon but I'm so worried about him being awful and embarrassing me. He's just so naughty, he chews anything he can get his paws on, including puppy pads or you. He has a crate to go into when he choses but the second you close the door to leave he howls and barks. I don't know what to do. He has plenty of toys but he never seems to want them, he would rather chew the furniture. He's got compamy in the form of my Doberman who he runs riot and jumps all over. He goes on 15 minute walks daily. Any ideas or advice?

 

[Bellasophia]

I'm thinking he's now 4 m old...?
Get rid of puppy pads unless you want him to wee indoors forever..
He needs
Regular outs to learn he can wee and poo outdoors..10 to 20 mins after play or feeding..
He can go on 20 minute walks ...even two or three Times a day...this will help to tire him out..
Try to involve him ..let him stay at your side,with a chew toy ..
Lighten up...you've lived through a Doberman successfully,this will be a piece of cake if you stay focused and tire him out,direct him,give him boundaries etc.remember he also needs to sleep..now it is the time for his crate..
Safety gates are your best friend..
Redirect his biting with a chew toy....
No tug games with a dog who is bite focused...but fetch and exchange for another toy will work well..

 

[equestriansports]

I'm thinking he's now 4 m old...?
Get rid of puppy pads unless you want him to wee indoors forever..
He needs
Regular outs to learn he can wee and poo outdoors..10 to 20 mins after play or feeding..
He can go on 20 minute walks ...even two or three Times a day...this will help to tire him out..
Try to involve him ..let him stay at your side,with a chew toy ..
Lighten up...you've lived through a Doberman successfully,this will be a piece of cake if you stay focused and tire him out,direct him,give him boundaries etc.remember he also needs to sleep..now it is the time for his crate..
Safety gates are your best friend..
Redirect his biting with a chew toy....
No tug games with a dog who is bite focused...but fetch and exchange for another toy will work well..

Thank you! He is a lovely puppy when he wants to be haha. Toys don't seem exciting to him, he has chewy bones, balls, a rope type thing. I'm cautious of getting anything that makes a noise incase he chews it and eats the thing that squeaks. Will increase the walking and see how that goes.

 

[wkiwi]

Get a professional behaviourist in to help. There are many things that systems you can put in palce that can help, but a lot depend on timing and body language so impossible to convey in forum posts.
Contact the person who is going to run the puppy parties and ask if you can have a few private sessions in advance.

 

[SusieT]

Now is the time to get a trainer involved - at home, to assist asap.

 

[Alec Swan]

Sadly, it sounds as though that pup has got the better of you. Wilful and bone-headed pups rarely respond to kindness, until they understand that you mean what you say.

Alec.

 

[equestriansports]

Thank you everyone so far. It's just at times he completely ignores you, you can shout his name and he blanks you entirely whether you shout him in a happy voice or deeper voice. It's like his brain switches off.
I'm going to visit the trainer and ask if we could have some lessons before the classes start. I've had lots of dogs before but non have been like him.

 

[Alec Swan]

Thank you everyone so far. It's just at times he completely ignores you, you can shout his name and he blanks you entirely whether you shout him in a happy voice or deeper voice. It's like his brain switches off.
…….. .

He's a beagle! What did you expect? Often, and with many breeds, 'shouting' only ever seems to encourage them. In a figurative fashion, the best advice is that you speak softly and carry a big stick. Hands-on and physical contact, carefully measured by way of the dog's response, will mostly prove to be the answer. The fact that he uses his teeth on you is a clear indication that he has no respect for you. Time for him to learn, I'd suggest!

Discipline and going back and re-enforcing the basics will also have him start to listen to you. If he's not prepared to listen to your voice, then he has to learn that it's your voice that matters, and when I've had those that refuse to comply, then they've learned, sometimes the hard way, that they WILL listen to me! Not a system which is popular with everyone, but I've found that it works and all so often with those which the 'trainers' have rejected as untrainable.

Alec.

 

[Dry Rot]

Thank you everyone so far. It's just at times he completely ignores you, you can shout his name and he blanks you entirely whether you shout him in a happy voice or deeper voice. It's like his brain switches off.
I'm going to visit the trainer and ask if we could have some lessons before the classes start. I've had lots of dogs before but non have been like him.

I have been involved with a couple of beagle packs and they are not the brightest. But if I couldn't get 20 couple of hounds to respond instantly to my voice, I'd start asking myself where I was going wrong.

Having said that, why should a dog respond to a shout? That is a perfectly serious question. Animals generally do what is to their benefit, so responding to a shout should equate to something the dog benefits from -- food, affection, company, a game, hunting -- or the avoidance of unpleasantness (like sending one of my whipper ins to do his job!). If the shout is followed by angry gestures and possibly punishment, the dog would be very stupid not to go in the other direction until things cool down!

The tone of the voice doesn't matter, it is what that tone is associated with in the dog's mind that is important.

 

[ldlp111]

You could have a look on Victoria Stillmans website several useful videos and tips https://positively.com/dog-behavior/puppy-knowledge/puppy-housetraining/paper-training/
Not saying you don't know what you're doing, but tips for toilet training, biting/mouthing you etc

 

[equestriansports]

Having said that, why should a dog respond to a shout? That is a perfectly serious question. Animals generally do what is to their benefit, so responding to a shout should equate to something the dog benefits from -- food, affection, company, a game, hunting -- or the avoidance of unpleasantness (like sending one of my whipper ins to do his job!). If the shout is followed by angry gestures and possibly punishment, the dog would be very stupid not to go in the other direction until things cool down!

My garden is quite big, so often shouting is the only way to be heard. Nothing bad ever happens when he comes to me, he always either gets a treat or a big fuss for coming back. I dont shout his name unless he's further away. I don't think I've ever properly shouted at him in an angry way.

As for puppy pads they're now gone. I've contacted the lady that does puppy training classes and she said get his attention, point to the wee and make sure he looks at it then in a firm voice say no wee wees a few times and place him outside.

Edited just to say I'm definitely going to take a look at that website. He is getting better, it's not like we aren't making progress, it's just going exceptionally slowly.

 

[EQUIDAE]

I've a foxhound x - definitely goes deaf when on the scent or when the wind is blowing the wrong way. I have a deaf dog collar for him and have taught him to stop to a long vibrate, to recall to 3 vibrates and a short vibrate is given when he gets a treat. Works brilliantly but takes a while to teach the dog rudimentary morse code.

 

[Peter7917]

As for puppy pads they're now gone. I've contacted the lady that does puppy training classes and she said get his attention, point to the wee and make sure he looks at it then in a firm voice say no wee wees a few times and place him outside.

Hmmmm where did you find this trainer?

 

[EQUIDAE]

As for puppy pads they're now gone. I've contacted the lady that does puppy training classes and she said get his attention, point to the wee and make sure he looks at it then in a firm voice say no wee wees a few times and place him outside.

Sure fire way to make him hide and wee. A better way would be to say 'wee wee' whilst you catch him doing it (never after), then place the dog outside and say it again. Rinse and repeat many times a day until they learn the cue. Then you can say the word outside and they should pee on command - never use a punishment, only reward for what you want. I did this with my foxhound cross the day he came home and it took about 6 hours for him to learn to pee outside. He has never had an accident in the house (I haven't put him in the position where he 'has' to go in the house) and has never used puppy pads. Once you have taught a dog to use puppy pads they then have to unlearn going inside...

 

[SusieT]

Your trainer sounds like not a good one - I'd get another! The way to house traini s frequent visits outside, not letting him have unsupervised access to large in house areas and reward when he goes outside (so going with him at all times) - crate training may help.
No dog will rationalise the training advised above...

 

[Alec Swan]

…….. . I've contacted the lady that does puppy training classes and she said get his attention, point to the wee and make sure he looks at it then in a firm voice say no wee wees a few times and place him outside.

……...

……..

No dog will rationalise the training advised above...

Assuming that there's a connection between the two posts above, I agree. Expecting a dog to understand such nonsense will only add to the confusion. Dogs don't speak English!

Alec.

 

[Peter7917]

Scrap the trainer, I bet you can have this down yourself within a week.

Just go back to square one. Take puppy out to the toilet every time he wakes up, after every playtime, after every meal. Do not leave him unsupervised. If you can't watch him then crate him.

I have an odd little weirdo dog who was perfectly house trained and had been for around 12 months, then one day for seemingly no reason at all she developed an aversion to the garden and started going in the house. If I took her out, even after all night having slept in her crate so she must have really needed to go, she would just stand at the back door, tail between her legs, shaking like she was terrified(wasn't cold)

I took a few days off work to tackle it. The morning of day one I had to wait in the garden for just shy of two hours before she eventually gave in and had a wee! Tonnes of praise and she was allowed to come in again. Each time I took her out to the toilet the waiting time would be less until day 3 she just snapped back to reality and started taking herself out as normal(have a dog flap)

You might need to prepare yourself for a few long waits with your puppy, on the plus side his bladder won't hold as well so your wait shouldn't be anywhere near as long as mine

 

[Leo Walker]

You could have a look on Victoria Stillmans website several useful videos and tips https://positively.com/dog-behavior/puppy-knowledge/puppy-housetraining/paper-training/
Not saying you don't know what you're doing, but tips for toilet training, biting/mouthing you etc

Definitely worth looking at her stuff. My boy was a nightmare. There wasnt a day for the first 6months that I didnt cry at least once at something he had done! We were just at absolute odds with each other. I'd always had setters and springers and a young working bred whippet who had been rehomed 3 times before he was 13 weeks probably wasnt a smart move on my behalf!

Hes not an easy dog, very, very bright, total drama queen and happy to use his powers for evil! He used to watch me and weigh up the situation, I could literally hear him thinking and storing information for future use. His favourite trick was to get up on the kitchen work tops and open the cupboard doors and knock everything to the floor. Who knew a bag of flour could make quite so much mess! Cherrypiegate still brings a tear to my eye!

He once stole a kitkat out of a closed drawer in a bedside cabinet which was pushed up against a wall. He stole my nieces birthday present from the airing cupboard, where it was on a 5foot high shelf behind 2 closed doors. Knocked a fish tank over and then went mental when he was taken out of the room while I tried to deal with 80gallons of hot, salty, sandy water.

He stole a wet paintbrush and dragged it the full length of my house before settling on the the bed to play with it. Oh and he once ate a lightbulb, yes thats right an actual lightbulb :lol: He also once ran off and ran into someones house, he was wet and covered in mud and got onto their cream sofa and dried himself off. That was a very awkward moment! And believe me when I say thats just the edited highlights! Someone once asked me if I had p*ssed off a small shape shifting demon, because he really was THAT bad!

The turning point for me was realising it was my fault and I had to do something. I couldnt in good faith inflict him on someone else, sorry I meant rehome him :lol: And having him PTS was NOT an option. So I manned up, accepted I was probably to blame and called in reinforcements!

Luckily I have a friend who is a behaviourist who works with Victoria Stilwell and she turned everything around within a week. It wasnt even big changes, just little things that made a huge difference. Although even she said hes not an easy dog. Too clever and too switched on. He would have made a phenomenal worker, so I spent a lot of time doing things that made him think he was working, without me having to actually tramp about in the dark lamping That was the turning point for us. He'd been screaming at me and while I heard him I just didnt know what to do.

Hes now nearly 5 and I have and always will love him beyond words. Hes been the dog of a lifetime for me and is the one thing that got me through shattering my spine and thinking I wouldnt walk again, without him I would have given up when I was in HDU but I wanted to get back and have him home so badly it was all I could think about. Hes still what keeps me going. I dont regret a single minute. However, I might be a bit more careful picking the next one :lol:

Sorry for the huge essay! I can laugh about it now and I'd honestly forgotten most of it until I started typing. But dont be afraid to get help. I wish I had done it much sooner!

 

[CorvusCorax]

1. It's a puppy. He can't speak English and he will not automatically know how ťo behave. It takes approximately 200 consistent repetitions for a dog to learn a behaviour.
2. It's a beagle. Make that 400. He will also have strong genetics to run, hunt, howl and desire to be part of a pack. It's hard to overide genetics. Better to channel them.
3. Advise your trainer to hit themselves over the head with a rolled up newspaper
4. Calm down. You sound stressed and that you're expecting him to behave in the worst possible way. If you're stressed then he'll pick up on it and not want to be anywhere near you. Be firm, but fun. If you expect him to behave 'badly', he will.
5. It's a puppy. Get your head together, read up a bit on how dogs learn (they'll always do what's in their best interests ) and make a plan. It will get better

I think we've all had a dog that made us wonder 'what have I DONE?!'

 

[TeamChaser]

FrankieCob I LOVE the sound of your whippet - what a 'character'! Beau, my whippet, is 20 months old and I'm not ashamed to admit I worship the little dude - something about the way they look at you gets totally under the skin, great little dogs.

Puppies are hard work and you kinda have to be prepared for a huge investment of time. Beau was toilet trained within 2 weeks but as others have said, that was due to being with him at all times and consistently taking him outside after waking, play time, food etc Don't think I managed to drink a whole cuppa whilst still hot for those first few weeks, in fact felt like I never sat down for more than 10 mins!

I also ignored breed advice about poor recall and never letting them off leash. Whilst I was careful about the amount he was allowed to do when very young, he was off leash as soon as he was allowed out for walks pretty much. He needed the stimulation - pockets stuffed with cooked sausage and an adoration of my older, very good, lurcher meant recall never an issue, even when he chases off after squirrels/rabbits

I am lucky to work from home so he spends a lot of time with me, walks are always varied and off leash so he can run and he thrives on close contact so generally wants to please. We walk past a free range chicken farm and after a few early incidents of half plucked chickens, I now only have to speak and he will leave alone. He had a stern telling off, and immediately put back on leash, each time he chased and grabbed one and will now not risk my displeasure

Good luck OP. They are hard work but you'll get there and before too long it will just be a bad memory!

 

[CorvusCorax]

Ps He's not doing any of this to annoy you.
15 minutes walking won't tire or stimulate him. Do training games, play with him, don't leave toys as inanimate objects on the floor and expect him to please himself at this age...make yourself part of the game and tailor his training and games to the type of dog that he is. Make him think! And make sure he is hungry when you are training him.

The Culture Clash by Jane Donaldson might be worth a read also.

 

[Leo Walker]

FrankieCob I LOVE the sound of your whippet - what a 'character'! Beau, my whippet, is 20 months old and I'm not ashamed to admit I worship the little dude - something about the way they look at you gets totally under the skin, great little dogs.

He is AWESOME! Once he got to about 18 months he really settled which has made life much easier! But he is the most loving and sunny natured dog I have ever met. Hes also a massive suck up! He loves me beyond words, but he also loves everyone and everything. He has a really good line in looking you in the eyes like you are his only reason for existing, or if hes not happy, like you have ruined his life :lol: Hes a dog who feels too much. A proper princess :lol: Hes done some work with dog aggressive dogs as he just couldnt care less. He also has near perfect recall and his best friend is the cat. He knows if I'm in pain or sad and comes to find me and just body bumps against me. I dont know how he knows but he does

Despite the rough start I recommend whippets to anyone who will listen. Just not a working bred one for a pet home :lol:

This is him when my physio came to treat me, it wasnt ok to just have a fuss and keep an eye on me, he decided it was for the best if he climbed up onto the table to supervise, and maybe get a treatment of his own. Hes not actually about to savage me, he was just singing his disapproval :lol:

So it can work out really well even after a rough start, but apologies for thread hijacking!

 

[TeamChaser]

I'm the same - whippets all the way for me now! They're very in tune with their 'person' and such lovely characters to have about the place. Funnily enough, you talking about singing, mine is also very vocal - another thing that apparently isn't a breed trait. I think they're misunderstood dogs!

Going back to original thread, my sister has a beagle and if it makes you feel any better OP his misdemeanours include:

Digging a massive hole in an internal house wall, twice
Destroying every single bed they've ever bought him (including a supposedly indistructable one so she did at least get her money back for that)
Eating someones packed lunch on the beach (they live in Aus)
Nicking nearly all of the food when left unsupervised at a work colleagues bbq
On the same beach, taking a massive crap in someone's flip flop while they swam
Crapping in the house, rolling in it and then running all round the house and smeering it everywhere


He's made my sister cry quite a lot lol!!

 

[Leo Walker]

Eating someones packed lunch on the beach (they live in Aus)

Dylan once to my total horror, naffed off and ran up to a family picnicking on the beach. They were very good about it, until he cocked his leg mainly on the picnic but also partially on a little girl. I gave serious thought to just walking away and denying ever knowing him! He also ran amok in the park when there was a kids football tournament. He wasnt happy with just wrecking the games by galloping through them and grabbing footballs, he then stole a burger out of someones hand! They were very good about it, probably because I was sobbing and shouting "just grab him, GRAB him, please, please, PLEASE just grab him!"

I'm not a bad dog owner, honestly! My other dog is impeccably behaved and has never done a bad thing in her life. But he was a nightmare! And now hes pretty much perfect So hang in there, and bring in the pros if needs be, and it will all work out fine in the end, I promise!

 

[Kaylum]

Sometimes you don't even realise what your doing until others point it out to you. It's the same with dogs. Your behaviour triggers their behaviour and it turns into a cycle.

 

[Alec Swan]

……... It's the same with dogs. Your behaviour triggers their behaviour and it turns into a cycle.

It's certainly true that our dogs react to the messages which we give them and all so often when it's not intentional. Our body language and general demeanour will have our dogs reacting when we often fail to recognise the subtleties of the messages that we give out. We need to 'Think'!

Alec.

 

[Shantara]

I've got no advise I'm afraid, but I'm the proud owner of a 6 month old Tamaskan puppy! She's very good now, but having never had a puppy before...I often asked myself "What have I DONE?!" She reduced me to tears on more than one occasion. Though it didn't help the (now ex) boyfriend had started showing severe signs of mental abuse.

Doing obedience helped a lot! When she was on a mad half hour, but had done too much to go out on another walk, I would try and teach her a new trick making her use her brain certainly helped!

Toilet training...it just clicked one day, at about 4 months! I can't say how I did it, because I don't know. She was awful one day, good the next and we've only had about 3 accidents in the two months since.

Good luck! I know it's hard! Keep at it and you'll get there

 

[{97702}]

1. It's a puppy. He can't speak English and he will not automatically know how ťo behave. It takes approximately 200 consistent repetitions for a dog to learn a behaviour.
2. It's a beagle. Make that 400. He will also have strong genetics to run, hunt, howl and desire to be part of a pack. It's hard to overide genetics. Better to channel them.
3. Advise your trainer to hit themselves over the head with a rolled up newspaper
4. Calm down. You sound stressed and that you're expecting him to behave in the worst possible way. If you're stressed then he'll pick up on it and not want to be anywhere near you. Be firm, but fun. If you expect him to behave 'badly', he will.
5. It's a puppy. Get your head together, read up a bit on how dogs learn (they'll always do what's in their best interests ) and make a plan. It will get better

I think we've all had a dog that made us wonder 'what have I DONE?!'

This all the way...... as soon as I read that he was a beagle I thought "well, what do you expect" This is why I only have nice, calm, adult rescue greyhounds mind you....

 

[alfiesowner]

I have been involved with a couple of beagle packs and they are not the brightest.

In my opinion, I wouldn't confuse selective hearing with lack of intelligence! I've always thought Beagles to be highly intelligent, but just stubborn and willfully ignorant. I'd only ever recommend a Beagle or hound of that type for someone with patience and a sense of humour!

 

[EQUIDAE]

In my opinion, I wouldn't confuse selective hearing with lack of intelligence! I've always thought Beagles to be highly intelligent, but just stubborn and willfully ignorant. I'd only ever recommend a Beagle or hound of that type for someone with patience and a sense of humour!

This for sure! My foxhound cross is highly intelligent and trainable, but only when he wants to be.