kcblue

Hello all,

My family and I just adopted a three year old basset hound named Fred yesterday. I have two boys ages 5 and 2 and suprisingly we are all adjusting well. (My husband has yet to meet him as he is currently traveling for work but can't wait to meet him)My oldest who is five is slightly timid while my youngest is all over him.

My question is, we have very little experience with basset hounds or any dogs in general. I keep hearing make the dog aware that you are the alpha. This does not come naturally to me. I want to start this off right so as to not make any mistakes we will have to correct down the road. How do I go about doing that for myself as well get my boys involved? Fred is very well behaved but there's some minor things we need to work on such as begging, jumping on furniture and sometimes when he gets excited he jumps. I was told not to allow them in your bed or couch and last night at bed time, I can tell you I made him get down off my bed thirty plus times before I gave in and let him stay. Tonight as I was sitting on the bed, he jumped up, laid next to me and fell asleep. My two year old also got on the bed and sat next to me. He was wiggling around as two year olds do and Fred began to slightly growl at him with his eyes still closed. Should I be concerned about this? I immediately made Fred get down from the bed and go to his doggy bed. I'm thinking some type of training should be good for he and I both.

Jnfr

Welcome Fred and Family!

In my personal experience, that whole "alpha" thing doesn't work. If you own a basset, you are now "staff".

As for allowing him on the furniture or bed is a personal choice. No hard and fast rule there. It is what you prefer. Lots of folk here (myself included) allow their fur-baby on the furniture and to sleep with them in the bed. My Jake sleeps in a dog bed in the bedroom (his choice, he moved there when Sophie passed... guess it is the "big dog" bed.) Abby sleeps in the bed with me. Both have full furniture access (although the furniture is covered with throws to keep it clean).

I don't know about the growling. Jake will do that plus lash out and snap if I try to move him when he is in a dead sleep. This is the only time he snaps, so I think it is more of a matter of startling him rather than an aggression issue.

Training (for both of you) is always a good idea. At the very least the basic commands of Sit, Stay, Come, Leave It, etc.

As for unwanted behaviors, such a jumping, we have some folks here that are great with behavior issues. Listen to them.

Oh yeah, we require photos, lots of photos. This crew has a need to gush over pups! Fire up that camera and post, asap!

Lightning&Stomps

Welcome! I think you did right by making him get off the bed when he growled at the little one. It will take a while for Fred to adjust to his new surroundings and get used to the kids. But in the meantime, continue to remove him if he growls. Bassets typically don't respond to harsh punishment. Usually just banishing them from your presence--as you did by making him get off the bed--will do the trick. Regardless of whether you believe the alpha dog thing, it's always a good idea to have each of the family members put Fred through the occasional sit and stay, and any other commands he learns, just to remind him that he is, indeed, a dog. I admit that it might be a little tough for a 2yo to do that just now. I've always liked to teach my animals silly tricks (for instance, I taught Lightning to bite the heads off dandelions on command, and I taught my cat to pat me on the chest when he wants to be petted. I'm sure the others on this forum will have lots of other ideas). Getting the kids involved in that will give them a fun way to bond. And yes, post pix!

Mikey T

complete and utter nonscense. Dogs do not form pack nor to the engage in any decernably hierarchy structure. Even wolve wich the whole alpha dog thing start from do not from heirarchies in the wild this way. a pack in the wild is simply a family unit a mother and father with siblings that when the mature go off on their own and try and form a pack of their own, So that is the better modle for you

thy and simply be a good basset parent

leadership basics

also keep in mind for dogs learn is quickest and more comprensive when done through play. Play=work=play

why if it is under some belief theat doing so the dog becomes dominate and therfor aggressive rest assured that is not the case.
Debunking the dominance myth


there are some legitmate reason not to let the dog on the furniture and bed but these most often are lifestyle consideraion and nothing to do with changing the dogs behavior.

Quote:

He was wiggling around as two year olds do and Fred began to slightly growl at him with his eyes still closed

here is one of those life style choice. think if you were trying to sleep and the 2 year old cam up and started bouncing on the bed what would you do? While many consider growling an agressive act it is more akin to shouting "knock it off. " hence the need to alway supervise the dog when in the presence of a young child. Keeping the dog off the bed preventsw this. Keep the child from annoying a sleeping dog does too. The choice is yours.

Quote:

I immediately made Fred get down from the bed and go to his doggy bed.

this can backfire because it is impossible to know what the dog associated the punishment with his behavior or say just the mere presence of the child. if it is the presence the to child punishment can make the behavior worse as the dog triesto keep the child farther away to prevent the punishment. you need to alow work on creating a possitive association between the child and the dog . Keeping in mind toddler are mostl likely to be bitten and have problem with dogs, it is because the are irratic, do not move like adult so tdog often are edgier when around them


TODDLERS & DOGS

RULES OF DOG SAFETY

How to Love Your Dog

Living with Kids and dogs


some links on the growling

He Just Wants To Say "Hi!"
Aggression or appropriate response to rudeness? Far too many dogs suffer because handlers & trainers don't know the difference between the two.
Dogs Use Non-Aggressive Fighting to Resolve Conflicts
Position Statement
The Use of Punishment for Behavior Modification in Animals
　American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior

kcblue

Thank you for the detailed responses. I will definitely be checking out the links and am going to get Fred and I enrolled in some obedience classes. This morning my boys and I have been working with Fred on sitting. He sat for both of them. He knows lay down, sit and down, off, and comes when called. I have also been working on the stay command which he's doing very with as well. He's a very happy guy and loves my attention. I can usually count on him to be right by my side at all times. This also leads to my next question, what do we do when we need to leave the house? I'm a stay at home mom and haven't left him alone yet. I know that his previous owner never crated him. We have a crate for him but haven't introduced it yet. I also thought about leaving him in a doggy proofed small area of the house. We have discovered that Fred enjoys rolling in poop and would like to get a pooper scooper asap

Mikey T

see Say please

Quick Fix jumping Dog

an easy self control exercise

jaylii9

Welcome!

I recommend enrolling Fred in a basic obedience class. You can ask your vet for a recommendation. We took an 8 week class with our rescue Libby and we learned so much about dogs! She knows her basic commands and is a good dog. Doing the training really helped me "speak her language".

Once you are into the training with Fred you can get your kids involved at home with basic commands etc...

One thing that I think is important with bassets (and most dogs) is patience! My trainer told me "your dog is everything you need" and she is so right! Libby has taught me so much patience and love...things that I needed.

Bassets in general are stubborn, not dumb. Libby is smart as a whip, but doesn't always want to listen to us. We try to have consistent rules with her although she won the couch war. If we give her a command like bed and she doesn't want to do it, we are patient and reinforce our command. Once she does what she is asked, she always get lots of praise!

houndmomma

Congratulation on your new addition!!!! Looks like you’ve already been giving a lot of great advice – so I wouldn’t add more – but I will say that when you take him to training if possible take your kids and let them be involved as much as possible that they can be for their age.

Even though I’ve been training as long as I have, when we get new puppies or an adult rescue, I sign them up for a class and have my hubby take them. Something about how a hubby will listen to what a stranger tells them to do that they can’t fathom to hear from their wife. And let the kids be part of the homework or practice as much as possible for their age. Practicing is the key to successful training – remember the school only gives you the tools – it’s up to momma to do the rest.

Oh, and I didn’t notice any photos – we need photos fast!!!! We can’t get enough cute puppy love here.

Jen~

__________________
Momma to Lucy age 12 ~ Basset Hound
Momma to Rickie age 5 ~ Shi-Poo (don’t tell him though – he thinks he’s a hound dog)
Momma to Mabel age -1 ~ Basset Hound
Momma to Flash – RIP 2000 ~ 2011 – Gone in body but with me in spirit ~ You will live on forever in my heart baby ~ Je t'aime