SA BASSETS

Hi All!

Sorry for all the questions!! (maybe a bit forward for a newbie to the site)

Wellington (our adopted boy)Growled at us last night when we wanted to pet him while he was chewing the toys we had given them earlier the evening (yes he took off Lexie's toy aswell)

He sometimes shows teeth (the bad way) when we want him off the couch or out of the house...

Any advise...think he has dominance issues...he used to hump everything in sight when we got him! :-(

We are thinking of getting an animal behaviourist out to our home.

Please help!


ps. Our girl is not like this at all!

beatwig

We had the same problem during Christmas. I rescued a female basset this past August and we began to see signs around Christmas. First off, don't let the guys on the couch. About the toys, tell Wellington to sit.. and then command for the toy. You'll have to practice this.. He has to learn that you are the leader of your pack and not him.. It took about 3 weeks to get everything under control in my house. We still get growls, but I trained her to give her attention to me and she was and is rewarded with a small treat. Hopefully he'll learn to look at you for instruction. Getting a animal behaviorist is a great idea. Call your vet to suggest one. They can be expensive. A good book is
Who Moved My Bone? by Theresa Mancuso.
good luck

mary frances

Lightning&Stomps

There are lots of good books that address this, but you need to start establishing yourself as the top dog in the household. To do this, don't let them sleep with you, and don't even let them on the furniture with you. Every day spend a few minutes running through some obedience training. Some trainers suggest not letting the dog go through a doorway before you, feeding the aggressive dog last, etc. If you have access to a dog behaviorist, definitely take advantage of that. Hopefully order can be restored soon. But you'll probably never be able to let them sleep with you, etc. (I have two dogs. Stomps was a rescue that I got when he was 3-5 years old. Lightning was just a pup when I got him and has no interest in being top dog. But Stomps would get extremely aggressive with Lightning, so I had to institute the no-bed, no-lap rule. Lightning can get on my lap anytime, but never Stomps. It's hard to say no, but believe me, it works and it's for the best.) Welcome to the site and I hope this helps.

Baxter Basset

I adopted a 1.5 year old male Basset but didn't know he had that problem. He turned out to be very agressive - to the point of biting. If he got hold of something he wanted, he would never let it go. He'd growl and if you persued it, he would attack. I had a behavioralist in, had him put on meds, took him to obedience school, I tried everything but finally had to give him up to someone who had no small animals or kids in the house. So far, it's working out. He would treat my cats like prey and try to kill them. It was awful. And the worst part was that I loved him to pieces! When he was good, he was my baby. It broke my heart to have to part with him, but it did work out for the best. I agree with all the advice you've gotten on this site and I also think you should consider the behavioralist. They can evaluate the situation and give you some very good advice. I now have a Basset puppy and he's the sweetest thing. But I still miss Homer.

Betsy Iole

Poor Homer who, if not dead, is on his fifth or sixth or whatever home, and is a tragic example of what can befall a dog when behavioral problems are not effectively or responsibly addressed. Addressing Wellington's behavior immediately and consistently will go a long way toward preventing him from suffering Homer's fate.

At a minimum, it sounds like Wellington is displaying "resource guarding" behavior. A behaviorist will help you modify this conduct and identify additional issues, if present. Until the behaviorist can make a visit, it would be a good idea to remove objects that Wellington guards, like new toys, bones, etc. As suggested earlier in this thread, you'll also want to prohibit him from getting up on the couch, bed, etc.

Here are some additional discussions of resource guarding and methods for dealing with this behavior.

Mine! The Resource Guarding Dog--a description of Jean Donaldson's method for addressing this problem
Guarding and Showing Aggression over Resources, Sarah Wilson

Another resource is the agbeh (Aggressive Behaviors in Dogs) email list.

__________________
Betsy, Mom to
CH Bugle Bay's Sin City Caper UD RE TD BHCA-VC
CH Bugle Bay's Sin City Cuppa Joe TD
CH Bugle Bay's AllUCanEat Buffet CDX RN TDX NA CGC BHCA-VCX, 1996-2008
"Bugsie" UDX NA NAJ CGC, 1991-2006

Baxter Basset

Poor Homer who, if not dead, is on his fifth or sixth or whatever home, and is a tragic example of what can befall a dog when behavioral problems are not effectively or responsibly addressed. sad.gif Addressing Wellington's behavior immediately and consistently will go a long way toward preventing him from suffering Homer's fate. sad.gif


I did everything humanly possible for Homer. He's not dead and is living in a home where he appears to be doing well . I loved him to pieces and spent a bundle on a behavioralist, obedience classes (twice), read books recommended here, including the "Mine" book, purchased all kinds of equipment that was recommended, training CD's, etc. I did this for over two years and if there was anything I could have done but didn't, it was not intentional. I don't know what happened to him before I got him at 1.5 years of age, but the behavioralist said that he was an abused dog.

SA BASSETS

Hi guys, firstly i must thank you sooo much for all your advise!!!

we are definetely getting the behaviourist in...we love him too much to let him go...

I must post a descent photo of the boy, so that you can try judging how old he is...we don't have the foggiest idea...we judge him to be about 4yrs...and he was definetely abused.

I once brought my hand down too quickly to rub his tummy and he cringed as if I was going to beat him or something...I was sooo upset!

and the reason he was taken from his original owners was because he was found (after he escaped) on the highway twice and he was hit by a car once - the poor thing!!!

when we got him he was sooo thin and full of ticks, but when he got in the car with us he immediately crawled into my arm and was sooo loving...

sorry for going on like this...

it just upsets me- the aggression - hes actually a very soft hearted little bear...he only listens if you speak softly and gently to him.

the funny thing is ... our other basset doesnt do most of the things i've read about here...such as the counter surfing ....while Wellie is a league champion!!!

:-)

anyhooo...just wanted to thank you

oh yes...we don't allow them on the couches anymore...he doesnt easily abandon his couch without a growl...so hopefully we are on the right track!

keep well and have a lovely day!
simone.

Betsy Iole

The last time Homer was mentioned, it was known that he had been passed to at least two more homes; it wasn't currently known where he was; and it was hoped things were working out for him. Glad to hear the story has again changed.

__________________
Betsy, Mom to
CH Bugle Bay's Sin City Caper UD RE TD BHCA-VC
CH Bugle Bay's Sin City Cuppa Joe TD
CH Bugle Bay's AllUCanEat Buffet CDX RN TDX NA CGC BHCA-VCX, 1996-2008
"Bugsie" UDX NA NAJ CGC, 1991-2006

Betsy Iole

Simone, it's good to hear that you're committed to working with Wellington.

We rescued a dog who behaved aggressively from time to time. We worked with a behaviorist and to set up a management system that incorporated many of the suggestions that have been made on this thread, and he lived successfully with us and our other dogs and cats for all of his fifteen years.

Several others on this forum also have experience with this issue and have found ways to handle it. Good luck!

__________________
Betsy, Mom to
CH Bugle Bay's Sin City Caper UD RE TD BHCA-VC
CH Bugle Bay's Sin City Cuppa Joe TD
CH Bugle Bay's AllUCanEat Buffet CDX RN TDX NA CGC BHCA-VCX, 1996-2008
"Bugsie" UDX NA NAJ CGC, 1991-2006

SA BASSETS

Thanks for the encouragement Betsy!!! He just laps up all the attention possible - shame!!! but you are right we need to sort this out before we have children - I want to trust both of them with our kids.