[Mikey T]

It has come down to him ttrying to bite us. When it's real bad, he barks real loudly and has occasionally lunged at us as well.

the dog is quicker than you are if the intent was to bite he would have done so. iN most of cases like this it comes doun to the dog not liking to be physically manipulated. You neet to train the dog to be able to move him when need be with out getting in to a physiical confrontation see How Much Does Your Dog's Cooperation Weigh?

on easy way to be able to move a dog is by training the dog to touch your hand with its nose.

You need to build a lot of rep but the dog will move to touch your hand in anticipation of a treat you can use this to move the dog great distances. or with precision.

 

[Mikey T]

So a treat could equal cheese?

any food, some of course depending on the dog are more powerfull motivators than others. I dog that will not work for food is general overfed or highly stressed this goes doubly for basset hound.

TRAINING DOGS WITH FOOD

not all reward need to be treats but it must be somthing the dog desires and not what you think it should want.
list of reinforcers

 

[Mikey T]

bribe him

one has to do what works but in this case using a food to illicit a behavior is better called a lure. When training this is often done to get a desired response. But one has to be carefull not to do this too often or the precessence of food becomes an important cue to the dog and it will not work unless it is pressent. In such a senario I would lure the dog off, give the treat. sairect him back on the furnuture to lure him off again. treat and direct him back on the furniture, this time perform the same movement but without food in the hand,. If the dog gets off jack pot ie multiple rewards, and repeat/. if the dog does not move at the lure back and try again, you want to create a patern so the dog will be anticipating whan it need to do. This is hou you get the behavior without a lure. ie fade a lure. It won't work if you train only when there is a problem you need to create training situations and practice in short intense bursts. Ideally 10-20 reward in no more than 2 minutes.

 

[Mikey T]

Bitter Apple is also used to spray directly on dogs to keep them from chewing themselves, and from licking hot spots.

highly depends on the, I have a pack that thinks it is a condiment. And they are not alone, ASPCA will not recommend adding bittering agent to Antifreeze because there is no evidence it is actually an effective deterent.

Spraying with water or other substance for most dogs is a disruptive stimuli tha is it stop them for a moment but has little effect on overall behavior, for some it can be a punishment and other a reward, there is no single methodolgy that work with every dog.

Is it weird, too, that he goes nuts when my husband or I put our socks and shoes on when we have to go to work?

no sock fetish aand bassets go hand and hand


[quot]He growls and barks and shows his teeth[/quote]

my quess is he is playing but withpout seeing the entire behavior and behaiors before hand it is impossible to know for certain.

seeIs Your Dog’s Rough Play Appropriate?

if you are looking for an outlet for you dog to burn of some excess mental and physical energy I would suggest that indoors the best game is tug of War

Dog owners have been admonished for decades to never play tug of war with their dogs because of the risk of it increasing aggression and/or dominance in the dog. Even many dog resource people such as breeders, trainers and veterinarians caution against this game. This is partly a failure to discriminate between agonistic behavior (conflict resolution & defensive aggression) and predatory behavior. Also, many people have issues about witnessing intensity. Intensity is not aggression, however. ​

Played with rules, tug-of-war is a tremendous predatory energy burner and good exercise for both dog and owner. It serves as a barometer of the kind of control you have over the dog, most importantly over his jaws. The game doesn't make the dog a predator: he already is one. The game is an outlet. It’s intense, increases dog focus and confidence and plugs into something very deep inside them. The big payoff is in lowered incidence of behavior problems due to understimulation and a potent motivator for snappy obedience. There is a maxim in training: control the games, control the dog. It's also extremely efficient in terms of space and time requirements.

http://www.4pawsu.com/tugofwardog.htmTO TUG OR NOT TO TUG: SERIOUSLY, THAT'S STILL A QUESTION?

In 2002, a study was done to determine whether or not playing tug increased the incidence of aggressive or "dominant" behaviors. The researchers concluded that tug games had no negative effects on the relationship between the dog and human.
As a matter of fact, tug of war is not only an excellent reward in dog training, but it is a valuable exercise in teaching dogs self-control. Tug games are used to reward canine competitors of many sports including agility, flyball and protection sports.

 

[Mikey T]

I think the trying to remain calm is something I definitely need to impart. It used to be he would growl at me if I even came to bed at night and he was laying there. We used to tell him to get off if he growled at all, but that just seemed to make him more aggresive. So now when I come in there, if he growls, I just tell him to calm down and make it clear to him that I'm not there to make him get up necessarily.

There are those that will tell you that by not making the dog get off the furniture/bed when it growls wil cause it to growl more because it learns it is effective. Actual is is quite possible true but these same people fail or neglect to tell you by forcefully removing the dog for many dog cause them to ramp up their efforts to prevent being removed. So What I am going to do is tell you how to get rid of the growling once the rest of the behavior and situation is under control.

When you approach the dog when you get near to where he usually growls toss a small treat to him. Over time keep moving this distance closer and closer. if he does growl no treat but do not remove him as well unless it when he ussual gets moved and you should have an off command or some there mens of moving him other than phsyical force before you start on removing the growling.

Keep in mind dogs are great discriminator so if only you follow this protocol the do will eventual not growl at you but continue to do so with others. Which is why it is important to get all family members involved.