Expert: Have4Paws - 1/31/2012

Question
Hello,

I have never owned a beagle before though I have had dogs all my life. I have a beautiful little man with me currently from a beagle rescue. He is 3 years old and a little love bug with the exception of if he is a given a treat that cannot be consummed withing seconds IE: a pong filled with peanut butter, a bone to chew on ect if he has these items are is able to grab something he knows he should'nt have he becomes CUJO! Baring teeth snapping snarling and offering to bite. We have this little guy for a 2 week home trial and we really just adore him. This is the only issue that worries us. We are working with him on it by offering him these treats but holding onto them while he eats them all the while talking calmy and petting him, particularly around his head, then dropping the piece and still continuig to touch him building up to being able to take things away. Please if you have any advice it is greatly appreciated as we are hoping to make this beautiful boy a permanent member of our family.

Answer
Hi thanks for writing to me and thank you for adopting a dog in need of a loving home!

This may have been why he was given up, he is displaying food aggression. In order to curb this he has to first get used to you and trust you, all the while establishing yourself as the ALPHA. This is quite a feat to get done in less than 2 weeks but I can give you a couple tips for now. Even if this isnt fixed  before the trial is over I wouldnt give up on him, a couple visits with a trainer to your home can fix this as long as you do the work they set out for you. Sounds as if everything else is great.  Also since you probably don't know much about his background it is hard to know what happened with him, if he had to fight for his food with other dogs, were his previous family afraid of him and allowed him to become this way, etc....there are so many variables that could have contributed to this. Beagles are driven to eat, food is the most important thing in their world. A beagle will eat until they pop if you allow it. So that's the bad news, the good news is that they are highly trainable using food. Other breeds are not as food focused.

So first off he should not be fed freely, meaning he should be fed two times a day, a high quality food, it is put down for 10-15 minutes and then picked up if anything is left. He must sit before he gets his food and wait until you release him, this is the number one way to establish being the ALPHA. You control the food. No jumping at you or the bowl should be tolerated. Each time you go to feed him, put him in a sit and tell him good sit and then say wait! When you go to put the bowl down he must wait until you tell him ok, if he bolts for it pick it up and keep doing it over and over until he gets the picture.

The same goes for treats, he must perform for a treat, he must sit, wait and then be told ok take it. These things are both especially important with food agressive dogs. You cannot slack from this. Once you get him to dothe sit, wait and ok then you can work on him taking it gently from you.

For now work on these two things and then get a trainer to come do a couple sessions with you one on one after your adopt this wonderful boy!