At end of tether with my beagle...

[MiggleMoo]

I really am at my wits end with my 7 yr old Beagle. It is difficult to describe my dog to people and them actually believe me. I've had him since a puppy and together we met my husband (6 years ago), moved villages (5 years ago), my son was born, etc so he has had a lot of change which he struggles to cope with.

He is well known for his mischief, disobedience and general chaos. But it is all taking a different turn now. He is genuinely very hard to manage for a number of reasons. I'll try and keep this as brief as possible:

• He barks and whinges constantly throughout the day regardless of all needs being met, unless you are physically stroking him or walking he whines all day long - it drives me crazy!
• He cannot be let off the lead as he completely ignores you out on walks and is too badly behaved with other dogs
• He is getting worryingly agressive with other dogs. this all started about 2 years ago when he started barking at the odd dog, now it is a full on battle to stop him killing anything we see. It's difficult as I live in a small village and if people see us coming they turn the other way or cross the road etc. He very nearly hurt a puppy very badly the other day
• Sometimes I think he is really intelligent (constant escape antics out of a garden with a 6ft fence all the way round) and sometimes I think he is really dumb (cannot work out that if a bucket sits in the middle of the path he can go round it, instead he stops dead in his tracks and barks)
• He chews, steals food and disobeys at every given opportunity - going to whatever measures he can to do this!
• He has some really odd habits, i.e. he gets 'stuck' in the garden. if he walks to one end of the garden he won't just come back to the house he will bark and bark until someone comes and rescues him. He won't walk down one side of our road because about two years ago he stood on a thorn there. He'll only have a wee in two points on our walk - if we take another route he simply refuses to go to toilet.
• He doesn't like wet grass, he doesn't like long grass, he doesn't like trees where the leaves brush across his path (this list is endless!) - refuses to walk by them, barks and basically throws a tantrum if you try and get him past.

In the back drop of all of this we have a 18mth old son. As terrible as I feel to write this I really don't trust my dog with him anymore. They are never in the same room together and my son can't get to him but this in its self is stressful.

I took him to the vet as I was really worried about either eyes, ears, mind etc were going but they thought all was fine (couldn't say about mind).

I don't know what to do anymore. I am finding having him very stressful, esp on top of having my baby, working, etc, etc. I have sought advice from training experts and tried a number of training methods - none of which have stopped the agressiveness when out. I was invited to dog training and told too leave because of his agressiveness.

As a puppy he attended puppy classes until he was 2, was great with recall etc, behaviour been going downhill for about the last 3 years.

I love this dog beyond measure but honestly tearing my hair out now. Any ideas how to move forwards???

I'm not qualified to comment on the strangeness of this behaviour but I do know that I wouldn't keep a dog that I didn't trust with my children.

I also think that with a dog with this many issues re-homing may be more cruel for him than the alternative.

That does sound truly maddening behaviour, I think you will have to consult a behaviourist as its not just one behaviour you can focus on, but so many, although I think they are probably all related. Its interesting that you say all the behaviour started two years ago, though about the time when perhaps you became slightly distracted by being pregnant as you have an 18 month old. Good luck and I hope it works out.

That is the awful place I am at glass - he is a wonderful dog at times and so difficult at others.
I've only just got to the point of worrying about my son recently and dog never done anything just becoming so unpredictable.....

Is some of this just beagle behaviour? I'm sure I've read on here that beagle's can be difficult to manage. In my entirely unexpert view, he sounds a bit neurotic. He does sound intelligent, and is perhaps finding 'work' for himself? (ie driving you up the wall) I'm sure one of the beagle experts will be along shortly. Is it Lizcat that had a beagle?

That sounds like a difficult set of behaviours to handle!

To start with the whining - if he is really whining all day if not held, I would get him checked at the vet to be sure there isn't anything physical underlying it. If he is in pain, you want to get that sorted out first; and if not, it's good to have it ruled out.

Have you tried a behaviourist? If you have an insurance policy, it's worth checking it to see if it would cover a behaviourist. They would be able to help you with all of these problems. There's something called BAT which is very helpful for dogs that are reactive and fearful of other dogs, so you could look for someone who knows that. They would be able to help you with the food stealing etc as well.

Do you think he should wear a basket muzzle when you go on walks? That would remove the stress of worrying if he is going to injure another dog. You can train him to like the muzzle with lots of treats (rather than just slapping it on him) and then it will be easy to put on and remove. Also, is there anywhere that is fenced where he could run around off-lead with his muzzle on? That would give him more exercise, and give you a chance to work on his recall if you want to.

It sounds like he is a very intelligent dog. Some dogs develop all sorts of insecurities. Sometimes it is helped by giving them other things to keep their mind occupied - lots of positive reinforcement training, games e.g. finding food hidden under a cup, and so on.

You are wise not to leave your son and the dog alone in the same room. Tbh, this is sensible with any dog and a child of that age, so just keep up the vigilance there.

Chickens I do wonder about that, changes with other dogs and things definately came in as soon as I was pregnant, then baby came along and though we try and keep a general routine for him it is hard with a child, work, etc. We do have another dog but she goes to work with my husband leaving the Beagle alone from 9-12 then 1-4 (he comes homes for lunch). He is walked twice a day every day and gets lots of affection.
Oh and our neighbours have said he has started barking the day now. We have had this same routine with him for 6 years, why does it upset him now?

MiggleMoo I have a 4 year old Beagle, and I can confirm that they are difficult little buggers. Mine is having a strop today, pulling back so we went at the pace he wanted, when he wanted. He's not the best at recall, but can usually manage it if he can see there's food waiting for him.

Beagles are very needy. Yours could well be jealous - and creates these situations to get attention.

You can't risk your son's safety - so do try and find someone who specialises in dog behaviour.

Thanks Redwings - the dogs are seperated off in a different area of the house and have a large porch as their 'home' and the kitchen to be in. My son has the rest of downstairs and never goes into the kitchen or porch, and yep agree entirely this is good for any dog and any child!!

Thank you for all the advice - I have thought about a behaviourist but was worried about expense - never thought to check insurance though!!

Thanks ChinUp - glad to know I'm not the only one!