At My Ends With My Dog

[KeepMe]

I'm needing some help, any help, I'm practically begging. I know this is something I'm going to have to spend a lot of money to actually probably get a trainer, but I'm not even sure if a trainer can deal with my dog. So before I shove a bunch of money down the drain, I'd like to see if anyone here can help me.

 

Plain and simple I have a beagle who is OBSESSED with food, is there another word beyond OBSESSION? I really am at my ends with this, we have to push her outside just so we can eat.

When she is inside and we are eating she is at our feet begging for food. She won't move, you yell at her ... doesn't do anything. You push her away .... doesn't do anything. You move her ... she comes right back. She gets literally depressed when we don't give her a piece. And knowing darn well that if there is food on the table she shouldn't get it ... however she does!

 

She has turned into the laziest dog I know, she's getting to the point she won't even get up to go to the bathroom. Mind you she is only 5 years old, not playing is somewhat understandable, some dogs just don't play. But to lay there and pee on furniture because she's too lazy to get up and go outside? That's ridiculous! However, in order to get her to listen to ANYTHING I call her by her name and politely ask her to come here ... doesn't work. After the fifteenth time of calling her I'm fed up and I start getting a little angry and demand her to come to me ... doesn't work. I literally have to go in the kitchen and shake a wrapper because she thinks it's food and immediately runs to me.

When it's time for her to go outside she runs around so we can't grab her, or better yet she dead weights herself (shes 30 pounds) to the floor where we have to strain our back just to pick her up. When picking her up she tries to make herself heavy as possible so we can't pick her up, and only to my boyfriend will she growl like she wants to bite if he tries picking her up. We have to bribe her with a treat just to go outside cause' it's all we can do.

 

How do I break my dog over this terrible, terrible, food obsession?

[Dako]

I take it you've given it people food? "I literally have to go in the kitchen and shake a wrapper because she thinks it's food and immediately runs to me." Food as motivation?

They only beg if it pays off. As far as laziness, most dogs don't enjoy their own effluent and at least do it in a separate place. You need to make that an outdoor place.

 

Most trainers train the owner, not the dog. It's the responsible thing to do.

[rosephase]

You should get a trainer. It sounds like your dog is unhappy and unhealthy. You need to have better habits with her, a trainer will help! Just go for it.

[xXPiLAXx]

MMMMk i personally love dogs.

So..

When your eating and your done,and your sitting on the couch and its a steak bone, porkchops anything like that dont call her over and give her your leftovers. Thats what leads to begging. Have a specific spot where she eats, and drop the steak into her bowl, and when shes done she'll probably run over to you and beg for some more, say no and ignore her. If you say mmmm that was good hugh and you get up she'll follow you around the house only because she thinks your gonna reward her with food. Mix people food with dog food, If you do have a problem with her not eating dog food. Try walking around the park/the block daily, to break her lazy habbit.

[flyoffthewall]

I recommend that you watch/rent a few episodes of the Dog Whisperer if you can -- great show that deals with issues of this all of the time, and rather quickly. From watching lots of these shows, though, I suspect that Cesar (the Dog Whisperer) would find that the dog is growling at your boyfriend because the dog is being protective of you, or because your boyfriend is making too much eye contact instead of letting the dog approach him. Similarly, Cesar might say that, as your dog's "Pack Leader," you need to make sure that the dog's needs always come after your own. That means being firm and disciplining the dog, or perhaps forcing it to leave or go outside, every time a rule is broken. I know that all of this is easier said than done I agree that you would likely benefit from working with a reputable dog trainer.

[abitbroken]

Some dogs are food driven, but if your dog is a smaller sized beagle she may be overweight. You are reinforcing the behavior, I hate to say. When you eat, you should crate your dog rather than put her outside unsupervised. Make the crate a safe and welcoming place by giving her her dinner in there, and when giving a toy, give it to her when she is sitting in there.

 

Also, you can change your dog's behavior through positive reinforcement training. Don't just call your dog when you want her to do something. Call her just to be petted. When you call her in a sweet voice and not just an aggravated way, and she comes, praise her, pet her, rub her belly. If she learns that when you call, it doesn't always mean something negative, she will change. Also, she comes just for food because you allow that. Clicker training may help. Call her and when she comes make her sit. Click the clicker and then give her a treat, or do it pretty much at the same time. Then start giving a treat some of the time but not always, but always click and praise. She will begin to associate the sound with "reward" and will be happy with hearing the sound.

 

Also, as far as the peeing, check her for a urinary tract infection and clean the sofa with an enzymatic cleaner. If she doesn't have an infection which prevents her from holding it, or even if she does, YOU may be missing her "cues" for needing to go outside. Start from square one and leash her for potty breaks to insure that she goes. Praise her when she does. if she does good, don't make her come in immediately. Give her a belly rub or run or play with her or take her for a walk around the outside of the house. This way she won't create the behavior of running from you when its time to come in. Confining her to a crate when you are not home or attending her is the way to go. It is not cruel - it prevents her from making messes elsewhere and she will not want to soil her crate. Also, when you are home, take her out every 3-4 hours for bathroom breaks.

[abitbroken]

be careful with this. Caesar typically doesn't work with basic training all the time. Don't do the "submissive flip" that he does. Don't ever pin a dog to the ground just because he does. If you are working with a generally even tempered, non aggressive dog, positive reinforcement training is the way to go. I have a feeling is that your dog is not "broken" = you are not communicating with her properly/not giving her the proper direction. Dogs aim to please. Also, remember to take her for walks. A tired dog is a happy dog.

 

also, dogs live in the moment. Casting them outside doesn't teach them. It just seperates them from you. They don't equate things the same as a child does. You can't "ground them." A firm "no" and removing the problem is best.

And never punish a dog for something they did 10 minutes ago or hours ago. They will think you are punishing them for what they are currently doing which could be something good or neutral - like just sitting there.

 

Also, diverting a dog is good. For example if they jump on people, instead of telling them 'No', make them sit and reward them for it by petting. Now they have a positive behavior to replace the negative and know what direction you want them to go in.

[abitbroken]

MMMMk i personally love dogs.

So..

When your eating and your done,and your sitting on the couch and its a steak bone, porkchops anything like that dont call her over and give her your leftovers. Thats what leads to begging. Have a specific spot where she eats, and drop the steak into her bowl, and when shes done she'll probably run over to you and beg for some more, say no and ignore her. If you say mmmm that was good hugh and you get up she'll follow you around the house only because she thinks your gonna reward her with food. Mix people food with dog food, If you do have a problem with her not eating dog food. Try walking around the park/the block daily, to break her lazy habbit.

 

Be careful as some people food is far too fattening and sugary.,Baby carrots are good, etc. but if she doesn't eat her food - she will eventually eat it if nothing else is given. A dog won't starve if she skips eating what she is given for a day. I guarantee she will start eating her dogfood again. When you teach her that she is getting what you get - she will beg even more. You can also switch dog foods if she is being fed something low qualuity but don't give her table scraps to reward her.

[flyoffthewall]

Thanks, abitbroken, those are some good caveats.

[catfeeder]

Have you had the dog's stool tested for tapeworm?

 

The listlessness isn't normal. Tapeworms can rob the dog of nutrition and cause constant hunger. They're easily treated, and this sounds like a vet issue before a training issue.

[KeepMe]

Thanks to everyone who has responded, it's difficult because no one here actually "knows" me or the dog, and I didn't go into too much effort describing her, or how she use to act. Before, she wasn't like this she was quite the loving dog.

I do admit I spoiled her a lot when she was younger, I guess I felt guilty because she was abused by her previous owners, not so much guilty but I just felt really bad, I wanted to make sure she got a good home, and she was fed and spoiled a little (regardless what anyone says, I know every dog is spoiled to some degree ... mine was probably a little too much though.)

 

Being from abused previous owners I will say she is an extremely good dog. She doesn't show aggression, and when she does show aggression it's only when we try to make her go outside. It's only my boyfriend, and she isn't aggressive toward him all the time, and she's never bit him. She actually really loves him, and she prefers to snuggle with him more than me sometimes. However, he doesn't baby her like me. When it's time to go outside, he doesn't let her boss him around. He never hits her, he is always good to her, but he will pick her up and make her go outside even if he has to carry her there. That she doesn't like because she fights til' the end to avoid going outside, and we don't even leave her out there. Just want her to potty and then it's over, she can come back inside. Once she is out there she does run and plays and has a really good time with our other dog who of which I think has a little impression on her new "bad behavior."

 

We recently got a new male chow puppy, my beagle and him love each other a lot. They both get treated fairly, but since he is a puppy and tends to do puppy things like gets into everything we have to keep a special eye out for him.

I still give my girl attention, but a few things had to change. Such as sleeping in the bed with us, that was never an issue (my boyfriend didn't like it because my beagle is a bed hog, but he dealt with it.) My beagle has slept with me ever since I first got her. Well getting our newest family member, there just isn't any room. I didn't feel that it was fair to allow her to sleep on the bed, and not our chow so we thought it was best to make a bed for her and him each. She didn't like that one bit', but now she is adjusting.

Small minor little things like that have changed, and that has really put her in a bad mood because she is a drama queen, and very spoiled so no ... she isn't very happy. I'm not sure what to do about that, because both dogs love each other, she helped us pick her new brother out, and now he is here to stay.

 

I have watched a lot of episodes of Dog Whisperer, use to be one of my favorite shows. I have looked up things on how to train your dog, and I do spend a lot of time talking to her, and trying to teach her. She knows commands such as "No." "Sit." "Stay." "Come Here." "Lay." "Up." "Sit Pretty." "Kiss.", she is definitely a well trained dog (In my opinion) it's just her listening. She starts tuning you out all of the time, and only comes when she wants to. When I ask her to come here, it's not just because I want her to do something, it's so that I can pet her. I have worked with her on a ton of things in a ton of different ways. First I tried the treat trick. Every time she did something of my command and listened, I gave her a treat. I made sure she knew what she did before giving her the treat, and it worked (hence how she knows some of her commands) but she started expecting treats. Next, we took a different approach and tried with toys. Everytime she came on my command, and listened we would give her a toy.

Everyone who see's her comments on how much of a curious, happy dog she is. She just prefers to be lazy on her own time. When coming inside she heads straight for the table, we say "No" and she will get down, then she goes to the living room coffee table and scopes it out again we have to say "Get Down" then she moves to the trash can and we of course have to say "No" it's an everyday routine for her to check everywhere.

 

My beagle does not like crates for some reason, I don't know if her owners shoved her in one, or left her there too much, I really don't know. I do know that she doesn't like them, so both dogs have their bowls in a little corner area in the kitchen. She gets her food, eats it, and runs to the couch to lay down for the next 8 hours.

When it's time for us to eat we do feed them at the same time, but instead of eating hers she runs to us to get people food first. Sometimes she gets so mad that she prefers not to eat out of her bowl at all, she just goes to the couch to mope. Other times she eats really fast then runs over to us after she has eaten her dog food for some of our food. I don't know how she was treated before or why she does not like "crates" so I'm not going to force her into one while we eat, I feel it's much better for her to go outside and play, or lay in the sun on our bench right outside the door.

 

As for my dog being potty trained, she IS potty trained, 100%. period. She has been for years now. I first got her in 2006, I taught her to be potty trained and she has never had an accident in the house except recently when she tinkled a little on the couch. I said "Navaeh, let's go potty. Do you gotta go potty? C'mon, let's go potty." Normally she gets excited and will go, most of the time she will try her hardest not to go outside so she waits til' she can't hold it before she goes to the bathroom. I just got out of the emergency room three days ago from being really sick. I have an infection in my abdomen that has spread to all of my inside abdominal organs. I have to use a walker to get around for the time being, and I can't squat or sit down hardly I have to have help with that. Therefore, while my boyfriend is at work I can't squat down to pick her up, or make her go outside. So the other night I wasn't in the mood to fight with her to get her to go potty so I left her thinking she would go to the door when she just couldn't hold it anymore to go outside, she didn't. She waited til' she tinkled just a tad then knew I would be upset so she ran to the door ... minutes later I discovered what had happened.

 

The reason I blame her laziness is because it is all she wants to do. When she comes inside if the couch is taken she runs to each room looking to see whose bed isn't occupied and lays down and sleeps her days away. I know there isn't anything she avoids outside, or tries not to go outside for a specific something because when she is outside she enjoys herself. As I said above she plays well outside, she loves the neighbors dogs. She unfortunately digs, and snoops, all that good stuff. She plays with sticks, and just all in all has a good time. However, when she reaches the couch that's her ultimate comfort spot, so when she is inside she likes to watch television and lay on the couch. Knowing she has a grand time outside, she still would much rather lay on the couch. I don't know why.

 

I try to get toys and play with her, but she has no interest in toys. I wrestle around with her playfully and she likes that for the first five minutes then wants to go lay on the couch some more. We go on 30 minute walks everyday not so much due to my stomach and back, and of course the weather has been crummy. She likes to walk, enjoys it, but as soon as we come inside she heads for the couch to sleep some more. Same thing after car rides and just about anything else.

 

I have really thought about going to the trainer, but I'm currently going to school and unemployed. My boyfriend works well but we have so much to get done right now that money is tight. We're getting our chow fixed this week, but we have considered school for both of them. Just money is tight, and I don't want to waste it on a trainer who can't fix my problem, a lot of people question it because of her age. She isn't old, but she is an older dog, so people I've talked to said with her history and her age, it may not be possible to train her.

I'm stumped, but I guess I'll have to try and go for it.

[Sunny1607307996]

When was the last time she went to the vet for a check up? You may want to rule out any signs of sickness, it's not normal for a 5 year old dog to be listless, even with a new puppy to play with.

 

After the vet has ruled out any signs of illness, I would ask the vet for some recommendations for good trainers. It really sounds like you'll need a couple of sessions to redirect her food obsession and to crate-train her.

 

By the way, beagles are notorious for being "bottom-less pits" and are extremely food-oriented, but I've met plenty of trainable beagles.

[abitbroken]

I think that it would have been okay to let her sleep in bed and not your new pup. besides, the chow is going to be a much larger dog than your Beagle and that was her routine for so long. He can sleep on the floor in the bed or put a blanket in a crate/carrier for him so he learns its his safe place and she can have her routine that she has always had. It is totally "fair" because he is coming into her world and you can set whatever routine for him you want. By the way, are you crate training the puppy? Also, if she "doesn't like the crate" that is time to train her from square one on it unless you have a small area you can babygate her in. Many dogs have been successfully crate trained if its done gradually if they "don't want to."

 

I would consider instead of paying a trainer to come to the house if you have no money to go to an obedience class like the ones at Petco/Petsmart that might be cheaper - even if she has done it, it can just increase the bond and listening skills. No dog is too old to learn. Also there are meetup and play groups for specific breeds out there too. You could commisserate with other dog owners and see what they have done as well/

 

btw, you want to socialize the chow puppy as much as possible. I forget what they said over on the chow forum - but you should introduce your chow to a certain number of friendly, non threatening people per week and at the appropriate age, a certain number of calm dogs. That is the key to raising a well socialized Chow. They can really "attach" to one human or just their family and you want to make sure that they are positively socialized as much as possible. Beagles and hounds are naturally gregarious, but the fluffballs need a head start.

[Sunny1607307996]

 

btw, you want to socialize the chow puppy as much as possible. I forget what they said over on the chow forum - but you should introduce your chow to a certain number of friendly, non threatening people per week and at the appropriate age, a certain number of calm dogs. That is the key to raising a well socialized Chow. They can really "attach" to one human or just their family and you want to make sure that they are positively socialized as much as possible. Beagles and hounds are naturally gregarious, but the fluffballs need a head start.

 

I forgot this point. abitbroken brings up a hugely important point.

[catfeeder]

When was the last time she went to the vet for a check up? You may want to rule out any signs of sickness, it's not normal for a 5 year old dog to be listless, even with a new puppy to play with.

 

After the vet has ruled out any signs of illness, I would ask the vet for some recommendations for good trainers. It really sounds like you'll need a couple of sessions to redirect her food obsession and to crate-train her.

 

By the way, beagles are notorious for being "bottom-less pits" and are extremely food-oriented, but I've met plenty of trainable beagles.

 

I agree. This sounds like a possible physical condition, and I would rule that our before isolating just the behavior.

 

If the dog goes outside, worms or disease from ticks or other parasites are always possible. These can cause behavioral problems--especially fatigue and elimination problems.

 

I'd seek potential sources and work forward from there. A good vet will have good ideas in addition to good diagnostic skills. A checkup now could spare expensive emergency treatment and heartbreak later.

[abitbroken]

I forgot this point. abitbroken brings up a hugely important point.

 

You may be able to delay training your beagle - but don't delay on this with your chow. Its free to socialize him and also find the Chow forum on the internet - don't know if I am allowed to post links here but I can give it to you if you PM me for it. Lots of great, supportive chow owners who are there to help.

[Sky-Cherries]

You got a beagle without researching the breed, obviously.

Beagles are obsessed with food because that's what beagles are driven to. It has it in any breed info, any beagle breeder would tell you it, any beagle owner could tell you it, and anyone well versed in dog knowledge could tell you it.

The dog is probably very bored as well. They're a high energy breed and need a long brisk walk every day to balance their mental activity, plus daily re-enforcing of training and good habits.

 

I have a beagle, and I've had great success with clicker training. Focussing the brain away from food as a positive to your praise as a positive is a very good thing.

 

Beagles don't respond well to crate training {as a whole} because they're people-orientated. They're bred to live in packs for hunting, and since they have no pack now, they use humans as their pack. They don't like being shut away because they need human companionship. They're a velcro-dog breed.

 

Chows are not a velcro dog at most times, they're an independent dog that can be prone to aggression when not socialized properly. Using Cesar's methods of 'dog-rolling' won't work with a Chow, they will take it as a personal affront. He fails to mention to his bevy of adoring Maltese-owning housewife fans that there are some dog breeds you should not attempt to roll, if they are true to their breed temperament guidelines.

[Doc Blaze]

have a chow/lab mix..thank god he has more of the lab personality...but since day one he had him around friends family everyone, just getting him use to knowing people, at first he is still very guarded, but give him a few mins then he will come jump in your lap..he has never bitten or attempted to bite anyone either, but he does love my mom over anyone else

[KeepMe]

Also, if she "doesn't like the crate" that is time to train her from square one on it unless you have a small area you can babygate her in. Many dogs have been successfully crate trained if its done gradually if they "don't want to."

 

I would attempt this, but is it such a good idea if the dog was abused before? I'm not talking lightly abused, I'm mean "seriously" abused. In fact, when I got her I almost thought she may have been a little mentally challenged. She was kicked in the head I don't know how many times, they kicked her all over the place. They never had any shelter for her, never fed her. They would put her in their house and only god knows what happened in there.

 

When first getting her she was still a puppy/toddler, about 1 I would say. She is also a mini beagle so she was pretty tiny, I figured she would want a crate, especially cause' I traveled a bit' and figured she should probably stay in the crate for the sake of my vehicle until I got her potty trained. From the get go she was not getting in there, and she did show aggression on terms of us putting her there.

 

I don't want to scare her, or make her remember anything that may have happened to her in a crate before I took her into my hands. I want her to be comfortable, and after having her for four years and letting her have roam of the house, I think it would depress her more if we put her in a crate. I feel maybe she would think we were being cruel or something, I don't know. Being in the predicament she is in, would it really be safe to make her crate now?

[KeepMe]

You got a beagle without researching the breed, obviously.

Beagles are obsessed with food because that's what beagles are driven to. It has it in any breed info, any beagle breeder would tell you it, any beagle owner could tell you it, and anyone well versed in dog knowledge could tell you it.

The dog is probably very bored as well. They're a high energy breed and need a long brisk walk every day to balance their mental activity, plus daily re-enforcing of training and good habits.

 

Unfortunately, I didn't. =/ I didn't really have time to do any research, I really had to save her. But I have read a lot of training tips, and forms about beagles, how to train, and what not. I just think she may be "too obsessed" at this moment, that it will probably take someone more experienced than myself to break the habit.

I know she is probably bored too, unfortunately where I am from there is no dog parks or anything like that. I live in a very, very, low populated area. Big change from the big city moving here to a town that you literally can't blink through or you'll miss it.

I know she is a hunting dog, but she doesn't know the commands when hunting. I read a lot of places that say "Keep a strong eye on beagles, because their nose will lead them any and everywhere ... even if it means into the road." I would love to let her free roam a big field, but there aren't any fenced in fields around where I live that is for the public. I would be too afraid that if I let her go roam around, she would follow her nose to where she wouldn't come back. The thought of losing her is enough to make me sick

[Sunny1607307996]

I think that if you are dealing with an abused/possibly brain-damaged dog you really need the help of a professional.

[KeepMe]

You may be able to delay training your beagle - but don't delay on this with your chow. Its free to socialize him and also find the Chow forum on the internet - don't know if I am allowed to post links here but I can give it to you if you PM me for it. Lots of great, supportive chow owners who are there to help.

 

 

As far as my Chow Chow baby goes, I am extremely pleased with him. He is very smart, and picks up things so fast. However, he isn't full chow, he does have blue heeler mixed in with him.

We do socialize him a lot, and he is very kind with everyone he runs into. Sometimes on our walks he will find a bad apple in the bunch that he isn't too friendly too. But I think he just gets bad vibrations too since we pass a lot of people of all different shapes sizes, and gender, and age. Sometimes there is just one or two he really doesn't have a good feeling about. Not aggressive, just really on alert with them. He may growl a little, but mainly we keep walking and he'll look and turn every few seconds to see if they are following. Never has, and never attempted to bite anyone.

 

The only problem I see with him is male dogs, we are getting him fixed this week cause' he sometimes lashes out with a little aggression but I think he will tone down after getting him fixed. He is completely fine with female dogs, but male dogs however ... he doesn't like. Even being a little bitty baby he didn't like male dogs, but always liked the ladies.

[KeepMe]

I think that if you are dealing with an abused/possibly brain-damaged dog you really need the help of a professional.

 

She is fine, we got her four years ago. She goes to the vet, she isn't brain damaged, we just thought she was. She knows we are safe, and anyone she meets she just falls in love with. She has never bit anyone, and is never an angry dog.

We play with her, love on her, when family come over my dad may rough house a little bit' with her, but she absolutely loves that. She likes to get feisty, but once we say "Enough." she gives you all the kisses in the world, and immediately knows when enough is enough, and roughness is over.

As far as her abuse, and things like that, I wouldn't say she needs a trainer. I just don't think I want to shove her in a crate, and make her learn that since she was abused, and I'm not sure if she was abused in a crate or not. Just by her reactions I'm sure she probably was, or was locked up too long in them.

[KeepMe]

I agree. This sounds like a possible physical condition, and I would rule that our before isolating just the behavior.

 

If the dog goes outside, worms or disease from ticks or other parasites are always possible. These can cause behavioral problems--especially fatigue and elimination problems.

 

I'd seek potential sources and work forward from there. A good vet will have good ideas in addition to good diagnostic skills. A checkup now could spare expensive emergency treatment and heartbreak later.

 

She will be going to the vet for a check up right after our Chow gets his snipping. She is up to date on all of her shots, and she does see the vet. This is all recent so she hasn't been to the vet for it yet, but I have been planning on bringing it up to the vet when I take her in for her checkup.

[abitbroken]

By socializing - I mean not just the same old dogs in the neighborhood but different ones too, especially in the realm of a puppy class where there is control. And I don't mean "just letting him loose with other dogs" I think that when you meet other dogs, and the other owner is in agreement of you meeting them, Walk them back and forth several times so they pass eachother several times. In some training classes, this is how dogs "meet" eachother. They get to sniff a little but go about their business quickly. This way they don't go nuts (either happy and jumpy or growly) when another dog passes them on the street. Some dogs react by growling because they assumed they will basically "jumped" by the oncoming dog, too.

 

The "bad vibrations" is a chow specific thing that maybe he has inherited. Chows are very intelligent - but a whole different way than a tracking dog, etc. They pick up on very "subtle" body language of dogs that we aren't as attuned to. I have a friend who has a dog where she has learned to be very intune with her and she scolds her or says "no" not when she goes in and bites or strikes, but when she sees her posture change or she begins to fixate. Its a very subtle thing and when she scolds her, other people have no clue the dog did anything wrong. She gets her to "knock it off" when it is just a "thought" in other words.

 

I am NOT implying that he isn't a great dog - but what happens when they are very young set the tone for their life and chows and some chow mixes are more sensitive to it. It just keeps them very balanced and makes them awesome adult dogs.