Michigan Sportsman Forum banner

Bitting Beagle!

1K views 11 replies 11 participants last post by  Robert W. McCoy Jr 
#1 ·
Took booger out to bust some rabbits this morning. He did a great job, I would say the best day we ever had. He never really barked when he jumped rabbits until this year. He is three years old and I was kinda concerned he was never really going to be much of a rabbit dog until this year he really came around and has been hunting great! He barks on the jump circles great and really digs into the heavy brush.

He jumped many rabbits today and I was truly impressed until it came time to give up the second rabbit. He was not willing to let it go and tried bitting me several times to keep it. I finally got the rabbit after he dropped it in a brush pile and I could reach it from the other side of the brush.

When we returned to the house and I went to put him in the kennel he grabbed me by the hand and bit me several times. I had one heck of a time getting him to let go of my hand, Needlessly to say he broke skin several times through my gloves. I can not have a bitting dog around as I have several young children.

If someone thinks they can work with him or get some use out of him you are welcome to him and I will let him go. Otherwise I am sorry to say I will be putting him down. Feel free to let me know if anyone wants him.

Michael
 
See less See more
#2 ·
What area do you live in. I have a female who needs a running partner and a boy friend. Maybe we could make a deal and I could give you a pup after she is bred and has a liter.
 
#7 ·
i agree. something is wrong when a dog tries to bite the hand that feeds him. and i would definately NOT pass on that trait by breeding him. the thing i would be concerned about is that he already 3 years old and is now showing this it is not like he is still a little puppy. it may not be that hard to break the dog from biting you but i would be worried about children or strangers around him. also i dont think i would use a shock collar to break him from biting. he needs to learn who is the alpha and actually associate it back to the handler not to a electric stimulation. this is just my opinion by the way. using a e-collar could just make him more angry and make him bite you more. i think the proper way to break him from this would be to actually grab him by the scruff when he bites and flip him over on his back so he is looking up at you and give him some not so nice words with the deepst meanest voice you could bring out. hold him there until he stops struggling and he surrenders to the real alpha boss. keep firm pressure on him to hold him down and keep him restrained for as long as it takes for him to get the idea. the thing you dont want to do is beat on him as you do not want him to be scared of people. that would just make his problem worse. be stern and show him who is boss.

later, dave
 
#9 ·
I do not envy the position that your in....I hope that I will never have to go through what you are going through....

If I am ever in that position I would hope that I would be able to do the right thing which is to put the dog down...I can almost justify him bitting when he had the rabbit...but not later that day when you were putting him up....

My uncle had a dog, a Jack Russel... he loved that dog..but he was a biter. He kept putting off the inevitable and the dog ended up bitting everyone in the family plus a few differnt kids that were over to their house. He finally had him put to sleep. Especially with you having kids...you don't need him around, and I wouldn't give him away either.....he could bite someone else.

Like I said....I hope that I never have to go through that...Im sure it's a lot easier said than done...
 
#10 ·
vandermi: I don't thinkI would get rid of that dog with out giving
a chance to redeem his self. You said it was the best day you have had with him. Thats the kind of a dog you want not the biting kind but the hunting kind. What that dog is doing is coming of age; As far as letting go of a rabbit it's his as much as it is yours he worked for it. if he brings the rabbit to just pat him on the head and praise for the job he done; tell what a good boy he is. He will eventualy drop that rabbit and go hunting another one.
Don't make a big deal out of him not giving you the rabbit; if he does tell him so. Just make sure he has the heart, liver and lungs at the end of the days hunt. He was caught up in the chase of the day and was very exicted. One of them would bite me on occasion if they did they got slapped up aside the head to reafirm who was the boss.

But I would agree with predatordave show them who the boss
is. I don't believe in kicking a dog and when I see some one else do it they on my s**t list. I say I don't believe in kicking a dog but on occasion I have kicked them in the butt with the the flat side of my foot just hard enought to let them know I didn't like what they were doing.

So I say vandermi; give him that second chance; You can break him of it You really want to and he is a good dog. Three years into a dog. Is time and enegry you have put in your self to have a good dog don't waste it over one instance.RB1
 
#11 ·
This post has been on here for a few days now, and I've really had to real stance on the situation. Everyone has made "their" judgement, but there is also a lack of some detail.

I have a Springer that I would consider to be one of the more gentle, docile dogs around. Little kids can tug on her ears, her nub tail and pull her hair, with little to no reaction but a slight rolling of the eyes. Now, touch her feet, and she'll back away. If I were to try to cut her nails, I would be in for some treat. How the dog is/was handled when it came time to go back in the kennel could really be a determining factor on the dog. I would like to pull up some statistics on dog bites and see what the ratio is of bites that came in "dog self-defense." A 3 year old beagle, in my opinion, would have already been displaying aggressive behavior.

Now taking this dog "behind the barn with a belt" - I hope that was a joke.
I think it takes much more then any physical discipline to "teach a dog who's boss" I'd much rather be one that the dog trust and respects as an authority figure (alpha) rather than an owner who has a dog that listens/behaves out of fear. That's not man's best friend.

As far as the dog not dropping the rabbit- Hell, I'd let the dog drag the rabbit around all day in the woods, he ran his butt off getting it. He'll get bored when he's on the real-deal again. Also, does the dog know what "drop it" means? ... I don't think feeding the dogs the heart/liver/yada-yada would be the answer, I think my dog would be just as happy with a slice of bread, or licking the yolk of the breakfast plate. They want the chow, I doubt while they are eating it they are thinking of the great track they had 2 hours ago :)
 
#12 ·
Vandermi.

If the dog is biting people something is wrong.
I would not give that dog to any one untill it is FIXED.
No beagle should ever show agression towards a person.
Espeacilly it's owner. Thet is not in there breed and is a MAJOR fault. As far as working with him. I don't know what to tell you.
I have been in beagles a long time and I can tell you I would either make sure if he bite me again I would show him that was a major mistake. Or I would take him to the vet and have him put to sleep.



Parson,

Why would you consider breeding to a dog with a major fault like that.

If you have a female that is worthy of breeding then take her to a beagle that has the whole package.

Breeding is something that is very seriouse as I have said before.

Breeding a hunting dog is even harder in my opinion.

Some of us spend our whole lives trying to make the breed better.
Thousend of dollars and countless hours just to make a small differance.

By making one bad cross you can affect a whole blood line.

Bottom line beagles do not bite people. If they do bite then there papers should be torn up they should be fixed or humainly euthinized. There are no other alternatives if you love the breed.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top