Q: I hope you can help us with a behavioral problem we have with our 5-year old Beagle. He is aggressive with his food, but there is a twist to this. We do free feed him and he is not a great eater, maybe a bowl in 2 days. We can walk up to him, sit by him, take the food away or pet him when is eating his regular food, but if we give him a marrow bone he will run, hide, and defend that to his death. We discovered this by accident because he will hide any treat.
On many occasions we have followed him and every time it is the same reaction. He will growl, bark and bite, until the bone is gone. Later he will come back to us with some kind of display of cowering. There is no cowering before, with the bone he is fearless. I have read some of your advice and have even used a leather glove to take it away from him and give it back. I have tried to hold the bone while he eats it and that is ok with him, it is only when he gets it on his own.
Another thing he does is attack if one or the other of us goes to bed with him early, and later one of us enters. We have noticed that he is a little irritable when he is shifted but for the most part that is not too often. In either case, after the event he is very submissive; that is to say it's like a light switch. Any advice would be greatly welcomed. We are very attached to him, and will spare no expense to help him.
A: He is getting triggered into defense drives with food, and also "protecting" the bed. For safety, I would recommend no more marrow bones--unless you want to just put him in a private place with them and leave him totally alone until he's done. No more treats that he can take off and hide, either. Beagles tend to get portly by middle age, anyway. He doesn't need all this stuff.
I would stop the free-feeding too. Just give him meals two or three times a day, 20 minutes to eat, then take up the food. You can feed 4 times a day if you want but don't leave any food out. I would not use a leather glove to handle him. He needs to be prevented from biting, not just prevented from getting to your skin when he does bite.
It is possible that the other treats you give him, and the marrow bones, are causing him not to need to eat his food. Try stopping all the other stuff for a while to get him used to regular meals. If you go back to a few treats later, give him tiny things that he will swallow on the spot. Dogs do not need a lot of treats. They need regular meals.
This is a dog who does not belong on your bed. It's just too dangerous. Many creatures are irritable when awakened, and he certainly sounds like one. It can't be enjoyable for you sleeping like this. Dogs are very adaptable. He should probably be sleeping in a crate for now and of course the crate can be in your bedroom.
If he is biting you and breaking the skin, ask your vet to recommend a trainer or behavior specialist who can meet with you and evaluate the situation. If this dog is going to be around children--beware. He is an accident waiting to happen.