My dog tried to bite me. What do I do now?

I think you hit the nail on the head. Train the human to learn to be the Alpha. Reminds of the "Dog Whisperer", Cesar...I loved that show. Learned some things watching it.

Just because you could not see or smell this animal does not mean that it was not there. You should have let the dog play, then said goodbye to him and ran away, then all of a sudden instead of you chasing him, he has to chase you, and you become the leader. I recently took my dog camping in the Catskills, and the dog was not leashed once in three days. You also need a whistle, train the dog to come to it and never give anything but praise when he comes back to you.

First of all, the term is inbreeding not inner breed. There is nothing wrong with the dog, it hasn't been properly controlled. Pink, letting a sporting dogs spend 30 minutes running around a rock is just ramping up a dog for nothing. Letting the dog run around a rock for an hour is just driving the dog past it's breaking point.

Please get instructions from someone who really understands hunting breeds. Personally, I think they make great pets, we've had springer spaniels, weimaraners and now our 2 vizslas. They are not for everybody, they are very active but can also be terrific couch potatoes. Dogs are pack animals, and they need an alpha dog, you have to be the alpha.

Nods. I remember the one vizla I ever met, dog of a landscape design client of ours. Gorgeous, wonderful, barrelful of business.
Meantime, Lipstick seems not to want to get outside help or advice.

No.

No, being leader in the first place can be crucial.

I'm not the most alpha type re dogs, but I get it and am listened to.
I had my dog's leash break at a major scary intersection (the leash was one of those zippy cuties) and called him and he came to me.

You must establish that.

Well, sometimes the human is the leader, and sometimes the dog is the leader. I routinely lead my dog to a safe place without cars and with very few humans. The dog loves this, as when we get there, I let her lead her own way thru the forest, she respects me for this, and will follow me in any direction that I go. However when I see her tracking something unseen, I let her show me the animal, and she is the leader.

No leash needed, show me a highly trained dog heeling on a leash, and I will show you a stupid human. My dog will heel, no leash needed, and to all persons allergic to dog licks, she could be fatal.

Interesting post....shows your dog is not in military camp and you allow him/her to be a dog. That takes a lot of confidence.

What military camp, my dog has complete freedom. I am used to your comments though, because many people with dogs themselves are amazed and actually humiliated that there dog must be on a leash at all times, I can see this on their faces and in their comments, like yours. My dog is free to come and go as she pleases, and what pleases her is to stay with me, because I am the person who takes her to the forest where she wants to be in the first place, a German Shorthair has this amount of intelligence and logic, not all dogs do.

In fact one of the few times she was ever leashed was at a gun range, where she would have chased the clay pigeons if we let her.

So you go right ahead and keep your dog on a leash if you so choose.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/105281199@N03/14716192922/in/photostream/lightbox/

You are misunderstanding me. I was actually praising your approach. It made me think of things differently.

Ok thanks then, perhaps I read that wrong. The thing is that I will encounter people who are amazed and pleased every day, and that sometimes the opposite happens. Often people with small dogs will pick there dog up in fear, then see the wagging tail on my dog, and let their dog down to play, this is normal and frequent. My dog will also sometimes be attacked by a dog on leash, that is there for that reason. Sometimes my dog scares the living hell out of an otherwise rational adult, just by wagging her tail at them. A couple of weeks ago, we came upon a mother with two children, who had a stick, I told the girl to throw the stick and my dog retrieved it for her, they were amazed. The idea here is that I believe that this owner, should have trusted the dog, and understood that she could have left the dog there, instead of chasing it, as if you chase your dog, you will lose, getting the dog to chase you is the trick. I do this by disappearing on my dog, causing a tracking instinct in her, and I become one of the animals that she trails. All dogs can do this, though if they are never given freedom in the first place they will disappear on cue.

I like your take. I think with time (purely my learning) I could've gotten there. My dog was a very smart creature...although still very excitable and puppy like (at seven years of age). When people came over to our home they seemed astounded as to how disciplined he was. I was often asked if he had undergone professional training. But--in public I was often a bit nervous as to how he would react. I tried to socialize him but sometimes he seemed to want to chase anything that would run away. My husband always said he only behaved this way around me. I still have a lot to learn about dogs....

Dogs can be very possessive and if you try to take their food or even a toy away from them, they may try to bite you.

Be sure, your dog is leashed when you go out. If he finds an animal he wants to hunt, then merely pull him away.

As far as food is concerned, never, ever try to take a dog's food away from him/her while they're eating. They get very nasty and might bite you.

If your dog bites you, I suggest you go to the ER for evaluation and possible Rx for antibiotics, just in case you get an infection from the dog bite. If the dog is up-to-date on all vaccinations, don't go to the vets. If the biting becomes very common place ( i.e. biting you) tell a vet and be sure to keep your dog away from babies and young children.

Never once did this happen with my dog.

I had a beagle mix once, that I rescued from the pound, if you went near her food, you did it with a heavy work boot, as she was very protective of her meal. That said I do not know what made her that way, I still loved her to death, she would always come to me after eating and tell me that she was sorry for chewing hole in my shoe.

Why would you feel anger, rejection or betrayal because your dog went into hunt mode? Your dog isn't doing anything to try to make you feel this way....it's simply being a dog.

I agree with the obedience training, partly because it will help you to understand your dog's psychology.

I think you have learned that letting your dog obsess for hours in a no win situation isn't helpful. You conducted an experiment and the results tell you not to do that again. Sounds as though taking the dog away from the frustrating situation early is a better strategy.

I'm a bit concerned about the second strategy...treats etc when dog has behaved in a normal beagle way that is undesirable in its environment....because I think you are likely to condition your dog to associate the inappropriate (in the situation the dog lives in) behaviour with rewards.

I'd be doing something calm and assertive to let your dog know that you don't approve and the behaviour won't be tolerated.....eg moving your dog away from the situation without any positive social interaction.


One of my cats had got himself into his pure cat mode the other day....he was frustrated because he couldn't get to another cat that was in his territory. His interaction with his human mode was switched off. I had to bring him inside, so I had to grab him and he bit me. I wasn't upset....he hadn't betrayed me or anything, he was intensely upset and frustrated. I just picked him up and brought him inside.

Big difference....he's harmless. Yes, he can bite me, but unless he's utterly panicked he won't hurt me. If he's so upset that he might really hurt me, I can pick him up in a way that won't allow that to happen. He's a little cat. I can manage him.

You have a dog which could really hurt you. There's no need to feel bad, but you do need assistance to assess the risk and support you in fixing the problem.

Listen to the dog folk and get to a dog trainer if I were you.

Please don't let him "hunt" animals. Animal all have the same feelings, just like we do. I teach all my dogs and cats to respect, be kind to, and not kill anything. They are pets, not wild animals.