My beagle has suddenly started resource guarding random stuff. What should I do to get this behavior to stop? - eviltoast

I’ll start off by saying that he has a bad past life. He was obviously abused by his previous owners and straight up abandoned in the woods. He has bad anxiety that he is on Prozac for, and it seems to be helping for the most part.

Lately he has been grabbing random shit and snapping and growling when someone tries to take it. He’ll grab the stuff off tables and counters to chew, so it’s not like he’s finding random stuff on the floor.

Last night he grabbed tape off of a table and when my sister tried to take it, he bit her hand. It wasn’t hard and barely left a mark, but it is still incredibly concerning. I was the victim of a severe dog attack as a child, so any aggression is not okay. I don’t want to have to get rid of him because he’s my baby boy and I love him so much.

I have no idea how to stop this behavior. I’ve never had a dog act like this. It started in August and has gotten worse in the past month because our living conditions changed. I broke my ankle/leg and I’m laid up for a while at my parents’ place.

Do y’all have any suggestions?

  • GreenAlex@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    To reiterate what others have said, this has reached a point of needing professional help. Violence will not put a stop to violence, it will only make him more fearful and escelate the issue. There are so many factors that could go into this that people online can’t account for.

    That being said, I really wish you and your beagle buddy all the best. It’s definitely a tough situation to be in.

    EDIT: To try and provide something practical in the meantime, it may be good to remove his access to these random objects as best you can. If he’s grabbing at anything and everything then naturally you can’t completely prevent, but if you can block access to tables and counters and keep other areas cleared off that could stave off the symptoms somewhat until you can get help treating the main cause. Especially if he’s chewing them up, we don’t want him to get hurt that way.