# dog showing aggression to one family member only



## lexie2010 (Jun 7, 2010)

17week old beagle pup (bitch) has been started with nipping at me, but not anyone else, eventhough i tried every alley to stop this it has progressed to biting and now i can barely touch her while friends and family do not get the same reaction from her as i do. there is no explanation for this in our eyes, i am the one who is with her the most and she is always happy to see me yet she will try to bite my hands at every opportunity and if i am sitting or at her level she will make a lunge for my face. i simply do not trust her anymore and thankfully she isnt in contact with children on a regular basis as i would fear for what could happen.
what do i do from here??? i can barely even touch her anymore.:scared:


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## Daggre (May 2, 2010)

Do you get nervous when you sit with her? She could be picking up on this. She is only 17weeks so could be play biting. 
If she bites what do you do? You should wither turn away and ingore until the behaviour stops or go 'OW' loudly and praise when she stops.
Dogs can pick up on your energy levels so if you are nervous you will be very tense she will sense that, she will also know if you are excited and this could be cueing the behaviour.
Make your you are very calm when you go to her, stop paying any attentionas soon as she starts biting, just get up and walk away, if she chases try walking somewhere she cannot follow, like outside. Come back in when you have calmed down andifshe starts again simply walk away
she'll catch on biting=no more fun


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## ClaireandDaisy (Jul 4, 2010)

What part of the family are you? Are you a child? parent? How do the other members of the family treat the pup differently?


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## lozb (May 31, 2010)

I'm no expert.... but could this be similar to the rule which seems to be with my daughter.......... hit out at the one you love the most? 
You say you spend the most time with her... so she trusts you the most.... therefore... she could be testing the boundaries with you... because she knows you won't hurt her....
When our dog nipped at me (aged 6/7 months) I blew quickly in his face to distract him - he was like 'what? what's that?' and had a toy handy to distract him quick... he hasn't nipped since... didn't take long for him to learn.
Hope you can solve this soon - I know I went through a fair few jumpers & had a fair few nips before we got it sorted...
Good luck  xxx


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## lexie2010 (Jun 7, 2010)

it is just myself and my husband in the house, at the start i think my husband thought i was overreacting as she is much nicer with him but as he's been on holidays this week he too has got to spend more time with her and see how a hard a time she gives me. i can hand feed her and she is fine, i can even have my hand in her feeding bowl when she is eating and that is totally fine. its just when i play fetch (i get her to drop the ball) and try to stroke or groom her, or am simply not doing anything with her that her agressive behaviour towards me comes out.


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## Rottiefan (Jun 20, 2010)

First of all, I think you need to get a professional in, if it is biting. 

However, from what you've described, this doesn't sound like 'aggressive' behaviour. It sounds like the dog is mouthing you out of frustration and/or over-excitement: playing fetch could be making her over-aroused; grooming might seem like a game to her and, again, she could be getting over-aroused. 

I'm not saying it isn't aggression, but it's highly unlikely, in my mind, that you can put your hand in the food bowl without her getting aggressive, yet when you play fetch, she gets 'aggressive'- it sounds like mouthing and over-excitement.


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## RobD-BCactive (Jul 1, 2010)

Train the young dog using rewards technique.
Give attention when the pup is calm, reward good behaviour. Stop paying off attention seeking behaviour.
Try a puzzle feeding toy, so your dog has fun not centred round roughness with you.

As I had our young dog to myself for a whole week with everyone else away, and am main exerciser & play person, it's mouthing tendencies are still centred on me, but they lessen as I manage them in a calm way. Getting outdoors regularly and exploring the world has helped a lot to.

As for small children, dog/child contacts should always be supervised closely, but you may be surprised pleasantly by how gentle and tolerant your "delinquent" is with them. When socialising your dog with people.


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