How to Stop a Coonhound from Biting
The six varieties of coonhounds have a reputation of being stubborn and difficult to train. While this may appear to initially be the case there are some things you need to know that are breed specific to the dog. Patient training and establishing the proper pecking order with your dog is step number one in correcting any behavior. This is something that must be done to stop a coonhound dog or puppy from biting.
Try to determine why the dog is biting. Is it a new behavior? If so, it may well be that the dog is ill and needs a checkup with the vet. Perhaps it is a puppy. Puppies teeth, just like children. They chew. If the biting is associated with your taking something away from a puppy, it may well be an accident. Since the coonhound matures later than most dogs, training must begin early and continue longer. These are scent hounds. They are bred to hunt. All of this needs to be taken into consideration.
When you play with your puppy, do not play games that will land your hand or the hand of anyone else into their mouth. If that is allowed to continue, that “playful” biting can turn into aggressive biting later in life. Again make yourself the leader of the pack and have your coonhound obey every command that you give it.
Playing tug is also not recommended. This will let one of you be the winner and hopefully it will not be the dog. If you dog has something unacceptable in his mouth, remove it. If it is done without argument or prompting, reward the coonhound with food. This dog responds very well to food as a reward. If he does not release it without a command, give a strong verbal command. Do not hit or fight with the dog to remove the item.
Coonhounds have feelings that are easily hurt. With yelling or hitting they can become very submissive and shy. This can lead to aggression if the dog is frightened or startled. Keeping the puppy busy and active with toys and treats as well as human interaction will lead to a much more satisfactory relationship with the adult dog.
If your adult coonhound starts biting people or other animals for the first time, try to isolate the incident by finding out if there was any provocation. If not, the next step would be to have the dog checked by your family veterinarian. It is possible the dog is ill and needs some medical attention. There is no way to guess the malady, so a professional needs to examine him.
If you adopt an older dog your first step should be obedience training with a professional. If biting persists, you may have to consider the employment of a dog behaviorist to determine cause and teach you how to correct the behavior. There are many things that can cause a dog to bite. Generally it falls back on the owner who thought it was cute when the puppy grabbed their hand or the leg of his pants as he walked across the floor. It needs to be stopped when the coonhound is a puppy, if possible.