Hi all I am seeking some advice please.

My Dachshund is 11 months old and he is really gorgeous but he can try to bite when he doesn't like something. 

For example this afternoon he was chewing on an empty toilet roll holder and I went to take it away from him and as I went to take it he turned around and tried to bite.  He doesn't growl or anything else.  Often he will do it if he is sitting on our laps and we want to lift him off or move him and he will try to bite at my 8 year old occasionally too.
Apart from that he is a very good dog and I can usually tell when he is going to do it but other people can't.

He has not been neutered and he really is actually very calm and gentle, he doesn't show any other bad habits although he does run after other dogs in the park and he won't come back especially if it is a girl!!!! I wonder if he is trying to assert dominance over us and if so is this enough reason to have him neutered?

I have also noticed often that other make dogs go for him in the park and the owners tell me it is because he hasn't been neutered so they see him as a threat. Is this true????

Thanks you for help.

Other dogs, yes - he's at that age where he can be seen as an upstart so other dogs may grump at him more.

At home - this sounds like resource guarding, and it has nothing to do with dominance.  You need to stop just taking things he's stolen and do two things: offer him something better as a swap, or (as long as it's not something dangerous he's taken) just ignore him and carry on doing what you were doing.  Making a big deal out of it will only increase the value of what he's got (wow! they really want it back, it must be awesome!  I'll try harder to keep it!).  You can also throw treats in his direction as you walk past to make your proximity to stolen things a good thing.  Also, practice swapping things when he isn't already guarding: swap something mediocre for something a little better, and practice until he's readily giving it up for the better thing, then increase the value of both and work up to the really good things, always making sure you have something better to give in trade.  The more you practice, the more giving up what he's got will become both a habit, and no big deal to him.

On laps - a little trickier but the first thing I would do is get him checked out thoroughly.  Dachsies are prone to back problems and although he's young, I'd still want to be sure he's in good health.  How do you lift him?  It might be that you're inadvertently hurting him or making him uncomfortable.

If that's fine, then teach him an 'off' cue so you don't have to move him manually (and it'll make being moved more pleasant for him) - very easy to teach.  Encourage him on to a sofa or chair, then lure him off with something yummy and give the 'off' cue as you do it.  Reward when he's moved, and repeat until he's doing it happily every time.

Neutering *may* help with the running off thing.  *May*.  It may not.  I think you'd be best off upping your training to improve his recall, and keeping him on a long line or flex while you do that so he doesn't have a chance to practice running off and ignoring you.  Neutering won't make any difference to the guarding at home, that is a training/handling issue.

Hi Nikita
Thank you for your brilliant response.  Everything you say makes total sense now that I have read it and I like he fact that I can now approach the problems through working by training him and I am really relieved that it isn't aggression or the fact that he has not been neutered.  One lady in the park told me that unneutered dogs smell different to other dogs and this can make the neutered males react badly.
From tomorrow I shall put the new ideas that you have given me in place, I especially like the idea of an off command.
Hopefully I can now sort him out.

offer him something better as a swap.......swap something mediocre for something a little better, and practice until he's readily giving it up for the better thing,    The more you practice, the more giving up what he's got will become both a habit, and no big deal to him

This definitely works, We did this with Zuma right from the start as he would pinch stuff and go into his crate......................Twice in the past he has come tearing in from the garden into his crate with a socking great HEDGEHOG in his mouth......plonked it down and waited for his treat as a swap

> One lady in the park told me that unneutered dogs smell different to other dogs and this can make the neutered males react badly.

It is actually castrated dogs that smell different to other dogs, so the lady is wrong.

Also, never listen to anything ladies in the park say

Or men in the park.  OR basically anyone you meet in the park or on any walk LOL.

The 'off' command is great but to be honest with a dachshund I'd not be asking him to get off the sofa or your lap without assistance. We have two 'slightly' larger versions, they don't do stairs (often), the sofa has been lowered so they can slink off, lifted out of the car, front feet up & then lifted in or a ramp, it might all seem a little OTT but the breed like yours is prone to back problems & you really don't want that. One off ours has had two slipped discs, have been very careful but it happens.
Also don't know if dachshunds are like B.H's but every B.H. should come with it's own sofa, I joke not, once up it's theirs & don't ever think you can claim it back. Can call them off most of the time, even now I wouldn't attempt to lift them off, or lastly resort to pretending to talk to someone or mentioning food as I leave the room.
Remember to support his back at any time you lift. Enjoy.

> Also, never listen to anything ladies in the park say

Unless they can hand you a business card or leaflet for their up-to-date training services

Lacy - very valid point.  You could perhaps tailor the 'off' to just mean moving off your lap and onto the sofa, or indeed get a physical aid for them to move off the sofa.

I haven't read all your replies, yet, but just to say the only guarantee with castration is no puppies.   Honestly.   The rest is down to training, and avoiding the things that produce behaviour you don't want.    Dachshunds - hounds.  Hounds - tend to resource guard unless you use the avoidance/prevention method.   If your youngster had meant business, he would have injured you.   BUT resource guarding (a toilet roll holder???) isn't to be tolerated.   Rather than go to a confrontation situation, don't give him anything you don't want him to have.    He has to learn about 'drop' and 'leave' in case he does get into something dangerous to him, but frankly if that happens, TRADE.  With hounds, for me it's about applied psychology.   Make them think what you want was their idea.

It has to be a no from me, re castration which I don't subscribe to unless for medical need.   If you do this, expecting it to be a cure-all, you may well be disappointed.

ps    Entire males would, in my opinion (experience) be MORE likely to pick on a castrated male.   Because they know (scent) he probably won't fight back.

> ps    Entire males would, in my opinion (experience) be MORE likely to pick on a castrated male.   Because they know (scent) he probably won't fight back.

My point exactly. 

> He has to learn about 'drop' and 'leave' in case he does get into something dangerous to him,

I can't echo this sentiment enough.  The leave command is (to me) as important as recalls.  I once spilled poison years ago and my Toy Poodle boy went racing over to see what I had dropped.  He was so used to obeying the leave command that I know for sure it's majorly important.

He has to learn about 'drop' and 'leave' in case he does get into something dangerous to him

or something valuable to you.................
Daughters Rott had a good 'leave'.............we had an 'agreement' about stuff like food........if you said leave before it hit the floor it was still yours...........worked with a steak that fell about 3" in front of her nose

We both ended up saying 'leave it' even if the dog was not in the kitchen

Smiling at that tatty-ead.  I had a very obedient Beardie and one Sunday morning I had taken the chicken out of the oven and put it on top of the oven.  I then picked up all the ironing and took it upstairs to put away.

I came back into the kitchen to see her sneaking to her bed with the chicken in her jaws.  I said "leave it" and she dropped it, slinking over to her bed.  To be fair, it was still warm and she must have been salivating bless her.  I picked the chicken up and not even a wing fell off. 

I didn't fancy it after it had been on the floor but couldn't reward her for taking it.  So the dogs had a treat the following day.  I told my vet and he asked if I'd given her the leave command.  I hadn't!  So I do understand the temptation.

He's a Hound, not known for their obedience/great recall, so neutering is very unlikely to have any effect on his recall, more training and management (keeping him on lead if need be) are what will.

Neutering could well have negative effects on him.  It reduces muscle mass and inclines dog so put on weight more easily, and also reduces bone density, neither will be good for a long short legged dog.

> He's a Hound, not known for their obedience/great recall, so neutering is very unlikely to have any effect on his recall, more training and management (keeping him on lead if need be) are what will.

LOL, 'not known for their obedience/great recall', maybe, it really saddens me in my breed the number of scent hounds I meet dragged along trudging the streets never off lead unless at home. Hounds are different but they can be trained, they'll never be waiting for your next command, more often than not have a delay button BUT it is possible; patience, consistency, a sense of humour, knowing you've got to make them think there's something in it for them & mentally staying with them - don't think you can let them charge off & then call them back - too late.
But it is possible, & like most things the more you put in the more you get back.

Brainless( Barbara) would know that being a fellow Hound owner

Tell me about it, it's a case of when they are ready, mine always used to be off lead, until the climate with dog walking changed around here and it just isn't; worth the grief trying to walk 6 of mine together, even though they are very dog sociable, but not a pain pestering other dogs, inclined to a quick sniff and move on.

Due to too many status type dogs, or badly bred and owned ones causing issues, owners with little understanding of dog to dog behaviour, and lots of handbag type dogs, whose owners are rightly concerned about their little ones safety.  There is no longer the climate of comfortable interaction between canines and owners on walks around here there was 20 years ago, and if someone sees more than one or two loose dogs approaching they get in a flap.

So mine sadly are for the last 8 years mostly on lead, will occasionally take two at a time one on and one off for off lead exercise, but it's not the pleasure it once was.

> <br />Due to too many status type dogs, or badly bred and owned ones causing issues, owners with little understanding of dog to dog behaviour, and lots of handbag type dogs, whose owners are rightly concerned about their little ones safety

Ain't that the truth.   But when we had numbers, we used to take our lot off across the fields so we avoided that kind of reaction from others, and for ease of control of our lot too, has to be said.   Right now I have one of the two we are now down to only, who I can't risk letting off her lead.   She will come back, but if she gets spooked, probably won't so as I'm not as young as I used to be, she has to be on her lead.    And she's fast!    My Basset gets as much free-running as I can give him, depending on where we take them.

Hounds can be 'trained' - it's a question of finding the key to their brains, which they do have.  For that reason, you can't train a hound in the way you train other breeds.   And for sure, if you get stubborn, you are not connecting with them so a change of approach is needed.   I was lucky in that over the years, all our hounds were home-bred so I KNEW them and like with a hunting pack, being related does help.

Mine have always been pretty good off lead bar one defiant cow, and I am pretty sure her double granddaughter would (actually did once) do the same, ignore you until she was good and ready.

So the slower recall, just doesn't seem acceptable to other dog walkers, and there are lots of them in a big city like Bristol.  I have to walk the dogs within walking distance, but the country park is the only one large enough for safety re roads, the dogs can range ahead and still be within it's confines.

After having fun and games (not) with the defiant naughty one (I miss her so), I do worry about safety more, than I did with my first three,  and won't let them off in some of the recreation areas and parks that are smaller, and the cycle path is no good as the cyclists hurtle along without bells.

You're not alone in seeing a change change in dog walking habits, Brainless.
I've had dogs most of my life and we seem to have gone from allowing dogs to meet and greet happily, to a point where I view approaching dog owners carefully and decide what to do next with Isla. She is one of those dogs without a bad bone in her body and enjoys meeting other dogs. Her ultimate goal is to find one who is up for a bit of a run around, but is perfectly happy to sniff noses and carry on.
Nowadays you need to be so wary. If I spot a small dog, dog on a lead or someone with small children, she goes on the lead too as always, but there's more to it now. Some people seem very reluctant to allow their dog to say 'hi' to yours and seem to take offence, then they wonder why they have an anti social dog, or there are those that have out of control nasty minded dogs who they are happy to let them tear into someone else's dog.
I'm lucky where I live in that it's pretty quiet and we don't often meet anyone, or here in Suffolk where we spend a good deal of time, where there is certainly a more relaxed attitude still to dogs meeting up and socialising happily before moving on. Elsewhere I'm more cautious and Isla stays on the lead more.
This was really bought home to me how I've changed when dog walking, when we were up in Northumberland last month. It's such a quiet county, lower population and a slightly old fashioned air not unlike Suffolk. We walked on the glorious beaches mainly and joined the many other dog walkers doing the same. There were so many dogs all off lead, happily meeting and greeting and happily moving on. In fact there was so many even my very social dog lost interest in going up to every dog she saw, so much better for her to be like this instead of an all consuming interest in an approaching dog. It took me a while to stop worrying and wanting to put Isla on a lead, but then went with the flow and we all had a great time.

Been teaching the new pup this and it works a treat.........only thing is I started using the command 'swappies' and it has hubby in kinks when I use it. Just hope he, the pup not hubby, doesn't give me cause to use it in public

Agree with all the comments re off lead .dog owning has become so complicated now or at least around towns I seriously worry about ever letting them free .I  know of at least two local cases where dogs have been wrongly accused of things and we're taken by the police spending some time in the stuts dog unit In both cases after much heartache both dogs were released the whole cases were based in lies  on  behalf of the people who accused the dogs .

Please don't neuter unless you feel you have no ther option at all! I have a rescue dog here who I was obliged to castrate as part of the rescue agreement and it's my biggest regret. He went from being a happy go lucky little chap, to a fear-aggressive dog who lives happily with our little pack at home and has a few doggy friends outside, but whose life has not changed for the better at all. I would not trust him with other dogs that we don't know.

He's only 8 and a small dog (chi-sized) but he's already having some seriousl joint problems, despite the fact he's never been overweight and has always been kept fit. His head is narrow for a dog and he's constantly being mistaken for a bitch.

Of course, I can't prove that early neutering is behind all this, but I can hand on heart say that I can think of no other reason.

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Nicole Wild says: Google dominance theory and how out-dated and disproven it is. You have an unhappy dog, that has possibly been treated more child-like than dog like. Would you have done things differently if you had a Rottweiler? If you're not going to breed I would say neuter anyway, and you shouldn't be breeding from this dog anyway with this temperament.
Re the lap: Don't let him on the lap or sofas, problem solved. (Teach "off" command)
Re taking things off him: Stop taking things off him, use a trade game, trade him something better than what he has, a treat, toy etc. Teach "leave it" command, use something high in value like raw / cooked meat, cheese, etc.