[Dailydrool] Puppy aggression

[bassetmom at frontiernet.net]

Hi,

We are having aggression problems with our 4 month old male basset  
puppy, Toby.  We took him in at 10 weeks old from our neighbor.  He  
hasn't been neutered yet.  Our vet and many droolers recommended  
waiting until he was at least 6-8 months old.

He has started just going berserk over ear cleanings & toe nail trims.  
  He's always kind of fussed over it, but its gone to a new level of  
biting, snarling, and throwing himself around.  I think Cesar Milan  
would call that red zone behaviour.

As long as you aren't touching these areas that he now feels are "off  
limits"...he sits when asked, comes when called and walks pretty well  
on a leash.  He is very people & dog friendly and gives lots of  
kisses. He rolls over on his back for the neighbors to give him belly  
rubs.

But, just don't touch his paws or try to clean his ears!  He's my 4th  
dog as an adult and my 3rd basset hound.  I haven't had to deal with  
the likes of this behaviour with the other dogs.  Our 2 year old  
basset Rosie would play bite as a puppy, but he doesn't do that...he  
just gets nasty when trying to take care of his grooming needs.

I need to get this under control while he's only 25 lbs.  If I had to  
guess... I think the alcohol odor from the ear cleaner and the betagen  
spray from the vet for some bug bites that had really offends his nose  
and started all this.

What can I do to make this better??  He's going to get too big for me  
to handle.

Thanks for your help.

Sarah
Basset mom to Toby, Rosie and Obie (ATB)