Behaviour

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My husband & I purchased a black mini poodle 5 years ago. I have had a hard time accepting his hyperactive behaviour. Also he barks at me, I did what the behaviourists say to do, I turned my back and ignored him. Made no difference. I have a spray with citronella, but most of the time he runs out of range. He barks at me when I hang out the clothes, hides behind a shrub so I can't reach him with the spray. He jumps on me and nips me. My husband doesn't have the same problems although he does agility with him and half way through, he will run off barking.Help what do we do?

-- Anonymous, August 10, 1999

Answers

It sounds like you may have a dominance problem. I've heard of numerous cases in which people (predominantly women)are terrorized by small/toy dogs. Your poodle seems to have assumed "beta" position in your family "pack", with your husband as the alpha. It would be best to consult a canine behaviourist, especially if this has been going on for 5 years! Have you tried an electronic remote training collar? Innotek makes the Smart Dog 100 collar that also has sounds for positive reinforcement of good behaviour (operant conditioning, like clicker training) as well as warning sound and the ability to remotely administer a mild static buzz if the behviour is very atrocious (even hiding in the bushes he won't be out of range). I used it successfully, with much positive reinforcement of the desired behaviour (stop chasing), to deter my standard poodle from chasing and nipping my 4 yr old daughter when she was running/biking. other than that I would also recommend that you, perhaps with your husband in the vicinity, begin to leash train your dog - he may be trained with your husband but not with you. Hope this helps!

-- Anonymous, April 18, 2000

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