# My Poodle doesn't like certain breeds



## Keithsomething (Oct 31, 2009)

I'm pretty interested to see what someone has to say about that

I know Elphie has an aversion to little dogs and cats 
like she blatantly refuses to play with scooter our shih tzu
but she'll snuggle up to him on the couch and same with our cat Kiska, she will just look at him like hes annoying her but if hes laying somewhere she'll wrap herself around him almost motherly

I thought it was maybe just at our home but at the park and on walks she'll steer clear of anything smaller than her but the ones bigger or the same size she'll be right there wanting to play with them


----------



## cbrand (Aug 9, 2009)

Well there is something about these bully breeds that he finds off-putting. Who knows what it is. 

The bigger question for me is why Nigel gets to decide who he likes and does like. In my opinion, if he acts agressively to certain dogs, who have not provocted him, then he should be corrected and told to shape up and mind his manners. It just seems rude.

I come at this from the other side. My Sabrina got nailed once on a trail when we were passing by another dog. The owner simply shrugged and said, "Oh my dog doesn't like Poodles." HUH?!?! Thanks, Dude. :rolffleyes:


----------



## Olie (Oct 10, 2009)

How do you feel about the dogs he is doing this too? Do you like or dislike the bully breeds?


----------



## Harley_chik (Nov 7, 2008)

Harley has an aversion to Chihuahuas but considering he's had contact w/ so many nasty ones, I don't blame him. He usually tries to keep me inbetween the Chi and himself, no growling or anything like that.

Maybe the breeds you mentioned breathe funny? I know Boxers and Bull Mastiffs are brachycephalic. Either way I agree w/ Cbrand, work on socializing him w/ those breeds.

Good luck and Harley is happy Nigel likes Rotties, lol.


----------



## Nigel (Nov 24, 2009)

Hi Cbrand,

I do agree that it isn't his decision...I would never let him nail anyone. He is kept tethered by me at the counter, doesn't roam around the store. I would really like to have him stop the reactive behavior. The entire store front is windows so I do see who is coming in, if it's a bully breed, he is restrained behind the counter and reprimanded verbally if he is reactive or rewarded if quiet & composed. 

I was quite surprised the first time this happened, it was a lovely female boxer only 1 year old who is also very well socalized. She play bowed at him and it set him off.

I am very much a dog person and think most folks who visit dog parks don't understand body language or how to properly control their dogs. I don't go to public off leash places with my giant's because they don't want to play with other "strange" dogs. Neither are dog aggressive, just not playful, very aloof. I don't want my customers to be offended by Nigels behavior. Some of the customers are very dog savvy, others are clueless.

I've owned dogs my entire life, all intelligent thinking breeds. I've never seen this behavior with any other dog. It's interesting....

Kathy


----------



## Keithsomething (Oct 31, 2009)

cbrand said:


> My Sabrina got nailed once on a trail when we were passing by another dog. The owner simply shrugged and said, "Oh my dog doesn't like Poodles." HUH?!?! Thanks, Dude. :rolffleyes:


o.o
_"my dog doesn't like poodles"_...must be some weird mutant thing not likin poodles and what not
-mumbles some more-

thankfully Elphaba hasn't shown any sign of aggression towards the little dogs or cats


----------



## Nigel (Nov 24, 2009)

Olie said:


> How do you feel about the dogs he is doing this too? Do you like or dislike the bully breeds?



Oh heck no! I really appreciate every breed. I'm a walking dog encyclopedia.
I can name just about every breed on sight and know all my regular customers by name. 

I showed my giants in conformation and have entertained the thought of owning so many different breeds over the years. Zero dog prejudice here.


----------



## Nigel (Nov 24, 2009)

Harley_chik said:


> Maybe the breeds you mentioned breathe funny? I know Boxers and Bull Mastiffs are brachycephalic. Either way I agree w/ Cbrand, work on socializing him w/ those breeds.
> 
> Good luck and Harley is happy Nigel likes Rotties, lol.


Harley you might be onto something there! Maybe he does sense the breathing is different so he doesn't understand they are dogs????? Or thinks they are sick and wants to cull them, like in nature.

I know it's not the size, color, length of hair etc. He has no problem with pits, labs, really any dog with regular jaw. Now I hope someone comes in with a pug, for example. I don't recall him meeting a pug yet but if he is reactive then I bet it is the breathing.

I love Rotties. We do fundraisers for Recycled Rotts at my store. They are such sweet dogs. Groomed a big handsome guy named Bruno yesterday.

Thanks for the possible explanation.

Kathy


----------



## Marian (Oct 20, 2009)

Who really knows what goes on in their little heads? Teddy reacts aggressively toward garbage bags, especially white ones on the sidewalk, and I know for a fact he has never been attacked by one.


----------



## partial2poodles (Feb 11, 2010)

I think Nigel is very beautiful.....I also have 2 (well, really 1 parti) I think my parti's are much more alloof. My male is especially protective. his daughter is spastic and clingy around new dogs. None of my solid poodles are at all like that. I think they carry a retard gene. So I just wonder if its little Nigel. How are the giants?


----------



## cbrand (Aug 9, 2009)

Ok... It sounds like you are on top of it. I sort of got the impression that he was not being corrected for the behavior.

Once he is corrected, does he settle or is he constantly sort of looking to get a dig in? Can he focus on you with these dogs in close proximity? I would not push it by forcing the issue (making him go up to Bully Breeds or get close to them) but if gets out of hand, I would make your displeasure very clear.

Also, since you can see who is coming, I wonder if he is feeding off of your worry. You see approaching Bully Breed... you get anxious and start prepping...this travels down the leash.

Maybe Nigel is having trouble reading the facial clues on these flat faced dogs.


----------



## Marian (Oct 20, 2009)

cbrand said:


> Also, since you can see who is coming, I wonder if he is feeding off of your worry. You see approaching Bully Breed... you get anxious and start prepping...this travels down the leash.


That's exactly what I was thinking after reading about the shop window.


----------



## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

My boxer brings the worst out in dogs. lol. I don't know why, but as soon as a lot of dogs see her they're at the end of their leashes and she's just all "._. my bad"

I've noticed compeltely different reactions with Vegas.


----------



## KPoos (Aug 29, 2009)

Maybe the dogs are imposing to him so he will feign aggression to back them up because he's nervous around them. Most of those breeds are very muscular and intimidating looking although most boxers are sweeties. I too have an appreciation for all dogs but there are breeds that I just don't like the look of, breeds that annoy me, breeds that intimidate me, and breeds I adore when I see them. Whether you think you are doing it or not, you might give off tension with those bully breeds and he's sensing it or like I said they are making him feel intimiated and he's bucking up to try to be on top.


----------



## Olie (Oct 10, 2009)

cbrand said:


> Also, since you can see who is coming, I wonder if he is feeding off of your worry. You see approaching Bully Breed... you get anxious and start prepping...this travels down the leash.
> 
> Maybe Nigel is having trouble reading the facial clues on these flat faced dogs.


This is why I asked about your feeling of these dogs. I agree with this. I can see this in myself on a walk we did a while back with all dogs (that got goofy)- I know my anxiety went up although I initially thought it was just my dog - but looking back, I believe my dog was picking up on my worry also.


----------



## Nigel (Nov 24, 2009)

Marian said:


> Who really knows what goes on in their little heads? Teddy reacts aggressively toward garbage bags, especially white ones on the sidewalk, and I know for a fact he has never been attacked by one.



Very Funny!


----------



## Nigel (Nov 24, 2009)

partial2poodles said:


> I think Nigel is very beautiful.....I also have 2 (well, really 1 parti) I think my parti's are much more alloof. My male is especially protective. his daughter is spastic and clingy around new dogs. None of my solid poodles are at all like that. I think they carry a retard gene. So I just wonder if its little Nigel. How are the giants?


Thanks for the compliment. I really need to post some pics of him. My avatar is from the day I got him. There are a few pics of him on my stores facebook page, just google search: All Things Woof and look at the album "owners doggies".

Interesting...having never had a solid I can't compare, but I can say that he really is a very happy go lucky guy. My giants are barkers in the yard or at my front window and Nigel runs to me for comfort. He wants no part of whatever they are barking at.

My male giant Gus comes to the store alot and he is completely non-confrontational. If a dog gets in his face he runs to the backroom.
He absolutely loves people and lives to be the center of human attention. Riley stays home cause she is a barking maniac, but not dog aggressive. Just too much management for me to worry about all day.


----------



## Nigel (Nov 24, 2009)

cbrand said:


> Ok... It sounds like you are on top of it. I sort of got the impression that he was not being corrected for the behavior.
> 
> [Once he is corrected, does he settle or is he constantly sort of looking to get a dig in? Can he focus on you with these dogs in close proximity? I would not push it by forcing the issue (making him go up to Bully Breeds or get close to them) but if gets out of hand, I would make your displeasure very clear.]
> 
> ...


Could be true. The first time he had an issue was with a young female boxer who gave him a playbow. They were both on leash & she is very sweet and well trained. This was the first week I had him and he had been fine with every other dog he met.


----------



## Nigel (Nov 24, 2009)

KPoos said:


> Maybe the dogs are imposing to him so he will feign aggression to back them up because he's nervous around them. Most of those breeds are very muscular and intimidating looking although most boxers are sweeties. I too have an appreciation for all dogs but there are breeds that I just don't like the look of, breeds that annoy me, breeds that intimidate me, and breeds I adore when I see them. Whether you think you are doing it or not, you might give off tension with those bully breeds and he's sensing it or like I said they are making him feel intimiated and he's bucking up to try to be on top.


Definately no tension from me. I had an Amstaff and really think all those types of dogs are big mushes. Also these dogs & owners are regular customers so I know both very well. Have watched some grow up from puppies.

You could be right, perhaps he is intimidated so he is showing fear aggression.
I will continue to work on his attitude. Thanks for your input!


----------



## irmashanahan (Apr 22, 2010)

Nigel, one of my standard poodles does not like dogs who have light eyes, like Weims or Boynkin Spaniels. Since I do a huge amount of obedience trialing, this is something I've had to take very seriously. I've dealt with it by being very observant when he is around these breeds, and redirecting his attention back to me by breaking the eye contact. I started off using either a light collar pop, or a touch on the head, and once he's turned his attention back to me, I then praise and reward him. 

Another thing that needs to be done is reassure the dog, by your body position and your actions, that you recognize this is a problem for him and that you are taking care of it - and by that, I don't mean verbally doing the 'It's OK stuff". I mean that you might have to step in front of him and let him physically feel protected.

A good book on the subject is Control Unleashed by Leslie McDevitt, as well as the information on Susan Clothier's website at Flying Dog Farm.

If you are going to use a clicker to deal with this, you need to be very careful in your timing; if you are marking the wrong thing, you could be encouraging the behavior


----------



## BlueSpoo (Mar 29, 2010)

cbrand said:


> Maybe Nigel is having trouble reading the facial clues


That's my first guess (I agree, they are big mushes, I used to ride my gma's poor boxer as an infant).

I have two Manx cats, & so much cat communication is conveyed through tail posturing that there can be clashes with other cats due to those absent clues. 

Dogs' smiles & facial (especially muzzle) expressions are so important in communicating, I wouldn't be surprised if another dog misread a brachy's face as possibly aggressive (the 'possibly' being the part that would weird me out as a canine- the uncertainty of how to respond).


----------



## Rocketagility (Apr 27, 2010)

Ok my 2 cents on this topic! You fixed your dog way too young and the dog has fear aggression, let your dogs grow up and mature. I hear it all to often I want my dog to act like a puppy forever. Or fixing the dog prevents aggression or is a fix for aggression, not so.

This statment was made:

If you are going to use a clicker to deal with this, you need to be very careful in your timing; if you are marking the wrong thing, you could be encouraging the behavior 

I would say if you are going to use negitives and punishment the above statement is even more important bad timing with corrections is even worse. It is easier to fix bad clicker training.

Look at a book Emma Parson's 'Click to Calm'


----------



## plumcrazy (Sep 11, 2009)

Rocketagility said:


> Ok my 2 cents on this topic! You fixed your dog way too young and the dog has fear aggression, let your dogs grow up and mature. I hear it all to often I want my dog to act like a puppy forever. Or fixing the dog prevents aggression or is a fix for aggression, not so.


The original poster mentioned that the dog had this aggression from the "first time" he ever saw this specific breed type - I'm assuming that was *before *his neuter which was only two weeks prior to the original post (and the dog was 8 months old - IMO that is not too young to neuter)

My standard poodle was spayed at 7 months of age and all my other dogs were spayed much earlier - my mini dachshund was spayed at 5 months old and my daughter's spoo at 6 months. None of them have fear agression because of being spayed "too early". I'm not sure there is any such thing as "too early"!

I managed a humane society and all animals were required to be sterilized before being placed in a new home - this included 8 week old puppies and kittens. I've kept in contact with some of the adopters and they've had no behavioral or health problems in the past 10 years with their animals due to early spay/neuter... just sayin'...


----------



## Rocketagility (Apr 27, 2010)

This is one of those topic that is very divided down the middle you think it is proper to neuter early I think it is a bad idea till after the dog has fully matured. Growth plates don't close till around 14 months. More and more research is proving early spay and neuter causes more problems. I can control my dog 100% of the time and he is not out breeding so we are not a part of the pet over population problem.
Since you manage a Humane Society I understand your mandate of spay everything to control the pet population. I run my dog in performance events and I believe the testosterone prevents injury.

I will look for the links to the research I was talking about, I wouldn’t want people to think I was making stuff up.

http://www.caninesports.com/SpayNeuter.html

http://www.iwclubofamerica.org/IWCA Education/Effects_S_N.pdf


----------

