# dominant poodle



## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

How old is he? Far more likely to be teenage/young adult hormones than "dominance" - a much overused explanation for dog behaviour! Useful information here: The Down & Dirty on Humping: Sex, Status, and Beyond | Dog Star Daily

Have you considered neutering him?


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## Olie (Oct 10, 2009)

What other behaviors do you see that might "appear" dominant? If none thats likely not the issues. If he is young it may be excitement in the sense of wanting to play. However its a unwanted behavior and it still needs corrected, right? LOL. Try a spay bottle - when you see the hump or going in for it, SQUIRT. Its a very gentle distraction to assist in correcting. 

Also - I hate to ask  but you said he does not stop.......are there people/kids that might allow this as a silly moment? I know some people do this. Its really encouraging it and it can become a tough issue if not nipped in the bud.


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## tuf poodle (Apr 26, 2011)

Olie said:


> What other behaviors do you see that might "appear" dominant? If none thats likely not the issues. If he is young it may be excitement in the sense of wanting to play. However its a unwanted behavior and it still needs corrected, right? LOL. Try a spay bottle - when you see the hump or going in for it, SQUIRT. Its a very gentle distraction to assist in correcting.
> 
> 
> Also - I hate to ask  but you said he does not stop.......are there people/kids that might allow this as a silly moment? I know some people do this. Its really encouraging it and it can become a tough issue if not nipped in the bud.


He is 5yrs old. There is no one that lets him do it at my house but he never those it in front of us when I or my family is outside but its when we have our backs turn is when he does it, so I cannot trust him so I just put him in a kennel so he wont do it to my other dogs but my family is getting tired of it and I don't know what to do. 

He also gets very anxious and hyper when he sees me or I get close to the kennel but he has been getting nervous a lot.


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## JE-UK (Mar 10, 2010)

I'm a pragmatist, and sometimes less concerned about WHY a dog is doing something, especially if it is something I don't like.

Given his age, it will be harder to extinguish a behaviour he's been doing for a long time, but it is certainly worth the effort.

If it is something he has learned not to do in front of you, it will be even harder to extinguish; in that case, I might choose to manage the behaviour rather than take on the monumental task of trying to get rid of it. 

If he's not doing it in front of you, could you try tethering him to you for a while, a couple of weeks maybe, so he's always under supervision? Like you would do in housetraining a puppy?

Does he get plenty of exercise? Or do any dog sports? A physically and mentally tired dog is always easier to work with.


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## Feathersprings (Jul 15, 2010)

Is he Neutered ? I didnt see that mentioned ... My Spoo would behave like that in play at the dog park until "corrected" by one of the big boys/girls. I like JE-UK's suggestion of keeping him tethered to you so you can correct the behavior or prevent it for a period of time.


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## BigDog (Dec 14, 2010)

"he's been getting nervous alot","just started all of a sudden".

He's 5 years old and all of this is just starting?
Sounds like he may have a medical issue going on to me.
Have him checked by your vet,could be thyroid etc...


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## Rowan (May 27, 2011)

I just adopted a 6-year-old retired stud dog (poodle) and he tried to hump my two neutered male poodles when they first met. They both corrected him and he quickly learned it wasn't acceptable and stopped. As a side note, he's _not _neutered yet (he has his pre-surgical eval on Monday and will be neutered the following Monday), and all of my poodles are fairly mellow--especially the new pup. 

I think it's almost as much about the other dogs correcting him as it's me correcting him. He was very quick to understand their body language and nobody got hurt! 

Best of luck!


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