# Going between legs



## patk (Jun 13, 2013)

i don't have a tried and proven method - just extrapolating from other situations. how did you discourage nipping? did you yip like a hurt puppy and withdraw or walk away? i'm thinking if you did and that worked for nipping, it might work for this, too. it's just telling the dog his actions are unwanted and are going to result in his being left alone.


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## itzmeigh (Apr 28, 2014)

I have no solution. Hazel is a leg diver but she's pretty shy with strangers so she only dives on me and Jacob. But when she does it she does it with enough force that she could knock you over if you aren't ready for it. 

Just wanted to say I feel your pain. 

I know with Hazel she tends to do it most when she is super excited. 

With out older dog she is very uncomfortable with strange men (long story) but if I put her outside and let her calm down then she can come in and be fine with a man moving around in the house. But she has to calm herself first. The better she know the guy the less time she spends being uncomfortable. 

Maybe something like that would work with yours, just put them outside or in their crate until introductions are over and everyone is relaxed and then let them out. That's pretty much what we do with Cotton (our older NotaPoodle).


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## j9dorn (Apr 13, 2015)

Well, he does it lots when we are talking with people, could be outside or at the dog park or in a store. He also likes to lean hard on his people and sometimes in strangers. I might just have to try something drastic, had to do it a few times and problem was completely solved for good. A little chuck under the chin. Kept him from destroying my house plants when nothing else would work.


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## ChantersMom (Aug 20, 2012)

Chanter does it to DH and me all the time and we call it "poodle docking". It's Chanter's way of looking for a nice scratch. He's 27 inches tall but keeps his nose down at human knee level. However, it isn't polite. 

What about just getting him to sit and not approach people with his nose?


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## glorybeecosta (Nov 11, 2014)

I broke Cayenne from biting hands, I flipped her on the nose 3 times, now if she does something and I want it stopped I just show her my fingers in a position to flip, and she quites immediately


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## JudyD (Feb 3, 2013)

My dogs both do that when they've just been groomed. The close shave must make for an itchy face. It is annoying, isn't it?


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## Poodlebeguiled (May 27, 2013)

One way to stop a behavior like that is to put it on cue. In this case, I'd teach him to "weave" between your legs....a trick. You can start out luring with a squeaky toy or rope toy, wiggle it and teach him to go all the way through and around, back through the other leg...like a figure 8. Get the fun game going and THEN put it on cue. Reinforce with a tasty treat. When he attempts to do this other thing he's doing, walk away, ignore. Only reinforce cued responses. Tell other people to turn away and ignore when he does that. You could also, if it's an itchy face, show him someplace else where he can rub his face. Matisse gets a tad itchy the day his face is shaved...sometimes even the next day but he just walks along the carpet, rubbing his little face. It could be simply that your dog has gotten some brand of attention when doing this...that is reinforcing. So, you can extinguish this behavior. It is indeed kind of hard to get everyone on the same page. I have that trouble with my Poodles putting their feet up on people. Most say, "It's okay." I try to tell them, "well, actually it's not." But I hate telling people stuff. lol.

If he's a really tall spoo it might not work so well. I did this trick with my Doberman, but soon he got too tall and would high center me....almost knocked me off my feet. lol.


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