# Aggression in poodles?



## ApricotsRock (Jan 10, 2014)

Remind me to send Rookie on all dates with DD. LOL.

Seriously though, I can see a poodle getting mad at someone who is trying to court HIS girl. Maybe not a full on attack, but certainly getting in between the two. A growl or two?


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## Feelingdoc (Feb 18, 2014)

I have THE most laid back male spoo ever...so who knew when the grandkids come he'd be a butt bitter? If they run he thinks their butts are fair game...and he will nip hard. Awareness of this behavior has prevented any further incident but knowing that the possibility is always there...well like the old saying...an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I think all dogs do certainly have the innate potential to be aggressive, poodles included. I've met a mini that was mean, putting teeth on flesh and breaking skin somewhat regularly. To the dog's credit it growled in warning but was often ignored or rather dismissed by a person who thought they could give affection to train the dog out of the behavior.

Management of these tendencies is, of course, our responsibility. Hopefully excellent puppy and adolescent training means that such behavior can be interrupted by the owner/handler under all but the most direly extreme circumstances, or even put on cue when needed as for a working police or war dog. Lily has never attacked another dog, but is quite willing to give a "social correction (think snarly snaps)" to a dog that is very rude (staring, uninvited physical contact). Peeves once gave a big warning to a smaller dog who he thought was being aggressive to Lily. He ran over and knocked the other dog to the ground and stood over the other dog barking very ferociously, but never actually touched the other dog other than when he knocked it over. Everybody was fine after they were separated and the mood calmed down.


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## Poodlerunner (Jul 4, 2014)

ericwd9 said:


> I had a, family raised, and well trained mini that had never shown aggression in 7 years. When a playmate/dog was attacked, by a pit bull/cross, outside our house, she scaled a 6ft fence and tore off the pit bulls family jewels. She came home covered in blood and very obviously proud of her "achievement".


I'm proud of her too.

pr


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## Bizzeemamanj (Apr 14, 2014)

I don't know if it's a poodle trait or not, but I can see how a very confident, dominant dog could cross the line into aggression. It takes a handler with a strong personality and persistent training to overcome those tendencies and direct them in a positive way.

Cooper is very outgoing, confident and pretty sure he's the boss of everyone unless told differently. We work with him every day (every day) to moderate and redirect behaviors we don't like and encourage behaviors we do. The perfect example is he is mouthy. During play, he puts arms, wrists, hands into his mouth. If we don't stop the mouthing immediately by ceasing play or redirecting him to something he can mouth, it escalates into him trying to dominate whoever he is playing with and he can get rough. It's been challenging because we have two things we are trying to correct - we want him to have a soft mouth (he does and getting softer), but we also want him to stop the mouthing completely.

It's been a slow process (every day and counting!) and I can see how people could give up and accept the behavior. The problem is, over time, I could see it leading to aggression in my very confident mini poodle. So I guess that's a long way of saying I think aggression in dogs can be a combination of nature versus nurture instead of a breed specific issue.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Well said Bizzeemamanj. You do have to look carefully at the issue of confidence and how the belief in themselves as "bosses" influences a very confident dog's behavior. Lily fits that bill like Cooper. She is a wonderful dog, but sometimes she gets very full of herself and will take it out on Peeves. We work on it constantly. She would never hurt him, but she does pester him quite a bit and he is a very soft dog, so he just takes it.


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## Dolly's Mom (Feb 14, 2014)

Bizzeemamanj said:


> I don't know if it's a poodle trait or not, but I can see how a very confident, dominant dog could cross the line into aggression. It takes a handler with a strong personality and persistent training to overcome those tendencies and direct them in a positive way.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Oh my goodness! Dolly mouthed EVERYONE. Due to being kennelled she did it out of boredom and was eventually taught that it's how she asks for attention. Every person I corrected her in front of ( stepping in front of, saying no mouth), said I'd never break her of it and that it was fine cause she'd not be biting. It was unacceptable because she spent time with kids and I can safely say she has never mouthed on a child and only does it if we're playing and she gets over excited or she working as my service dog but mostly she leans and rubs like a cat when she wants attention. Stick with it, you'll get there. 

Dolly comes on first dates with me (I have severe anxiety) and much to my amusement always ensures she between me and my date. She's very sensitive to my energy and can tell when my anxiety is getting amped up, which is when she mouths and tugs on me. She loves everyone but I always come first.

As for the aggression, puppies are not born aggressive it's a defence mechanism mostly or they are not getting balance by their owners. Any dog can have aggressive tendencies, dominance/confidence but aggression in a progressive thing dogs don't just suddenly become aggressive. I don't even think any one breed is more aggressive than another, confident, dominant, high prey/guarding instincts for sure but no one want aggressive dogs. For sure it's easier to MAKE some dogs aggressive.

I have a client who I've had for 5 weeks. 13 month old border collie, Australian Cattle cross. She was violently attacking the wife who's newborn baby was 6 weeks old (crazy right). She was a hardcore resource guarder, high prey drive, and if she was bored she went out of her way to pick a fight. You touched her collar and she'd attack, violently. Her intake was a horror show. I can safely say after 6 weeks she is going home on Sunday, I have tested her with her family and she did not respond with any aggression. I have pushed her past her limits and her response has been very responsive. Will they be able to keep her forever? I can't say. I'd love to know their dedication would keep her stimulated and balanced but I don't have the assurance but they can get her back.
She is not an aggressive dog anymore. She has aggressive tendencies, it wouldn't be hard for her to become a severe aggression case. For now though she's a good, balanced dog.


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## sweetheartsrodeo (Sep 19, 2012)

I tend to think Remington would be smarter than to be aggressive. Case in point; a few years ago I met a man, and had him over to the house for dinner and a movie. Remington stayed between us the whole night. He was sweet, silly, but made it very clear that he was not okay with this male friend being near me. At the end of the night, Clay asked if he was going to get a good night kiss, it was so hard not to say "ask Remington he has been the chaperon all night".


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## ericwd9 (Jun 13, 2014)

I once trained dogs for police work, Mostly GSDs one dog trained as a "sniffer" by another trainer was a standard poodle. She had one of the best "noses" I have ever known. But she could also growl and bark aggressively on command with the best of them. Further the felons did not see her as so much of a threat as the GSDs. She seemed to be able to "talk" them down and made more "arrests" without harming the "perps" Scenario: perp says "call that a police dog HaHa" handler "speak dolly" Dog "blood-curdling snarl showing top canines followed by very loud bark" perp "I guess _he _means it" Handler "_she _chewed up the last guy"perp "What do you feed her" handler "perps" perp "guess I'll come _quietly"_ Dog follows perp to van with occasional low growl. perp pats dog in van and says "I always liked poodles but I thought they were sissy dogs?" Handler "guess you don't know poodles." This sort of arrest was common but the GSDs were a more popular choice with the handlers.
More macho.
Eric


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Kind of like this? 

http://www.poodleforum.com/5-poodle-talk/40986-undercover-police-dog-cartoon.html

Often when I have Lily and Peeves out together people desperately wnat to pet Lily but are afraid to approach because of Peeves, but really I think she is a way tougher dog than he is. Peeves is a big softy. As much as i love Lily and she is a sweet dog when she knows you, she really does remind one of why tough bossy women are referred to as bitches.


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## JudyD (Feb 3, 2013)

Blue is seven months old and becoming more and more full of himself. He annoys the bejezzus out of Jazz, who has tolerated him for far longer than she should have, but I think she's beginning to get tired of it. I've seen her show a lot more of her teeth when he's really over the top, and I've heard him yip a couple of times when, I assume, she nipped him. He's barking, growling, and pulling toward dogs in training class when we first go in, even if they're twice his size, but by the end of class, he's happily playing with them. Yesterday he saw a strange toboggan newly placed on a rack in the kitchen and started a low rumbling growl as he paced around threatening it. None of this would I call aggression, more like teenage testosterone poisoning, but if it accelerates, he'll be seeing the vet for a neuter. 

On the other hand, he has never acted aggressive toward a human, and he continues to be exceedingly gentle with our 10 month old grandson, far beyond what I'd expect even from an older, calmer dog.


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## Rhett'smom (Sep 23, 2012)

To the vet you should go..., it will take a lot of those unwanted behaviors away before they are bad habits... My Rhett was neutered at 6 months and never got to that point.. Little man Jippy has yet to be neutered.. And he can be a devil at times.. Scarlett will be going to the vet in December for her spay and hernia repair.. Umbilical hernia..


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## patk (Jun 13, 2013)

my gut tells me that intelligent females can be far more aggressive - among "normal" dogs (not dogs bred for the fighting ring) - than males. of course it depends on the dog, as not all will display what we think of as aggression. but it's there - even in play behavior. after watching my lowchen girl take over the household, cow the male into letting her always drink first, etc., i'm a believer. doesn't matter if they're bred to be lap dogs. aggressive behavior is often protective behavior and therefore survival behavior. it can appear in the mildest-appearing dogs. no reason poodles would be exempt. but also no doubt people are often surprised, because until it happens, there has been no trigger to evoke the aggression. i do think that's a key reason for serious obedience training. it's important for the owner and the dog, as we are often clueless on our dogs' trigger points.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I agree with you about girls patk. In wild canids the reproductive females have to be assertive/aggressive about controlling the resources they need to maintain their health through pregnancy and whelping. Then they need to be assured that they can keep the pups safe until they are big enough to fend for themselves. Successful males owe a lot of their success to being deferential to those ladies.


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## Barb A (Apr 19, 2014)

*Growling, snapping and biting. Help!*

I have a five year old mini poodle. I admit I have spoiled her and she is very attached to me. I adopted her at nine months and saw that she was aggressive with other dogs. I generally distract her on walks and keep her on a tight leash when other dogs walk by.

I am travelling for a month and my sister has offered to take my dog. She has done this many times before and it's been great. However, she recently adopted an adult large shepherd lab mix, a very sweet gentle dog. When our dogs have been together my poodle growls, bares her teeth and bites every time the other dog comes near me. The big dog usually ignores her but there have been occasions when they locked eyes and my much smaller poodle was attacked. I try to separate them as much as possible and anticipate problems. When they are alone together in the house without the humans they ignore each other.

Do you have any advice. I'm quite nervous.

Thank you.

Barb


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Your dog is exhibiting resource guarding with you as the resource. For the moment the expedient thing would be to see if the same behavior happens in your absence. I am assuming that your travel is soon and there isn't much time to deal with the actual roots of the behavior.

I don't intend to scare you about dealing with resource guarding, but this link is to a thread with extensive discussion of this topic and how to deal with the behavior. http://www.poodleforum.com/23-general-training-obedience/8744-fozzie-resource-guarder.html

Note that a guarded resource can be anything: a person, another animal, access to a piece of furniture, a toy, treats etc.


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