my poodle is biting and snapping?

Question

I have a 4 month old minature poodle. She has been perfect however the other day my daughter grabbed a bagel in the dogs mouth (never had any food aggression ebfore) and the dogs snaps at her really hard and growled!! she never did that before.. The other day she was playing with a pretzel he found on the floor, and i grabbed it and she actually charged at me to bite..but then rolled on her stomach to have me pet her.IS SHE BIPOLAR?!. She was coming at me, teeth showing, barking and trying to bite at me. No other aggression besides these two times (last 2 days). What do i do..

Answer 1

1) I have also done some research on this subject and the biggest problem that most new puppy owners have is the "NO" command. This command does more damage then good. Here’s why.....

Puppies respond better to positive reinforcement. This means that they will want to be better if instead of saying "NO" say "good boy" or "good dog" this will make the puppy think that he would want to be a good. You can give them a pat on the head or you could give them a treat.

But what puppy owners don't understand is that if you just yell/snap (not saying that u are) then you are contributing to the problem. it's ok to teach them the "NO" command but it's better to do that in time when your puppy trust you and you feel more comfortable with your puppy.

2) Ok now another thing you can do is not to encourage this behavior. This means no aggressive playing with your bear hands. Like finger tug-a-war. (I know it's tempting but don't do it) this will only tell your puppy that it's alright to bite and that's play. In the long run this behavior can be very dangerous as an adult dog. It could seriously hurt a small child or another dog.

3) When your puppy bites make a loud and high pitch screech or a yell (this will shock and confuse your puppy and would more then likely stun your puppy enough to have them let go and then quickly substitute your hand with an appropriate toy).
Remembering not to do it too loud so that it hurts your puppy’s ears. A chew toy or a cold frozen baby teeter would work nicely (your puppy should be teething or about to teeth this will help your puppy with his gums). Then say "good boy"


I hope this helps you.

Answer 2

****** Do not ever smack, strike, or hit your dog for any reason. Do not EVER attempt to have your child discipline the dog! This is terrible, dangerous advice! ******
Your dog is not bipolar. Your dog cannot tolerate your child grabbing things from her mouth and this MUST stop immediately. Please go and thank your dog for warning your child instead of biting her.
Your dog is showing the beginning signs of resource guarding. This can (and should) be stopped, but first you must not ever, EVER let your child grab things away from your dog. I hope that you understand how very serious this is.
Be sure that you don't have pretzels or anything else that she can have on the floor. Your dog has decided that when she has something of value (a treat, a bagel, a pretzel, a sock, a tissue) that it's dangerous for her to have these things, as people will lunge and grab at her. Do not do this. If you see her with something that you must get from her, get some treats for her, cheerfuly say "Drop!" and as you say that, toss the treats around her. She will quickly learn that humans approaching her is a good thing.
I hope I have been clear about this. For more help:
http://www.clickersolutions.com/articles/2002b/objectguarding.htm

Answer 3

Start claiming her food by standing over it. I have always petted my dogs while they ate, put my hand in their bowl, took the food away and then returned it. That way they are socialized eaters. Start now and keep it up, she will get the picture. All family members must be pack leaders and the dog is pack follower, that way the pup listens and behaves for every one. Sounds like she considers your daughter a pack mate and when she rolled on her back for you she considers you the pack leader. rolling on their back is a submissive pose. She probably realized that charging the pack leader was a big mistake and the rolling over was her way of telling you she screwed up and was sorry. She needs to be that way with everyone in the family. 4 months is a great time to get the pack thing straightened out. If she persists with the growling at your daughter, have her, under your supervision, turn the pup on its back and simulate with her hand biting the pups neck. Let the dog up and present the daughters chin to the dog. When the pup licks your daughters chin she will be dominate over the dog. Repeat this exercise and begin training the dog.

Answer 4

This is known as Pecking order. I guess the name comes from Chickens Pecking down the weak and establishing a chain of command. The problem with people today, is they will not establish a firm control early in a dogs age and as a result the dog is the boss. Did you slap the dog and say no? Or, Did you just give it the Bagel and Pretzel? Watch how a mother dog teach her puppies ......... she will slap (snap) and say no!
The dog is not Bipolar, good grief. But, if you not stop this now, it be real hard down the road and she my bite someone to prove this.
The first two words a person need to teach a dog are; "Yes and NO". Once these words are established for what they mean the dog will learn quickly. To teach "No" requires a firm or more harsh voice and a "possible" slap on the butt (You not have to beat them, we call it a "spat on the butt"). To teach yes you use gentle voice and praise.
You can use any words but it need to be TWO!!!! One for No (Nie) and one for Yes (Tak)!

Answer 5

The food aggression is a serious problem, and needs to be addressed while she is still a puppy, or it could become worse as she grows older. She should be first taken to your veterinarian ASAP for a complete evaluation to rule out any medical causes for the sudden change in her behavior. Has she been to puppy kindergarten or other basic obedience classes? If not, and she is OK physically, see if your veterinarian can recommend a good dog trainer or behaviorist. Good luck!

Answer 6

get a squirt bottle and squirt it about 3 times in the face when ever its tries to bite people and when it startes to growl...also give it food and try taking the food away and if it growls spray it and say No...keep doing that until it doesnt growl anymore..if that doesnt work get a shock collar from tractor supply

Answer 7

you posted this question 3 minutes ago.

Except your dog was eating a brownie instead of a pretzel...

Answer 8

perfect poodle behavior.