Parti Poodle

Question
Hi, we have a now 1 year old Parti after getting him at three months. His personality is a bit off and just not sure if it will ever change? He shows absolutely no affection to any of the family members and is very physical in his actions. He will consistently nudge you with his nose, bark aggressively if he wants something, and the worst part is his constant biting and chewing on us. If you go to pet him he pulls away and then lunges for your hand to chew or bite. If my sons are trying to play with him in the backyard he constantly tries to bite and nip at them. It is not done to harm them, because he is very kind and nurturing in a sense... but we are all getting frustrated with the stand offish physical behavior. We have worked with trainers etc. Our vet said he is not a good fit for our family and to move on. Do you have any recommendations that may curb his behavior, or do you feel this is just his personality.

Thank you sooo much,
Tommy

Answer
Hello Tommy,
Without knowing his background, I can't say for sure whether its his previous environment or his genetics.  
However with that being said, you can't let the nipping (however harmless) go on.  You can first try distraction training, by telling him NO! in a firm voice, then giving him something appropriate to chew on when he nibbles your fingers, such as a favorite toy.  Praise him when he takes the toy over your fingers.  
If this doesn't work and he still goes for fingers, you need to move to dominance training.  To do this, when he bites you, take him and lay him on the ground and hold his head down.  Tell him NO in a loud, growling voice and make him stay there until he relaxes.  This is making him submit to you.  Don't say anything until he relaxes/submits, then you can let him up.  Everytime he attempts to bite or get "vicious" you need to do this.  Even if he tries to bite you hard when you put him on his back, you still need to hold him down and make him submit.  Oven mits or light gloves work well if his biting is strong.
Once you have him down, you can allow your kids to "hold" him down also, so he sees that he has to submit to them as well.  Dogs see kids more like they see siblings and therefore treat them as such.  Kids don't know how to dominate, so the dog thinks its has that right.  
When he wants something and barks to get your attention, he is "demanding" that you do it now.  If you do, he sees this as you submitting to him.  What you need to do instead, is give him a Shhhhhtt!(say it sharp) command and ignore him until he is quiet.  
When you want him to come to you, call him to you and if he comes, praise him.  If he doesn't, go get him to let him know that he needs to come when you call him.  You can either call him by his name, or call him with the word Cookies!  If you use the word Cookies!, have a small treat to give him if he comes.  If he doesn't come to the word cookies, he doesn't get anything, but you still will go and get him, so he learns that he has to come to you, but if he wants the cookie, he has to come on his own.  

You may want to start the "Puppy Exam" on him.  This helps build trust, confidence, exerts your dominance in a non-threatening way, and helps build the bond between you and him.  
Start with him in your lap on his back.  Rub his tummy until he will relax.  This may take several days to get him where he will relax, but don't let him up until he will.  Pet him, talk softly to him, yet don't let him bite or get up.  If he is quiet and submissive, you can pet him for a few minutes, then let him up.  After he will do this several times, you can move to the "exam" part.  
You will want to look in his ears, eyes and mouth.  You are looking for anything that doesn't look right.  Next, go over his chest area and move down the legs.  Get to know the feel of the bones.  Now move to the toes.  You will want to get to where he will let you go between his toes, and even tap on his toenails.  This will get him used to having his nails trimmed and worked on by the Groomer.  
Now move to his belly.  You are looking for any injuries, fleas, or anything else out of the ordanary.  Finally look at his tail, rear, and inside the back legs.  
You can do this while relaxing at home or even while watching tv.  I do this with my Poodles and they love it.  My large Red male will come and sit in my lap anytime I sit on the floor and fall back into my lap.  He loves the Puppy Exam position.  

Give these things a try and if you would like further help/suggestions, please feel free to ask me.  
Thanks for using AllExperts.com,
Kim