Poodles with strangers

Question
I take my standard poodle to work. We have a very small office with an entry way with a sofa. The dog watches the street and/or naps on the sofa most of the day. When the post man comes in (or anyone else), she jumps on and off the sofa, barks, jumps up and "playbites" them. this is the only time she does this (she doesn't do it at home). I keep a leash nearby and put her on a "sit" after taking her into the main office, when I see someone approaching the front door. How do I get her to stop? she's 16 months old, very healthy (spayed), and gets lots of exercise.

Answer
Hello Anne,
Socialization is very important for making a happy and friendly dog.  It sounds like your girl is friendly enough, just over exzuberant.  The best thing you can do with her is to have people ignore her until she will calm down and then they can give her their attention.  She is jumping up and nipping them because she is inviting them to play.  When they give her any attention (even if its telling her "No" or to "Go Away") she gets rewarded because its the attention that she wants.

Start working with her at home first.  Your part in this is to dominate her, so that you can get control over her when you need to.  To dominate your dog, do it first at home away from too much distraction.  You need to hold her down on her side with her head on the floor and make her submit to you.  You can stare at her and make her look away, then when YOU are ready to let her up, you can walk away and let her get up on her own.  This tells her that YOU are the boss of her because YOU are telling her to submit and YOU are the one letting her up.  This is helpful if you want her to do something and she won't do it, or if she is just getting too hyper and you need to help her settle some.  You can dominate her when she jumps up on people and is acting unrulely, but try ignoring her first (you'll understand once you read below).  

Have friends come over or family members work with you.  Instruct the other person to ring your front bell or to knock on the door.  Put some treats in your pocket and the leash on your dog before the person knocks.  When the person knocks on the door, go and open the door and let the person in.  If your dog jumps on the person, instruct them to gently push her away without looking at her, turn away from her and totally ignore her.  Talk between yourselves until your dog will settle down.  When she settles down, your friend can come over to her, pet her and give her a small treat.  If she tries to jump up again, have her ignore her again.  When at work, instruct your clientelle to ignore her also, that she is a puppy and that you are working on training her.  Tell them that when she is quiet, would they like to give her a treat and pet her.  
 
You also need to start doing the "Dog Exam" with your girl.  To do this, start with her in your lap on her back with her head towards your stomach.  At first, just pet her and get her to relax in this position.  Rub her belly, talk softly to her, but don't let her get up until you let her get up.  After a few sessions where you just get her to relax, you can move on to the exam part.  Start off by looking at her head.  Check in her eyes, ears and mouth.  Hold his mouth and give a firm but gentle shake and tell her NO! in a firm voice if she tries to bite or pull away.  Praise and pet her if she will lay still for you and let you go over her head nicely.
Next move to her front legs.  Feel down the leg so that you get to know what the bones in the leg feel like, and then move down to the toes.  Play with them, spread them apart and run your fingers around the toes like a clippers would go.  Get up under the pad at the back of the foot and run your finger around the pad also.  Praise her if she is good letting you handle her feet.  Next you can go on to the toenails.  Give them a gentle pinch and click your fingernails on her toenails, as this will help alot when she goes to the groomer.  Lastly, you can do her barrel and her back legs.  
Do this in the evenings when you have TV time or whenever you have some quiet time that you can spend with her.  Not only does it help with getting her used to being handled, but it also shows her that you are dominate and that she needs to submit to you in a gentle way.

You might also think about getting her into an Obedience class.  It will show her that you are in control of her, but at the same time, it is something fun for the dog.  Poodles do great at Obedience, it gives them an out for all their energy, and most Poodles really enjoy it, plus it will make her a more behaved member of your family.

Give this a try and if you have other questions about this or other Poodle questions in general, please feel free to ask me.  

Thanks for using AllExperts.com,
Kim