t cup poodle

Question
Hi i have a 11month old t cup poodle he is loveley, but 2 problems, he yaps if we leave him only for a couple of hours can we do something about this we give him the run of the house but he still yaps all the time. Also when i go to leave him he get a little nasty grabs my leg going for it my husband picks him up but he is still nasty for a split second Can you help

Patsy

Answer
Hello Pat,
What needs to happen with this dog is that you and your husband are going to have to make your dog stop snapping at you.  You need to hold your dog down in the submissive position (laying on his side with his head on the ground) and make him submit to you so that he will understand that you are the boss, then your husband, and he comes last.  To do this, when he growls at you, you need to hold the dog down in a submissive position until he relaxes (which means that he will continue to lay on the ground without being held down and will look away when he is stared at), then you can walk away from him without saying anything to him.  If he tries to snap or growl or bite you, you need to correct him then place him down in the submissive position again and keep him there until he relaxes.  Once he realizes that you aren't going to let him bite or snap at you, then he should start to realize that you really are his boss.  
Now even if he tries to snap or bite you when you hold him down, you have to keep him in the submissive position.  He has to realize that even though he growls, snaps or bites that he WILL NOT WIN and that eventually he has to submit.  After awhile you should only have to look at him and snap your fingers and he should lay down and submit to you.  
**I know this  sounds repeative and almost harsh for a dog, but dogs either have a boss or they are going to be boss, and you would much rather be boss of your dog than him to think that he is boss.  After he realizes that you are his boss, he will respect you better, and you and him will have a better relationship.

When he bites at your legs and is nasty, do the above and make him submit to you.  Praise him when he acts like he should.  

When leaving him for a long peroid of time (over an hour), you should confine him to a certain part of the house; such as a bathroom, laundry room or small bedroom.  Give him food and water (food if he would be eating during the time you are gone), toys to play with, treats or chewies, and maybe even sleep in an old tee shirt for awhile to get your scent on it and give it to him so that he has something with your smell on it.  You might even leave a radio or TV on so that he has some sound to focus on.  This way, he is confined so that he won't get into anything harmful or if he has an accident it is only in one area.  
You can build up the time that you leave him for.  Prepare his area like you were leaving for an hour, then put him there and walk out the door.  Wait for about 5 minutes, then come back in AS LONG AS HE ISN'T BARKING!!!.  If he is barking, wait until he is quiet and then go inside.  Next, make him wait in the crate for about 5 more minutes (while you put your bags down, put groceries away, etc) then go and get him after the excitement of you coming home has worn off.  Go to him and get him out of his area as long as he isn't barking.  If you walk over to him and he starts barking or whining, turn around and walk away from him and get out of his sight until he is quiet again.  Once he is totally quiet, you can go and get him and praise him.  Do this frequently and build up the time that you leave him until you can leave for an hour and he is fairly quiet.  The key to this is not giving in and going to him unless he is quiet.  

Give this a try and if you have problems or questions for me, please feel free to ask.

Thanks for using AllExperts.com,
Kim