agressive behavior

Question
My 6 yr old neutered white mini has recently shown a very aggressive behavior toward my husband and myself.  We got him about 4 yrs ago from a rescue service. He has not been a problem until the last few months. He is healthy and in good shape.  He is allowed on the couch and our bed.  Recently he appears to be territorial at those places but not always. We can not figure out what triggers this aggressiveness and how to defuse it. He has bitten my husband several times. I am the disciplinarian so he usually only growls at me.  Since he isn't consistently aggressive we never know when he'll strike. How do we handle him?

Answer
Hello Susan,
I am going to start off by saying that this is going to be a tough situation to deal with and you will have to be diligent and firm with your dog in order to get through this.  If you feel that you can't or don't want to go through with this, please consult a Dog Behavorist in your area.

First off, you and your husband are both going to have to estabolish dominance with your dog.  To do this, when he snaps or growls at you, you need to lay him over on his side with his head on the floor and make him submit until you allow him to get up.  You can put a muzzle on him or wear thick protective gloves to keep yourselves from getting bit if you think that his bitting is an issue, but you can't let him bit you and win.  If he bites you and you back off, you are defeating the exercise and he will get the idea that biting makes him dominate.  He has to see that growling, biting, snapping or anything else that he thinks he can scare you with won't work, then he will start to submit to you because he will see that you are boss.    
--Don't give him access to your bed or couch until he is more submissive to you.  He needs to earn the right to be on YOUR furnature by waiting until he is asked up.--  

Teach him the "Off" command.  When he jumps up on you, the bed or the couch without being asked, tell him "Off" and make him get down.  If you need to put a leash on him for a time to pull him off of the furnature then do so.  He has to realize that its YOUR furnature and that you have the right to let him on it or not.  Praise him when he listens to you.

Do the Dog Exam with him.  
Start with you sitting on the floor and lay your dog in your lap on his back with his head near your stomach.  Rub his tummy until he will relax some.  Once he settles down some, go over his head and ears, and look in his eyes and mouth.  Next go over his legs, coat, skin and rear area.  Finally just pet and rub on him.  
This teaches him that you can touch him anywhere on his body and that you are dominate because your head is over his and even though he is in a very submissive position, you won't let anything hurt him.  
I would start it with him first, then let your husband do it after your dog is more comfortable with it.  

You also need to do things like stand by him when he is eating.  Put the bowl down but keep him away from it until YOU are ready for him to eat.  This shows him that its your food and that you are allowing him to eat it.  Stand there while he eats (don't touch him or look at him, just stand by) for a few minutes then you can walk away.  

When you walk him, don't let him walk out ahead of you, but make him either walk by your side or behind you for a few weeks.  I know it takes the fun out of walking him, but a leader always leads and the submissive dog follows.  
Once he gets this, then you can be more lax about walks.  

You might think about entering him into dog Obedience classes.  This again will teach him that when the master says something that he needs to do it.  It will also make following your orders easier at home.  Plus, Poodles tend to excel at Obedience.  It gives them something to be proud of, helps burn off negative energy, and is good for their intelligence.  

LIKE I SAID ABOVE, YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO COMMIT TO THIS AND SEE IT THROUGH UNTIL HE REALIZES THAT HE IS NO LONGER THE BOSS OF THE HOUSE.  EVEN IF IT MEANS GETTING BITTEN A FEW TIMES.  HE MAY TEST YOU EVEN AFTER YOU ESTABOLISH THAT YOU ARE DOMINATE AND YOU HAVE TO STAY STRONG.  THIS DOESN'T MEAN THAT YOU HAVE TO BE MEAN OR ROUGH WITH HIM, BUT YOU DO HAVE TO BE FIRM.  DO PRAISE HIM WHEN HE DOES WHAT YOU WANT HIM TO DO, BUT DO NOT LET HIM GET HIS WAY!!!!

If you have other questions or concerns about this, please ask me.  
Let me know how you are progressing and good luck to you.

Thanks for using AllExperts.com,
Kim