9 month old timid neutered male standard poodle

Question
JACK is a beautiful now 9 month old DARK RED smaller STANDARD poodle that we brought home from a kennel a month ago. He was neutered and updated on all his shots, microchipped, licensed and AKC registered upon arrival to our world. He is a sweetheart and beginning to play hard, sits, gives paw, and lays down. Crate trained and does very well with cues to be left out for potty. He is very smart, having never worn a collar or leash he has done very well from day one. He does great with the females in the house... and good with my 9 year old daughter that wanted a RED Poodle in the worst way. He is doing okay with the cats as well... well, they have put him in his place. But he is very slow about warming up to my husband and most men. He does come to Don more these days, but sudden movements send him my way. It is weird. Last night he actually growled at him when he came into the family room in his jacket. My heart broke. He does okay at the vets, the groomers (now twice) and in the car. Socialization is a major issue and I need some clues on how to work with him gently... I surely do not want to have him rule us. I call him my VELCRO dog when I am home! He just will not leave my side. He was a left over from a litter from an out of state breeder, and is a beautiful boy! Do you think it is only a matter of time. We have only had him a month.

Answer
Hey again Patty,

Sounds like you are doing all the right things with Jack to help him acclimate himself to Don.  Just give him time and let him come around on his own with Don, I think he will soon.

As for the Collar you mentioned, I think they work good as long as you do the training with them first.  You need to put the collar on him in the house first and get him used to it indoors before introducing him to it outside.  This way, if he freaks out or has a bad reaction to the collar, you can have better control of him.  Once he knows what to expect from the collar inside, then set up a visible boundary outside that you don't want Jack to cross (most Invisible fences come with flags that you can put up around the yard).  Put Jack on a leash the first time and walk him around the yard to show him where his boundaries are.  When he gets close to the boundary, give him a verbal warning, then let the collar give him the tone.  If he continues to get close to the barrier, he will get the mild shock.  Praise him when he moves away from the boundary.  Continue to show him that there is a boundary all around his yard until he understands that he needs to stay in his yard.  Continue to keep him on a leash if he needs it for awhile.  
The only downside to the Underground fence is that it doesn't keep outside animals out of the yard.  If an animal comes into Jack's yard and he decides to chase the animal out, he may run through the barrier and then not be able to cross back into his yard (without getting shocked).  For the most part though, they do work well.  

Hope this helps you some more,
Kim