Mini-schnoodle behavior

Question
I really have 2 questions.  First, our 6 month old schnoodle was neutered about 3 weeks ago.  This may be a coincidence, but since then he has been whining when we put him in his crate at night.  He wasn't doing this at all before.  He was whining a lot when we would leave during the day, but that has since stopped.  I don't know whether we should just let him cry, or what.  Second, he likes to nip and attach himself to my 4 year olds leg.  It hurts.  We tell him no strongly, but he continues to do it.  It's when he gets really riled up, or when the kids are running around, or when he wants to play, but it makes them not want to play with him.  Will he grow out of this, or what should we do?

Answer
You have several issues going on here. First, your dog has a bit of separation anxiety. You should pretty much ignore him when he whines, and make sure that you NEVER let him out when he is crying as that will reinforce the behavior. Keep all family comings and goings very low-key in regard to the dog. http://www.ygrr.org/doginfo/behavior-anxiety.html This behavior should improve if you handle it correctly.

Humping is a sign of dominance, and you have gotten a dog that is too dominant for your family, ie. the 4-year-old. The nipping is something that should have been squelched by the breeder, but I would guess that you brought the dog home before he learned to inhibit his bite from his mother and littermates... and then it was not corrected by your family.

No, I don't expect he will outgrow this as he has never really been taught that this behavior is NOT allowed. Basically, he does this stuff because he can, and in his mind, he is interacting with his littermates in a most normal doggy fashion.

Be careful when getting a mutt; sometimes one gets the worst of both breeds. Schnauzers, for instance, have a high chase-instinct, and if they haven't been raised around children, particularly if they are on the dominant side, they can be really obnoxious around small children. Most (smaller) poodles just are not really good with children as they can be nippy.

If you want to work with this dog, get him into on-going obedience classes for several months, and teach everyone in the family how to train him. Start practicing "Nothing in Life is Free" with him, and everyone in the family MUST participate in this. The dog must be taught to work for everything he wants in life. http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm  You might also ask your veterinarian for the name of a good animal behaviorist to help you with his behavior.