nervous poodle

Question
I have a five year old male toy poodle that for about 3-4 of those years, has developed a unnerving habit of constantly licking his tongue in and out. He does this all day, everyday. There are very few times when he is not doing this. He also whines sometimes while he is licking.
We have about seven months ago introduced an unspayed female pomeranian into our family. The dog is 9 months old and has grown to be bigger than the toy poodle, and she has pretty much claimed "Top dog" position. The poodle lets her worry him at any given point. I don't know if the pomeranian's behavior towards the poodle is controllable or if the poodle will simply get nuttier and nuttier if she continues. What shoudl I do? And why would my poodle be doing this nervous licking behavior anyway?

Answer
Mayi,

It is not uncommon for behavior changes to occur in male dogs when a female dog is introduced into the household. Un-spayed females do produce pheromones that the male is all too aware of. His behavior indicates his desire for the female and if one or both of your dogs are not "fixed" you may find yourself with an expectant Pomeranian!
If you were to spay your female the chances are very good that this annoying behavior will either lessen or cease all-together.

I hope this helps!
Good Luck and Take Care!

Doe
www.doepiddle.isonfire.com