BehavioRx Case of the Month
for September 2000

"The Dingles have a Poodle,
and much to their disgrace;
He'll sniff you in your "privates,"
Then lick you in the face.

The clients complained that their 18 month old, neutered male Standard Poodle, "Jock" greeted nearly everyone but the husband, "Jack," by sniffing their crotches and then jumping up to lick their faces. Wife, "Joanne," was a regular victim and Jack had slapped, spanked and even threw Jock down the back door stairs. Amazingly, Jock took all the negative consequences, usually stopped for a short while, but then renewed his overly-personal "howdies" at the next opportunity. Jock was banished to the back yard when guests arrived.

Jock had been obtained from a breeder at 7 months of age. He had been raised in a large yard with his doggy parents and three other Poodles, which is where his intensely 'canine' behavior was ingrained. Jock behaved beautifully while on leash. His breeders were also obedience trainers.

Consultation revealed that Joanne was almost totally permissive with Jock, petting and stroking him for long periods of time, never asking that he do anything but "Stop that!" when he sniffed at her or jumped up. Jack was autocratic to the point that Jock actively avoided him whenever he could. Jack wanted to get rid of the dog... but Joanne refused.

When the couple understood the dog's basic "need" to function for his leaders, else he attempt to be leader himself, they gained some insight about Jock's intense, daily frustration. The "learn-earn-praise and petting" program was installed, along with off-leash Bio-Sonic Beanbag training techniques, using only social rewards (praise and calm petting). Jock learned to come to a code word (Koy), Sit, Stay, Heel and Down in a few days, thanks in part to his former understanding of the commands when on leash.

Otherwise, whenever Jock approached for attention during the day and evening, he was pleasantly told to Sit, praised and briefly petted, then released with a code word. Joanne saw the value of this, but also appreciated that her constant fondling had to stop, not only for Jock's sake, but for the good of her marriage and her husband's sanity. Jack also recognized that his heavy-handed treatment had sullied his relationship with Jock and that he had some adjustments to make in order to establish Jock's trust. 

After five weeks in the program, and the cooperation of visiting friends, Jock was sniff-and-lick-free and responding to his commands without any need for training devices.

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