Whenever I try to take away a tissue, for example, he will snap suddenly and is ready to bite! Forget removing food! According to medical records he was anorexic and had eating problems throughout his lifetime with his old owners, but he does eat well here. My concern is for my two dogs that are 9 1/2 and 11 years old as well as for myself. He doesn't know how to interact with them and his snapping and growling concern me. What can I do?

I am wondering if I ever should have taken this dog. I have only had him about a week. Am I expecting too much too soon? I am considering obedience school/training for him if he doesn't alienate himself from everyone through his snapping, growling, biting. He WILL BITE! Any advice/help you can offer me will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

A: Some of the difficulty here may be from having three male dogs. Poodles are sweet guys, but still, that does put pressure on them. It may also be that, rather than his problem being due to getting away with biting, this little guy's problem is from the owners not understanding that they had the responsibility for keeping their toddler from poking, pulling, prodding, and stepping on the tiny dog. This will make a dog defensive, particularly toward children.

If a dog finds that the only way to stop humans -- of any age -- from giving the dog pain or fear is to bite, what choice does the dog have but to bite? A dog as small as this can't even get much reaction from humans by threatening, because people tend to think a tiny dog is cute when he growls. I'm glad you don't think it's cute -- that may be what saves this little dude.

I wonder if perhaps his other family either fed him once a day, or just left food down all the time. Food left out all the time can create problems with food guarding, particularly if other animals (even a cat) or young children get into the dog's food. It also encourages the dog to be a picky eater when he's the only dog in the home. On the other hand, a dog fed only once a day will sometimes get sick from excess digestive juices with no food to work on, and then when he does get offered food, he doesn't feel well enough to eat it.

I would suggest you meet with a behavior specialist (your vet can probably recommend someone locally) to see what you can figure out about the cause of the dog's aggression. As far as with your other dogs, that's a decision--sometimes you can't keep two males together, much less three. The behavior specialist can observe the interactions of the three dogs and help you decide that, too. And your groomer can probably give you some valuable input about the dog's temperament, based on how he reacts there.

Obedience training should help this dog, but it needs to be the right kind. If his problem is defensiveness, you want to put those fears to rest, and harsh training would do just the opposite. He needs to not get anywhere by showing aggression, but he also needs a lot of reward when he uses appropriate means to communicate his wishes. And he needs to learn that, whatever happened in his old home, he is now going to be treated with kindness.

I would not leave him alone with your other dogs for now. If you have been free feeding them, you'll need to change that in order to keep him. The dogs need to be separated from each other to eat. Unfortunately, his presence can even disrupt the good relationship your other two dogs formerly had with each other.

It is really soon to expect much change in his behavior, yes. But, this is the time to assess whether or not keeping him is fair to your other dogs, and is a commitment you want to make. He probably has a chance at another home, being a tiny dog and not too far advanced in years. I hope things work out for the best.