Hearding dogs breeds typically do that but I don't think that is your situation. Better that she bites after the visit than at the beginning. Just kidding.

Thanks guys! After she nipped the plumber the first time he left to get equipment from his truck, I did put her on the leash, however, I guess I wasn't paying attention ...she nipped him again when he walked out of the bathroom! I then put them both in my bedroom and closed the door! It's just a little puzzling that she only does it to men? HMMM??

Aren't you training the dog not to do that? There must be a way to show the dog there are consequences to doing that. YOU are the pack leader and trainer.

I then put them both in my bedroom and closed the door!

i hope you let the plumber go before you had to fix him dinner!

susanzone5...of course I'm trying to teach her not to do the nipping...but how do you train when there is no man here that she wants to nip or any man that would be a guinea pig for repetitive training for her??? Seems like a dumb statement/reply to my problem. Sorry.

Punish her when she does it. Be ready with whatever tactic you use. Putting her in a room doesn't solve the problem. Consult a dog trainer if you don't know how to proceed. Not dumb at all. Some people's dogs are just not well trained around visitors. Find a way.

I have tried punishing her...I'll just put her and her brother in bedroom when a "man" is going to leave. Dog trainer...don't have $$ for that!

I have a book for you: People Training for Good Dogs by Melissa Berryman. She is a former animal control officer and outlines the mistakes people make. The biggest take-home point is to protect others from your dogs, for every reason there is!...including that you will lose your dogs.

I understand that you are a senior citizen with health issues, and can't afford a dog trainer. So, I would focus on the BIG problem, instead of the little problem of dog training, which you may or may not be able to accomplish on your own.

If your little dog bites somebody, and it won't even matter if it is a little bite, or a big bite, and it won't even matter if it does a large amount of damage (infection leading to hospitalization) or small damage (pants ripped), such a bite will be reported to animal control and your insurance company will be notified. You can LOSE YOUR DOGS. If you don't have money for a dog trainer, I will assume you don't have money for a lawyer to protect them. Lock your dogs up when you have visitors, unless they are close friends who you are certain will not be bitten.

There is NOTHING to be gained by allowing your dogs access to the plumber. What you have is a dog who has provided warning signals, and has actually bitten someone. It is solely up to you to prevent that from EVER happening again. That is the biggest issue.

I agree! They will be locked away when an "unfamiliar" male visits my home. Thank you so much for your info.

saltidawg..."OP"??? Are you referring to me??? Read my responses...I have not belittled anyone...except maybe you!! If you check, my original question: was wondering if anyone knew why my female pooch only nipped at men's legs??? Was just asking if anyone knew??? I thanked everyone...EXCEPT YOU!!! What an incredibly boorish bully you are!!! Stay off decent forums like this one.

She's afraid of them and chasing them off. You never know what is going on, dogs can have superstitious behaviors resulting from almost anything but men have deeper voices and can sound intimidating. My previous fearful dog, Max, barked at all my male relatives until he went deaf - after that he was best friends with them!

If you are up for training she would probably love it. I have a 3rd generation sort of cockerpoo [5/8 poodle, 1/8 cocker, 1/4 mutt] that's extremely fearful and does the same thing if he's not restrained. I learned about Karen Overall's Relaxation Protocol which is putting dog on a mat of some sort and treating dog at intervals doing all sorts of odd things. It's down stay training with distractions and it works. I was unable to train Max to stay quiet when the door bell rang - Bucky easily holds his place and is quiet. Several times I've had workers in and after the initial crazy barking I'll bring him out on leash to work on his mat. I do a lark's head loop on my wrist with the leash loop so I have both hands free but dog is secure. I do mini sessions of this on walks and he's progressing nicely. Today he sat and waited while a number of pedestrians passed by and was calmer than I was when the high schools cross country team passed on a narrow sidewalk.

Bucky was adopted as a fear biter and I take this very seriously. I bought a Baskerville muzzle and have trained him to accept it. He wears it to the vet's office and any time I think he might be so scared he'll bite me - cutting out painful mats forming around weed seeds and removing a large thorn from his paw so far. When I have company he's crated behind a closed door so even if he escapes the crate unleashed the closed door keeps company from his bluster and teeth. He may be an ankle biter but that is still a bite!

"just small scratches" is unacceptable and could leave you liable for the medical care of the person bitten, or worse since you are aware of the problem. Someone might feel they wish to go to urgent care to have the "nip" tended, and they would have a right to do that at your expense. Leash the dog so it cannot reach visitors (especially if it barks), or best to lock them BOTH up. How can anyone work or visit you when at risk of being bitten? Dogs should be kept out of the way of workers anyway.

Using the word "nipping" is just making it seem like less than it is. You cannot allow your animals to put their mouths on visitors...ok? Don't let them be like spoiled little children doing anything they want. Don't allow this trouble to occur even one more time. Sorry about your back, but if you can leash them up to walk, you can take charge of the dogs at home when people visit.

plus, emergency rooms/doctors are mandated to report dog bites to authorities. this could lead to all kinds of headaches not the least of which is losing your dogs. and as sue-happy as people are these days, a dog bite (no matter if it's just a "nip") can get you sued. i worked for many years for a personal injury attorney and i can't even begin to count the number of "nips" that turned into substantial settlements.

An acquaintance told me her dog slipped between her legs and 'nipped' a delivery man. He told her he was suing on the spot. Seems to me he had the job so he would be exposed to dogs that might bite. He sued, won and they lost the house but kept the dog.

just because a person has a job that exposes him/her to dogs doesn't mean the dogs are entitled to bite them.

SALTIDAWG: WOW!!! My " original" question was..does anyone know why my female pup has started nipping at MEN's legs when they leave the house!!! You ALL have gone off on other tangent and putting words to my non-existent posts!!!

Saltidawg: for your information, my two "small" pups yanked my arm while on their leashes and tore my rotator cuff in my shoulder!!

You ALL have read untrue words into my responses!!! I have not belittled ANYONE, nor have I been rude...that title is reserved for you Saltidawg!!!

Ninapearl...I also do not believe I said my dogs have a "right" to bite visitors!!! Geeze people...READ my original post!!!

It seems you all want to start a fight!!! ALL I wanted to know was WHY my female pup seems inclined to nip MEN's legs as they leave???????????????? NOTHING ELSE!!!

SALTIDAWG: WOW!!! My " original" question was..does anyone know why my female pup has started nipping at MEN's legs when they leave the house!!! You ALL have gone off on other tangent and putting words to my non-existent posts!!!

Saltidawg: for your information, my two "small" pups yanked my arm while on their leashes and tore my rotator cuff in my shoulder!!

You ALL have read untrue words into my responses!!! I have not belittled ANYONE, nor have I been rude...that title is reserved for you Saltidawg!!!

Ninapearl...I also do not believe I said my dogs have a "right" to bite visitors!!! Geeze people...READ my original post!!!

It seems you all want to start a fight!!! ALL I wanted to know was WHY my female pup seems inclined to nip MEN's legs as they leave???????????????? NOTHING ELSE!!!

Socks, I used the word "nipping" because that is what it is...NO CHUNKS OF FLESH!!!

It doesn't matter whether there's ripping or not. She probably bruised him even if there were just a couple scratches and no blood. It hurts. If it were a child he/she could have permanent emotional trauma. When my 44 pound blind 17 year old dog mistook my hand for her bone it felt like getting squeezed with pliers. A bruise and deep dent no blood.

She's pretty bad now if she's making contact. Usually they start by trying to hide from the scary person and if he/she doesn't go away they will bark then charge. So you probably have seen the start of this but didn't know it was anything important. Never have a scary person approach the dog, let dog decide on his or her own if she/he is comfortable coming up to a person. If you keep your dog safe then eventually they get calmer around scary stuff. I've known this because I read everything dog I can get my hands/eyes on so have always taken even barking seriously and move my dogs away from people and situations they must bark at.

Ginger, my more or less normal dog, is afraid of large dogs. She barks in their faces then bites at their hind legs. If they look at her she will run away screaming that the dog is trying to kill her. People think she has been attacked. Nope. She's having a panic attack. It's happened twice in 4 years and won't happen again.

Try making a lark's head loop with the leash and put it around your wrist rather than holding the loop. Bucky gets frantic and seems to be deliberately trying to yank the leash out of my hand and he cannot if it's attached with that slip knot. Then use the other hand to regulate how much slack she gets. Only do this if she is unable to pull you over though! Bucky is only 13 pounds and cockapoos can be double that size. But better is to shut her away from the action altogether as I wrote earlier.

Just had a plumber here and she nipped him twice

I guess I wasn't paying attention ...she nipped him again when he walked out of the bathroom!

your words ^. after the FIRST "nip", the dog should have been put away for the duration of his visit.

just because a person has a job that exposes him/her to dogs doesn't mean the dogs are entitled to bite them.

my words ^ and i stand by them. i wasn't implying that you felt this way. i was simply stating my feelings and the feelings of most every dog owner i know. it is the owner's responsibility to make sure their dog is 100% under control, no matter who is coming into their home. i have 3 great danes. you can bet the farm that when i know someone is coming to my house, even though i know my dogs are friendly to everyone, they are under my thumb and closely supervised at all times.

I think the replies above are saying that putting the dog in a bedroom after an incident is not adequate punishment. The dog is not learning anything from that.

Also, nipping is not acceptable. Doesn't matter if there's no blood or "chunks of flesh." Nipping is biting. And you're responsible.

I just think there's a lot of misunderstanding here. I'm sure that everyone here, including peas, is pretty much on the same page, that her dog cannot be allowed to bite anyone again. She was caught by surprise by the situation, as her dog has not done that before. I don't think she was proposing, or that anyone else is proposing, that her dog be permitted near another person, unless she is totally in control of the situation, and is aware of the possible ramifications of a dog bite, and learns to recognize the warning signs of the dog. She wonders WHY her dog is doing it, so she can be a better predictor of recognizing the warning signs.

I know everyone is here to help. I don't know how capable peas is to train or control her dogs. I know that my own mother, 70+, can barely control her small dog on a leash, but the dog gives her tons of companionship and devoted love, and she is careful and takes precautions.

My point, which I apparently still think is important for some reason haha, is that the recommendations for training the dog are awesome, and might be very helpful, but ultimately, what is the likelihood of an amateur dog trainer (who can't afford to do professional classes/training) being able to successfully redirect a dog from one that bites, into one that is trustworthy around strangers? I'd say that though it may be possible, it is far more important to protect the strangers from the dog, and to protect the dog from the eventuality of forced euthanasia or forced re-homing, by her insurance company or by animal control and the courts.

Group hug!

very well said, mrs. S! another problem here is that we can't know how the OP's dog was raised, if it came from another home/rescue where it may have developed a fear of men, or if something else it its past may have contributed.

i totally agree that professional training or owner training, in this case, isn't probably feasible so keeping the dogs behind a closed door when the time warrants is the best solution. believe me, i'm 66 years old and not in the best physical shape with lots of arthritis on top of that. if my dogs weren't gentle beasts, i could not even have them!

If unable to control the "cockapoo" on a leash, put the dog in its crate when "men" are coming to the house.

The notion of likely exciting two dogs by whisking them off to some remote room, and worse yet, to consider this "punishment," is not a solution.

Teach the aggressive dog that when the doorbell rings or when otherwise told, its place is in the security of its crate. Problem addressed.

Exactly SaltiDawg. My dogs aren't allowed to 'greet' people at the door. They run into the hall and that door is shut before the front door opened. People seem to understand it takes me a few extra seconds to secure the scene.

Don't punish. Train. If you cannot train then manage the situation. Dogs don't learn if you punish them when they are in that fearful state. You can create a horrible situation where the dog is apparently well behaved but is actually shut down and at some point in time will explode and really cause damage. See the video 'Stop the 77'.