[Teresa Ford]

I suggest you take the older dog to the Vet. If this is a new behavior, I would get the poodle checked. I know dogs can smell things we can't. I have told several stories about dogs sniffing out cancer, broken bones, and blood sugar crashes. Maybe the older dog is in pain, sick or has something going on. True it could be submissive behavior. But I doubt it, because fawning submissive behavior is mostly done to the alfa dogs face. Putting a head or paw on a dogs back is almost always to show domination. Please up date us.