1 1/2 year old doodle showing signs of fearfulness and agression w/sniffing

[jenn D]

I have 3 doodles, all neutered males: 1.5 years old, 1.25 years old and 6 months. All are pretty good dogs, they are mainly on the submissive side. I try to train them and take them on walks both together and separately.
My oldest doodle, brisby, has always been really well balanced with both people and dogs. Recently however he gets snippy when another dog wants to sniff him (not the other two I have but stranger dogs). He used to just let the dog sniff and then it would be over. Now he is growling and showing a fearful aggressive behavior.
My gut is telling me I have been slacking on his training since he was the "good one" and I started working more with the other boys. Now I have to retrain his response and more socialization but I'm not sure of the best way to treat this problem, I feel its in the beginning stages so I know we can turn this around.
Help!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Does this happen every time a strange dog tries to sniff him, or is it only at times when he is with his brothers, or alone with you, etc?

[jenn D]

If he is with pickles and Jake he is fine. It's only alone with me walking him or if I take him somewhere by himself. I've observed the other dogs behavior and it seems non threatening. And he will do it to any type of dog, adult or pup. If he walks by them, he strains at the leash like he wants to play. And he starts to whine. He doesn't do this if I have all the boys with me. He's also taken to really barking if someone walks by the house. And that's when he is with his brothers.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I put my dogs in a sit and have them watch the other dog(s) walk by if I think they might have a reaction.  I have no idea why this works for me but it does.

[Patti and Bosco]

Have you taken Brisby to the vet to make sure there isn't something medical going on?  Sometimes dogs start showing fear aggression when there is a medical problem.  I would start with a vet check up to make sure.

You mention that he is now barking when someone walks by the house.  Bosco (who is a fear aggressive little love) would bark while looking through the windows.  We bought removable window film that looks very nice but Bosco can't see out.  That solved the problem while we work with a behaviorist on his fear issues.

If you are not sure of what to do training-wise (my husband and I had no idea how to work with Bosco's issues) then I would recommend looking for a positive reinforcement trainer in your area to get you started.  It has made all the difference in the world for our household.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I'd love to know a little more about the context when this happens.  Is he on a leash....how about the "sniffing dogs".  Some dogs are not that comfortable greeting other dogs when they're leashed.  If it's off leash, are you in a dog park?