Aggression toward SOME other dogs!

[Deb, Connor & Simon]

Simon, my 10 month old standard ALD is the sweetest dog you would ever want. He is smart, affectionate, is in intermediate obedience and ADORES Connor my 2 yo goldendoodle. When we go out, however, if a new dog greets in a overly friendly, in-your-face but TOTALLY non-aggressive way, Simon wil growl, then snarl and lunge at the dog. Generally, I can feel the growl come up the lead before anyone hears it. I will move him aside, put him in a side down/stay and tell him CALM. He is not like this with every dog, but I get concerned when we go out because I'm not sure when he will go "Cranky!"
I have been working with a trainer on this for months. It is like he gets excited and even puppies/dogs he knows and likes, if they seem overly friendly towards him, he reacts this same way. A month ago, a young effervescent mini ALD he knows, bouncily approached him. I let him sniff, then pulled him back and put him in a sit/stay. He did fine. She kept wagging and smiling, Simon was looking up at me, wagging & looking happy. I released him from the sit, he gave the other pup some play signals, and when she responded, he seemed to panic, growled and reached up and grabbed a chunk of hair out of her head pouf!! I said no leave it!, quietly grounded him, said calm, and had him lie still for about 2-3 minutes. When I released him, he was fine but needless to say, the other dog and her owner had left. :-/
The latest thing I am trying is canned air (like you clean a computer keyboard with). If I feel (or hear) the growl, I pouf him on the back of the head with a quick blast of air. I've only done this once and he was so surprised, he just looked at me bewildered.
Simon is the sweetest, gentlest pup anyone would could want with people of all ages. He's great with kids, the elderly and everyone in between. His breeder says she had never seen that behavior before - he lived with 2 adults dogs and his littermates. Simon has been like this since the day we got him @ 4 months.
Anyone ever have a problem like this?????

[Adina P]

Another reason I don't allow play on-leash is so my dogs understand that a different behavior is required on leash. If my dog is allowed to do what he wants when a leash is attached then why not when we are walking? What will keep him from forgetting and pulling when HE wants another on leash moment. I want calm and collected behavior on-leash always.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Taquito is just like those yippy yorkies. He is sooo mean to other dogs while on a leash...runs up and yaps in their face. I do my best to keep him away from anyone.
The weird thing is that he does this ONLY when I am walking Peri at the same time. I walked only him last week and he didn't yip at ONE dog. What's up with that?
I agree with others that on vs. off leash play is totally different. Taquito is fine at dogparks and never tries to protect his sister...only when ON LEASH.

[Nugget's Family]

We have experienced this, too, and our trainer has told us all of the wonderful things that have already outlined here, so I won't go in to too much detail. But, I will share that we stand on her leash while she's in a sit in situations like this, and it works very well. (With the promise of a high-value treat at the end of the event.) I will say in regards to retractable leashes, that our trainer thinks they should be pulled from the shelves and outlawed. He thinks they are useless. The dog and the owner do not benefit at all from them. He's convinced me. I've never used one with Nugget, but I have used them in the past with other dogs and I never felt I had any control.

I hope all of these helpful comments have convinced you that your dog is not bad....just being doggy! :-)

Enjoy the day!

Susan

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

My behaviorist said the same thing about retractable leashes, and also says they are dangerous; dogs and people can be severely injured from them.

[Deb, Connor & Simon]

I work in a dog bakery/boutique so I see and handle dogs all day! I cannot say enough negative things about retractable leashes. They should all be collected and burned!!
It was my breeder who said she had not seen this type of behavior in Simon prior to his coming to live with us. My trainer has a dog that has a similar problem to Simon's.
You have given me a lot of information - which I greatly appreciate. Simon is a wonderful little guy. Like I said he is an angel to humans of all ages. :-)
Connor has never had a problem with other dogs, people or anything else. He will lay down for small children and small dogs. If a dog is yappy or yucky, he will just ignore them - like there is no dog there. I had to teach him that as a puppy when I took him to work with me. Connor is a certified therapy dog and sooo easy going. I guess that is why Simon's growlies seems so foreign.
I hope to work with Simon as a therapy dog, too. I guess I need to work with him more on "Ignore" when we are out in public and we are approached by another dog.
Thank you very very much for all of your responses. :-)

[Jane & Molly]

This sounds sooo like my Molly, my 3 year old doodle. She is great with people but anxious when confronted with some (not all) new dogs, particularly large dogs. sometimes she will growl and lunge especially if the other dog is in her face. I used to take her to a local dog park and she was fine with dogs she knew, but as soon as a new dog arrived her tail would tuck right under and she would cower behind me until she decided whether the dog was "safe". I have mostly stopped going to the dog park as it seems too stressful for Molly and I do not Know how to react and am afraid of making it worse.
A while ago we tried out to become a therapy dog. On the supervised visit she was wonderful with all the people and everyone loved her, but she growled at the supervisors dog, a real no no. Such a shame as she would have been great.
When she was about 6 months old she was scared by a large rather aggressive, a poorly controlled dog whilst out for a walk, and I often wonder if this is the reason for her behaviour.
Any comments or suggestion would be very welcome.

[Jane & Molly]

Thanks for some great ideas.
I had just read an article that said to use a REALLY good treat every time you pass a dog, and to only give that particular treat then, so she would start to associate good things with meeting other dogs. worth a try I think.

[Deb, Connor & Simon]

Good input. :-)
I have been working on "leave it" when we are out and other dogs are approaching. He's been doing good with that. When we started into intermediate obedience, though, in the training ring with other dogs, he has growled at the ones who approach head-on/bouncy/pushy. I have told him leave it, then put him in a down/stay on his side. Last time he did that, I bought some canned air (like for computer keyboards) and just air-spritzed him on the back of the head. Stopped him in mid-grrr!!
At class this past weekend (7 weeks later), he did sooooo well I couldn't believe it was my cranky little angel. He was greeting well, as long as I didn't allow him to linger. Just hi, nice to see ya, bye. He even greeted 2 dogs at once with no growls. I hope this was not a fluke and we are turning a corner.

[Jane & Molly]

I'm very interested to hear how the compressed air goes, I've never heard of that before.
I'm just a little worried it might just freak Molly out when she is already in a fearful state.

[Deb, Connor & Simon]

Even if you just hold the can behind your back, the psssst! sounds re-directs their attention. At least Simon would stop and look to see where the sound was coming from instead of the dog in front of him. When we're doing training I give him a treat he REALLY likes - Zuke's Venison Filets. First time I had them in class, all the other dogs were sniffing me...wanting a taste. :-) Fortunately they break easily so we could share.