Is this Fear Aggression or not?

Hi all. Wonder if anyone can help. When I take Jack out and we meet other dogs, he will often crouch and freeze, stump wiggling and hackles up. If the dog comes right over, stands up, still wiggling stump and hackles still up. This is the point he will either start barking and lunge out at the dog or put his paws up to play, which the other owners think he is starting a fight. If the dog just walks past, he will bark ferociously.
This happened on Sunday when my friend took her dog up. He barked at her all the way to our walk place. Half an hour into the walk, he had calmed down and when we both got back to my house, he was lying on floor in front of her, belly and throat facing her. He was licking her face and being very gentle.
Do you think he barks at other dogs because it makes their owners take them away? Many of them think he is aggressive but this isn`t the case.

How old is Jake and is he intact?

Jack is 18 months old and is castrated.

Don't think I would say your dog was aggressive at all, but I would think he is unsure of himself and how to deal with other dogs. As to how you deal with this is difficult to say but I would think attending training classes and dog clubs will help get him used to paying attention to you in a situation where there is another dog present and also help him learn to interact with the other dogs. His castrated state may be puzzling the dogs he meets and confusing the signals he is putting out as he is probably behaving like a puppy one moment and an adult the next, to the other dog he will not smell the way he should and his behaviour will confuse them.

Having said the above my dogs are very wary of boxers, I think it is because of the way they breathe and the way they are inclined to stare, so it could be that the dogs that you meet are putting out less than friendly signals and your dog is responding to this in a half puppy and half ‘stand my own ground’ manner. So get to some dog training classes so your dog becomes used to the dogs and they used to him, when things have relaxed you will have a better idea of how he will react and learn by his body posture if he is feeling threatened or playful.

It is not easy to comment without seeing the body language but as Thordell says this does not sound to me like aggression but a dog who is not good at reading other dogs body language and is uncertain how to behave and insecure...he is saying
''should I be fierce and have hackles raised, should I lay down and be submissive, should I wag my rump and signal I want to play...i'm not sure so I will do them all''.

I also think training classes and meeting other dogs in a controled situation may help...also have you read this article by Shadowboxer

Thanks for the advice. I have tried to persuade the other walkers to let Jack get to know their dogs but they say he is too rough/aggressive/vicious. I think the dog training classes will be the best idea. He wasn`t trained when we got him at 8/9 months but has been quite easy to teach the basics, sit, down, wait. I even have him playing hide and seek. He is such a loving wee boy, it upsets me that he is not allowed to interact with the other dogs. I`ll phone around tomorrow and let you know how things go.
Thanks again

Think that a class may be best, you need to be able to call your dog back to you away from other dogs, and then he should be more controlled. It is one of the side effects of castration, particularly early castration, that the dog may remain in the juvenile or puppy stage and does not mature into the normal rather more stayed adult. This may be the problem with your boy, he may just be too pushy for his age and that is upsetting other dogs and their owners so to attend a training class and acquiring a good control may help sort the situation.

I forgot to say, I only let him off his lead where there aren`t any dogs having been in a couple of situations where the other dogs owners have fallen out with me over Jack`s way of playing. When no other dogs are around his recall is 100%. He comes right over, turns and sits by my leg. But this isn`t the case where other are around. I will give the training classes a try.
He was castrated in July last year when he was almost 12 months.

Defiantly think socialising with other dogs under controlled conditions would be a good idea. But bear in mind that Boxers are/can be hyper and it could be that owners are expecting a problem and their reaction is more to do with the breed rather than your dog in particular.

I often get that from people, "my dog doesn`t like boxers". I posted another thread when Jack was attacked by a wee Jack Russel. His eyelid, lips and throat were punctured. The woman picked the dog up by the back legs and it was still trying to get at Jack. Jack was on his lead and the dog came out of nowhere, the woman appeared a few minutes later and said her dog didn`t like boxers. He was bleeding a bit, took him to the vet but he didn`t need stitches. Jack is fine with people, usually ignores them.
Thanks for listening and all the advice.