Aggressive behaviour towards on leash dogs if off leash himself

Zac is a big, 38kg 2 1/2yr old labx. He needs a good run every day & I take him to the off leash park. When he meets other dogs he is usually really good, no mtter what their size. The problem has recently started when he runs across to a dog that is on the leash. At first he is all nicey, nicey, doing the usual dog sniffing greeting, then suddenly it's as if he realises that dog can't 'escape' & so he goes into mega bully mode barking, snapping & jumping! He hasn't actually bitten but it sounds like it to anyone listening who doesn't know him (he has a deep, loud bark). & of course he's not listening to me which makes me feel like I'm a failure with him. Not only am I worried that he's going to do this to the wrong dog but his behaviour is going to escalate. I'm seriously considering getting in touch with a dog behaviourist for help (through my vet). Has anyone any advice?

Perhaps a silly question, but why are you still taking him to an off leash park if he is behaving in this way? you are unable to recall him and are knowingly allowing him to practice this behaviour again and again. You need to put a stop to this NOW before the habit becomes ingrained. You are setting him up for failure and potentially may end up having a dog that cannot ever be allowed off lead in public.

I would be FURIOUS if I had my dogs on leads and an off lead dog ran over and started barking, snapping and jumping up at them.

I think consulting a reputable behaviourist is a very good idea. In the meantime, do NOT take him to the dog park -- not only for the other owners and their dogs sake, but for his own. Pick on the wrong dog and it could end badly for you both and unfortunately your dog would be 100% to blame.

Sorry to hear you are having trouble with your dog.

For the time being it is really important that you keep your dog on a lead or long line. What if a dog (understandably) took issue with your dogs behavior and felt threatened enough to bite, or if your dog bit another dog?

I would suggest going right back to basics with recall training so he is coming back 100% of the time. At the moment he is being set up to fail, and is having a chance to practise the behavior repeatedly.

Honestly, I know its hard, I have a dog that has shown aggression towards people. It has taken a year of work to get to a good (not perfect) point with her.

I think getting a reputable behaviorist is a really good idea.

In the mean time:
Dog aggression workbook by James O'Heare
Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson
and maybe train your dog like a pro - also Donaldson
might help you to understand your dog, and learn ways in which to deal with the behavior.

I know you may think your dog will do no harm, and he may not, but scaring people and dogs is not ok..and he could be put in an awful situation.
Modifying behavior is hard work, but if you are patient and slow you will see results

Try practicing recall around the house. Walk him on a long line at a distance where he cannot react for a while. And get in touch with a behaviorist so they can do an assessment and offer a training plan.

Good luck
P.S welcome to dogsey and good on you for coming to get some advice. There are loads of great people on here with lots of experience and many users have had to deal with aggression with their own dogs so you're not alone.

yes I would be furious if it was my dog that he did this too, as we are on lead only as he is / can be dog aggressive - so he is the wrong dog for your dog to do this with.. You are also missing the fact that on lead dogs are usually on for a reason whether that be no recall, aggressive, ill health etc so for your dog to be doing this its totally unacceptable.

I think you need to keep him on long line practice recall and if required you will need to get someone in to help with his behaviour.

Good luck

I think the question I`d be asking is not - `why is my dog being aggressive to onlead dogs` but `why am I allowing my dog to be aggressive to onlead dogs.`
Walk him on a line or a lead and work on your recall. It is most unkind to allow him to approach dogs who are on lead - they can`t run away or defend themselves.
Here are a couple of good links re dog-dog aggression

http://functionalrewards.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gZruOi8BRw

I don't allow my dog off the lead in an open area, main reason is that her recall isn't that great and she is easily distracted, however... on more than one occasion we have had a variety of dogs approach ours and snapped, barked or lept at mine - their owners think its highly amusing and have event had the audacity to say it was mine - I'm no expert but would definitely recommend that you keep yours on a lead and go to a secure area for them to run off some steam

My girl is mouthy to dogs onlead
I learnt early on, offlead she charged up to an onlead dog, about 2 foot away and was screeming at the dog

Once you know these things about your dog, as the others have said, you have to stop giving them the opertunity to practise it

The more you let your dog do this the better they get at it (or worse from your point of view) and the more often they will do it
also there will be a reason why the other dog is onlead, and being trapped onlead while another dog agressivly charges up to it may well make a dog become agressive - so you are causing more problems

You have 2 issues to deal with speratly

First - your dog runs away and does not come back (even if its ONLY with onlead dogs and he is perfect all other times he still does not have a good enough recal) - so recal training and keep him on a long line and under your control until you will be able to recal him in all situations
For offlead running then find places where other dogs are not

and the issues with onlead dogs - best to get behacioural help here to desensitise him to onlead dogs and socalise him with nice well behaived onlead dogs

thank you everyone for your quick response. He has only done it a few times, but I know once is more than acceptable. It is hard to accept you are at fault through your own lack of bad basic training. I could give lots of excuses but the bottom line is I do need to work on his recall better.
How long a line do you suggest I use? & will this give him enough exercise as he does need to run (even though he is a short burst man)

Perhaps use a 10 metre line.. You can perhaps drop the line if there are no dogs around. If you intend to drop the line tie some knots in the end so if you stand on it it will not slip through.
I'm sure his exercise requirement will generally be met using a long line. Perhaps just increase the length of walks slightly, or let your dog off in safe secure areas for the time being.

Start practicing your recall around the house, then garden, then non-distracting areas. Make sure it is 100% in these situations before trying it in challenging situations.
Do not ask for a recall if you think he will ignore you, this is setting him up for failure.
For this reason, when you are near other dogs, make sure you have him on the line so he cannot fail / ignore recall as you will not need to ask.
I also found teaching the Stop command useful.

I would also change your recall cue seeing as he has obviously learned to ignore your other one. Make sure you sufficiently reward him EVERY time he comes back to you at the beginning.

Have a look at SBs recall training instructions:
http://www.dogsey.com/showthread.php...ghlight=recall

Zac update (if anyone's interested?!)
We are attending dog obedience classes & in a special class for the larger dogs. He's had a couple of growls at dogs that came close which was actually good because then the instructer told me what to do & how to distract him, which really worked. We've been watching for signs, & it seems to be a male dog thing i.e. dominance. If 2 other dogs start to create he also wants to go & join in. But learning to watch for the signs & knowing how to distract is really helping. So now for half the class I put a muzzle on him so he can do close work with other dogs, I'm relaxed which translates to him & he's subdued because he's sulking lol! But I'm hoping he'll get back into the habit of being back with others.
The long lines here in NZ all seem to be on the retractable contraptions which I find useless. So I actually went to the saddelry and got one from there which is brilliant & about half the price (top tip!)
'setting him up for failure' really sank in with me, and now I never try & put him in that position.
He's still my big baby & I find it very hard at times to use a really firm voice with him (especially being a Primary School teacher-sort of against the grain) but I think we're slowly getting there. Yes we've had a few slip ups but we've also had some great milestones passed - recall from a rabbit hole half way across a field to a sit, down after only one call! I was so proud of him. Boy was he rewarded!!