Nervous aggressive rescue dog owner

Hi everyone.
Joined today while looking for a secure place to let my poor dog off the lead for a decent walk. Had her 6 months, she is gsd/rottie cross, very loving but dog aggressive. Walking in the dark is very boring! Tried 3 different training schools, but she is very obedient just terrified of other dogs, she doesn't wait for any aggression from other dogs, just attacks. Now walk her with a muzzle, but all pleasure of walking has gone. She is about 2 years old and full of energy, hence looking for somewhere to let her have a good run. I live in Essex, so any suggestions welcome. Pat

I'm clueless about Essex, but I don't see why all pleasure of walking is lost for having a muzzle on. Maybe a better muzzle? In most places I've lived, you can find country roads that you can walk without encountering dogs.
I'm no trainer and don't claim to be an expert, but I'd think that gradual desensitivation should help. Set up encounters that provoke no fear from time to time, give lots of praise for staying calm, it may take a year, but I'll bet you can get there. Trainers, in general, are expected to find a quick cure. If there is a solution that requires very gradual, persevering patterns of reward and perhaps mild punishment, many trainers will not find that solution.
As for off-lead. In my experience you have to either own a fenced acre or two, or be willing to travel to the middle of nowhere to find a place where a DA dog can safely be off lead. GSD's amd Rottis are both prone to be DA, but both breeds seem to be able to become dog-friendly with time and gradual, incremental, positive associations on encountering other dogs.

I would err on the side of caution. Even with a muzzle some dogs can still do damage. I used to let my Sophie off leash regularly until one day when she attacked a pup seriously. It wasn't a fatal bite but enough for me to realize she could never be off leash again.

Leash walking doesn't have to be boring. Vary your routes and challenge yourself with distance and intensity. Your dog is young so you might be able to turn the behavior around. Just be really careful in the meantime.

I'd suggest that rather than trying to sort out the problem yourself you find a trainer who is used to training and handling dogs with fear aggression. My two are doing the Basic Obedience Training Course for Police Police Dogs which is different from the normal obedience classes. Our trainer is a qualified Police Dog Trainer and Handler. The first ten minutes of each session are spent introducing dogs and owners to each other under the supervision of the trainer who corrects any bad behaviour such as excitement, aggression or fear. Much of the rest of the session is spent teaching the dogs to walk, sit and stay as a group without being distracted by anything another dog might be doing. My dogs really love the training and meeting a variety of dogs of different sizes and temperaments.

I live in Hungary were it's relatively easy to find this type of training, so unfortunately I can't recommend any trainer in the UK, although I know such training courses do exist but perhaps you'll be able to find one near you by searching online.

Do you know anyone (friend/family) that has a fenced yard?

Thank you for your suggestions. I'll keep trying, it's not the muzzle thats boring, it's walking alone in the dark with an excited dog that keeps pulling (and she's strong!) I used a canny collar for a while but am just using a training lead with two clips attached to the collar and muzzle. But i'm thinking of getting a halti which one of the trainers suggested. I vary the walk every day and i'll definitely keep trying to sort it out. As you say it might take a long time. Once again thanks to you all for your help.

No but i'm going to start asking on our local [a social network] groups, see if anyone has one. Thanks.

Well done for being a responsible dog owner and keeping your dog under control.

Maybe you could advertise for a place to walk your dog , perhaps in your local paper .

Good luck .

Are there any dog parks by your home? Maybe you can go at night when it is empty and let your dog zoom around and play her favourite games.

Hey I just thought of another idea. I don't know about the public parks where you are, but here there are fenced in tennis courts and/or roller hockey rinks in every park.

As long as you tie the leash around the gate to keep it secure, bring some balls or a nice sized stick...tah dah you have a fenced in play space.