Appears aggressive but really just frustrated

We have a 13 mth old Scottie (Dexter) who is a lovely little dog. He does not have aggression in him, he play bites with us sometimes but usually when he is tired but is great with my young nieces and any other visitors.

He recently started barking and growling viciously at other dogs (he is still on lead as we havent mastered recall training yet!) and I started to worry he was aggressive. We happened to be at a puppy training class and the trainer said that he was just frustrated not aggressive - and he was right, he starts barking growling when the dog is on other side of road or path and if I walk him over to the dog he licks their faces, and plays, and is not nervous or dominant at all.

My problem is that people dont know that and when they see him barking - they look quite scared. Most people I try and say to them he is just wanting to say hello but some people can be funny - and I know I would be scared for my dog if I seen another one like that, but I dont know the solution. He is fine if he is off the lead, but I cant risk him not coming back and chasing other dogs (he has been attacked a couple of times by other little dogs when off lead so it is also for his own good).

Just wanted to say to people who maybe see this kind of behaviour - not all of us are irresponsible dog owners, he really is a lovely dog.

Glad you found a nice trainer
I agree its not always agression but whatever the reason a dog has for barking at other dogs it does need to be addressed, other dogs can take it the wrong way too - too many attacks and it can be agression

But I totaly agree it would be really nice if the general public didnt look at you as if you were a monster if you have a dog with issues - whatever they are
So glad to hear you are being responsible with the lead too - deff keep working on the recal tho - it is possible - it can just be difficult

Dogs do things for different reasons I guess and while your dog is not doing this behaviour because he is aggressive the other dog owner may have come across dogs who acted like this and were aggressive, also it may set their dog off too.

I would teach your dog the "watch me" command where it takes its attention off the other dog, sits and looks at you and gets a treat or a toy to hold, or the reward of meeting the other dog. At least then your dog is behaving well and it is good self-control for him as although you can let him go and sniff the other dog when appropriate it is on your terms and because he is behaving nicely. Hope that makes sense.

P.S- forgot to say- Cherry's favourite doggy friend is a Scottie called Hamish! Though he can be a bit of a bod as he likes chasing children and joggers. I think she thinks he looks like Parker when he was a puppy (Kerry Blue terrier).

My Mum's family had Scotties when they were younger.

He was a nice trainer, but we didnt do well at classes.

The watch me training sounds great, but I really struggle with the training. I have been to three lots of classes and one to one training (but was told not to take the dog - ????) and although I can train him perfectly well at home, and he seems to listen to everything I say, as soon as we leave the house I have a problem.

I dont want to go to another set of classes that dont work, and am scared to go to another one to one, as the last one was very strict and I want him to be a family pet, not an ornament in the corner who is never heard from.

Thanks for your comments, I hadnt thought about another dog misreading the growling, just assumed they would know he was frustrated - really need to work on this.

Thanks

no prob

sounds like the classes didnt explain how to build up distraction

dogs are v specific so if they learn something in one room it dosent always mean they will figure out that it means the same in a different place with different distractions

like lie down to the dog actually means
when my human is standing in this part of the floor with a treat in his hand moving it in that way and saying down i lie down

you sort of have to train it all again in several new locations before they get you mean everywhere

Just thought I'd say I've had the same problem with my pup and agree that it is frustrating to be looked down upon, especially when you are trying to do something about it. Of course, other owners don't know this (You should have seen the looks I got in the vets even though I was trying to control my dog & doing everything I could to get her calmed) so often it is simply a case of ignoring them & focusing on your dog. At the end of the day, unless they rescued an already trained dog, their dog was like it once too!

I have been teaching my dog the watch me command too, trying it when out and about & doing all her other basic training (sit, lie down) and she has really improved when we're near other dogs. It does take some practise & it is important to try the commands all around the house & when out on walks too but it does pay off. I've found that just knowing you have the commands under your belt can help to relax you in difficult situations & make it easier to control your dog instead of losing your cool & panicking!

Good luck, I hope it works out well for you!

Thanks - sometimes its just reassuring to hear other people have had same probs.

We have a cocker x westie who used to do that quite a bit and set other dogs off barking back, but when offlead / alowled to say hello he's good, we look out for other dogs then get his attention with a treat before he can get too focused on the other dog (like the watch me thing) and it really helped for us too, he's now calmer and we don't have to worry about it so much any more.