Is this dog aggression and if so how can i overcome it?

Hi dogsey members.
I've just joined and after a few months of reading your knowledgeable comments i thought i would ask for some advice with my dog, as i'm not and dont pretend to be an expert in animal behaviour.

After two abusive homes as a pup,i wont deny our dog did have some issues. Thankfully after months of hard work he's now a happy and obediant dog in all ways but one...
(Please bear with me if this becomes long winded, i really want some help and feel a detailed explanation will give everyone a good picture of his behaviour)

Buzz has three methods of meeting dogs, if the dog is bigger than him he'll sneak up (like a collie would) and lie as close to the ground as he can until the other dog comes up to him, at which point he'll jump up and have a sniff.
When meeting a small or same sized dog as himself, he will stand alert, hackles and tail raised and "trot" over for a sniff.

The third is completly different and has no relevence to size at all, he'll literally just go over bounding like a spring lamb!

In all cases,once the sniffing formalities have been dealt with he'll go into a play bow and start running,wrestling, humping and barking like a loon - he is admittedly quite boisterous and hyper.

The main problem i have is if the other dog doesnt want to play and starts snapping and growling, this seems to get him going and he'll retaliate and get even more excited, at which point i'll take him away - a couple of dog owners have told me to let them be so that their older dog can teach him some manners...which was a complete disaster as buzz would just get a telling off from the older dog and carry on his advances until the older dog ran away.
Buzz has never ever started a fight but he has been attacked (unprovoked) a couple of times, both times he didnt back down and after recovering from the shock of being set upon actually had a good go back at them even though the dogs were a GSD and a large Staffie - so much stronger than himself.

My question is, from his dominant introductions to some dogs, his unwillingness to back off from dogs that dont want to play and his willingness to fight, is he dog aggressive or could he become dog aggressive?
If so how can i nip this in the bud while he's still young?

He is 8 months old and not neutered ( he's going for the snip in a couple of weeks).

sorry if i've rambled or not made things clear enough, feel free to ask me any questions that you feel would help get a better picture.
Hope someone can help. Thanks.
Amber
xxx

To me it sounds like people you've met have touched on what the prob is. He just hasn't learned any manners yet. Given his difficult start in life, I'm not sure how you should proceed. Ordinarily, I'd have tought it would be enough to make sure he meets a lot of different dogs and gets to learn how to react correctly to the signals he's getting. He obviously can't yet recognise being told to back off. This may just be daft 8 month old but, again, as you said he didn't have a great start to life.....

Lovely detailed post...makes a refreshing change.

First welcome to Dogsey.
We have a similar problem with our Poppy, she is a rescue and we didn't get her till she was 15/16 weeks old. So she missed out on the socialisation period and by the time she had had all her vaccinations it was going on 20 weeks before she was allowed out walking.

Seems to me that your pup is unaware of how to behave. Have you got a friend with a nice quiet, well socialised dog that you couild walk with?

I would walk with the other dog as much as possible to get your pup used to seeing how the other dog reacts to strange dogs.

I would enrol in a good training class too as this helped our Poppy no end. walking to heel and gettingclose to other dogs, just being around other dogs in a controlled enviroment. I wouldn't let her just run up to other dogs just yet, but keep her on lead until you feel that she know what to do.
I re-enforce the puppy training though, invaluable really and as soon as possible.

Good luck

Elaine xxx

I wouldn't worry too much, she will get the hang of it eventually.

I'm sure someone on here with more experience will be able to give you some more tips.

Hi Amber I would say your puppy may not have been very well socialised with other dogs. Not aggression though, just boisterous puppy behaviour ..

Do you attend any training classes, they provide an excellent opportunity to meet other dogs in a supervised environment so that your puppy will have chance to meet other dogs and learn how to approach them.

I would advise classes run by the APDT, here is a list of trainers...
http://www.apdt.co.uk/local_dog_trainers.asp

.. the trainers are usually happy for you to go and sit in on a class before joining.

Thank you for your replies, we have been looking to get Buzz into some classes, though i am wary as he'd probably be very disruptive to the group..he has the tendancy to go deaf to my commands when other dogs are around.

He was only 10 weeks old when i got him and i knew he had been taken from his mother at a very young age, so socialization was very important for me..unfortunately on our first walk we bumped into a very friendly but boisterous black lab pup, suffice to say Buzz got very fearful of meeting new dogs for a good couple of months.

It was my mums terrier mix that brought him out of his shell, he's a very polite dog and always greets other dogs in a calm way..in fact when buzz is with him he acts the same, unfortunately those lessons dont seem to be having an effect when he's on his own.
Unluckily for us the only other friends we have with dogs are a couple with a dog aggressive GSD and a friend who has a young lab who is much worse than Buzz when it comes to meeting dogs.
I did make quite a few "doggy pals" with my last Border Collie on our walks and they have tried to help me with buzz,unfortunatly their dogs are getting a bit old and i think they are a bit fed up of his boisterous puppy play and tend to make their excuses to go.
It's a shame because we do meet many young dogs that have loved playing with him but we never see them again.

Maybe there is someone on this forum from the Bath area that wouldn't mind having a new boisterous playmate?

I shall look into a dog class, i know there is one not far that does the KC good citizen awards, they don't tackle socialization but could be good for meeting other owners.
Thank you for all the advice, it's a relief to know that you don't think he's aggressive!

training would be great as they will meet other dogs in a controlled enviroment.

back on the lead - a long line, not flexi - may be required to teach him controlled mannered introductions to other dogs