yes, i think maureen is being a bit over dramatic too

something i picked up on is the tail wagging.

tail wagging can also mean aggression.

if the wag is fast, choppy and higher, that means over arousal and adrenaline....so its a warning something can go wrong.

id go back to leading your dog until sorted out, and id get rid of the ball for the reason i suspect your dog's adrenaline/arousal levels are too high, which contributes to the problem..

in the park around other dogs, i'd do calming focus exercise, like clicker.

to be honest,ive never really noticed the speed of the tail wagging but i will now,thanks for pointing that out.

I know what you mean toby, neither of us likes to think we have a dog aggressive dog, and I certainly don't want to think I have that problem coz I've had it before with another gsd. I think the best thing you and me both can do is to not only keep OUR dogs safe, but also other dogs, so why don't you try doing like I'm doing and don't ever let your boy go up to another dog, unless you are there, on the spot, with your dog onlead, and ready for any action, and I'm sure, just like me, you will begin to see a trigger point, a certain type of dog, or maybe it's that ball, meanwhile all dogs are safe.

I'm just like you, my dog is very, very friendly, but it's not a nice feeling when you are either anticipating or nervous of what your dog might react to is it, so I think it's best to hopefully find out the trigger if there is one, OR, worst case scenario, we end up with seeing that our dogs ARE aggressive to other dogs in which case we will then have to take it further, but hopefully, even doing this initial meeting and greeting onlead might even cure it you never know! I always think it's far better to be safe than sorry, coz I've heard of too many horror stories around here of dogs being bitten to pieces, one of them losing a whole tail, blood everywhere, and neither you nor me want to be in that situation do we!

Thanks Maureen No, my dog has never grabbed another dog by any part of it's anatomy, we've never seen any teeth, only a heck of a lot of noise, mostly from me yelling her name!!!! It's a difficult one, for me, I really have to get to the bottom of this because I want her to be absolutely trustworthy around any other dog, but ever since I posted up everything has been fine here, no more noise, no more aggro, just play, but then I'm working on it, even if it's only by being AWARE on every occasion and informing all other dog owners what could happen and they've all been fine with me, especially when they've seen Zena's tail zapping like mad on approach to their dogs! I hope you get the same thing tobydog.

It's a tricky one to try to offer advice on because we can't actually see it and although you're describing what you see, you're most likely missing something. That's not a dig at you at all, we all do it because we just try to seperate the dogs and don't really take in what's causing the problem.
Maybe as he approaches the other dogs, just as he drops his ball call him to you rather than let him do his own thing and approach the other two. Reward him for coming to you and get him to sit and wait before releasing him to let him approach the other two in a relaxed manner. Practice on his leave it command would be good too.
Good luck with it.

I'm sure he isn't a terrible dog! And it does sound as if he's defending Jake.... I know Tess makes no sound when playing, and it took her a while to figure out that other dogs do but that there is no malice behind it... If I were you I would find a good trainer with stooge dogs and try one private training session (with both Toby and Jake)... If the trainer is good you'll get loads of advice about which signals to watch for and how to deal with it.... This is not a major issues as long as you deal with it now! Let us know how you get on

Oh fantastic, some tail help here!

Now what's the mid height, slow side to side wag mean then please?? It's not too slow, but justs drifs mid way, not low, not high, say the same height as the back of the dog???

thankyou for your advice and tellings off !!
i think its back on the lead and off to a trainer and no ball in between for us both!

Life without that ball will never be the same for us will it It's worth a try though, and I shall do likewise!!! Good luck, let's see how you get on and me too!

he wont be happy but hopefully it will help.
good luck to you aswell,hopefully we will be respectable owners of well behaved relaxed doggies and not dreaded anywhere!!!lol:

hey.... don't be discouraged We've all been there This is a minor bleep, it's only happened twice, and you're an owner who realizes something needs to be done to settle things.... good on you!!!! As for the ball... take it with you if you think you won't meet other dogs.... and hide it when other dogs are approaching.... I hate to see a dog totally deprived of it's ball