Is he dog aggressive?

Ok so iv had my 20 month old rottie cross a few weeks now and had to train him from scratch on the lead which is going well.

I took him to the park for the 1st time the other day and it appears he does not like other dogs!

he came from a house with another dog 2 cats and a rabbit so I was very surprised when he spotted a dog in the park and started pullin on his lead and up on his back legs and was wippering and barking.

he wasnt growling or snarling but I quickly turned around and went home.

does this sound like aggression or is he just wanting to go say hi to the other dogs??

im now really worried to take him out just incase I loose control ova him and something awful happens!!

advice please

It is hard to judge from your description. Just because he grew up with another dog doesnt make him socialised. He can have accepted that dog but not tolerate others or it could have been he wanted to play.
You need do some assesment work with your dog and the best way I know how to do this is with the aid of a friend with a very solid dog (preferably a bitch) indeed.

What I would suggest is you go for a walk with the friend, keeping your boy on the lead, you slowly walk parallel to the other dog, several feet distant so you boy cannot get at him if he were to lunge. Do not stop, let them sniff, that is a no no. You walk them, paying the other dog (who must be very calm about other dogs) no mind, if your dog looks or tries to get to the other dog you tell him to 'leave it' or whatever your command is going to be and make sure he doesnt get to him.
When your dog is capable (having decreased the distance between them) of walking beside the other dog without pulling you can then introduce him, keep a long leash on your boy and in a fenced area you can let the other dog loose along with your dog, let the lead trail, but follow them so they don't go off and then kick off in some far corner, you need be close enough to grab the leash and pull your dog away whilst the other owner does the same,

Even if your dog turns out to be the friendliest in the world you have to remember he is a rottie cross and is liable to be a powerful looking dog. Other owners seeing him bowling over may panic and cause something to happen so you must have solid recall before you ever let him off the leash and know how to seperate dogs fighting without the risk of anyone getting hurt. With this in mind I would suggest you look at Leerburg.com at their advice on how to seperate dogs when fighting.

Good luck

Without seeing him it is impossible to say to be fair but he sounds as if he has no doggy etiquette at all. You say he came from a home with another dog but all that means is that he was used to one other dog. If he wasn't socialised as a puppy he won't have a clue how to behave around others. I used to have a Boxer who broke his neck as a puppy and although he made a complete recovery from that missed out on all his socialisation and had no clue how to behave around other dogs even though he lived with another dog. All he knew was how to behave around our other dog. When my other dog died I bought another and my Boxer was totally besotted with him but that did nothing to improve his behaviour around strange dogs.
So it's a case of teaching him to leave it when another dog comes into view, to sit and watch other dogs from a distance, to pass by other dogs at a distance, gradually decreasing the distance but staying within his comfort zone. It may be a case of you never being able to let him off lead around other dogs but you won't know that until you start desensitizing him to others. If you know someone with non reactive dogs that would be a great place to start.

Good advice so far but are you sure that he wasn't just excited at seeing another dog and wanted to play. If he hasn't seen another dog to play with since you got him a few weeks ago he might just be over excited.

Good luck.

Thanks for all the advice!

I will try desensitization wiv him in the park!

I really can't tell if it is aggression or playfulness ... Like I said he doesnt snarl or anything and he will follow me wen I walk away from another dog

Wot's ya opinion on muzzle's????

Great advice above, I totally agree.

My take on muzzles is they have their place for certain situations, and it would give you great peace of mind if you could get him used to one at home with some treats, slowly but surely, so not to frighten him with it, and then you need a good, solid, friendly dog who you know won't attack him, and do what has been suggested above walk them out together.

Learning about body language is good too, I spent 2 years doing that with my dog who could be a bit "iffy" with aggressive dogs, you learn a lot watching your own dog and other people's dogs as they approach.

You have a big, powerful dog there, you are going to have to be very careful in finding out just how friendly your boy is. I've seen a full on dog fight, they don't back down, they don't listen to your commands, they've only got one thing on their minds and it's not a good thing to witness, it scared the pants out of me with my gsd and a lab/staffie cross years ago. I wouldn't want to witness another one thanks with powerful dogs. Good luck with him.

Yeah totally agree ... I would NOT Eva wana c a dog fight and Samson is a strong boy!

A friend has offered to help me wiv her dogs! She's a very experienced and good dog handler so I can trust her judgment!

Thanks for the advice every1 ... This site is a god send