Dog growls and lunges at other dogs when on the lead

hi there everyone.
my dog is 18months old this month and for the last few months she has gotten to be a bit funny with other dogs when she is on a lead.
an example is today we were in the field and a miniture shnauzer came in, she immediatley wanted to play altho he wasnt really bothered so i called her back and all was fine. later on we met the same dog but both of them were on the lead...my dog immediatly started growling (im not sure if it was aggressive or playful as she is very vocal when playing) but she started lunging towards it.
she has done this a few times now and on a couple of occasions she has been obviously agressive towards the other dog (snapped at the other dog).
also when off lead and another dog comes up to her she looks very scared and after the dog has sniffed her she will bark at it and jump at it...most of the time this turns into play if off lead so its the on lead greetings that im most worried about.
we are seeing a behaviourist next week but does anyone have any tips for me till our appointment?

Avoid on lead greetings with strangers?

The lodger's only interested if the other dog is as polite about as he is. I can see his point - if not he's just going to get squashed pawed or dribbled on with out the opportunity for a run about.

thanks but was hoping for a more helpful reply, my aim is to get her more confident around other dog when on the lead. avoiding other dogs is not going to help it is just avoiding the issue. i'd like her to like meeting other dogs not be scared of them. but yes i see where your coming from.

The best thing in my opinion is to avoid on-lead greetings with other dogs until you've seen the behaviourist next week. One of mine (who was attacked when 10mths old while on a lead, by an off-lead dog) is very wary about meeting other dogs when on a lead.

This subject has come up a few times on here and you may like to have a look/read of them.

Help with my collie who lunges at other dogs on lead,please

You'll find more of them at the bottom of the page - just click on anything you feel may be of interest to you.

It sounds as though she is nervous so lunges at other dogs to try to keep them away from her. Has she had a bad experience with being scared by a 'bully' dog? That could also account for why she isn't confident meeting new dogs even when off lead, but then realises that they won't hurt her so she ends up happily playing.

Has she been spayed, because if not she may have been having some hormone surges?

Good luck and hopefully the behaviourist will be able to sort you dogs out.

thanks jenny.g. yes she has been spayed and seemed as tho its only since shes been spayed that shes been like it. she hasnt had a full on attack but she has had various dogs have a go at her as she was growing up as she was always more excitable with greeting dogs so the ones who didnt like it snapped at her...very much what she seems to be doing now i spose. thank you for the link, i will have a look.