Hello. I am new. My name is Jo and I own a Hambone..he is a Husky/Shepherd mix I have owned for 10 years. Two years ago, he was attacked by coyotes and became a little fearful of other dogs. His companion of 10 years was put down about 8 months ago. That is when his aggression toward other dogs really came forward.
For the first 6 months of his living with me, he was attached physically by a leash or line to me in the house and outside. He was neutered at 1 year. He had basic commands of sit, stay, off, and "what are you doing". He would walk on a leash and trained to not go with strangers.
His job was to patrol the farm, kill the vermin, and keep strays away. He never harmed or killed stray dogs, just chased them away.
Now, since Miss Katelin is no longer with us and since the attack, he is freaked out by people allowing their dogs to come nose to nose. He snaps and snarls but I noticed he does try to back away. I was told in obedience class to yank and say no, but my boy has arthritis in his shoulders and he would be almost crippled by the next day. So, my idea is to train him to stand behind me when he sees a dog that triggers his aggression. How would I go about doing that, because he is calmer if I am between the dog and he. Any suggestions would be great!

You are 100% right that this dog aggression is triggered by being attacked by coyotes.

You have three options here, IMO, and which one works best for you really depends on your situation, your skill and your dog's personality.

#1) Keep the dog away from other dogs.
It sounds like that probably isn't 100% practical in your situation.

#2) Try to teach your dog to be neutral to other dogs.
This will likely be your best option. For more in-detailed advice, read some of the other threads here:
http://leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/ubb/postlist/Board/18/page/1
You idea of training the dog to come behind you when another dog makes him uncomfortable is a very good one. If you can put your dog in a sit/stay, just step in front of the dog. Put the dog in a sit the second you notice him tensing up, and step between him and the other dog.

#3) Use a dominant dog collar, and help the dog learn that regardless of how scary other dogs are, the consequences for reacting violently are a million times worse.
Given that you were uncomfortable with giving strong corrections due to the dogs age/physical health, this is probably not a good option for you either.

Thank you for your quick reply. I read some of the threads and like the Teagan story. I hope to search some more and find out how Teagan's owner is doing with her. I am going to work on this issue with him. I did find out from the vet he has a thyroid problem, which makes him somewhat more aggressive(?), so with meds added, and hard work, my boy may actually be happy again, or at least neutral.

I have no words of advice, but just wanted to offer my encouragement for you in this situation. You sound like you have the attitude and knowledge to make this happen. Good luck and keep us posted!

Jennifer Mullen is Teagan's owner. Send her a PM. I'd bet she'd be happy to share how she's worked through issues with her dog.

And welcome to the board, Jo!

Thanks for the welcome aboard. Update on Mr. Hambone.
Hambone did well, but I screwed up. We were doing our usual Saturday routine of going to Rural King to walk around practicing left and right turns, sits, downs, stay, and working with the big floor fans which he was scared of. He will walk to them and stand relax now. I used that to reward for calm...he gets a really good treat for that. I am trying to use the word (calm yes! good calm! then treat)for a relaxed pose so maybe someday I can catch him ahead of time if he gets tense.
On to Petco which we also go. Most of the people are good about not letting their dogs visit another dog. He lets me know when there is a dog within 15 feet by head up, ears up, chest out and tail straight up. I immediately put him in a sit stay, and stand in front of him. If a dog goes by he looks at me. Now, I have no idea what to do when he looks at me, but I say good eyes and reward him. I have noticed if I put him on the opposite side of me, he will "usually" walk by the other dog and grumble the whole time, but only if I say walk, walk, etc.
I did screw up. He notified me of another dog but I made the assumption that the dog was on a short lead. Nope. Made nose contact with my boy in a flash and Hambone lost it. This time he didn't go for the dog, but made it clear that he didn't appreciate it. The dog was an ancient, potbellied, happy go lucky thing, so maybe that had something to do with it.
I immediately put him in a sit stay, the owner moved the dog, apologized for letting the dog touch my dog, and I made Hambone sit until he was calm.
I will be ordering the obedience CD when I get the money, but I hope I am on the right track. I really don't want to muzzle him because he freaks out with a muzzle. By that I mean, he gets a feral look in his eyes and it isn't pretty. Any feedback is welcome.

I am a novice trainer too but it sounds like you handled most everything well (rewarding him for looking at you is excellent) and read and reacted to his signals. The one time you didn't, you realized your mistake. You will learn from that mistake and move on.

Soon your dog will learn that you can handle strange dogs and he doesn't have to worry about it.

I have a dog-reactive dog too. The things you are donig is what I do, and I have seen a great improvement. I use string cheese as rewards and he only gets these when we are training in really distracting environments (like Pet Smart). He is doing really well. Still cant get touching distance but he will ignore other dogs from as close as 10 feet (and wait for his cheese). As long as the other dog isn't barking, heh.

Muzzing problems are more often in the attitude of the hander than the dog. If you come at him and force some strange thing over his head, and then look all concerned about how he feels about the awful thing, of course he's going to react badly.

You don't have to use a muzzle yet, but if you already have one, it's good to acclimate the dog so you can use it later if you need to.

Hold the muzzle in one hand, treat dog. Put muzzle away. Repeat until the dog is comfortable with the muzzle nearby.
Slowly bring treat and muzzle closer together, until he is grabbing treats out of the muzzle.
Add a command at this point, and turn the lure into a reward given after he complies.
Slowly lengthen the time between putting his nose in the muzzle and adding a reward.
Slowly add fussing with the straps.
At this point, you should have the muzzle on his face for a few seconds while he's calm, and can assess if there's a fit problem with the muzzle that was causing his earlier distress. Replace the muzzle if needed.

Once you get him wearing the muzzle, start doing something fun every time you put the muzzle on, like go for a walk. Soon enough you may even see a tail wag when you get the muzzle out.

I lost a dog because I couldn't bring myself to muzzle him. It took some long discussions with Australians, who have a different cultural perception of muzzling to teach me better.

I have a greyhound now, and they are muzzle trained as pups, and wear them several times a day until they leave the racing industry. Since Sailor's only bad habit is chewing, I can use the muzzle instead of crating when leaving him alone, and leave him free to find more comfy places to sleep, and check in on the pup in her crate. He much prefers muzzling to crating, and never protests or avoids me when I get the muzzle out. Sometimes he even wags his tail and comes to me, as he knows he's going to get kind words and ear scratches for accepting the muzzle.

After reading the posts and PM'g Ms. Mullen about her dogs, I have decided Mr. Hambone isn't going to Petco for a walk around.
I have little control of the situations there and it isn't fair to him. We will continue Rural King as it is a place that has wide aisles, lots of smells, and they have given me permission to come in and use it for socializing and training with mild distractions and he is pretty much the only dog in there.
Having said that, we are going to start over at home on the basics. Fun time learning, clean and clear bonding, no or very mild distractions outside (living in the country is great!), and long walks back to the woods. He definitely needs a refresher and with birds and squirrels, I can teach him to focus on me in a safe way.
He will never, in my opinion, be safe with another dog without a leash on.
Oh, I have noticed he is sneaking into "running the household" again, so back to the basics there too. I gave in too much when he was ill and now I pay the price.
Wish me luck.

Old post but I wanted to update.
Hambone is doing better on our walk arounds. He is beginning to trust me to step between the dogs and he. Sometimes, he will take a step back on the lead or stop when he sees a dog in close proximity, and I don't mind. That is my cue he is needing me to step up and intercede.

He does, on occasion, try to swing behind me and go to other side of me if the dog is coming toward us on his side...I allow that also.

Unfortunately, no dog can "appear" to come between his shoulder and my leg. I found that out when, on two separate occasions someone was walking their dog on a "long lead" allowing it to walk in front of them. The dog's direction was to my left leg and that is Hambone's position. Almost had a dog fight.

All in all, using the advice here on this forum has helped. Our walks are more pleasant, but I still have to be alert.

Thanks for this forum and help.