Acting dominant is being aggressive. He doesn't have to become any more aggressive if the other dog submits. What happens when he meets up with another dominant dog?

The issue is your relationship with your dog. The best relationship is when the dog is more attracted to the handler than anything else. Many factors come into play here. One is how interesting you are to the dog.

How much you play with him plays a big role in how interesting you are to him. If the dog can get more fun from dogs than they can from you then they will be more attracted to dogs. However, if you can learn to play with high energy, and challenge the dog you can be more of an attraction to the dog. Another issue is dominace.

Your dog "may" already precieve you as lower in rank than himself. The fact that he would continue to struggle to the point of breaking a lead says something about the dog's lack of concern of your authority. "IF" your dog precieves himself to be above you in pack order, you will not be that interesting to him.

It is just too hard to know exactly what is going on without seeing the two of you in person. I would suggest that you get with a Very good trainer that can SEE and Evaluate the relationship between the two of you. It is better to train a dog to do something, rather than not to do something. In this case it is better to train the dog to focus on you, rather than train the dog to avoid focus on other dogs.

when you say he's socialized, do you mean with other dogs as well as with strange people?

reason I ask is a woman involved with GSD rescue said to me that dogs are either dog dogs or people dogs, and you
should get one each if considering a second.

I thought at the time this was a illogical, a falacy of
bifurcation,that is some may be people dogs, some may be
dog dogs, but assuming all are either is simply a leap of logic which doesn't account for an individual to be niether,
or both.

Anyhow, when you are driving, it isn't as though you can
watch him and see instantly when he starts to focus on another he sees.

But while walking, then you can try to notice when he goes from ambling along to giving eye stalk, and at that point,
interuppt his thoughts by re-issuing the heel, and praising
every glance your way. Your timing is crucial to re-focus
his attention to you, as if you wait until he goes from
eye stalk to chase(lunging)he could break his lead. Once he's in chase mode, he's on his way and it's harder to refocus.
K9 motor patterns

I had simular issues which group training overcame, but not before many hours of it, and I think it could have been avoided had I spent more time socializing with other dogs at a younger age. It's definitely something you'll have to
overcome if your going to work him in any endeavor where other dogs are present.

The answer is always the same, we need more training!
There are training opportunties everywhere, always, but
you must consistently and persistently use them to get there.

Mike,

Get a dominant dog collar and a GOOD leash. this incident could have ended your Sch ambitions as if I saw a dog like you describe coming toward me or my dog I'd have given an almighty kick! resulting in a fearful, possibly damaged, dog through no fault of his own and entirely down to poor handling.

I use a prong attached to a dominant dog collar as I have had the unhappy experience of the HS prong I have coming apart when the dog was in full on attack.

If you have a hard dog, it's not gonna care how hard you yank on the prong most of the time when this focused. The other sugestions about timing the correction at the instant of showing an interest are good ones.

Also ramp up your dogs OB, and play with him a lot more BEFORE you leave the house. Tire him out here and make the walks shorter, which may reduce his interest if you can keep him under control.

John

orvilles' got it right . . . .

get " building drive, focus, and grip " , and show that dog that you are the best/only game in town, and then you work towards creating a reasonable expectation that the dog will be more interested ( obey ) in you than another dog, or other distractions . . . .

John, about the Herm Sprenger prong collars, I have not yet had the quick release ones come apart but I have had some cheaper brands come apart. Once while walking my dogs with my fiance on a little used trail, we came up on two people with two Staffies. The male was off leash running around looking confused but the female was at least wisely kept on leash and was snarling, barking, and jumping her fool head off. At a very inopportune time, the cheaper prong collar on my husky/Rott (the dog aggressive one) decided to come apart and if I wouldn't have attached a small leash coupler to the prong and his regular collar, it would have been on hardcore! Now I use the dominant dog collar for the same purpose, but yes, I guess even the Herm Sprenger ones could come apart. Not a pretty picture!

Hi Maren,

It was the quick release that came apart on me and I'm still not sure how it happened!

Now I take no chances. My dog can have three collars on while out walking, Prong, DD collar and Flat/aggitation with handle. I use a 6ft police training leash with a snap on each end (comes in very handy).

I also noticed two weeks ago that when I gave my dog a severe correction for inappropriate pack behaviour, the HS seemed to puncture his skin!!! I'm ordering a new one but I can't actually feel any part of the prong sharp...it's all well rounded and what you'd expectg from a HS product!

I can't prove it was the HS that made the puncture, could have just been a scab or something else, but I can't take the chance that it was.

John

If collars coming apart is a concern then get an extra-long fur saver or choker and always double-collar on the choker... make sure it's too long to actually be correcting the dog when you pop the prong or the dog pulls on a flat/agitation collar... but the choker is there in case something else fails.

What is nice about using either a dominant dog collar, a nylon slip collar, or a small leash coupler snapped to both the prong and the flat buckle over a fur saver or regular choke collar is how light they are, the dominant dog collar or nylon slip collar in particular. And you're right about the correction. With the little leash couplers, I adjust them so one is extended to its full length (say 10 inches) and the other is to its shortest length (say 5 inches) so the long part goes on the regular collar and the shorter goes on the prong.

Thanks so much for all the responses.
Well he has no problem ignoring other dogs when he is fussing, it is not practical to always be in a fuss. He does absoulty love playing with me and being with me more than anything. He was socialized with both people and other dogs as a puppy. I believe he sees me as dominant over him, and I do have good ground rules in place. He is an extremly hard dog, who since a puppy, is basically uneffected by corrections, it just makes him go higher in drive.
I understand that my dog rushing another dog is a bad thing on my part, I didn't for see the leash breaking, it was a preaty thick leather leash, I know I am lucky the person didn't kick my dog.
I know my dog has tons of potential, this dog issue is my one and only problem at this point. Has anyone else had a similar situation that they over came?
Thanks

I still suggest you walk with your dog on your left side with no more than a 6 foot lead, especially since you can't always see another dog coming! Then do some about turns, etc, to keep his mind off the other dog. Make sure you remain calm & relaxed, since emotion runs down the leash. It doens't have to be fussing like on the training field with his head up & turned towards you the whole time, just relaxed at your side on a six foot lead. Use a different command if you want, hell use "heel"! You say he has no problem around other dogs if he is fussing - so fuss everytime he is around another dog. I guess I am having a problem really understanding the question! My high drive GSD had learned manners including no rushing over to other dogs from the beginning. Once he gets older & the hormones click in more, I know I will do more reinforcement, that's all. If the dog had so much momentum going he could break the line, he had way too much line! If your corrections are putting him in higher drive, it's not because he is such a hard dog, it's because he either doesn't see them as corrections, or he doesn't see you as leader & is still challenging you! I guess I really don't get exactly the picture you are painting. What I'm hearing you say is, your dog is doing everything right, except ignoring you & breaking a lead to fight another dog?????