I'll second that! And how about if I add some whipped creram & a cherry on top?

Fear aggression cannot always be explained by saying the dogs ears are back and tail between the legs. Most of the fear aggressive dogs I have seen, usually rush up quick looking confident to try and bluff away the perceived fear of the other dog attacking them first. I have seen this more often than a dog that starts cowering the second he sees another dog. When you will see the fear show up, is all dependant upon what the dog that is getting bluffed does. If the dog calls the bluff, then you will see the fear behaviors or submission.

Along with Will I don't advocate giving a whole lot of training advice on any type of aggression issue without actually seeing the dog in action. It has been my experience that when someone says their dog is aggressive I find that the dog is really just a pussy cat, but the owners did not know what they were seeing.

True Dominant Aggressive dogs are not as prevelant as people make it out to be. Most pet owners perceive their dog lunging on the leash as Dominant aggression and this is just simply not the case in 95% of the dogs I see. MOST aggression can be curbed to some degree but usually only by experienced handlers and almost never over the internet.

I have a dog who used to bark and "puff up" upon meeting other dogs on leash, and I always thought he was dog-aggressive but it actually seems to have been a fear issue - sort of like Chris described. I noticed he whimpered before getting close to the dog and would lean against me, and so I started working on building his trust in me, as well as teaching him the "leave it" command. "No" probably works fine too, I like leave it because it's more specific.

Anyway, he's still unsure of other dogs when he's on leash , but he will ignore them when I tell him "leave it", and he doesn't whimper any more.

Don't know if that helps, maybe I'm just an excessive poster.

Alice,
I just add that declaimer when I see that advice is treading into the area that can cause a dog or it's owner harm. I'll do that from a professional viewpoint ( same as I would a client ) and it's a good statement from a Moderator standpoint.

I no longer offer counter advice ( or advice of any kind, really ) as I'm pretty much sick of the fights that it causes,so I for the most part no longer offer much training advice. A lot of posters want only validation of their feeling or other such nonsense and get offended by a response containing the correct advice, so......notice that I've only been addding Mod comments for the past six months or so.

I give a lot of advice behind the scences via PM's ( when I have the time, I'm crunched now that I'm so busy ) and that's the way it goes.
*shrug*

But I'll still intervene when bad advice is given or a dangerous situation appears to be happening.

so.... i'm left with the impression that i gave bad advice, but i don't know what part of the advice is bad, or why, and so i could be making mistakes with my own dogs that i'm unaware of.

not to mention that many others who read these boards will be just as mystified, and could also be making mistakes without being aware of it.

i honestly would like to know what my mistakes are. i'm here to learn, not get my "feelings validated."

at the very least, you could PM me.

 Quote: Will Rambeau

...I no longer offer counter advice ( or advice of any kind, really ) as I'm pretty much sick of the fights that it causes,so I for the most part no longer offer much training advice. A lot of posters want only validation of their feeling or other such nonsense and get offended by a response containing the correct advice, so......notice that I've only been addding Mod comments for the past six months or so.

I give a lot of advice behind the scences via PM's ( when I have the time, I'm crunched now that I'm so busy ) and that's the way it goes.
*shrug*

But I'll still intervene when bad advice is given or a dangerous situation appears to be happening.

Personally speaking, Will, I'm hungry for professional advice such as you could give. While I sincerely understand your sentiments and agree to some extent, like Alice I'm here to learn what's best for my dog...the heck with my feelings. There are so many areas in life that those who want to do the right thing are superceded and supplanted by those who cause trouble. In this venue, I understand the professionals are truly busy, but would love to hear more from them if at all possible. My 2 cents, for what it's worth.

we have several other pros on this board. i'd like to know if there was anything wrong with my advice, and if so, what specifically is wrong with it? in what way might it cause a dog or its owner harm?

If you are that concerned about your internet advice, then you should seek out your nearest pet professional. And don't give anymore advice. Sorry.

i'm not at all concerned with my advice. it was implied that there is something wrong with it. i don't see anything wrong with it. i think the real objection is that i'm not a professional dog trainer. oh well. guess what? i've gotten some truly lousy training advice from professional dog trainers.

Linda,
I am not at all an expert on dog aggression, but I have had some success in retraining my dog. She used to be extremely reactive on lead, lunging and snarling at many neighborhood dogs, and would snap at another of my dogs in frustration if I was walking two together. I did two things. I taught her to focus on me, using treats and the "look" command, as recommended in "Feisty Fido". That helped substantially. I bought a dominant dog collar and used it if she went after a dog despite my commands. I constantly reinforced obedience, the leave it command, put her in a down-stay when other dogs approached, and gave quiet praise if she ignored a dog. Naturally, I did not allow any dogs to come too close to her.

I then bought an e-collar, trained her to a solid recall, and when I was comfortable with my control, I started to take her out at night off lead in the local park with my young dog, when there are very few other people or dogs (often none). I kept her far away from other dogs using the e-collar, and the exercise seemed to help a lot. She is now able to be quietly sociable with some other dogs at night, but is still reactive with two or three other dogs in the immediate neighborhood. When I say quietly sociable, she trots near them in a relaxed way, and has occasionally touched noses. I always walk her with a dominant dog caller, e-collar, or both.

I am pretty sure that if I were a better trainer, I could make her less reactive, but at least I can see a significant improvement. I always assumed she was dominant, because of her posture (leaning forward, tail wagging stiffly), but frankly, I really can't read her mind.