I won't be able to do it soon as she's getting so big now, but I actually pick my dog up if I can...she's not mature enough and hasn't gotten enough training under distraction to stay down with another aggressive dog around. Thank God she still looks to me as alpha and doesn't try and do her own thing, yet

Haha Mike, I did pick up my puppy on a few occasions back when he was little and loose dogs approached us.

He's 96 lbs. now so probably a wee big for me to whisk up into my arms at the first sign of trouble

well, Yuko, your dog's bigger than you are by a mile I'm 6'3" and have earned the nickname "Magic Mountain" by my musician friends...it's not that I can't pick Brenna up, it's that she will hardly let me anymore She squirms more now than she did when she was 12 weeks old...lol

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Do I down him to confront the marauding dog?

Jessica, I would not down a dog in a situation like this; a "sit" yes but not a down. A down can be a submissive position and some dogs will not want to down around other dogs. When you have to deal with an advancing dog you do not need the struggle of getting your own dog into a down position before you can deal with the other dog. Also, it is easier for dog to stand up from a down than a sit, so if your dog counters on the other dog you could lose precious mili-seconds.

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Is this the time or place to be dealing with pack leadership?

Simply... No!

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We always have an e-collar on, so... corrections here?

Be careful with e-collar corrections in these situations unless your colloar allows for large adjustments to the level of stimulation without having to remove the collar or making major adjustments to your actuating device. With your dogs drive up you will need a harder correction than when his drive is low or docile (so to speak). Too weak of a correction will increase his drive and this is not a situation where you would want to do that; for various reasons.

Also, if you ever give a correction the dog needs to know 100% why it is being corrected; so this is also something that should be worked on before hand if the dog is going to get corrected for non-compliance.

Thanks for the advice! I usually use a down on him only because his down is so much more secure than his sit. That's absolutely my fault, but as I mentioned earlier, we taught him to down around other dogs to a) calm him down and b) to make him appear less a threat to other dogs. Right or wrong (advice?) it appears to work and, his platz is solid under everything I have tested him with.

It has not however changed is dominance level While he is still very respectful to me, he is a very dominate dog who just knows he is top $h!# . He has given a very strong reaction to very few dogs, and those seem to all be the "real" threats in that I mean those that would absolutely engage as opposed to a bluff. (BTW it is those bluff dogs that we typically have him down around, and it seems to take the oomph away from the other dog. It has always been done in a controlled environment)

My gut tells me that if the dog was not an actual threat, he would respect my authority. He looks, but with a word will turn his head away from 99%. So we are back to the 1% that are the real deal.

I agree that this is not the time to deal with the pack structure. The variable of the other dog is too extreme, not a fair set up at all. I can do what I can with the other dog, but we both may be in real danger.

The e-collar we have adjusts at the remote, but I have seen the result of a low correction with high drive. You are right on there. Same with the correction when he does not know EXACTLY why. That is why I am very curious to hear what others will do or have done in the past in the situation of a reactive dog being seriously confronted.

I just remembered we had a dog come after us about a week ago. I guess without thinking we instantly get between our dog and the offender (my wife picked hers up). I had Bruno on a leash and he kinda stayed behind me, so I really don't even think about what to do with him because I'm focused on the potential threat. Then again, if I were gettin the boots put to me by another dog, I'd want Bruno to help out. I guess I'd release his leash and hope for the best. Hope he wouldn't come after me. (Where I live, we are the only ones with a fenced in yard. Everybody has dogs and they all run loose.) Just like in a wartime scenario. You'll never what your reaction (or your dogs) will be until faced with it.