I live in the country, 20 minutes outside of Brussels. I can walk both my adult dogs around the city between other dogs all day long with no issues whatsoever. Do I do this daily? No. Could I? Well, I doubt I'll ever feel like driving into the city everyday, but if I were so inclined, I wouldn't have any issues with it.

A friend of mine has a severely dominant antisocial dog. I asked him "what do you do when he has to go to the vet?" His response was "I tell him not to bite, so he doesn't bite. Its obedience."

People who allow dog aggression to go on do not have control over their dog. What other people do with their dogs is not my responsibility. I'll be that jerk who doesn't neuter his dog to make other people happy. I'd rather be that jerk than the jerk who can't control my neutered dog.

Back to the OP. You need to catch the warning signs of when your dog is about to react and refocus the dogs attention. Careful with prong corrections for aggression issues, it can escalate the problem and set it back. The dog associates the pain of the prong with the other dog and gets mad about it, rather than minding you. Use a choker, like a nylon choker/dominant dog collar, lift the collar up and tell the dog to sit and chill out. When he's relaxed, release the choker and praise. Don't make him sit there and face the other dog, change direction or duck into a side street and regain your dogs focus. Once he's begun flipping out its too late.

 Quote: Mike J Schoonbrood

.... You need to catch the warning signs of when your dog is about to react and refocus the dogs attention. Careful with prong corrections for aggression issues, it can escalate the problem and set it back..... Once he's begun flipping out its too late.

And that's the core of addressing the beginnings of dog-dog aggression, in a nutshell.

My goal is a dog-neutral dog. Allowing the focus on the other dog to become a stare and then hackling and then growling ... all this is counter-productive, IMO.

I get my dog's attention back on me, where it belongs, instantly, as in the second I see him start to narrow his gaze.

Would treats be an appropriate way of redirecting? Or could that be seen by the dog as a reward for staring/hackling/barking/whatever?

By the way, happy birthday Connie!

 Quote: Angela Burrell

Would treats be an appropriate way of redirecting? Or could that be seen by the dog as a reward for staring/hackling/barking/whatever?

This is actually a good question. Treats are appropriate, but you have to treat them at the correct time.

If the dog has already started to do anything more than look at the distraction, you need to get his attention back. Do something the dog knows how to do, like sit, heel or whatever and once he is focused on you and what you have asked of him, then treat.

I would not treat a dog that keeps looking back while you are leaving the area. Wait until you have his/her full attention.

Timing is key in this instance.

OH YEAH...HAPPY BIRTHDAY CONNIE!!!

Reward for the obedience, not for the aggression. Don't lure the dog away from the other dog with a treat. Tell the dog to sit, make it happen, then reward for the sit, as long as the dog isn't focusing on the other dog.

Ok this makes good sense but I am still not 100% clear on the exact timing/method here.

1. Puppy sees other dog (or person, or cat, or whatever)
2. Puppy tenses/stares/hackles/barks or otherwise focuses on the distraction
3. I tell the puppy to sit, and he ignores me because he is too distracted, or we try to turn around and walk away but he keeps looking at the distraction.
4. I enforce the sit command by pushing his butt down, but the pup still doesn't look at me, because he is still "busy" being distracted. (Usually he pops back up). Or, I enforce walking away by pulling the leash, but he keeps looking back.

How do I get his attention? He is food motivated so he could be lured, but if that's incorrect because it would be a reward for inappropriate behaviour, then I'm at a loss. My dog is a bit younger than the OPs (6 months) but I'm sure its a similar thing?

Angella - if you know your dog reacts to other animals or people in a way you want to correct, you must catch them before they react. You must catch then right at the time of eyecontact, correct, then give a command and reinforce obedience with food.

If you cannot redirect - and dogs that are focused or stressed ignore food for the most part any ways.. put yourself, your body in between your dogs line of sight and the object of the dogs focus, the dog will likely try to go around you, giving you another opportunity to correct and redirect with a command. You correct the eye contact.

This is only for dogs that are not full blown dog aggressive lashing out, this is only for when signs first begin or in young dogs.

 Quote: Jennifer Marshal

Angella - if you know your dog reacts to other animals or people in a way you want to correct, you must catch them before they react. You must catch then right at the time of eyecontact, correct, then give a command and reinforce obedience with food. .... This is only for dogs that are not full blown dog aggressive lashing out, this is only for when signs first begin or in young dogs.

A big ditto. This scenario:

 Quote: Angela Burrell

1. Puppy sees other dog (or person, or cat, or whatever)
2. Puppy tenses/stares/hackles/barks or otherwise focuses on the distraction
3. I tell the puppy to sit, and he ignores me because he is too distracted, or we try to turn around and walk away but he keeps looking at the distraction.

came from waiting *much* too long to correct (or redirect).

Depending on the dog, I might redirect the second the dog sees the evil entity that will engage him. I certainly will correct with a leash pop if there is anything longer than a scanning past the other dog. However I am managing it, it will not go to the lengths described in steps 1-3, because step 2 was not allowed.

Ah! Ok, Thanks Jennifer and Connie. This is why I love this board. The light came on.

Now I know my mistake and hopefully will help the OP too. That makes so much sense.

Mike,

Ever feel like chopped liver? Hee hee