Baton, what would have been best when your pup went to nip the other dog, would have been for YOU to step in between with a 'knock it off' verbal command and attention getter. Rude inappropriate behavior is not allowed, especially if your dog starts it off.

Sometimes the dogs can work it out between themselves with the sniffing and no eye contact, and if they can't that doesn't mean we allow them to up the aggression. Their choices aren't sniff other dog or fight, they are sniff other dog better look at mom/dad for what happens next.

Jenn is right, in my own experience. I have cultivated my calm-assertive side and dogs usually see me as alpha, so taking charge of the situation with a serious "No" or, as she says, "Knock it off," would be my reaction. And there would have been no situation where my dog would have run ahead of me on his own without my permission. Of course he's allowed to sniff and poke about and sometimes mark, but only after I've given the OK. BUT I have doubts about this reaction for a person who demonstrates excited/fearful demeanor. A high or excited "no" might be gasoline on the flame.

I accidentally left part of my reply out.

So far, when I have had to verbally correct someone else's dog, such as an excited/aggressive dog accompanying an acquaintance into my own yard or house, a simple, low-voiced and stern "No" has worked for me and has indicated to the new dog that even if his owner wasn't up to being the pack leader, the dog was not allowed to be alpha on my property. Luckily, I haven't had to go any further, and I haven't run into any resentment from the other owner. In one instance, the visitor dog was displaying far too much aggression toward my own dog for my taste, and I think the owner was relieved that someone, anyone, could correct the escalating aggression. It helps, I think, if then you merely return to the human conversation as if there was no further issue and as if the command had been simply a matter-of-fact occurrence. Then no defensive response is generated.

My instructor would have gone nuts if I would not had tighten the grip on the leash, or start pulling the dog back when he would charge the other puppies. I am really taking Jens advice and other advices very seriously. Being that I am a first time dog owner, I lack experience with dogs and I appreciate your inputs and Jens inputs and anybody with experience who offers me some advice on this issue.

Jen, I did all that you described. Maybe I should give him a level 10 correction when he does that again? Because after telling him NO, he stopped being aggressive for a moment but at the end he charged again. I am really under a dilemma if I should give him a correction or not. My instructor had told me to not give corrections or be aggressive verbally with this puppy ever, when he acts aggressive towards the other dogs, because that will make him hate them even more. Instead she suggested to me make him sit and give him treats and praise for sitting. That way he would associate treats and dogs as a good thing.

Here's the other side of the coin, though:

My dog, a chow/pit that is an extremely dominant bitch, started becoming more and more dominant/aggressive as she got older. At about 2 years of age, I had tried everything from correcting her with the prong, to using treats to try and distract her from the other dog (she completely ignored the treats), to running in the opposite direction of other dogs, to taking her out with a muzzle and expecting her to behave badly when we encountered another dog. She wasn't going after the other dog to attack it; she did want to play, but she felt like she had to dominante it first, and though she never did get into a fight with another dog, I was afraid it might happen one day.

Then, I decided to consult with a trainer. The first trainer suggested using a SENSE-ation harness and a clicker. That was a joke. The first time I took her out in public with it, she saw a rabbit, jerked the leash out of my hand, and took off across a field after it. She then got tangled up in a briar thicket, where my husband had to go and get her out of. This would never have happened on her prong collar. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />

I had consultations with two other trainers that, despite their advertising, said they could not help me because my dog was already very well trained as far as obedience went.

Dog Training in Your Home was the one that I finally ended up using. Long story short, we used a clicker and leash corrections starting with the prong, and then with the e-collar (so she'd understand this correction and respond correctly even off leash - and so onlookers wouldn't see me correcting her with the prong and think I was abusing her or whatever). I discovered that though I had tried giving her leash corrections, I just wasn't doing it hard enough in these particular situations. What I was actually doing was agitating her. On a scale of 1-10, I had been giving a 4 I guess. It took a level 9 or 10 to get her to understand that the behavior was NOT appropriate. The clicker and treats we used whenever she was behaving nicely (showing interest in the other dogs without showing aggression, showing play behaviors, etc.) However, the second she showed any aggressive behaviors, she got a verbal correction and a correction with the prong collar (then the e-collar).

It only took a few sessions of working at the dog park outside the fence, before she understood that it wasn't the other dog(s) causing the correction, but her inappropriate behavior. Eventually, we were actually able to let her loose inside the fence without her exhibiting any dominance or aggressive behaviors towards the other dogs.

So in short, I'm just trying to say that correcting for this type of behavior CAN work, but that I also used a clicker to let her know when she was behaving correctly.

Thanks Kristen for your long detailed description on how you dealt with your dog. I think you relate more to my situation, because you actually have a dog who is a dog aggressive, and you know exatcly what I'm going through. In my next obedience class I will learn how to use clickers, so later on if I don't see any more improvements with my puppy using all the other methods I might try your approach.