I have a 3 yr old Papillion that showed up at my house last year. The vet thinks he was about 1 1/2 at that time. Some neighbors say they saw him being tormented by several big dogs a few days earlier. I was never able to find the owner, but I did try. He is a great dog, so I kept him. And yes, I added him to my pack. I had two inside and one outside at the time. He did fine (and still does) with the two inside dogs, a sheltie and a lhasa. But I had to introduce him slowly and on neutral ground to my 10 yr old (BIG) outside lab. I took them down the road every day for a week until the little one no longer instigated a fight.
I have been training him for obedience and agility now for almost a year. He's very smart and learns fast. BUT!.....he's not nice to other dogs that he's in class with. Not a problem with little dogs...but anything bigger than he is, he growls and lunges at. He's on a leash and I correct him constantly but he continues to do it. Presently every time he starts to do this behavior, I am making him sit and stay until he calms down and I release him. He is around other dogs (on leash) twice a week for training. He is crated in my house when I am not there, and sleeps in his crate at night.
Is this dominance? or big dog fear from previous experience? He is now middle dog in the pack in my house. I don't know what his past history is before I got him... Can he be trained to get through this. I am training him now to get him CGC certified but if he can't behave with other dogs it's useless. We are taking it slow. Is there hope?

Cheer Up! I understand what you are going through and the fact that you don't know what has happened to your little Papillion in the past can be frustrating, however, remember that even though he may be affected by what has happened to him, you are his pack leader now, and it is what you expect of him is with consistency, he will accomplish. If he were my dog, I would be very proactive with him and the minute I saw his body/ears tense or eyes alert to a larger dog, I would engage him in some type of focussing exercise such as speed heeling - puppy push-ups, etc. In a way you are lucky that he has such an "attraction?" to larger dogs - use that to solidify his attention by using them as distractions.... <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

He did much better at obedience class tonight. I put a choke collar on him (small one - for his size. It only took two corrections fresh out of the crate to get him to realize I meant business. As he began to growl and start to lunge for a big dog I did what Ed said on his site with the dominance collar, and pulled straight up. (doesn't take much with this little guy!! A whole 12 lbs!! I didn't allow for much slack in his line all night. Just in case, I wanted to be ready to correct, but not injure.

But he payed more attention to commands tonight, and even sat still when we weaved dogs in/out in front and back of him. Of course, he broke a few times, but overall, 100% better. With some of the ones I know he aggravates, I would get his attention with my voice and a treat while the dog walked close by. then after he stayed put, he got a "good boy" and the treat. We had 20 dogs in class tonight! Lots of practice! He actually even behaved when we walked up to greet a stranger with a dog. He sat on command and was quiet. I was so proud! And glad I put on the choke collar! Maybe there is a chance!

And if anyone is wondering..all my dogs are fed in different rooms, and the bowls are picked up after. The papillon I'm working with, I put in a sit/stay or down/stay in different places in my kitchen. He has to wait while I feed the other dogs in the other room before I put his dish down and give him the command to go get it. I make him work for everything. (all my dogs have to work for treats, etc.)sometimes I put the dish in front of his face and make him wait till I release him before he can eat. I vary it so he doesn't know what's coming.