My dog has just barked aggressively at another dog in park

[Madsometimes]

I go to this park every day, so Patch knows it well. This afternoon I took him for an off lead run, and just as we heading home Patch got the scent of another dog and started barking and growling. It took me a while to see what he was barking at. It was a much bigger dog, not sure of the breed, but it looked like a husky. Patch is a small cockapoo.

I cannot understand why he was behaving like this. He is normally very good with other dogs, although he does like to play. He is a submissive dog normally, who prefers to be chased in games.

It was very embarrassing. The other dog had done nothing to provoke Patch's reaction, and I got him on the lead as quickly as I could. I could see people looking at my dog like he was crazy! Any ideas? I was wondering if the other dog could be a bitch on heat, but Patch did not attempt to mount him/her, he just seemed scared and aggressive.

My late dog used to do this quite a lot. The dog books call it fear based aggression. We never knew exactly what caused it as our dog was a rescue dog but there were several 'trigers' including navy blue rain coats and lorries

It's fear aggression. My little JRT had a nasty experience with big dogs when she was a pup so she can get very barky when she sees bigger dogs. They somehow know which dogs are gentle - she never barks at retrievers etc.

We have just been working on recall etc and she seems more relaxed now. Also if I see things that may trigger her barking when she's on lead I get her into a sit and wait until it goes past.

also can depend on how the other dog holds itself. boxers for instance look very threatening to other dogs apparently and lots of dogs don't like them.

My last guide dog was retired early due to similar behavior although he would bark and wag his tail at the same time (nothing like giving over a mixed message ey, ). Strangely enough since he's retired the behavior is much reduced, so my conclusion is that the stress of working (although he never appeared stressed) contributed to the anxiety he felt when he encountered other dogs.

Interesting WannaBe as boxers were a breed my old dog always found threatening. Any dog who growled first or adopted an aggressive stance would cause him to bark back ferociously. Fortunately, most of the owners we encountered were real 'doggy people' who understood why he behaved as he did. 99% of the time he was v soft and submissive

Do you train guide dogs, WannaBe?

Poor Boxers. Because we've bred them to look like they've been hit in the face with a brick, their facial expression appears to other dogs to be aggressive. As a result sometimes other dogs don't respond well to them, and over time they often become dog aggressive themselves.

Which is a pity because they're usually really good-natured dogs

I know loads of dogs who hate Westies, for example, or black Labs. Often their owner can recount a bad experience with the breed in question. Usually off-lead dogs in parks whose owners are unaware of the concept of recall.

That's interesting, the only dog my doggy has ever barked at whilst out and about was a boxer, she was definitely scared, her tail was right between my legs but I never knew what had triggered it! Thanks.

this often happens to my dog - that is other dogs in the area come and bark at her. this is because she hates other dogs, they sense it, and tell her to get lost. I am used to it ...if the owner comes and gets the dog or calls i away i think 'oh, good, responsible owner'...i don't think it is because their dog is naughty.

Thanks that is really helpful. There is obviously something about this particular dog's scent that upset Patch, because he became spooked before he even caught sight of him/her. I cannot think why, we have had Patch since 8 weeks and he has never been attacked by another dog.

I will keep an eye on this. I thought that neutering would help his aggression, but if it is fear based, perhaps it would not.

Yes, he is nearly 7 months old, so he is a terrible teen. I am sure that he has met many other intact older males before without any problems.

I just hope that he does not do this again. He is a very people friendly dog, and given the choice of being petted by a human or running in a pack of dogs, he would choose the human. The biggest problem that I normally have with him is that he expects strangers to pet him. Sometimes this does not go down too well, so generally we go to the park early when there are mainly dog walkers around. I do not dare take him in the afternoon when there are picnicers.