Being aggressive when approached off lead

[ChickensHaveNoLips]

Ok, I think I need to work out what's going on here and how to sort it. Jasper is never aggressive on lead. But when off lead, and chasing his ball, he can be very grumpy to other dogs that try to join in. So, other dog approaches to have a sniff or whatever, and he ignores them and moves away. But if the dog persists, or starts chasing the ball, he will turn around and jump at their face with a lot of noise and mouthing. He hasn't bitten or injured another dog, but it's a very clear 'Fuck off'. He's now a year old, and seems less tolerant of puppies than older dogs. But yesterday he took on a rottweiler and I had visions of having to rescue him from down its throat. Luckily, the rottie was a friendly girl who snorted at him in disgust and pissed on his ball in retaliation. Today, a collie puppy approached, started barking at him (I assume he wanted to play?) and Jasper lunged at his neck and the pup submitted. I was mortified and apologised profusely. The owner was fine about it, but I'm beginning to think this is a growing problem and I need to do something. I've googled, and there's a lot of pack stuff about leadership etc that I don't really understand. Any advice? He is ball obsessed, and I'm reluctant to give up the ball because he gets so much exercise and joy out of it.

Great that your dog had an enjoyable walk

I do think though, that you might be avoiding a potential issue. For a lot of dogs, it does matter who owns the ball. Our girl dog couldn't care less as long as someone is throwing it for her to catch. But big boy wants to own the ball. Catch it, but then hold it and gnaw and dribble over it. But he knows the ball is ours. So he does not need to protect it when he is carrying it around another dog. And that is a major relief and he is de-stressed about it.

For us it is only a ball, but for them it is such a major treasure. Imagine you are carrying a lot of cash and it is your responsibility to keep it safe. When you are walking down the street and you see other people approach you, wouldn't you be a bit nervous? Imagine the same scenario if you were carrying your company's cash and you had your boss with you whose responsibility it was to keep it safe. Would you be stressed? Not that much really.

The leadership thing is not about power struggles, but making your dog feel secure and relaxed around you and others.

I have a dog prone to the odd bit of aggession too :( One tactic you might try is to do some whistle training for treats at home. Only give a treat when you have whistled (dog whistle bought online) and he's come - then start occasionally giving praise not a treat. Keep at it and eventually he will come as soon as you use the whistle - it will be a conditioned response. Then when you are out you will have instant recall when you see a potentially dodgy situation. Basically his brain should just kick into gear when he hears the whistle and it will distract him before he can be grumpy - timing is everything though!

Gah. Sorry for bump :( Walked Jas yesterday with a frisbee instead of his ball, and we bumped in to a little dog we often see in passing. Jas wanted to interact for the first time ever because there was no ball, but the smaller dog told him to fuck off (To be fair, smaller dog was chihuahua sized, and Jasper was leaping on his head ). But today I took the ball out to give him a good run. A cocker spaniel approached us, but not too close iyswim, and Jas grabbed it by the neck. Only for a second, but obviously the owner was distressed. I apologsed and walked on quickly, pocketing the ball. We then saw the collie pup again, the same one from last week, and even though the ball wasn't in play Jasper still reacted aggressively (grabbed by the neck, for a second, then released). I was carrying the flinger, and he kept looking at it. The collie owner is an experienced working dog person, and she wasn't phased, but I just feel awful about it. I'm not going to take the ball out again, it's obviously too much for him. Which is a damn shame because he loves chasing that ball. But I really don't want him to become aggressive. He is not interested in food when he's off lead, he even ignores sausage and cheese. I think he's quite a dominant sort of dog. He has never rolled over when other dogs have approached or shown any other signs of submission. Do I just have to resign myself to putting him on lead when he's around other dogs?

I have been told that dog on dog aggression is the hardest to deal with. I have given up and just put him on the lead whenever another dog is around. It makes deciding where to walk very difficult and is not in the least relaxing. His recall is excellent, but if the other dog is close I have to scream like a fishwife which makes people look at me a bit oddly.

Lots of other dog owners have been quite horrid to me about it, others are lovely. I have adopted the smile and wave approach so as not to get embroiled in an argument - actually, that last bit is what I would like to do, but sometimes I get arsey instead.

My Spaniel has no interest in treats when out. He will concentrate on his ball thrower but would turn round and savage a passing dog in the blink of eye then return his concentration to the ball thrower.

This is why I call him bastarddog.

Exit, that is exactly like Jasper. He's all focus on the ball/flinger, glances at approaching dog, back to ball/flinger, a quick snap/snarl at approaching dog, back to the flinger/ball....sigh. He doesn't bark or growl or give any warning to the other dog. He just wants them to sod off. It's embarassing and I'm mortified. The only place I can let him run around here is the dog field, so we will always encounter other dogs. I genuinely don't know why he has suddenly become so intolerant.

No idea with mine either, other than that he was attacked by other dogs when he was a puppy for be too excitable.

You will see that lots of dogs are kept on leads for this very reason.

I am going to start taking my boy to a class with a fabulous lady I know who claims she can cure him with a citronella spray. I have my doubts but anything is worth a try.

I drive him to lots of different places to avoid doggy spots.

What my boy really wants to do is chase. Very fast. He is happy then. But if he catches them

Jas doesn't chase. Once he's told them off, and they've retreated, he loses all interest again. I'm definitely going to lose the ball for a while and try taking his frisbee out with us. The frisbee isn't as exciting, but does get his interest. He can take it or leave it, though, so it might be more appropriate when he's likely to come across other dogs. The cocker owner definitely walked away with her dog thinking that my dog was nasty and I'm a fuckwit. That's not a nice feeling.

You can sit on the naughty bench with me, and my dog.

Have looked at your pics. He is a sweetie.

Oh yes, he looks adorable. Which is I think part of the problem. Other owners see his floppy ears and lolling tongue and just assume he won't mind their dog running up to him. The same owners spot a rottie or a staff and lead their dogs immediately. But at the moment, my dog is more likely to be aggro :( That said, we just had a walk without the ball and he ignored the on lead westie which walked past us snarling and woofing like a slightly pissed off gerbil, so perhaps this is progress.

That sounds good - mine would have been straining at the leash (pics on my profile of bastardog).

Ah, bastardog is a bog dweller!

Yup - he likes to snorkel through the best bogs.

Jasper too! The stench is vile. So, tell me this, is bastardog generally human friendly? Is it just other dogs he hates with a passion?

i'd try two balls....it does sound like it is his precious! Just produce it as soon as anyone else appears so there is one each! ...all about the sharing!

Zac is obsessed with tennis balls...which I only just found out, we never play ball at all at home with the pups, so I had no idea, but five minutes frolicking with a tennis ball and he was keen to run up and over a massive A frame and through a bendy tunnel. And he is such a wimp.

Mind you it does mean if he spots someone else at Agility with one he thinks it is more fun than anything I am trying to get him to do.

He generally loves humans but

he hates the window cleaner
he hates the milkman
he is suspicious of lone men in unexpeted places (unexpected to him - ie places we normally walk and don't see anyone)

He doesn't bite, but once with the milkman, when he tried to pat him, he was doing that nippy thing with his front teeth that he would dearly like to do to sheep.

Also, when DD was younger and had friends round to play, he would jump up at them with his mouth open and give them a nasty bang with his teeth (and no I am not making excuses for him - honest).

Some people have said his dog on dog aggression is fear, but he did it once to a blind elderly cocker spaniel that was on the lead and having a crap - so not much to be frightened of there .

If he is on the lead and the other dog walks past him and ignores him, he will also ignore, but if the other dog starts straining at the leash then he does the same, and he is very strong. He went for my friend's dog when we were having a cup of tea in her caravan, because I think she looked sideways at his ball.

There really is no rhyme or reason for which dogs he will have a go at and which he won't. Some people say it is because he senses me tensing up, but what else can I do when I know what he might do?

(Sorry this is a bit long!).