Dog growling at other dogs - no apparent trigger

[user1489844432]

We adopted a dog back in Oct a mix between terrier and poodle. 3 year old male not castrated yet.

Over the last few weeks dogs behaviour started deteriorating on walks. The dog starts growling randomly at other dogs. It doesn't look like fear based as the tail is up, not trembling etc. This also doesn't sound like a growl to play as the dog actually lounges and tries to bite. Most of the time it looks unprovoked. Recently also started barking, lounging and kind of howling even if the other dog is on the other side of the street.

This is very random as during the same walk my dog reacts this way to some dogs but not others. The breed or size doesn't seem to matter. I can't really see what is the trigger here and what actions I need to take here.

You need to go to the vet. Behavioural changes can often be down to pain

Does it only happen when he's on a lead? It could be that he's a frustrated greeter. Mine will behave exactly like this on a lead, but if he's off then he's absolutely 100% fine.

He's not aggressive and has never once shown signs of aggression towards another dog. In fact, he's been attacked twice and just rolled over, lol. He didn't even try and fight back, bless him.

He always is on a lead due to no recall.

I understand comments about pain etc but then I would expect this behaviour to be ongoing rather than during the same walk being aggressive to some dogs and very friendly to others.

If you've only had him since October then seeing behaviour changes around now is very normal - rescue dogs take about three months to properly settle in and show their "true colours".

Does it happen with only certain dogs? I wonder if there's an unseen trigger like them being male/female, or unneutered etc.

I wouldn't rule out the possibility that it is fear-based. I don't think a scared dog would necessarily have its tail down, and certainly it wouldn't be particularly likely to tremble.

I used to have a terrier that was reactive to other dogs in the way you describe. He would be much worse with some dogs than others, for reasons that weren't always clear. I would go to a very good dog trainer, or a behaviourist and ask for assessment and help.

It is something that you can improve a lot and manage well. The key thing is to help the dog relax and feel safe. The correct strategies for this would I guess depend on your individual dog.

My dog used to do this when we got her (from a deceased family member). On the occasions when she didn't bark or growl. I gave her a small treat and praised her. Then when we saw another dog approaching I'd remind her I had the treats and talk to her so she looked at me. Now she sees a dog coming and automatically licks her lips in anticipation and doesn't growl. Its 99% effective and the occasional days when I forget the treats verbal praise still works. I use meaty strips from Lidl torn into very tiny pieces - just a token. She is better if both dogs are off lead but if the approaching dog is on the lead I put her on out of courtesy.

My dog does this but only with specific golden haired dogs yet she’s had no bad experiences with any of them . It’s very odd as she was socialised well as a puppy and even during lockdown she was still out every day and seeing other dogs but in the last 2 years she does the same lunging and barking at any golden haired dogs . She’s a small breed so I do think it’s possibly fear based

Do you tighten his lead when you see another dog? Hard not to but that is then his cue to be concerned and act tough.
Instead, everytime you see another dog, stop, get him to look at you, give him a treat.
If he isn't motivated by treats this won't be a solution! Try several varieties, those pate tubes cut up jnto cubes was the only treat that worked for my dog in training.

This does come across to me as fear based but I am not an expert so not going to rule it out.

We will be starting obedience training classes in few weeks time so I will talk to the trainer and I guess it may become obvious pretty fast what's the issue when my dog is souranded by other dogs in the class.

I am however wondering if I should postpone his castration which is in couple weeks time due waiting list. I don't want to make situation worse if this is fear based or due to his age this wouldn't make a difference?

Fear based dog reactivity isn’t usually a particularly scared looking (to humans) dog.

It’s usually a dog showing big displays of trying to look and sound intimidating to make another dog go away.

So I don’t think you can rule it out tbh.

It posted twice

I’d be wary of joining a group class if he is reactive to other dogs. Can you get a 1-1 trainer?